Church and Patriotism

I come from a very patriotic family. My dad is an Army veteran, and we grew up loving and taking pride in our country. The 4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays.

It seemed natural to me that, since the 4th fell on a Sunday this year, our church (a "frozen chosen" Presbyterian Church of America) would be celebrating. My brother, my dad, Don (at my prompting) and I all arrived decked out in our red, white and blue. I was shocked to see that we were part of a very small minority. There were no patriotic songs scheduled to be sung during the service. The 4th was hardly even mentioned by anyone.

Finally, my dad stood up during "testimony time" and asked if we could sing "God Bless America," a song which I consider to be very appropriate for a church service. There were whispers and some general discomfort evident throughout the room, but finally the leader did agree to sing 1 verse. It wasn't in our hymnal, and a rather pitiful rendition was sung. It seemed most people there didn't even know all the words.

Apparently this sparked a major discussion in the adult Sunday School class which lasted the whole hour (I wasn't there, as I teach children). Everyone seemed to have an opinion on the place of patriotism in church.

I found it all a bit unsettling. I don't understand what the problem is. Don says church is for worshipping and honoring God, not our country. I don't disagree, but I hardly think singing "God Bless America," which is basically a prayer asking God to bless our country, is dishonoring to God. If my dad had simply asked that a prayer be said along those lines, it probably wouldn't have generated such controversy.

My mom, meanwhile, attended the service at her Baptist church. She said they had a special, extra-long service in which they sang patriotic songs, honored the military and veterans and prayed for our country.

What do you think? Does patriotism belong in the church? Where do we cross the line of taking the focus off of God if we do choose to celebrate in such a way? I'm curious to know how other people feel about this.