Two Lights for Tomorrow
APRIL 18-19, 2025 • A CALL TO ACTION!
The events that sparked the War for Independence outside Boston in April of 1775 are immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride” with the famous line about One if by land, Two if by sea.
Written only 90 years after those events (before the last veteran of that conflict had passed on), his words perhaps rang true, “On the 18th of April in ’75, hardly a man is now alive that remembers that famous day and year….”
Today, 250 years later, we gather together to plan ways to ensure that not only are those events remembered, but more importantly to ensure that not just the “what” of “what happened” is remembered but the “why”. We are called not to remember history just for history’s sake, but to make it relevant, meaningful, and engaging for the public today.
The famous signal from the North Church’s steeple that night in ’75, One if by land, Two if by sea, was a signal meant to shine across the water to others on the opposite shore so that they could carry the message forward – not just as a back-up for Paul Revere, but to make sure that the message got spread as far and as wide as possible. And just like then, we have that same calling today – to spread a message calling on everyone in the country to join together in support of one another, to serve each other, our neighbors, and our communities.
How to Participate
On April 18, 2025, we’re calling for two lights to be displayed in every statehouse, office, school, church, and home across the country as a reminder that the message of light shining out in the darkness is not just something that mattered back then – it’s something that matters today and for tomorrow.
This is an opportunity to not only raise public awareness of the upcoming semiquincentennial, but to set the message we want the public to understand about how we’ll mark the commemorations: It’s not about history just for history’s sake; it’s about reminding people what it was all for in the first place and how we’re called to continue creating that “more perfect union” each and every day, together.
Download the flyer here.
Watch a brief video about Paul Revere’s Ride.
