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July 5, 2026
A MORE PERFECT UNION
MACK WILBERG
Conductor

ANDREW UNSWORTH
Organist

ANDY REID
The Spoken Word

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL
Music: Samuel A. Ward
Text: Katherine Lee Bates
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg

AMERICA, THE DREAM GOES ON
Music: John Williams
Text: Alan and Marilyn Bergman

MY COUNTRY, ’TIS OF THEE
Music: traditional hymn tune
Text: Samuel F. Smith
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg

FLAG OF THE FREE MEDLEY
Music and Text: Various
Arrangement: Michael Davis

THE SPOKEN WORD
“A More Perfect Union”

GOD BLESS AMERICA
Music and Text: Irving Berlin
Arrangement: Roy Ringwald

BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC
Music: William Steffe
Text: Julia Ward Howe
Arrangement: Peter J. Wilhousky




A MORE PERFECT UNION
The Spoken Word
July 5, 2026
By: Derrick Porter

I’M ANDY REID, head football coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. For years, I’ve admired The Tabernacle Choir and its weekly program, Music & the Spoken Word. I’m honored to be part of this broadcast as we reflect on 250 years of America—a country I’m proud to call home.

Today, we celebrate that milestone. For two and a half centuries, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution have guided this nation. They set our ideals and gave us
a game plan to keep moving toward what the Constitution calls a “more perfect Union.”1

As I’ve thought about that phrase, I’ve felt deep gratitude for those who’ve sacrificed to help this nation become “more.” Our Founding Fathers knew it wouldn’t be easy, but they believed that if we stayed united, we’d keep moving forward.

Whether on the football field, in our communities, or in our homes, progress can at times feel like an uphill climb. But I’ve learned that when people come together for a common goal—when they respect and support one another—progress happens. That’s what a team does. It works to get better every single day.

America was founded on the truth that “all [people] are created equal [and] are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,” among them “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”2

These truths have guided our nation through challenge after challenge. They help us make better decisions—and correct our mistakes. Even in difficult times, they remind us to keep going. To keep building. To keep improving.

As the Constitution was signed, Benjamin Franklin looked at a sun painted on the back of George Washington’s chair. He said he had often wondered if it was rising or setting. But in that moment, he said, “[Now I] know that it is a rising and not a setting Sun.”3

For 250 years, that sun has continued to rise on this land. And I believe it will for generations to come.

We can all do our part. We can help build a “more perfect Union”—a nation “under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”4


  1. Constitution of the United States, Preamble.
  2. United States. Declaration of Independence. 1776.
  3. “James Madison’s Notes of the Constitutional Convention (September 17, 1787),” consource.org.
  4. U.S. Congress. House. 4 U.S.C. §4: Pledge of allegiance to the flag; manner of delivery. 107th Cong., 2nd sess., 2011.