Invocation and Pledge/Pledge and Thought of the Day (rev. Wed 26 Nov 1997 mjj)
 
 

Invocation and Pledge/Pledge and Thought of the Day

The person who leads the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag has two choices:

1) Invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance OR

2) Pledge of Allegiance followed by a Thought of the Day
 
 

Invocation

The invocation is a prayer that should be as non-sectarian as it can possibly, as Toastmasters International is a "non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian" organization. As it is an international organization, Toastmasters International has members from many different cultures and religions -- the prayer shouldn't be specific to any one religion.
 
 

Thought of the Day

The Thought of the Day can be inspirational, or just something for the members to think about. By keeping it simple and short, the presenter will probably do better than trying to delivering a complicated and long Thought of the Day.
 
 

How Do I Remember the Order of Invocation - Pledge and Pledge - Thought of the Day?

The mnemonic that some people use is "God before country; country before man." The order here seems to be "God is greater than the country, and the country is greater than man."

Using this mnemonic results in reciting the invocation (God) before the Pledge of Allegiance (country), as well as the Pledge of Allegiance (country) before the Thought of the Day (man)