Prayer is a deeply meaningful spiritual practice in my life. I use it as a form of quiet meditation and directed energy. Prayer helps me put my own struggles into perspective and continuously pushes me to widen my circles of compassion. I often write my own prayer s for worship as part of that practice to bring together the theme of the service and to help ground my spirit in that sacred and holy place in preparation for worship.

Prayers

Spirit of life and love,
On the road of life
We know we will sometimes get lost
We will think the road is one way
And find ourselves in "wilderness times"
In unfamiliar space.

May we find the courage to keep going
One foot in front of the other
May we surrender to the moment
So that we may find the joy
The unexpected
The gift of adventure
The amazing grace.

Even in those "wilderness times"
May we never lose sight of those who are also lost
Searching, hoping, struggling
For freedom, justice peace.

May we include them in our journey toward a world
Of love and compassion
For this and those we carry in our hearts
For the wilderness of our mother earth
That we may help heal her wounds.
In the name of all that is holy we pray.
Amen

Chalice Lightings

Out of the Flames
Written for a service about Michael Servetus

Out of the flames of fear
We rise with courage of our deepest convictions
to stand for justice, inclusion and peace
Out of the flames of scrutiny
We rise to proclaim our faith
With hope to heal a fractured and hurting world

Out of the flames of doubt
We rise to embrace the mystery, wonder and awe
of all there is and all that is yet to be
Out of the flames of hate
We rise with the force of love
Love that celebrates our shared humanity

Out of the flames we rise.

Sailing Home

We have set sail together
On a journey of faith, hope and love
We've left some things behind
Our destination not fully known
Only a vision of the future

Sometimes the seas will be rough
Sometimes the nights will be dark and cold
That is when we must reach out to one another
With love and compassion
To risk the adventure
And trust that we will sail home again

Prayer for the Mothers of Nigeria
On Mother’s Day 2014

Spirit of Life and Love,
How can I celebrate being one of the lucky ones
With lapel pins of sequins, pasta necklaces
and hand crafted cards
Made by the loving five year old and eight year old hands?
My child was not stolen from school
Or ripped away from homes
Used as a tactic of revolution
On this mother’s day
I grieve with the mothers of the world
Whose children have disappeared
I wail with the mothers of Nigeria
Who wait and wonder in agony
Praying for their the safe return of their daughters
276 of them -- 276 too many

And we know elsewhere in the world
More mothers grieve their missing children
For them we whisper a silent, “We are with you”
We, too, carry your pain and outrage

We, alone, cannot fix this horror
But together we can be sure the world and your government does not forget
And we can hold you in our hearts and minds and prayers For you and all that is hurting in our world
And for the paradox of beauty and love that surrounds us

For the shrieks of sibling rivalry I am lucky enough to hear this morning
For the hugs I will receive today I am forever thankful and ever mindful I am one of the lucky ones
May the beauty and love of this mother’s day fill our spirits and heal our souls, and may its light radiate out beyond these walls, touching all who are in need.

In the name of all that is holy we pray. Amen.

Easter Prayer

Spirit of Life and Love, Eastre, Ostara, Goddess of the dawn,

Today we give thanks for the glories of new life
On this something of a complicated day
We pray that we may see the new light of dawn with new eyes
And find our own resurrection, a calling to renew, recreate, reimagine
We sing our praises to the many miracles before us
                For the majesty of mother earth
                For the green grass of spring, the new buds blooming
For baby ducks and baby chicks and baby bunnies
                                and all things cute and fuzzy
that remind us of the delicate fragility of new life
which brings us extraordinary joy

We sing praises for our own babies and children dedicated in this church
On this day, in years past, in generations gone
For they remind us that we are all creatures of the divine
We pray for peace in a world riddled with violence
                struggling to break free
to resurrect into a new way of being—a new life
a new place in our ever-expanding global village

We pray for healing
                from the pain, sorrow, injustice and fear
                from the brokenness, homelessness, hunger and poverty
from our own losses and broken hearts

We pray for love
                For the deep neighbor love that is possible in this beloved                   community
                For the love of family and friends
            
We pray for the light of a new dawn to shine on in all of us
Love is shining all around us, glory, glory, hallelujah. 

Amen and blessed be.