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. |