Prayer: God of prayers for parking spots and prisons, of hospitals and holidays, of anger and angels, of travelling mercies and tired ones, of decolonization and deconstruction, of wilderness and wandering, of feasts and ferocity, of goodness and grief, we come to you today with our whole selves.
God of our honest prayers and more honest silences,
Open our eyes to see and our ears to hear and our hearts to understand how you are already here with us.
Mother God, gather us as a hen gathers her chicks and let us catch our breath for one hot second and remember how you hold the whole world in your kind, capable, wise hands, including us.
Spirit, when we cannot part the weeds of our own traditions and old languages, when the pathways of prayer feel choked with briars and thorns, would you make a path in the wilderness for us to find you in new ways, new words, new practices, new permissions? Would you meet us in the wilderness and set out a feast? We are hungry and thirsty.
We are grateful for (mostly) every moment that brought us here to you. Help us to sink down into your Love, to push our roots down into that marvellous Love. And be planted within your power and grace as we practice loving this world as you have loved this world.
May we laugh harder because we have learned to let ourselves weep with you.
May we see and know and name Beauty because we have learned to bring the ugliness to you.
Surprise us and startle us. We’re open to all the weird ways you want to Speak — in us and to us and through us.
May we be Peacemakers, Joy-bringers, Truth-tellers, Status-Quo-Disrupters, Wanderers, Wonderers, and Misfits to our time (because of Resolute contentment), who never settle for the sit-down-and shut up life but rise up in your She-who-the Son-sets-free-is-free indeed, birthright of freedom.
May we be the ones who come close to you because of our vulnerability and not because of our false certainties; teach us to lay down our masks and pretenses. You tore down the veil between us and the Holy of holies, keep our hands from rehanging that curtain.
Give us opportunities to practice mercy and courage (this may backfire but we’re feeling bold now.)
Call us to humility, confession, and repentance even when pride feels more comfortable and superior. Teach us how to rest, how to abide, and how to light candles and be satisfied. Don’t let us get away with divorcing our prayers from our politics and policies and practices. May we love our neighbours.
May we learn to sit with you, in silence, and know it is enough to know you and be known by you and know ourselves.
Teach us to pray, God, as you have always welcomed us to pray: fully human, fully yours, fully held, and fully loved.
We will tell you the truth of our lives and of this world. And we will listen to the truth you speak to us the truth of our beloved Hess, of your justice, of your faithfulness, of love. And say let it be so, let it be in me.
Amen. (a Benediction by Sarah Bessel and printed in A Rythm of Prayer)
Hymn Blest Be the Tie that Binds #602VU
This will be last blog posted for a while. Barbara will be on holiday through the month of August. Another blog will be posted for September 7th.
This Sunday’s services will be 9:30 in Ormstown and 11:00 in Howick. Services will begin again on Sunday September 7th, once again at 9:30 in Ormstown and 11:00 in Howick.
Keep in mind that the United Church’s General Council will be meeting in August in Calgary. A new Moderator will be elected and new decisions will be made for the church’s future. You can sign up for updates through the United Church’s website, united-church.ca.
On Sunday, August 17th a fundraiser for Ukrainian families will be held from 11-4:00 at the Georgetown Presbyterian Church. Quilts, Cars, and Community will offer a quilt display inside and vintage vehicles outside. Admission will be $10. Box lunches may also be available.
No comments:
Post a Comment