Tuesday Prayers...

...ah Holy One,
we lift up our hearts to You,
we curl into the crook of your Embrace,
we sigh.
we Sigh.
You sigh with us....knowing what we cannot articulate.
Hope...the word of Advent One...
one can always hope, yes? without belief? 
for You are our hope.
help us to hear your Summons.
help us to Hope that you are calling...
ah, Holy One...
we ache,
we agonize over this world...
of missing children, of abused spouses, of hungry, forlorn, homeless people...
we hurt...
for those terrorized, forgotten, alone, in despair...
we wonder...
how on earth, let alone heaven,
can your Love break through all of this?

we can only hope, and pray without believing, without words,
that Love will indeed find a way.

ah, Holy One,
we rest our troubled hearts
in the crook of your embrace.
Amen.

Sunday Prayer: Advent 1A, Sixteen Days of Prayer to End Domestic Violence

(Monsoon sunset: photo by mompriest)

May we walk in the light of God

Who calls people of all nations

To turn their swords into plowshares

To turn their anger into gentleness

To waken to a new way of living

May we walk in the light of God

Who calls people of every house

To turn their anger into gentleness

To take closed fists and open them

Open hands of grace and peace

Awakening to a new way of loving

Guide our human love of sport

Especially football, statistically

Associated with inebriated violence

in homes, sport turned to fists

Fists turned to faces, women, broken

May our choices keep all safe

Pray for those who suffer from

All forms of violence and abuse

Pray for the power of God to

Prevail at an unexpected hour

To rise, the arbitrator of grace

Awakening new life, new hope

May we walk in the light of God

And create a world where women

Are not beaten, girls not abused

Men who waken to the love of God

Immanuel, God with us

Immanuel, God love us

May we walk in the light of God.

Crossposted on RevGalBlogPals and SeekingAuthenticVoice.
More on Sixteen Days of Prayer to End Domestic Violence HERE

This prayer was originally written for and is published here

Blessing Our Cities--Transformation

Psalm 103:2-6 Bless the Lord...and forget none of God's benefits...

We bless the God who blesses our cities. And because of God's never-failing love, we bless the people of our cities. May memories be clear about all God has done.

...who forgives all your sins

Thank you, God, for forgiveness. Set us free from the effects of wrongs done long ago.

...who heals all your diseases

You, O Lord, are the Healer. Restore bodies, minds and spirits.

...who redeems your life from the pit.

Liberate us, O God, from all that restrains us from being free indeed. Release us, and those around us, from the darkness of despair and the fear of death.

...and crowns you with love and compassion.

God, help us to show your love in everyday acts of love and kindness. May our cities become know for compassion and friendship.

...who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's...

God, you are good and the giver of all good things. Thank you. May we fly into our destiny like eagles, unafraid because we know you are with us.

The LORD works righteous and justice for all the oppressed.

God of justice and mercy, rise again and again with pure and righteous power to defeat every evil. We long for the day when true and lasting justice is established in the earth. May we, your sons and daughters, walk justly in the places you have called us. Amen

Happy Thanks Giving Day!

We are people who must sing you,
for the sake of our very lives.
You are a God who must be sung by us,
for the sake of your majesty and honor.
And so we thank you,
for lyrics that push us past our reasons,
for melodies that break open our givens,
for cadences that locate us home,
beyond all our safe places,
for tones and tunes that open our lives beyond control
and our futures beyond despair.
We thank you for the good company
of artists, poets, musicians, cantors, and instruments
that sing for us and with us, toward you.
We are witnesses to your mercy and splendor;
We will not keep silent. . . ever again. Amen.

~~Walter Brueggemann

Brueggemann, Walter. Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003. 133.

Wednesday Prayer: Stir Up

Collect for Third Sunday of Advent

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come
among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins,
let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver
us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and
the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer, 211)

***

Lord, WE need to be stirred up.

Stir our hearts and minds and thoughts.

Stir our feelings and prejudices.

Stir our convictions.

Stir our faith.

Stir us,

and we will shift and change

and form new creations in You.

a prayer for Tuesday...

I love this prayer.
It's from a compilation entitled "Prayers for a Thousand Years" edited by Elizabeth Roberts & Elias Amidon.  (If you haven't noticed yet, I have a particular penchant for prayer books...it's a sort of an addiction, but hey, it could be worse. Now, on to the prayer....)

The world is fast losing its soul
but you don't have to surrender yours.
You don't have to live on a mechanical globe.
You don't have to tame your deep-forest passions.
You don't have to suppress your radiant beauty.

Live your joy,
Go against the grain.
Don't be made timid by worried rejection.
Let nature's curious wisdom fill you.
Let the world's mystical heritage guide you.
Paint your canvases,
play your tunes.

Give your all to the words that are born from you.
Your father and your father's heaven
will never abandon you
but always love
the scintilla of your spirit.
                  Thomas Moore, author, New Hampshire

What is the scintilla of YOUR spirit?

Peace and love to you today...

Sunday Prayer: Christ the King Sunday!

On this day we pray, to the God of many names
A righteous branch through whom we grow, roots to trees, in faith
A Shepherd who calls, leads, pushes, finds us -
The Lord God of Israel, who names us –
made in Your image!
God, prophet of the Most High.
God, Lord of Hosts!
God of Jacob!
God, invisible God,
Head of the body,
Christ the King,
The Church,
The beginning.
The firstborn from the dead.
God, of many names, to you we pray.

We will not fear,
God!
Our refuge and our strength,
we are never lost.
Jesus!
Who, arms stretched wide
abandoned all illusions
of security, the cross.

Mother God, Father God,
Brother, sister, friend,
Savior, Merciful One
Holy One,
God of many names.

God
Our helper.
Bless us, all –
With mercy
Love and grace.
Fill us, all –
With mercy
Love and grace.
Prepare us,
Startle us
You.
God.
Jesus.
Amen.

Crossposted on RevGalBlogPals and SeekingAuthenticVoice

Blessing Our Cities -- Exaltation

I'm sorry for the delay. I had to leave the house early this morning and just returned.

Proverbs 11:11 Today's New International Version

Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.

We pray that the noise of the wicked will be muffled. Their destructive words have already demolished the hopes of many. Amplify the voices of those who are living in an upright manner. Make their words of faith and wisdom become strength and honor to many others. May our cities and towns be exalted, and may God be honored. Amen

Prayer for Friendship

May you be blessed with good friends,
And learn to be a good friend to yourself,
Journeying to that place in your soul where
There is love, warmth, and feeling.
May this change you.

May it transfigure what is negative, distant,
Or cold within your heart.

May you be brought into real passion, kindness,
And belonging.

May you treasure your friends.
May you be good to them, be there for them
And receive all the challenges, truth and light you need.

May you never be isolated but know the embrace
Of your anam cara.

~~John O' Donohue

O'Donohue, John. To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings. NY: Doubleday, 2008. 43.

prayer

Father, Mother, God,
Thank you for your presence
during the hard and mean days.
For then we have you to lean upon.
Thank you for your presence
during the bright and sunny days,
for then we can share that which we have
with those who have less.
And thank you for your presence
during the Holy Days, for then we are able
to celebrate you and our families
and our friends.
For those who have no voice,
we ask you to speak.
For those who feel unworthy,
we ask you to pour your love out
in waterfalls of tenderness.
For those who live in pain,
we ask you to bathe them
in the river of your healing.
For those who are lonely, we ask
you to keep them company.
For those who are depressed,
we ask you to shower upon them
the light of hope.
Dear Creator, You, the borderless
sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the
world that which we need most—Peace.

prayer - maya angelou

For All Things

So, today I am especially sad and grateful for the creatures in my life.   I know that many of us are grieving for our animal companions that have recently crossed the rainbow bridge, and I know that my family will be making a hard decision soon about our 16 year old border collie, Venus.  She is one big furball of love, and I am so privileged to have her in my life....as well as the other animals that live with us. Such joy. 

And I should also say that the weather has been absolutely glorious in New England the past week.  The trees are still on fire with their colors, the walks along the river have been restful and meditative, with sightings of swans and great blue herons.  

Today, I am grateful for all things.   All things.  

For All Things
For all things bright and beatuiful,
For all things dark and mysterious and lovely,
For all things green and growing and strong,
For all things weak and stsruggling to push life up through rocky earth,
For all human faces, hearts, minds and hands
Which surround us,
And for all nonhuman minds and hearts, paws
And claws, fins and wings,
For this Life and the life of the world,
For all that you have laid before us, O God,
We lay our thankful hears before you.

-Dr. Gail A. Ricciuti, Associate Professor of Homiletics at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School,
published in "God Has No Religion: Blending Traditions for Prayer" edited by Frances Sheridan Goulart, p. 105

Sunday Prayer, Proper 28C

Blessed God, who caused all holy scripture to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life. Signs of heaven, sighs of hope.

Let us pray.
Fill us O God, with Your words and wisdom.

Blessed God, we ask your care for those who are victims of of wars and insurrections, may they not be terrified; for Nations rising against nations, let Your love, steadfast and faithful, be a great sign from heaven, may Your peace bend our will to your will, like trees in a strong wind. Signs of heaven, sighs of hope.

Let us pray.
Fill us O God, with Your words and wisdom.

Blessed God, grant your healing grace to the victims of great earthquakes, famines and plagues; let Your love, steadfast and faithful, be a great sign from heaven, may Your peace bend our will to your will, like trees in a strong wind. Signs of heaven, sighs of hope.

Let us pray.
Fill us O God, with Your words and wisdom.

Blessed God, when we are weary, help us to do what is right. Do not let us be led astray, help us to come, in Your name, praising Your goodness. Let Your love, steadfast and faithful, be a great sign from heaven, may Your peace bend our will to your will, like trees in a strong wind. Signs of heaven, sighs of hope.

Let us pray.
Fill us O God, with Your words and wisdom.

Blessed God, we thank you for all the blessings of this life. For the gift of life. For the gift of Christ, for the gift of the Holy Spirit, for your tender mercy. For Your saving love. Let Your love, steadfast and faithful, be a great sign from heaven, may Your peace bend our will to your will, like trees in a strong wind. Signs of heaven, sighs of hope.

Amen.

Crossposted on RevGalBlogPals and SeekingAuthenticVoice

Blessing Our Cities #17

Continuing blessing prayers for provision...

Psalm 36:6-11
Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
You, LORD, preserve both people and animals.
How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
Continue your love to those who know you,
your righteousness to the upright in heart.
May the foot of the proud not come against me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

We pray that your love, O Lord, will be revealed to those who desire to know you. May they find your love, your goodness, your justice, to be as constant as a great, flowing river, as forever as an immense mountain, as full as the sea. May you guard those who seek to find you from the wicked or the proud. May you preserve these ones so that they are not driven away. Amen

Thursday Prayer

Your silence is full, irresistible;
your presence is joy unspeakable.
People drifting into mind
we lift to you and pray they find
health in sickness,
life in deadness,
strength in weakness,
light in darkness.
Their loss you bear, mysteriously;
Your peace you share, eternally.

~Anglican Church of Kenya, Our Modern Services (Nairobi: Uzima Press, 2002), p15

Vocation

It strikes me today that "our various occupations" are not just the things we are paid for doing...but all the things we do in a day. The care of others. The building for a common future. The remembering of those who have sacrificed for a nation. The laundry loads completed. Therefore, one of my favorite "Episcopal printed prayers:"

For Vocation in Daily Work

Almighty God, you declare your glory
and show forth your handiwork in the heavens and in the
earth: Deliver us in our various occupations from the service
of self alone, that we may do the work you give us to do in
truth and beauty and for the common good; for the sake of
him who came among us as one who serves, your Son Jesus
Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

- the Book of Common Prayer

Receiving THIS Day

Dorothy Bass has a book entitled, "Receiving the Day", as part of the Practicing Our Faith series.   I have the book, but honestly haven't read it.  I just liked the title.   So, here is my prayer for receiving the day...any day....and I am wondering--how do you receive the day?

O Holy One...
This is the day that you have made...
I don't always feel like rejoicing and being glad in it,
but I am grateful that your mercies are new everyday,
and that whether my rejoicing is lamenting,
and that whether my gladness melts to simple breathing,
This is still the day that you have made...
And I am in it,
And I am called to LIVE it,
No matter where the journey takes me.

This is the day, the holy day that you have made.
Help me to receive it,
With hope, with wonder...
With mindfulness--oh yes, with as much mindfulness as I can muster and call forth...
Because I know,
This is the day that you have offered, to me, to us, to the world...
You have offered it with love, with forgiveness, with grace, and with Presence.
May we receive it, and honor this day,
Knowing you are in each hour, each moment, each breath.
Amen.

Sunday Prayer: All Saints' Day and Proper 27C

Loving God, who takes pleasure in all creation
We give you thanks and sing your praise
Our melody of joy, with tambourine and lyre,
May all we do exult Your glory,
Rejoice one and all!

Blessed are those
who love as God loves,
May we be the
hands and heart and voice
of Christ.

Gentle God, extend your loving care on those
Who suffer from the various losses of life;
Fear, pain, sorrow, struggle, for well being
Who yearn for relief from suffering
Who long for hope.

Blessed are those
who show God ‘s love,
neighbors, strangers,
hands and heart and voice
of Christ.

Caring God, who is near to all, call out!
Whose justice extends to those in need
Whose mercy brings hope - for
The Spirit of God abides within
When we set our hope on Christ.

Blessed are those
Who live God’s love
Saints of yesterday and today
The hands and heart and voice
Of Christ.

Merciful God, remind us to always
Do to others as we would have done
To us. Steadfast love - the work
Of Christ. Set our hope, give
Thanks. Be humble. Sing for joy.

Blessed are those
who love as God loves,
May we be the
hands and heart and voice
of Christ.

Amen.

Crossposted at RevGalBlogPals and Seeking Authentic Voice

Blessing Our Cities # 16

Back to Psalm 36 again today...

Psalm 36:6-9 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your judgments are like the great deep; you save humans and animals alike, O Lord. How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.

God,
You have made people thirsty for what animals never need. May a stream of your life-giving water flow through the community. May our churches provide an artesian well of life which showers forth spiritual light. May this fountain of light illuminate what is true and good and expose what is worthless. Amen

Thursday Prayer

and you held me and there were no words
and there was no time and you held me
and there was only wanting and
being held and being filled with wanting
and I was nothing but letting go
and being held
and there were no words and there
needed to be no words
and there was no terror only stillness
and I was wanting nothing and
it was fullness and it was like aching for God
and it was touch and warmth and
darkness and no time and no words and we flowed
and I flowed and I was not empty
and I was given up to the dark and
in the darkness I was not lost
and the wanting was like the fullness and I could
hardly hold it and I was held and
you were dark and warm and without time and
without words and you held me

~~Janet Morley

Morley, Janet. "#71." The Book of a Thousand Prayers. Ed. Angela Ashwin. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002. 41.

Wednesday Prayer

Let us join our hearts and minds together in the spirit of prayer:

O Holy One, that unites all who are estranged
and challenges all who preach division and exclusion,

We see that unity so often in the eyes of a child, who sees neither race or creed in any eyes that look back, but only whether those are smiling are crying.

Suffer the little children to come to me, Jesus once said, for such is the Kingdom of God.

Yet every one of us had the eyes of a child at one time, had that vision, had that open acceptance.

Before we put on the armor of our educations, and our social class,
before we went to school and to war,
before we went to church or mosque or synagogue, or temple,

We were somebody's child and we were loved.

So Holy One, help us to hold in our hearts ands our hands all those mother's sons and daughters who are in harm's way this day -

those who fight the wars of today and hope to lay eyes on those they love once more -

those who came home from the wars of yesterday and could not tell us what their eyes saw

those whose eyes are closed forever and whose family's eyes will be filled with tears this Veteran's Day.

On all sides, in both trenches, despite the evil that is done, despite the high ideals that are proclaimed, our faith is that all these children deserve to be called the Children of God.

We pause in silent affirmation of that faith:

Amen.

by Kathleen Rolenz at UUA Website.

Tuesday Prayer....

Dangerous Yes
Deliver us, O God, O Truth, O Love, from quiet prayer
From polite and poitically correct language,
From appropriate gesture and form
And whatever else we think we must put forth to invoke
Or to praise You.

Let us instead pray dangerously—
Wantonly, lustily, passionately.
Let us demand with ever ounce of our strength,
Let us storm the gates of heaven, let us shake up ourselves
And our plaster saints from the sleep of years.

Let us pray dangerously.
Let us throw ourselves from the top of the tower,
Let us risk a descent to the darkest region of the abyss,
Let us put our head into the lion’s mouth
And direct our feet to the entrance of the dragons’ cave.

Let us pray dangerously.
Let us not hold back a little portion,
Dealing out our lives—our precious minutes and our
Energies—like some efficient accountant.
Let us rather pray dangerously---unsafe, profligate, wasteful!

Let us ask for nothing less than the Infinite to ravage us.
Let us ask for nothing less than annihilation in the
Fires of Love.

Let us not pray in holy half-measures nor walk
The middle path
For too long,
But pray madly, foolishly.
Let us be too ecstatic,
Let us be too overwhelmed with sorrow and remorse,
Let us be undone, and dismembered…and gladly.

Left to our own devices, ah what structures of deceit
We have created;
What battlements erected, what labyrinths woven,
What traps set for ourselves, and then
Fallen into. Enough.

Let us pray dangerously—hot prayer, wet prayer, fierce prayer,
Fiery prayer, improper prayer,
Exuberant prayer, drunken and completely unrealistic prayer.

Let us say Yes, again and again and again.
And yes some more.
Let us pray dangerously,

The most dangerous prayer is Yes.  

Regina Sara Ryan, Woman Prayers: Prayers by Women Throughout History and Around the World, edited by Mary Ford-Grabowsky, p. 151-153  

In Blackwater Woods

In Blackwater Woods

Look, the trees

are turning

their own bodies

into pillars

of light,

are giving off the rich

fragrance of cinnamon

and fulfillment,

the long tapers

of cattails

are bursting and floating away over

the blue shoulders

of the ponds,

and every pond,

no matter what its

name is, is

nameless now.

Every year

everything

I have ever learned

in my lifetime

leads back to this: the fires

and the black river of loss

whose other side

is salvation,

whose meaning

none of us will ever know.

To live in this world

you must be able

to do three things:

to love what is mortal;

to hold it

against your bones knowing

your own life depends on it;

and, when the time comes to let it go,

to let it go.

~ Mary Oliver ~

(American Primative)