Good Evening Dear Family of God.
Happy Self-Care Saturday! I hope everyone is well and ready for day 3 of our Prayer Vigil and Retreat. Tonight I would like us to start out by taking a virtual candlelight labyrinth walk and center ourselves in as we prepare to make ourselves ready for the holy sanctuaries in our lives. Use your mouse and take your time and empty your minds and breathe. Following this gentle walk we will be making vigil and again walking in the footsteps of our refugee family members. We need to keep being reminded that refugees don't always come from other countries, our homeless, and hungry, and ill clad persons are urban refugees.
Prayers after the silent walk!
Dear God in the silence and your light we hear your voice calling us to love, serve,and give thanks.
In the silence and your light O God,we pray that peace will prevail upon this your fragile and broken world.
In the silence O God, help us to realize that wherever we plant our feet, take a breath, and live that is holy ground for a holy people.
In the silence and your light O God, we pray for all of our family members who are in need of healing of body, mind, and spirits.
In the silence and your light O God, , help us to be still and know that You are God.
In the silence and your light O God, , we pray for the needs of the least of these that we may come into their lives without fear but quietly, gently, and with compassion.
In the silence and your light O God, listen for you walking in your Cathedral of Life at the time of the evening breeze.
In the silence and your light O God, give us loving and joyful hearts that are enlivened and on fire for you!
In the silence and your light O God, we give thanks for all of your goodness and mercy and offer our thanks______
In the silence and your light O God we pray for the troubled areas of the world and for all refugees, captives, political prisoners, victims of human trafficking, and violence in its many forms.
In the silence and your light O God, we pray for all who are mourning the losses of loved ones or any kind of loss. We pray that they may gradually accept silence as cleansing and healing and not something to run away from.
In the silence and your light O God, help us to rely and put our trust in your love, grace, mercy, and inclusion.
In the silence and your light ,O God, help us at this time of year to tune out all the unnecessary hype and consumerism this holiday season brings. May we celebrate these holidays well and give us courage to put the true meanings of these holy and special days back into practice.
In the silence and your light O God, we add our additional prayers for ourselves and on behalf of others especially____________
In the silence and your light O God, we lift up these our prayers to your Only Son Jesus the Christ our redeemer, healer,reconciler, brother, master, and friend, Amen.
Walk With Me On Our Journey's First Anniversary of our nightly prayer vigils a look back to the very first one!
I would like to announce that Walk With Me On Our Journey will be having a series virtual candlelight vigils beginning this evening at 8:00 p.m. wherever you maybe in solidarity with all of our family members who have been displaced by war, terror, political unrest, economic hardship, famine, and environmental disasters. We will be praying for all refugees who are our family members and a return to common sense peacemaking and and end to fear and hate that drive racism and xenophobia. I ask that you join with me and pray for all humanity and human rights for all of our family members. We will pray for all areas of the Middle East and around the world who are torn by war and terror
Won't you join with me to help pray for and heal all of our hearts that are broken and those of this fragile and broken world?
Our first invitation : It's almost time for Walk With Me On Our Journey's first Virtual Candlelight Vigil to start on the East Coast. Please pray for all refugees, a return to compassion and love based living, pray for peace and an end to terror. We pray for an end of being afraid and having fear drive people to hate and disunity.
Walking in the footsteps of a refugee
A Guided Meditation and Virtual Prayer Walk
Let us imagine ourselves through the eyes of a refugee and pray along the way.
Imagine you have decided to leave the only home you and your family have ever known.
God I don't want to live in this country where my children and husband and I are having to dodge bullets and face daily fears. God help us to have courage to leave this war torn city and country and find safety.
Imagine having to carry a loaded in a backpack without any of the usual comfort items.
God I'm not ready to become homeless but in order to find a better life for my family I must Give me courage to take what I really need for my husband, children and myself.
Imagine the first day on the road by foot. How do your feet feel and what does your body feel like going long distances?
God my feet feel like they have become calloused, blistered, and in a lot of pain. Give us courage to honor our bodies, minds, and spirits when we need to as we flee our country of origin.
Imagine not having enough warmth on these cold nights out in the open.
God help us to find a suitable place of shelter for the night and that we may find warmth.
Imagine meeting up with other refugees and telling your stories and developing a new kind of family.
God we thank you that we have met many of our fellow refugee families and that we finally realize that we are all in this as one big family. God help us to find and make lasting friendships and that we may find safety together.
Imagine being in danger and seeing lawless gangs.
God help us to remain safe and secure and we pray for our enemies and those who wish to do us harm.
Imagine us having to find shelter, clothing, and food everyday on the road and there aren't any refugee camps nearby.
God help us to find shelter, clothing,food everyday. Help us to keep our eyes and ears open to finding refugee camps that are run by compassionate, accepting, loving, and merciful people.
Imagine becoming ill on the road.
God help us to find ways to cope with illness each day that we are not in familiar territory.
Imagine having a loved one die on the road.
God help us to mourn our loved ones loss on the road and that we may honor their bodies by burying them reverently in the ground. Help us to always to remember to carry white sheets for burial shrouds along the way.
Imagine you have finally reached the refugee camps and are awaiting resettlement.
God we thank you for finally reaching the camp and we pray that we may have patience to wait our turn to go through the resettlement process.
Imagine the day when you meet your sponsoring family.
God we thank you for our new family. Help us when it is our turn to welcome the stranger that we may model our lives after you Jesus and remember that you, Mary, and Joseph were refugees too.
A Prayer attributed to St. Francis
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to
be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is
in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen.
Have a blessed and restful night and wake up refreshed and renewed in the morning! I love you. May God Bless you always!
With Love, joy, hope, and peace,
Sara
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