Good Evening Dear Ones!
Happy Weekend! I have just returned from seeing a musical production of "Oliver Button is A Sissy".
This was a wonderful event. Tonight those of us who are LGBTQ+ and those of us who are allies are standing shoulder to shoulder with one another as we remember the Stonewall Riots. If you are unfamiliar with this please Google it. Tomorrow I will be attending my third Santa Maria Pride Celebration and tabling many social justice groups. Tonight we are in preparation for the ultimate weekend retreat for June. This weekend let us take time to be at prayer and help stop the climate of bullying, hatred and name calling. Let us journal our journey by going deep into our heart homes and find out if we have been the bully or the bullied and one who has been either on the giving or receiving end of name calling. Don't forget to do your Worry Free Sabbath Work and place them in a journal, jar, or box.
Tonight let us ponder these quotes from Malcolm Boyd, Carter Heyward, and Pauli Murray.
"Real answers need to be found in dialogue and interaction and, yes, our shared human condition. This means being open to one another instead of simply fighting to maintain a prescribed position." ~ Reverend Malcolm Boyd
"We are born in relation, we live in relation, we die in relation. There is, literally, no such human place as simply "inside myself." Nor is any person, creed, ideology, or movement entirely "outside myself."" ~ Carter Heyward
"True community is based on upon equality, mutuality, and reciprocity. It affirms the richness of individual diversity as well as the common human ties that bind us together." ~ Pauli Murray
"I believe that God prays in us and through us, whether we are praying or not (and whether we believe in God or not). So, any prayer on my part is a conscious response to what God is already doing in my life." ~ Reverend Malcolm Boyd
"Hope is a song in a weary throat." ~ Pauli Murray
"Speaking for myself, my very integrity as a human being needs to include my freedom to explore who I am both spiritually and sexually. Not just to explore - but to practice." ~ Reverend Malcolm Boyd
"By my definition, prayer is consciously hanging out with God. Being with God in a deliberate way." ~ Reverend Malcolm Boyd
"For god is nothing other than the eternally creative source of our relational power, our common strength, a god whose movement is to empower, bringing us into our own together, a god whose name in history is love." ~ Carter Heyward
"Our prayers must spring from the indigenous soil of our own personal confrontation with the Spirit of God in our lives." ~ Reverend Malcolm Boyd
"The only theology worth doing is that which inspires and transforms lives, that which empowers us to participate in creating, liberating, and blessing the world." ~ Carter Heyward
"One person plus one typewriter constitutes a movement." ~ Pauli Murray
"Love is a choice — not simply, or necessarily, a rational choice, but rather a willingness to be present to others without pretense or guide. Love is a conversion to humanity — a willingness to participate with others in the healing of a broken world and broken lives. Love is the choice to experience life as a member of the human family, a partner in the dance of life." ~ Carter Heyward
"However one might pray - in any verbal way or completely without words - is unimportant to God. What matters is the heart's intent." ~ Reverend Malcolm Boyd
"In the Spirit which draws us into honest engagement with one another, including those who may be very different from us in various ways, God calls us to wake up and learn how to love and respect one another, period." ~ Carter Heyward
"Entrenched scriptural literalism is, in my opinion, completely out of touch with reality." ~ Reverend Malcolm Boyd
"If we are to live with our feet on the ground, in touch with reality, we must help one another accept the fact that we who are christian are heirs to a body-despising, woman-fearing, sexually repressive religious tradition. If we are to continue as members of the church, we must challenge and transform it at the root. What is required is more than simply a "reformation." I am speaking of revolutionary transformation. Nothing less will do." ~ Carter Heyward
"I find Jesus my confidant and companion, brother and savior; our relationship is intimate, vulnerable, demanding yet comfortable and reassuring." ~ Reverend Malcolm Boyd
"The whole inhabited earth is sacred space in which God lives, breathes, and acts." ~ Carter Heyward
"Yet through history gays have always dominated religious life and churches." ~ Reverend Malcolm Boyd
"the very minute we think we 'have' God, God will surprise us. As we search in fire and earthquakes, God will be in the still small voice. As we listen in silent meditation, God will be shouting protests in the street. God is warning us that we had best not try to find our security in any well-defined concept or category of what is Godly - for the minute we believe we are into God, God is off again and calling us forth into some unknown place." ~ Carter Heyward
"I find in the Psalms much the same range of mood and expression as I perceive within my own life of prayer." ~ Reverend Malcolm Boyd
"Faith is the new, the mysterious, the surprising. Nobody has ever been there before." ~ Carter Heyward
"God reveals herself through our relationships not only to other people but also to other creatures and nature." ~ Carter Heyward
Come let us worship.
Tonight we light these candles in loving memory and in solidarity with all those who have lost their lives in the Stonewall Riots and up until the present day. We pray and hold vigil for all our LGBTQ+ family members and allies. We hold and make sacred space lovingly one to another.
Blessed Marsha P Johnson,
Blessed Silvia Rivera,
Blessed Witnesses of Stonewall,
Blessed Witnesses of Compton's Cafeteria,
Blessed Martyrs of the Upstairs Lounge,
Blessed Martyrs of Pulse,
Blessed Matthew Shepard,
Blessed Silvia Rivera,
Blessed Witnesses of Stonewall,
Blessed Witnesses of Compton's Cafeteria,
Blessed Martyrs of the Upstairs Lounge,
Blessed Martyrs of Pulse,
Blessed Matthew Shepard,
Because in every age you have called brave souls to proclaim righteousness for the transformation of the world, that all may welcome the coming of your holy reign.
You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but citizens together with the saints and members of the household of God. Ephesians 2:19
Joseph Barth: A Grace
We give thanks for Being;
We give thanks for being here;
We give thanks for being here together.
Let us engage in the "Peace Be Stills"
Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace.
Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace.
Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace.
From the Arusha Call to Discipleship
Loving God, we thank you for the gift of life in all its diversity and beauty. Lord Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, we praise you that you came to find the lost, to free the oppressed, to heal the sick, and to convert the self-centered. Holy Spirit, we rejoice that you breathe in the life of the world and are poured out into our hearts. As we live in the Spirit, may we also walk in the Spirit. Grant us faith and courage to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus: becoming pilgrims of justice and peace in our time. For the blessing of your people, the sustaining of the earth, and the glory of your name. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Light of the World Phos hilaron
Light of the world, in grace and beauty,
Mirror of God’s eternal face,
Transparent flame of love’s free duty,
You bring salvation to our race.
Now, as we see the lights of evening,
We raise our voice in hymns of praise;
Worthy are you of endless blessing,
Sun of our night, lamp of our days.
126 In convertendo
1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, *
then were we like those who dream.
2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, *
and our tongue with shouts of joy.
3 Then they said among the nations, *
"The Lord has done great things for them."
4 The Lord has done great things for us, *
and we are glad indeed.
5 Restore our fortunes, O Lord, *
like the watercourses of the Negev.
6 Those who sowed with tears *
will reap with songs of joy.
7 Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, *
will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves.
A Song of God’s Love
1 John 4:7-11
Beloved, let us love one another, *
for love is of God.
Whoever does not love does not know God, *
for God is Love.
In this the love of God was revealed among us, *
that God sent his only Son into the world,
so that we might live through Jesus Christ.
In this is love, not that we loved God but that God loved us *
and sent his Son that sins might be forgiven.
Beloved, since God loved us so much, *
we ought also to love one another.
For if we love one another, God abides in us, *
and God’s love will be perfected in us.
A Song of Christ’s Goodness
Anselm of Canterbury
Jesus, as a mother you gather your people to you; *
you are gentle with us as a mother with her children.
Often you weep over our sins and our pride, *
tenderly you draw us from hatred and judgment.
You comfort us in sorrow and bind up our wounds, *
in sickness you nurse us and with pure milk you feed us.
Jesus, by your dying, we are born to new life; *
by your anguish and labor we come forth in joy.
Despair turns to hope through your sweet goodness; *
through your gentleness, we find comfort in fear.
Your warmth gives life to the dead, *
your touch makes sinners righteous.
Lord Jesus, in your mercy, heal us; *
in your love and tenderness, remake us.
In your compassion, bring grace and forgiveness, *
for the beauty of heaven, may your love prepare us.
Almighty God, whose prophets taught us righteousness in the care of your poor: By the guidance of your Holy Spirit, grant that we may do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly in your sight; through Jesus Christ, our Judge and Redeemer, who lives and reigns with you and the same Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Dear God we sometimes cannot explain the unexplainable but that is when we must and need to have faith in you. As we continue to walk with you on our journey may we have faith to put our feet on your holy ground and walk with love and purpose and be your hands, feet, love, voice, arms and bodies in your world. Amen.
In Perfect Harmony a Prayer in the Key of Jesus- The Key of Jesus is love!
Help us to walk, pray, think and love in the key of Jesus.
Help us to bring hope, make peace, give joy, and show love in the key of Jesus.
Lord help us to shine the light of Christ's love to the world in the key of Jesus.
Help us to be your grace and spirit filled ministers and tender and loving caregivers in the key of Jesus.
Help us to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with you and in the key Jesus.
Help us to have compassion, be a comfort to those who are lonely, ill, hungry, and homeless in the key of Jesus.
Thank you Lord for your Son Jesus and your Cathedral of Life in which we live. Amen!
Settings of the Lord's Prayer as found in A New Zealand Prayer Book
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.
or the alternative form.
Eternal Spirit,
Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples
of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom
sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
now and for ever. Amen.
Be still and hear the whisper of God in the Wind, in the waves, and in our hearts
Be still and hear the whisper of God in the Wind,in the waves.
Be still and hear the whisper of God in the Wind.
Be still and hear the whisper of God.
Be still and hear the whisper.
Be still and hear.
Be still.
Be.
God is Love and where true love is,God himself is there!
God is Love and where true love is God himself is.
God is Love and where true love is God
God is Love and where true love is.
God is Love
++++
Let us pray and reflect upon these quotes of St. Oscar Romero and respond with these words of his:
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"Let us not tire of preaching love; it is the force that will overcome the world." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"The ones who have a voice must speak for those who are voiceless." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"A church that doesn't provoke any crises, a gospel that doesn't unsettle, a word of God that doesn't get under anyone’s skin, a word of God that doesn't touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed — what gospel is that?" ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"When the church hears the cry of the oppressed it cannot but denounce the social structures that give rise to and perpetuate the misery from which the cry arises." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"I will not tire of declaring that if we really want an effective end to violence we must remove the violence that lies at the root of all violence: structural violence, social injustice, exclusion of citizens from the management of the country, repression. All this is what constitutes the primal cause, from which the rest flows naturally." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"There are many things that can only be seen through eyes that have cried" ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We must not seek the child Jesus in the pretty figures of our Christmas cribs. We must seek him among the undernourished children who have gone to bed at night with nothing to eat, among the poor newsboys who will sleep covered with newspapers in doorways." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"Peace is the product of justice and love." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"Beautiful is the moment in which we understand that we are no more than an instrument of God; we live only as long as God wants us to live; we can only do as much as God makes us able to do; we are only as intelligent as God would have us be." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"There is no dichotomy between man and God's image. Whoever tortures a human being, whoever abuses a human being, whoever outrages a human being, abuses God's image." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"Each time we look upon the poor, on the farmworkers who harvest the coffee, the sugarcane, or the cotton... remember, there is the face of Christ." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We suffer with those who have disappeared, those who have had to flee their homes, and those who have been tortured." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"The church would betray its own love for God and its fidelity to the gospel if it stopped being . . . a defender of the rights of the poor . . . a humanizer of every legitimate struggle to achieve a more just society . . . that prepares the way for the true reign of God in history." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
""Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silence of cemeteries. Peace is not the silent result of violent repression. Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all. Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity. It is right and it is duty."" ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"If some day they take the radio station away from us, if they close down our newspaper, if they don’t let us speak, if they kill all the priests and the bishop too, and you are left, a people without priests, each one of you must be God’s microphone, each one of you must be a messenger, a prophet. The church will always exist as long as there is one baptized person. And that one baptized person who is left in the world is responsible before the world for holding aloft the banner of the Lord’s truth and of his divine justice." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"Those who surrender to the service of the poor through love of Christ, will live like the grains of wheat that dies. It only apparently dies. If it were not to die, it would remain a solitary grain. The harvest comes because of the grain that dies. We know that every effort to improve society, above all when society is so full of injustice and sin, is an effort that God blesses; that God wants; that God demands of us." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"I don’t want to be an anti, against anybody. I simply want to be the builder of a great affirmation: the affirmation of God,who loves us and who wants to save us." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"Let us be today's Christians. Let us not take fright at the boldness of today's church. With Christ's light let us illuminate even the most hideous caverns of the human person: torture, jail, plunder, want, chronic illness. The oppressed must be saved, not with a revolutionary salvation, in mere human fashion, but with the holy revolution of the Son of Man, who dies on the cross to cleanse God's image, which is soiled in today's humanity, a humanity so enslaved, so selfish, so sinful." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"Ask and it shall be given you; Seek and ye shall find; Knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh, receiveth; And he that seeketh, Findeth; and to him that knocketh It shall be opened. Aspire not to have more, but to be more." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"God is not satisfied with appearance. God wants the garment of justice. God wants his Christians dressed in love." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"Peace is not the product of terror or fear." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
We give thanks for Being;
We give thanks for being here;
We give thanks for being here together.
Let us engage in the "Peace Be Stills"
Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace.
Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace.
Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace.
From the Arusha Call to Discipleship
Loving God, we thank you for the gift of life in all its diversity and beauty. Lord Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, we praise you that you came to find the lost, to free the oppressed, to heal the sick, and to convert the self-centered. Holy Spirit, we rejoice that you breathe in the life of the world and are poured out into our hearts. As we live in the Spirit, may we also walk in the Spirit. Grant us faith and courage to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus: becoming pilgrims of justice and peace in our time. For the blessing of your people, the sustaining of the earth, and the glory of your name. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Light of the World Phos hilaron
Light of the world, in grace and beauty,
Mirror of God’s eternal face,
Transparent flame of love’s free duty,
You bring salvation to our race.
Now, as we see the lights of evening,
We raise our voice in hymns of praise;
Worthy are you of endless blessing,
Sun of our night, lamp of our days.
Psalm 134 Ecce nunc
Behold now, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, *
you that stand by night in the house of the LORD.
Lift up your hands in the holy place and bless the LORD; *
the LORD who made heaven and earth bless you out of Zion.
IN LAK’ECH
TÚ ERES MI OTRO YO.
YOU ARE MY OTHER ME.
SI TE HAGO DAÑO A TI,
IF I DO HARM TO YOU,
ME HAGO DAÑO A MI MISMO.
I DO HARM TO MYSELF.
SI TE AMO Y RESPETO,
IF I LOVE AND RESPECT YOU,
ME AMO Y RESPETO YO.
I LOVE AND RESPECT MYSELF.
LUIS VALDEZ
A Smudging Prayer
Creator,
our Father in heaven,
we come to you as your children.
We confess that we are weak and broken images of you.
We pray for the forgiveness and healing you give in Jesus Christ. May his Spirit clean our spirits, minds, hearts, and bodies.
We pray that your Holy Spirit will help us to worship in spirit and truth.
We pray in the name of Jesus, so that his Spirit will carry our prayers to you. Amen.
Creator,
our Father in heaven,
we come to you as your children.
We confess that we are weak and broken images of you.
We pray for the forgiveness and healing you give in Jesus Christ. May his Spirit clean our spirits, minds, hearts, and bodies.
We pray that your Holy Spirit will help us to worship in spirit and truth.
We pray in the name of Jesus, so that his Spirit will carry our prayers to you. Amen.
"We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from the fear, the hatred and the mistrust. We must dissent from a nation that has buried its head in the sand, waiting in vain for the needs of its poor, its elderly, and its sick to disappear and just blow away. We must dissent from a government that has left its young without jobs, education or hope. We must dissent from the poverty of vision and the absence of moral leadership. We must dissent because America can do better, because America has no choice but to do better." ~ Thurgood Marshall
"Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone's face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love?' These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will be many fruits, here in this world and the life to come." - Henri Nouwen
I am Resurrection and I am Life, says the Lord.
Whoever has faith in me shall have life,
even though he die.
And everyone who has life,
and has committed himself to me in faith,
shall not die for ever.
As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives
and that at the last he will stand upon the earth.
After my awaking, he will raise me up;
and in my body I shall see God.
I myself shall see, and my eyes behold him
who is my friend and not a stranger.
For none of us has life in himself,
and none becomes his own master when he dies.
For if we have life, we are alive in the Lord,
and if we die, we die in the Lord.
So, then, whether we live or die,
we are the Lord's possession.
Happy from now on
are those who die in the Lord!
So it is, says the Spirit,
for they rest from their labors.
We remember the words of St. Francis:
Whoever has faith in me shall have life,
even though he die.
And everyone who has life,
and has committed himself to me in faith,
shall not die for ever.
As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives
and that at the last he will stand upon the earth.
After my awaking, he will raise me up;
and in my body I shall see God.
I myself shall see, and my eyes behold him
who is my friend and not a stranger.
For none of us has life in himself,
and none becomes his own master when he dies.
For if we have life, we are alive in the Lord,
and if we die, we die in the Lord.
So, then, whether we live or die,
we are the Lord's possession.
Happy from now on
are those who die in the Lord!
So it is, says the Spirit,
for they rest from their labors.
We remember the words of St. Francis:
The Peace Prayer
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, the truth;
Where there is doubt, the faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
Grant that I 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.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, the truth;
Where there is doubt, the faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
Grant that I 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.
126 In convertendo
1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, *
then were we like those who dream.
2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, *
and our tongue with shouts of joy.
3 Then they said among the nations, *
"The Lord has done great things for them."
4 The Lord has done great things for us, *
and we are glad indeed.
5 Restore our fortunes, O Lord, *
like the watercourses of the Negev.
6 Those who sowed with tears *
will reap with songs of joy.
7 Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, *
will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves.
Isaiah 55:11–56:1
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12 For you shall go out in joy,
and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall burst into song,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial,
for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
56Thus says the Lord:
Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed.
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12 For you shall go out in joy,
and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall burst into song,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial,
for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
56Thus says the Lord:
Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed.
A Song of Ezekiel
Ezekiel 36:24-28
I will take you from among all nations; *
and gather you from all lands to bring you home.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you; *
and purify you from false gods and uncleanness.
A new heart I will give you *
and a new spirit put within you.
I will take the stone heart from your chest *
and give you a heart of flesh.
I will help you walk in my laws *
and cherish my commandments and do them.
You shall be my people, *
and I will be your God.
1 Corinthians 13:1–13
13If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast,* but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. 11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 12For now we see in a mirror, dimly,* but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
1 John 4:7-11
Beloved, let us love one another, *
for love is of God.
Whoever does not love does not know God, *
for God is Love.
In this the love of God was revealed among us, *
that God sent his only Son into the world,
so that we might live through Jesus Christ.
In this is love, not that we loved God but that God loved us *
and sent his Son that sins might be forgiven.
Beloved, since God loved us so much, *
we ought also to love one another.
For if we love one another, God abides in us, *
and God’s love will be perfected in us.
Matthew 10:40–42
40 ‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; 42and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.
Anselm of Canterbury
Jesus, as a mother you gather your people to you; *
you are gentle with us as a mother with her children.
Often you weep over our sins and our pride, *
tenderly you draw us from hatred and judgment.
You comfort us in sorrow and bind up our wounds, *
in sickness you nurse us and with pure milk you feed us.
Jesus, by your dying, we are born to new life; *
by your anguish and labor we come forth in joy.
Despair turns to hope through your sweet goodness; *
through your gentleness, we find comfort in fear.
Your warmth gives life to the dead, *
your touch makes sinners righteous.
Lord Jesus, in your mercy, heal us; *
in your love and tenderness, remake us.
In your compassion, bring grace and forgiveness, *
for the beauty of heaven, may your love prepare us.
From Enriching Our Worship 2 (Please adjust the pronouns according to your preference.)
For Survivors of Abuse and Violence
Holy One, you do not distance yourself from the pain of your
people, but in Jesus bear that pain with us and bless all who suffer
at others’ hands. Hallow our flesh and all creation; with your
cleansing love bring healing and strength to N.; and by your
justice, lift her/him up, that in the body you have given her/him,
she/he may again rejoice. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
In Times of Personal Distress
Lord Christ, you came into the world as one of us, and suffered
as we do. As we go through the trials of life, help us to realize
that you are with us at all times and in all things; that we have
no secrets from you; and that your loving grace enfolds us for
eternity. In the security of your embrace we pray. Amen.
For a Child Who Dies by Violence
Loving God, Jesus gathered your little ones in his arms and
blessed them. Have pity on those who mourn for N., an innocent
slaughtered by the violence of our fallen world. Be with us as we
struggle with the mysteries of life and death; in our pain, bring
your comfort, and in our sorrow, bring your hope and your
promise of new life, in the name of Jesus our Savior. Amen.
or this
God our deliverer, gather our horror and pity for the death of
your child N. into the compass of your wisdom and strength, that
through the night we may seek and do what is right, and when
morning comes trust ourselves to your cleansing justice and new
life; through Christ our Savior. Amen.
or this
God, do not hide your face from us in our anger and grief for the
death of N. Renew us in hope that your justice will roll down
like mighty waters and joy spring up from the broken ground in a
living stream; through Jesus our Savior. Amen.
For One Who has Killed
Holy God, we lift into the light of your justice N. [the one] who
has taken the life of your child N. Where our hearts are stone
return to us hearts of flesh; that grief may not swallow us up, but
new life find us through Jesus the crucified, with whom we are
raised by your power. Amen.
For Those Who Mourn
God of compassion and strength: keep safe the soul of your child
N., whose moment of pain and fear is past. Send your healing to
N. [and N.] and all who mourn, that their suffering may find
peace and resolution within your love, whose Spirit gives life in
Christ our Savior. Amen.
or this
Most loving God: the death of your Son has opened to us a new
and living way. Give us hope to overcome our despair; help us to
surrender N. to your keeping, and let our sorrow find comfort in
your care; through the name and presence of Jesus our Savior.
Amen.
or this
God, as Mary stood at the foot of the cross, we stand before you
with broken hearts and tearful eyes. Keep us mindful that you
know our pain, and free us to see your resurrection power
already at work in N.’s life. In your time, raise us from our grief
as you have raised N. to eternal life; through Jesus Christ our
Savior. Amen.
or this
Merciful God, you grant to children an abundant entrance into
your kingdom. In your compassion, comfort those who mourn
for N., and grant us grace to conform our lives to her/his innocence
and faith, that at length, united with her/him, we may
stand in your presence in the fullness of joy; for the sake of Jesus
Christ. Amen.
As we continue Pride Month at Walk With Me On Our Journey Let us pray this Litany from Episcopal Peace Fellowship.
We speak the names of those lost by violence__________________
We hear the stories and take action for Layleen Polanco and the many others who are denied justice
We pray!
A Litany for Transgendered Persons
Leader: We stand before this Wall of Injustice in solidarity with the 1731 people murdered for their gender since 2008, along with the many other deaths that remain unknown. We stand especially for transgender women of color, who are frequently the first targets of anti-trans violence. Will you work and pray for the end of violence against trans bodies, remembering those we have lost and listening to those who are crying out for justice?
People: We will with God’s help.
Leader: We stand before this Wall of Injustice in solidarity with the rising epidemic of transgender youth who have committed suicide. Taught to expect a lifetime of brutal discrimination, forced to endure being called by their wrong name & often betrayed by those closest to them, these young people came of age in a world that offered them no hope, no future. Will you work & pray for the creation of opportunities for trans youth and young adults, spaces that celebrate the fullness of their identities and honor their experiences?
People: We will with God’s help.
Leader: We stand before this Wall of Injustice in solidarity with all those who have encountered discrimination because of their gender identity or expression. We remember all who currently live in a network of oppressions designed to erase their experience as we denounce the systems that create barriers to the full participation of people of all genders. Will you work and pray for the end of discrimination and full participation for people of all genders in every area of life?
People: We will with God’s help.
Prayers from Reconciling Works:
Prayer for June 2, 2019
Creator God, you have made all things beautifully and in your image. As we lift up the diversity of your creation, teach us to love people of all sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Let the LGBTQIA+ community see themselves in you.
Lord in Your Mercy | Hear Our Prayer
Prayer for June 9, 2019
Loving Spirit, teach us compassion to embrace the gifts you give. In our differences, teach us to love fully and radically all of your children, as their true and whole selves. Lead us with courage to be advocates for people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions, just as you sent your advocate through the Holy Spirit.
Lord in Your Mercy | Hear Our Prayer
Prayer for June 16, 2019
Breath of Life, create a spark of light in the hearts of your workers; empower those who strive to dismantle injustice surrounding the LGBTQIA+ community, creating equity in a system of oppression. This month as we celebrate 50 years of PRIDE, renew the passion in us to continue to this holy work of welcome, inclusion, and celebration.
Lord in Your Mercy | Hear Our Prayer
Prayer for June 23, 2019
Welcoming One, walk alongside your leaders in this church, both rostered and lay people alike. As they lead your people to love as Jesus taught us to love, set their hearts on the work of social justice; to be voices for those who have no voice; to advocate for the full participation of our LGBTQIA+ siblings in the church and this world. Provide them with the courage to boldly proclaim welcome to all of your people.
Lord in Your Mercy | Hear Our Prayer
Prayer for June 30, 2019
As the 50 years of PRIDE celebrations come to a close, God we praise your name! It is in your name that we can be bold in our faith, and true to ourselves and our sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Help us celebrate long after the month of June the beauty of our diversity, treating all of your kin-dom with respect and love.
Lord in Your Mercy | Hear Our Prayer
Remembering From Where We Come: A Prayer for the LGBT Community
BY: RABBI HEATHER MILLER
This piece of liturgy was originally written for the interfaith prayer service held prior to Los Angeles Pride Parade. The prayer memorializes those who have employed the various ways individuals can and have made a difference in promoting justice for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. It can be used in interfaith services of all kinds as well as in synagogues anytime the struggles of those seeking equality are remembered.
In this piece of responsive liturgy, bolded text indicates that a section is to be read by many.
We pause now for moments of memory for those who came before us
The ones who personally stood up and were counted
and who thus made a difference for all of us today
We remember you
Whether by combating an ugly word against another
Or through the personal act of coming out
Whether by challenging the system
or by changing it from within
Whether by actively sharing your ideas with broad audiences
or by quietly affecting individuals one at a time
Whether by looking outward to help others understand us
or by looking within to help make ours a better community
Through all of these courageous actions
and so many more, every time
You brought us forward
Even under the pressures
of physical pain and torture
of economic devastation or political failure
of social estrangement or worse
You braved it all
Each of you adding in your essence
Your talented endeavors
and elegant movements
Your clever words
And dignified existence
Your dedicated heart
and focused mind
Your infectious smile
Your quirky ways
In all, your persevering spirit brought others forward behind you
And moved us all a little closer
to a world that more fully celebrates love
Your contributions are remembered.
You are remembered.
And your memory is a blessing.
++++
Help us we pray to build bridges and tear down walls. Give us strength to truly to become peacemakers and your children.
God we pray for the least of these who are homeless, hungry, without sufficient clothing and we remember especially that these are our family members who need our compassion, acceptance, love, and mercy.
God we pray for compassionate immigration reform as we remember all refugees . We pray that all families may be kept together and remember the children who were born here are beloved citizens.
We pray for freedom to practice our faiths with out fear and the need to divide and profile us by the faith(s) we practice.
We pray for an end to all forms of violence, terror, bullying and abuse both in action and in words.
We pray for peace, unity, and justice, and remember as in the baptismal covenant in the BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER as one of the questions " Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
Help us we pray that we may lay down all weaponry of hate and division and be united in heart, mind, and spirit.
We pray for seasonable weather and a respect and conservation of God's Cathedral of Life. We pray for help reducing our carbon footprints and solutions to global warming and climate change. We pray for the care of all of our animal kingdom and all endangered species. We pray for laws banning imported ivory and all wild game hunts.
We pray for all victims of hate, bullying, abuse, human trafficking, and all who have died because of their sexual orientation and gender.
We pray and give thanks this day for_________________________________
We lift up these our prayers in the name of (Place your own deity of choice here) Amen.
or these
Let us pray!Dear God we sometimes cannot explain the unexplainable but that is when we must and need to have faith in you. As we continue to walk with you on our journey may we have faith to put our feet on your holy ground and walk with love and purpose and be your hands, feet, love, voice, arms and bodies in your world. Amen.
In Perfect Harmony a Prayer in the Key of Jesus- The Key of Jesus is love!
Help us to walk, pray, think and love in the key of Jesus.
Help us to bring hope, make peace, give joy, and show love in the key of Jesus.
Lord help us to shine the light of Christ's love to the world in the key of Jesus.
Help us to be your grace and spirit filled ministers and tender and loving caregivers in the key of Jesus.
Help us to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with you and in the key Jesus.
Help us to have compassion, be a comfort to those who are lonely, ill, hungry, and homeless in the key of Jesus.
Thank you Lord for your Son Jesus and your Cathedral of Life in which we live. Amen!
Settings of the Lord's Prayer as found in A New Zealand Prayer Book
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.
or the alternative form.
Eternal Spirit,
Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples
of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom
sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
now and for ever. Amen.
Be still and hear the whisper of God in the Wind, in the waves, and in our hearts
Be still and hear the whisper of God in the Wind,in the waves.
Be still and hear the whisper of God in the Wind.
Be still and hear the whisper of God.
Be still and hear the whisper.
Be still and hear.
Be still.
Be.
God is Love and where true love is,God himself is there!
God is Love and where true love is God himself is.
God is Love and where true love is God
God is Love and where true love is.
God is Love
I LAY BEFORE YOU -Howard Thurman
The concern which I lay bare before You today is:
Whatever disaffection there is between me and those who are or have been very close to me— I would seek the root or cause of such disaffection, and with the illumination of Your mind, O God, to understand it.
I give myself to Your scrutiny that, whatever there may be in me that is responsible for what has happened, I will acknowledge.
Where I have wronged or given offense deliberately or without intention, I seek a face-to-face forgiveness.
What I can undo I am willing to try; what I cannot undo, with that I seek to make my peace.
How to do these things, what techniques to use, with what spirit— for these I need and seek Your wisdom and strength, O God.
Whatever disaffection there is between me and those who are or have been very close to me, I lay bare before You.
OUR LITTLE LIVES - Howard Thurman
Our little lives, our big problems—these we place upon Your altar!
The quietness in Your temple of silence again and again rebuffs us:
For some there is no discipline to hold them steady in the waiting,
And the minds reject the noiseless invasion of Your spirit.
For some there is no will to offer what is central in the thoughts—
The confusion is so manifest, there is no starting place to take hold.
For some the evils of the world tear down all concentrations
And scatter the focus of the high resolves.
We do not know how to do what we know to do.
We do not know how to be what we know to be.
Our little lives, our big problems—these we place upon Your altar!
Pour out upon us whatever our spirits need of shock, of life, of release
That we may find strength for these days—
Courage and hope for tomorrow.
In confidence we rest in Your sustaining grace
Which makes possible triumph in defeat, gain in loss, and love in hate.
We rejoice this day to say:
Our little lives, our big problems—these we place upon Your altar!
The quietness in Your temple of silence again and again rebuffs us:
For some there is no discipline to hold them steady in the waiting,
And the minds reject the noiseless invasion of Your spirit.
For some there is no will to offer what is central in the thoughts—
The confusion is so manifest, there is no starting place to take hold.
For some the evils of the world tear down all concentrations
And scatter the focus of the high resolves.
We do not know how to do what we know to do.
We do not know how to be what we know to be.
Our little lives, our big problems—these we place upon Your altar!
Pour out upon us whatever our spirits need of shock, of life, of release
That we may find strength for these days—
Courage and hope for tomorrow.
In confidence we rest in Your sustaining grace
Which makes possible triumph in defeat, gain in loss, and love in hate.
We rejoice this day to say:
Our little lives, our big problems—these we place upon Your altar!
The Wisdom of God
the Love of God
and the Grace of God
strengthen you
to be Christ’s hands and heart in this world,
in the name of the Holy Trinity. Amen.
(source: Celtic)
The God of peace, who brought again from the dead our
Lord Jesus Christ, the great Shepherd of the sheep, through
the blood of the eternal covenant: Make you perfect in
every good work to do his will, working in you that which is
well-pleasing in his sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be
glory for ever and ever. Amen
the Love of God
and the Grace of God
strengthen you
to be Christ’s hands and heart in this world,
in the name of the Holy Trinity. Amen.
(source: Celtic)
The God of peace, who brought again from the dead our
Lord Jesus Christ, the great Shepherd of the sheep, through
the blood of the eternal covenant: Make you perfect in
every good work to do his will, working in you that which is
well-pleasing in his sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be
glory for ever and ever. Amen
+++
Good Night All! I love you!
A few prayers before we rest.
Georgia Harkness: The Agony of God
I listen to Your agony, O God;
I who am fed,
Who never yet went hungry for a day.
I see the dead,
The children starved for lack of bread;
I see and try to pray.
I listen to Your agony, O God;
I who am warm,
Who never yet have lacked a sheltered home.
In dull alarm,
The dispossessed of hut and farm
Aimless and transient roam.
I listen to Your agony, O God;
I who am strong,
With health and love and laughter in my soul.
I see a throng
Of stunted children reared in wrong
And yearn to make them whole.
I listen to Your agony, O God;
But know full well
That not until I share their bitter cry,
Earth’s pain and hell,
Can You within my spirit dwell
To bring Your kingdom nigh.
John Haynes Holmes: The Voice of God
Your voice, O God, is calling
Its summons unto all;
As once You spoke in Zion,
So now we hear You call:
Whom shall I send to succor
My people in their need?
Whom shall I send to loosen
The bonds of shame and greed?
I hear my people crying
In cot and mine and slum;
No field or mart is silent,
No city street is dumb.
I see my people falling
In darkness and despair.
Whom shall I send to shatter
The fetters which they bear?
We heed, O God, Your summons,
And answer: Here are we!
Send us upon Your errand!
Let us Your servants be!
Our strength is dust and ashes,
Our years a passing hour;
But You can use our weakness
To magnify our power.
From ease and plenty save us,
From pride of place absolve;
Purge us of low desire,
Lift us to high resolve.
Take us and make us holy,
Teach us Your will and way;
Speak, and behold we answer!
Command, and we obey!
Services for Congregational Worship: Litanies
A LITANY OF THANKS
O God, our true life, in whom and by whom all things live, who by Your spirit commands us to seek You, and are ever ready to be found; to know You is Life, to serve You is freedom to praise You is the joy and happiness of the soul.
We praise You and give thanks for Your greatness
For seasons of bounty and of beauty, for nights of quiet sleep, for days of health, for the glory of the earth and its ministry to our need;
We bless You, O God,
For all the generations before us who, through effort and pain, have wrought so that we might be heirs of liberty and truth and peace;
We thank You, and pray that we may enter into this heritage.
For new hopes of fairer life and nobler freedoms that stir the hearts of many people today;
We praise You, O God.
For the discipline that enriches, for the burden that strengthens, for the failure that is true success, and for the sorrow that enlarges the soul;
We give You thanks, O God,
For the soul, and its powers, for strong desires to fashion ourselves after Your likeness, and all our world into new orders of beauty and right;
We rejoice and give You thanks, and to You be the honor and the glory, worlds without end.
LITANY OF LOVE
O God, the source of all being and all joy, let Your blessings be upon us, and fill us with Your love.
From all jealousy and envy, from all unkindness, from offence given or taken, from unrighteous anger and an impatient spirit, from a hard and unforgiving temper, and from evil-speaking,
O God, deliver us.
From all ambition and greed which bring want and distress to multitudes and debase the bodies and souls of many, shutting from them the fulness of life.
O God, deliver us.
From an unquiet and discontented spirit, from despondency and gloom, from doubts of Your boundless love, and from forgetfulness of the manifold goods of Life,
O God, deliver us.
Inspire in us that spirit which suffers long and is kind; which envies not; vaunted not itself, is not puffed up; which does not behave unseemly, and seeks not its own.
Grant us to be filled with the fulness of Your spirit.
Quicken in us that charity which is not easily provoked, which thinks no evil, which rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; which bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things; the charity which never fails;
That so by Your grace we may establish good will upon the earth.
O God, the Father and Mother of us all, who has breathed Your own spirit into Your children and made us to be one with each other as members of Your household: enable us to make Your house a refuge for every wounded spirit, a home for every aspiring soul.
Amid diversities of knowledge and of faith, may we be one in spirit, in affection, and in devotion to You.
Blessings, Love,and Peace!
Sara
Resources
A to Z quotes
Enriching our Worship
Book of Common Prayer
Satucket Lectionary
Prayers of Power
Metis Aboriginal Ministries
In Lak ' Ech - Luis Valde
A New Zealand Prayer Book
Other sources as noted.
Optional Closing Vigil Prayers
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
LOVE REFUGEES AS YOURSELF
When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. (Leviticus 19:33-34)
"I urge you to celebrate the extraordinary courage and contributions of refugees past and present." - Kofi Annan
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
LEAVE FOOD FOR THE POOR AND THE FOREIGNER
When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. (Leviticus 19:9-10)
"Migrants and refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity" - Pope Francis
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
GOD LOVES THE FOREIGNER RESIDING AMONG YOU
He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. (Deuteronomy 10:18-19)
"You cross a border and the policeman or the frontier policeman look at you, What are you doing here? Why are you coming? How long will you stay? Well, if I had nearly enough years, I would write a novel about being a refugee." - Elie Wiesel
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
THE SIN OF SODOM: THEY DID NOT HELP THE POOR AND NEEDY
Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. (Ezekiel 16:49)
"I've never stopped being a refugee." - Nguyen Viet Thang
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
DO NOT OPPRESS A FOREIGNER
Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt. (Exodus 23:9)
"Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists." - Franklin D. Roosevelt
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
DO NOT DEPRIVE FOREIGNERS AMONG YOU OF JUSTICE
“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty. (Malachi 3:5)
"I had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong." - George Washington
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
DO WHATEVER THE FOREIGNER ASKS OF YOU
“As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name— for they will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple, then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name. (1 Kings 8:41-44)
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." - Emma Lazarus
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
LEAVE YOUR DOOR OPEN TO THE TRAVELER
No stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always open to the traveler (Job, discussing his devotion to God) (Job 31:32)
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door." - Emma Lazarus
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
INVITE THE STRANGER IN
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ (Matthew 25:25-36)
"[Let] the poor the needy and oppressed of the Earth, and those who want Land, resort to the fertile lands of our western country, the second land of Promise, and there dwell in peace, fulfilling the first and great commandment." - George Washington
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
WE WERE ALL BAPTIZED BY ONE SPIRIT
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. (1 Corinthians 12:12-14)
"A smile is the universal welcome." - Max Eastman
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)
"Extend
your arms
in welcome
to the future.
The best
is yet to come!" - Anthony de Mello
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
HAVE MERCY ON YOUR NEIGHBOR
He asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:29-37)
Like the Good Samaritan, may we not be ashamed of touching the wounds of those who suffer, but try to heal them with concrete acts of love.
Pope Francis
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy. Amen.
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
LOVE REFUGEES AS YOURSELF
When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. (Leviticus 19:33-34)
"I urge you to celebrate the extraordinary courage and contributions of refugees past and present." - Kofi Annan
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
LEAVE FOOD FOR THE POOR AND THE FOREIGNER
When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. (Leviticus 19:9-10)
"Migrants and refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity" - Pope Francis
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
GOD LOVES THE FOREIGNER RESIDING AMONG YOU
He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. (Deuteronomy 10:18-19)
"You cross a border and the policeman or the frontier policeman look at you, What are you doing here? Why are you coming? How long will you stay? Well, if I had nearly enough years, I would write a novel about being a refugee." - Elie Wiesel
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
THE SIN OF SODOM: THEY DID NOT HELP THE POOR AND NEEDY
Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. (Ezekiel 16:49)
"I've never stopped being a refugee." - Nguyen Viet Thang
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
DO NOT OPPRESS A FOREIGNER
Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt. (Exodus 23:9)
"Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists." - Franklin D. Roosevelt
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
DO NOT DEPRIVE FOREIGNERS AMONG YOU OF JUSTICE
“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty. (Malachi 3:5)
"I had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong." - George Washington
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
DO WHATEVER THE FOREIGNER ASKS OF YOU
“As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name— for they will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple, then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name. (1 Kings 8:41-44)
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." - Emma Lazarus
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
LEAVE YOUR DOOR OPEN TO THE TRAVELER
No stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always open to the traveler (Job, discussing his devotion to God) (Job 31:32)
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door." - Emma Lazarus
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
INVITE THE STRANGER IN
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ (Matthew 25:25-36)
"[Let] the poor the needy and oppressed of the Earth, and those who want Land, resort to the fertile lands of our western country, the second land of Promise, and there dwell in peace, fulfilling the first and great commandment." - George Washington
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
WE WERE ALL BAPTIZED BY ONE SPIRIT
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. (1 Corinthians 12:12-14)
"A smile is the universal welcome." - Max Eastman
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)
"Extend
your arms
in welcome
to the future.
The best
is yet to come!" - Anthony de Mello
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy.
HAVE MERCY ON YOUR NEIGHBOR
He asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:29-37)
Like the Good Samaritan, may we not be ashamed of touching the wounds of those who suffer, but try to heal them with concrete acts of love.
Pope Francis
God help us to be faithful to this baptismal promise:
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
I will, with God's help.
God give us courage and strength to carry this out in compassion, acceptance love and mercy. Amen.
The Wisdom of God
the Love of God
and the Grace of God
strengthen us
to be Christ’s hands and heart in this world,
in the name of the Holy Trinity. Amen.
(source: Celtic)
Blessing
See that ye be at peace among yourselves, my children,
and love one another.
Follow the example of the wise and good
and God will comfort you and help you,
both in this world
and in the world which is to come.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Let us pray and reflect upon these quotes of St. Oscar Romero and respond with these words of his:
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"Let us not tire of preaching love; it is the force that will overcome the world." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"The ones who have a voice must speak for those who are voiceless." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"There is no dichotomy between man and God's image. Whoever tortures a human being, whoever abuses a human being, whoever outrages a human being, abuses God's image." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
"We are prophets of a future not our own." ~ Oscar Romero
Tonight I ask us all to take the Matthew 25 Pledge again and again until poverty at home and abroad is vanquished. Here is the pledge.
I pledge to protect and defend vulnerable people in the name of Jesus.
God, we pray this night for all who are houseless. Give us courage to find ways to help our family members in times of need and varieties of shelter to meet their needs.
I pledge to protect and defend vulnerable people in the name of Jesus.
God, we pray for all who are food insecure and that we may seek ways to collaborate with food banks, SNAP, and Meals on Wheels programs.
I pledge to protect and defend vulnerable people in the name of Jesus.
God, we pray for education and job training programs for our family members who are older and disabled.
I pledge to protect and defend vulnerable people in the name of Jesus.
God, we pray for all who have been caregivers, cancer patients where income is a problem and has led them into poverty through no fault of their own.
I pledge to protect and defend vulnerable people in the name of Jesus.
God, we pray for all who are mentally ill and cannot find food, clothing, shelter and are being banished from city streets and buildings just by being who they are.
I pledge to protect and defend vulnerable people in the name of Jesus.
God ,we pray for all who are living in domestic poverty of all kinds.
I pledge to protect and defend vulnerable people in the name of Jesus.
For whom and what shall we pray____________
We pray this day for everyone who traveled to the Hutto Detention Center, Stood up against Gun Violence,and _______________.
We continue to pray for continued activism in the areas of Criminal Justice Reform, Peace Building, and Domestic Poverty.
We lift up these our prayers in Jesus Holy Name.
I pledge to protect and defend vulnerable people in the name of Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment