Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Community is what it's all about!

 


Good Evening Dear Ones!

Happy Take Care Tuesday! Today is actually the middle of the  week before the 4 day weekend. How many of you have a solid relationship with your community? If you aren't, we are here for you this year and always.I give thanks to God for you and your presence. We must remember that community is what it's all about.  Here is our opening for tonight that is usually paired with the Phos Hilaron but it is more apropos for tonight.


Gracious and loving God as we meet in community this evening to pray and light candles let us remember all of our family members who do not have community, family, where loving shoulders and soft places in which to fall are available. We pray for the lost, lonely, and afraid that they may be found and brought into the family of God and wrapped in a quilt of comfort. We pray for our family members who are refugees, asylum seekers, children in foster care, children who are seeking to be adopted and all who are waiting for their forever homes wherever that may be. We pray that we may practice radical hospitality and welcome all of our family members and especially the strangers who are in our midst. We pray that we may keep our eyes on all of our loved ones and pray that no one, not one will fall through the cracks. We pray that a community of CALM (Compassion, Acceptance, Love, and Mercy) may spring up around the world and especially where there is hatred, violence, terror, and division. We pray that peace, justice, and mercy may prevail upon Earth, that we may be peacemakers and called the Children of God. Amen.


Tonight's Calendar Work: 
November 24 : If you are out, wave at people you see. Don’t let distance and masks impede acknowledgement.

Celtic Advent Calendar 2020! Yes it's here From Contemplative Cottage

How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. Annie Dillard

Stay with us, Christ, for it is evening. Make your Church bright with your radiance

Let us light our tenth Candle of Celtic Advent and pray for unity among all people and that we may strive to be as one in heart, mind, and spirit. 






Worship the Lord in the beauty of his holiness; let the whole earth
tremble before him.    Psalm 96:9

Loving Jesus: Protect and sustain us with your hand. Open the door of your love that, sealed with your wisdom, we may be free to serve you with joy. Amen. (a prayer of St. Gertrude)

You Lord are all that I have; I have promised to keep your Word. I have sought your favour with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promises.Psalm 119:57, 58

Jesus said, ‘Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant will also be. My Father will honour the one who serves me.’John 12:26

Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height and look toward the east, and see your children gathered from west and east at the word of the Holy One. Baruch 5:5 


Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who abuse you. Do good and lend, expecting nothing in return; for God is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish.

Be merciful as your father is merciful. Judge not and you will not be judged. Condemn not and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.

Give and it will be given to you; for the measure you give will be the measure you receive.From Luke 6:27–38


Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation may spring up, and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also. Isaiah 45:8, NRSV 

Because in the beauty of holiness you call us to worship you, and you have given faithful artists, writers, and composers to illumine our prayer from age to age.

You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but citizens together with the saints and members of the household of God. Ephesians 2:19

Jesus said, ‘Anyone who has left brothers or sisters, father, mother, or children, land or houses for the sake of my name will be repaid many times over, and given eternal life.’Matthew 19:29

If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.John 8:31, 32

Our invocational hymn:

Be thou my vision, O Christ of my heart,
Be all else but naught to me save that thou art,
Be thou my best thought in the day and the night,
Both waking and sleeping, thy presence my light.

Riches I heed not, nor folk’s empty praise,
Be thou my inheritance now and always,
Be thou and thou only the first in my heart,
O Sovereign of heaven, my treasure thou art.


Opening Vigil and Candle Lighting




God of All Kindness, we light our candles for all of our family members around the world who do not have access to food, clothing,shelter, clean water, and medical care. We pray for all of our family members who do not have a home to return to either by natural disaster or war and terrorist acts. We pray for all the many aid agencies that are struggling to meet the needs of our family members where resources are scarce. We pray that we may rise up and help them to seek and find solutions to the scarcity of programs and unmet needs. We pray for peace in this fragile and broken world and an end to terror, hatred, bullying and abuse. We pray for each other tonight and as God to heal, help, and console us as we struggle with aspects of daily living. We pray for justice and universal human rights for all. We pray that we may follow Jesus by being CALM(Compassionate, accepting, Loving, and Merciful). May we love one another and shine the light of Christ one to another "The Light of Christ in me Recognizes the Light of Christ in you!" May we all have a restful and blessed rest this night and always.


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.

 Psalm 141:1-3,8ab Domine, clamavi 

O LORD, I call to you; come to me quickly; * hear my voice when I cry to you. Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense, * the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Set a watch before my mouth, O LORD, and guard the door of my lips; * let not my heart incline to any evil thing. My eyes are turned to you, Lord GOD; * in you I take refuge.




Tonight Let us Light our Candles and make vigil for our nation and all of us and our family members who feel invisible and are being made invisible by our government and the leadership of this country. 
"IF YOU SPEAK MY NAME, I WILL LIVE FOREVER."
We speak the names of all of our family members remembering these groups and honoring everyone in them as dearly loved Children Of God who are COGs in the Wheel of life and love. 
Our Muslim, Christian, and Jewish Brothers and Sisters
Our Brothers and Sisters of many faiths where there is misunderstanding.
Our Indigenous Brothers and Sisters
Our Brothers and Sisters who protect our environment and who are water protectors
Our Brothers and Sisters who resist and speak out against oppression and for universal human rights.
Our Latino, Latina, and Latinx Brothers and Sisters
Our Littlest Brothers and Sisters the children 
Our LGBTQIA Brothers and Sisters
Our immigrant Brothers and Sister No matter what classification.
Our Disabled Brothers and Sisters
Our Elderly Brothers and Sisters
Our Poor and Oppressed Brothers and Sisters.
Our Homeless, Hungry, and Ill-Clad Brothers and Sisters
Our Brothers and Sisters of Many Faiths and Ethniciities
Our Sisters who are in need of equal rights to health care, pay, family leave,
Our Mentally Ill and Memory Challenged Brothers and Sisters
Our Brothers and Sisters who are Veterans and who suffer many things.
Our Abused, Neglected, and Bullied Brothers and Sisters.
Our Brothers and Sisters who have been victims of hate crimes.
Our Brothers and Sisters who are artists and who work in the humanities.
Our Brothers and Sisters who have healthcare issues and have chronic illnesses.
Our Brothers and Sisters who suffer from all forms of addiction.
Our Brothers and Sisters who are in prison.
Our Brothers and Sisters who are victims of Human Trafficking.
Our Brothers and Sisters who are our enemies and who hate us.
All our Brothers and Sisters! 
What names of our Brothers and Sisters do you want to speak?_____________


Let us light our candles and walk in the light and enter silently into the Gratitude Zone and Give Thanks To God. Take time to begin a gratitude journal and write down what you are grateful for during this retreat time. 





God we come to you to acknowledge that no one is invisible and that we as your children each have a special role to play in this fragile and broken world of ours. Help us to know that as COG (Children of God) we may help serve you by serving others by making the right changes we want to see in world. Help us ourselves to be the change we want to see in the world. May we always seek to be CALM (Compassionate, Accepting, Loving, and Merciful) even when the day's news cycles rattle our nerves. May our spirits be enlivened, our steps, quickened, and that we may feel your Living Water Coursing through our veins this night and forevermore. Amen.



My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think that I am following Your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please You
does in fact please You.
And I hope that I have that desire
in all that I am doing.

And I know that if I do this,
You will lead me by the right road
although I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust You always,
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death,
I will not fear, for You are ever with me,
and will never leave me
to face my perils alone.

Thomas Merton

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.



So let's engage in "The Peace Be Stills" and then come together in a healing and loving circle and hold sacred space for each other.


Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace.

God is with us.

Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace.

God is with us.

Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace.

God is with us.

Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace.

God dwells in you

Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace.

God dwells in you.

Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace.

God dwells in you.

Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace.

God lives within  me

Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace.

God lives within  me.

An Irish Prayer


As I arise today,
may the strength of God pilot me,
the power of God uphold me,
the wisdom of God guide me.
May the eye of God look before me,
the ear of God hear me,
the word of God speak for me.
May the hand of God protect me,
the way of God lie before me,
the shield of God defend me,
the host of God save me.
May Christ shield me today.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit,
Christ when I stand,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Amen

Hymn before meditating and reading of the lessons:

God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at my end, and at my departing.


124 Nisi quia Dominus

1 If the Lord had not been on our side, *
let Israel now say;

2 If the Lord had not been on our side, *
when enemies rose up against us;

3 Then would they have swallowed us up alive *
in their fierce anger toward us;

4 Then would the waters have overwhelmed us *
and the torrent gone over us;

5 Then would the raging waters *
have gone right over us.

6 Blessed be the Lord! *
he has not given us over to be a prey for their teeth.

7 We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler; *
the snare is broken, and we have escaped.

8 Our help is in the Name of the Lord, *
the maker of heaven and earth.


125 Qui confidunt

1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, *
which cannot be moved, but stands fast for ever.

2 The hills stand about Jerusalem; *
so does the Lord stand round about his people,
from this time forth for evermore.

3 The scepter of the wicked shall not hold sway over the land allotted to the just, *
so that the just shall not put their hands to evil.

4 Show your goodness, O Lord, to those who are good *
and to those who are true of heart.

5 As for those who turn aside to crooked ways,
the Lord will lead them away with the evildoers; *
but peace be upon Israel.


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.


127 Nisi Dominus

1 Unless the Lord builds the house, *
their labor is in vain who build it.


2 Unless the Lord watches over the city, *
in vain the watchman keeps his vigil.

3 It is in vain that you rise so early and go to bed so late; *
vain, too, to eat the bread of toil,
for he gives to his beloved sleep.

4 Children are a heritage from the Lord, *
and the fruit of the womb is a gift.

5 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior *
are the children of one's youth.

6 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them! *
he shall not be put to shame
when he contends with his enemies in the gate.


Zechariah 11:4-17

Two Kinds of Shepherds

4 Thus said the Lord my God: Be a shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5Those who buy them kill them and go unpunished; and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich’; and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord. I will cause them, every one, to fall each into the hand of a neighbour, and each into the hand of the king; and they shall devastate the earth, and I will deliver no one from their hand.


7 So, on behalf of the sheep dealers, I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. I took two staffs; one I named Favour, the other I named Unity, and I tended the sheep. 8In one month I disposed of the three shepherds, for I had become impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9So I said, ‘I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die; what is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed; and let those that are left devour the flesh of one another!’ 10I took my staff Favour and broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep dealers, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord. 12I then said to them, ‘If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.’ So they weighed out as my wages thirty shekels of silver. 13Then the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it into the treasury’*—this lordly price at which I was valued by them. So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them into the treasury* in the house of the Lord. 14Then I broke my second staff Unity, annulling the family ties between Judah and Israel.


15 Then the Lord said to me: Take once more the implements of a worthless shepherd. 16For I am now raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for the perishing, or seek the wandering,* or heal the maimed, or nourish the healthy,* but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs.

17 Oh, my worthless shepherd,

   who deserts the flock!

May the sword strike his arm

   and his right eye!

Let his arm be completely withered,

   his right eye utterly blinded!


A Song of the Wilderness

Isaiah 35:1-7,10

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, *
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;

It shall blossom abundantly, *
and rejoice with joy and singing.

They shall see the glory of the Lord, *
the majesty of our God.

Strengthen the weary hands, *
and make firm the feeble knees.

Say to the anxious, “Be strong, do not fear! *
Here is your God, coming with judgment to save you.”

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, *
and the ears of the deaf be unstopped.

Then shall the lame leap like a deer, *
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.

For waters shall break forth in the wilderness *
and streams in the desert;

The burning sand shall become a pool *
and the thirsty ground, springs of water.

The ransomed of God shall return with singing, *
with everlasting joy upon their heads.

Joy and gladness shall be theirs, *
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away

1 Corinthians 3:10-23

10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. 11For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. 12Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. 14If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15If the work is burned, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.


16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?* 17If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.


18 Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,

‘He catches the wise in their craftiness’,

20and again,

‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,

   that they are futile.’

21So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, 22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all belong to you, 23and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

A Song of the Spirit

Revelation 22:12-17


“Behold, I am coming soon,” says the Lord,
“and bringing my reward with me, *
to give to everyone according to their deeds.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, *
the beginning and the end.”

Blessed are those who do God’s commandments,
that they may have the right to the tree of life, *
and may enter the city through the gates.

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to you, *
with this testimony for all the churches.

“I am the root and the offspring of David, *
I am the bright morning star.”

“Come!” say the Spirit and the Bride; *
“Come!” let each hearer reply!

Come forward, you who are thirsty, *
let those who desire take the water of life as a gift.

Luke 18:31-43

A Third Time Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

31 Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. 33 After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again.’ 34 But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar Near Jericho

35 As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth* is passing by.’ 38 Then he shouted, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ 39 Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ 40 Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, 41‘What do you want me to do for you?’ He said, ‘Lord, let me see again.’ 42 Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.’ 43 Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God. 

The Song of Mary Magnificat

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in you, O God my Savior, *
for you have looked with favor on your lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
you, the Almighty, have done great things for me,
and holy is your name.

You have mercy on those who fear you *
from generation to generation.

You have shown strength with your arm *
and scattered the proud in their conceit,

Casting down the mighty from their thrones *
and lifting up the lowly.

You have filled the hungry with good things *
and sent the rich away empty.

You have come to the help of your servant Israel, *
for you have remembered your promise of mercy,

The promise made to our forebears, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.

The following prayers are from A New Zealand Prayer Book.

The Lord’s Prayer or the alternative is said.

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.
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.

O God our shield and armor of light, whom we adore with all the angelic host: defend us from evil; watch over any who are in danger this night and give your angels charge over them; and grant that we may always rejoice in your heavenly protection and serve you bravely in the world; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

Holy Wisdom, in your loving kindness you created and restored us when we were lost: inspire us with your truth, that we may love you with our whole minds and run to you with open hearts, through Christ our Savior. Amen. (source: Alcuin of York, Mass of Wisdom)

God our rock and refuge: keep us safe in your care and strengthen us with your grace, that we may pray to you faithfully and love one another boldly, following the example of Jesus, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives for ever and ever. Amen. (source: Veronese Sacramentary)



Collects of the Day:

Living Christ,
you are risen from the dead.
Love reigns!
You are stronger than death;
raise our eyes to see you
as the new day dawns;
for the glory of your holy name.
Amen. (ANZPB)

Christ our Redeemer,
you have crushed the serpent’s head;
you have freed us from our sin;
rescue all your suffering world from evil
that attracts us still.
Hear this prayer for your name’s sake.
Amen. (ANZPB)

Almighty God,
the Redeemer of all who trust in you;
give heed to the cry of your people,
deliver us from the bondage of sin
that we may serve you in perfect freedom
and rejoice in your unfailing love;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Amen. (ANZPB)




Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP)

The Beatitudes

When Jesus[a] saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely[b] on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.


“Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”
― Teresa of Ávila
God our rock and refuge: keep us safe in your care and strengthen us with your grace, that we may pray to you faithfully and love one another boldly, following the example of Jesus, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives for ever and ever. Amen. (source: Veronese Sacramentary)


Holy Wisdom, in your loving kindness you created and restored us when we were lost: inspire us with your truth, that we may love you with our whole minds and run to you with open hearts, through Christ our Savior. Amen. (source: Alcuin of York, Mass of Wisdom)

A Collect for Peace

Most holy God, the source of all good desires, all right
judgements, and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that
peace which the world cannot give, so that our minds may be
fixed on the doing of your will, and that we, being delivered
from the fear of all enemies, may live in peace and quietness;
through the mercies of Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen. 

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.

 Prayers of Hope

Let us pray!

God of Hope, as we enter fully into the Fall and Winter Months  may we be given lenses that show us many things and where you would have us go, and what we are to become. Help us to lay down our worries and fears so that we may wait, watch, pray, and listen to you with open ears, hearts, and spirits.

God of Hope we pray for all of our family members who are in need of hope when they feel hopeless. Help us to bring hope to Your fragile and broken world.

God of Hope we pray for all our family members who are forced to live on the streets and out of doors during the cold weather. We pray that they may find sheltered areas from the winds, cold, rain, and snow. We pray that there may be homeless shelters and warming centers that will meet their needs as we know that one shelter type doesn't fit all.

God of Hope, we pray for our littlest family members who are in children's hospitals and PICU that they may be healed and be able to enjoy the holidays with their families.

God of Hope, we pray for all those who are dying and have died today that they may feel your loving presence and give them hope as they enter the Thin Places.

God of Hope, show us how to help creatively without having to write a check.

God of Hope, we pray for peace in your fragile and broken world. May we truly be blessed as peacemakers and find ourselves as your children. 

God of Hope, we pray for all caregivers that they my find rest and respite. 

God of Hope, we thank you for the gift of rain. May we continue to have more rain to refresh, replenish, and renew your  drought parched earth.

God of Hope, help us to see You in all of our Family of Love's faces and that we may act accordingly and love, honor, and respect each other.

God of Hope, help us to love more fully, care more deeply, comfort with more compassion, and be more accepting  and inclusive of all our family members.

God of Hope help us to console and comfort all who mourn at any stage of grief. Give us courage not to let any of our family members fall through the cracks. 

God of Hope, we pray this night for all refugees, captives, political prisoners, victims of violence and abuse of any kind, victims of human trafficking and slavery. 

God of Hope, we pray for ourselves and on behalf of others remembering especially______________

God of Hope, we offer our thanksgivings remembering especially______________________

God of Hope, we offer these our prayers and thanksgivings in the name of your only begotten son Jesus. Amen.

Or these prayers!

  


Now let us take time to pray to the loving and merciful God who made us and speaks to us gently and lovingly to our hearts,minds, and spirits every minute that we live, move, and just be!

God speak to our troubled minds and spirits as we prepare for our night's rest. We pray that we may take time to rest and pray more fully and in the knowledge that you are holding us and our family members in your arms that are loving and merciful.

God  we pray for peace in our hearts, minds, bodies, spirits, and this world that you have created. We pray especially for unity where there is deep division. We pray that we may become truly peacemakers and learn what it is to make peace at all levels of our being.

God we pray for all of our family members who are ill in body, mind, and spirit that they may be healed. We remember this day_____________________

God we pray for all of our family members who have died and are transitioning into new lives in the Thin Places and Eternal Life and Joy.

God we pray for all who are struggling to find meaning and new life paths by life's wrinkly twists and turns.

God we pray for all who are being affected by severe weather remembering especially the people in the path of Matthew and all other places in our nation and throughout the world.

God we pray for all refugees, captives, victims of violence and abuse, and terror. 

God we pray that we may love, include, and never treat anyone as invisible and give everyone a sense of belonging.

God of all Goodness we lift up these our prayers in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Waiting for God

A reading from Henri Nouwen

 Most of us think of waiting as something very passive, a hopeless state determined by events totally out of our hands. The bus is late? You cannot do anything about it, so you have to sit there and just wait. It is not difficult to understand the irritation people feel when somebody says, ‘Just wait’. Words like that seem to push us into passivity. 

But there is none of this passivity in scripture. Those who are waiting are waiting very actively. They know that what they are waiting for is growing from the ground on which they are standing. That’s the secret. The secret of waiting is the faith that the seed has been planted, that something has begun. Active waiting means to be present fully to the moment, in the conviction that something is happening where you are and that you want to be present to it. A waiting person is someone who is present to the moment, who believes that this moment is the moment.

 A waiting person is a patient person. The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us. Impatient people are always expecting the real thing to happen somewhere else and therefore want to go elsewhere. The moment is empty. But patient people dare to stay where they are. Patient living means to live actively in the present and wait there. Waiting, then, is not passive. It involves nurturing the moment, as a mother nurtures the child that is growing in her. Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary were very present to the moment. That is why they could hear the angel. They were alert, attentive to the voice that spoke to them and said, ‘Don't be afraid. Something is happening to you. Pay attention.’

 But there is more. Waiting is open-ended Open-ended waiting is hard for us because we tend to wait for something very concrete, for something that we wish to have. Much of our waiting is filled with wishes: ‘I wish that I would have a job. I wish that the weather would be better. I wish that the pain would go.’ We are full of wishes, and our waiting easily gets entangled in those wishes. For this reason, a lot of our waiting is not open-ended. Instead, our waiting is a way of controlling the future. We want the future to go in a very specific direction, and if this does not happen we are disappointed and can even slip into despair. That is why we have such a hard time waiting: we want to do the things that will make the desired events take place. Here we can see how wishes tend to be connected with fears. 

But Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary were not filled with wishes. They were filled with hope. Hope is something very different. Hope is trusting that something will be fulfilled, but fulfilled according to the promises and not just according to our wishes. Therefore, hope is always open-ended. 

I have found it very important in my own life to let go of my wishes and start hoping. It was only when I was willing to let go of wishes that something really new, something beyond my own expectations could happen to me. Just imagine what Mary was actually saying in the words, ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord... let what you have said be done to me’ (Luke 1:38). She was saying, ‘I don’t know what this all means, but I trust that good things will happen.’ She trusted so deeply that her waiting was open to all possibilities. And she did not want to control them. She believed that when she listened carefully, she could trust what was going to happen. 

To wait open-endedly is an enormously radical attitude toward life. So is to trust that something will happen to us that is far beyond our own imaginings. So, too, is giving up control over our future and letting God define our life, trusting that God moulds us according to God's love and not according to our fear. The spiritual life is a life in which we wait, actively present to the moment, trusting that new things will happen to us, new things that are far beyond our own imagination, fantasy, or prediction. That, indeed, is a very radical stance toward life in a world preoccupied with control.

 Watch for the Light : 
Readings for Advent and Christmas. – Farmington, PA : The Plough Publishing House, 2001. – (from the reading for 28 November)


A reading from Oscar Romero.

 God comes, and his ways are near to us. God saves in history. Each person’s life, each one’s history, is the meeting place to which God comes. How satisfying to know one need not go to the desert to meet him, need not go to some particular spot in the world. God is in your own heart. * * * 

Who will put a prophet’s eloquence into my words to shake from their inertia all those who kneel before the riches of the earth – who would like gold, money, lands, power, political life to be their everlasting gods? All that is going to end. There will remain only the satisfaction of having been, in regard to money or political life, a person faithful to God’s will. One must learn to manage the relative and transitory things of earth according to his will, not make them absolutes. There is only one absolute: he who awaits us in the heaven that will not pass away. Oscar Romero, 10 December, 1978 
+++++

Let us be at prayer:

Gracious and loving Father and Mother God and  Creator  of the Universe and the nurturing parent of us all may we take this time to be present with you and quiet our hearts and minds as we take time in this oasis of prayer.

God we have been given many prayer requests from our family members and we pray for ourselves as well.  May we boldly ask and graciously have time to be in conversation with you as we pray for:

Your children of all ages who are ill and suffering .We remember especially babies who are ill and their parents who stay with them. 

We pray for all our family members and their children who are waiting patiently with them when they are hospitalized.

We pray for all those who are suffering addictions of any kind may they find the courage to become sober and go into the proper rehab facility for treatment.

We pray for all of us who have cancer and that when we have bad weeks we may lay low and rest and when we have good weeks we may have energy to work, play, and do tasks and at the same time honor what you and our bodies are telling us.

We pray for all who are in transition and looking for work may they find patience to wait and may they find the employment they are seeking.

We pray for all who are going or are on pilgrimage to the many sacred places in this world. May they travel safe and feel your presence with them in every step.

We pray for all who travel and may they be safe and secure and that your presence will surround them as they go.

We pray for all who are dying and who have died remembering also our family pets.

We pray for all those who have gone missing and are featured in Amber Alerts, We especially remember all victims of human trafficking and the Missing Girls in Nigeria #BringBackOurGirls.

We pray for peace and justice in the world. We pray for an end to all the violence, oppression, injustices, and that dignity, respect, equality, and acceptance will roll down like justice. We pray that we may continue to Do Justly, Love mercy, and Walk Humbly with our God.

We pray for rain in the drought parched areas of our country and in the world.

May we take time for our personal prayers and reflection and put on the timer for what ever time you choose.
Please add prayers, thanksgivings, remembrances, and any kind of things that you are celebrating.

Please add:
Those with mental illnesses 
Alzheimer's and dementia patients and their family members and caregivers.
Caregivers
Those who are ill and those who are trying to work while ill.
For our medical professionals.
For our troops and law enforcement personnel.
EMTS and Firemen
For people seeking employment and new life paths
Clergy, religious leaders of all faith communities and the people they serve and pastorally care for. We pray especially those who are discerning vocations to ministry and for courage to accept and follow God's Call to wherever it leads.
To be good stewards of our environment and natural resources. May we learn to be good a conservation.

God we lift up these our prayers to you and ask in the name of your Son Jesus. Amen.


Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or
weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who
sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless
the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the
joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake
we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.

Lord, you now have set your servant free *
to go in peace as you have promised;
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, *
whom you have prepared for all the world to see:

A Light to enlighten the nations, *
and the glory of your people Israel.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake
we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.


Good Night Family of Love! Do you know why I call you Family of Love? I call you this because God is Love! So we are the Family of Love (God). May our heart, spirits, and souls join together in love, peace, hope, joy, and harmony. I love you and give thanks to God for you this night and always.

Love, blessings, hope, peace, and joy be always yours!

Sara

Resources

Satucket Lectionary Page-
Book of Common Prayer
Enriching our Worship
Quote sites for prayers
Northumbria Community
A New Zealand Prayer Book
Walk With Me On Our Journey
Contemplative Cottage 

The below is from the Northumbria Community

Celtic Advent: November 16th

This was the traditional beginning of monastic fasting and preparation for the feast of Christmas, reflecting Lent in lasting for forty days. We seek to prepare the way for the Lord to come right to the centre of our lives. Every valley and pot-hole should be filled in, every mountain and hill levelled and every obstacle removed. The mountains are the wrongs we do, and the pot-holes are the good things we fail to do.
It is said that the door to the stable where the Christ-child has been born is very low – and only those who kneel find access. Being ready for Christmas should mean that our thoughts are focused not just on letters, cards, food and drink, and presents, but on repentance, humility and interior ‘house-cleaning’. The more we prepare in this way, the less we will be overwhelmed by the commercialisation of Christmas.
Prepare a way for the Lord!

Show me, Lord Jesus, how I may best prepare to celebrate Your birth into this world. Show me those things I need to repent of, that I may find Your forgiveness. Show me how to avoid the greed and selfishness of this season and focus on what is truly essential. Amen


Bonus

Lord it is New Year's Eve in the Church and the clock is ticking towards yet another lectionary cycle and year set to begin. Help us not to make unnecessary resolutions like we do in Lent but help us to begin yet again that wondrous journey when you became God Incarnate ,Man Divine.

We pray that the end of this Church year may bring reflection and a recommitment to the promises we made at baptism.

We pray for the strength and courage to do better in our lives and in the church.

We pray for all ministers and the people whom they shepherd.

We pray for peace. Help us to remember that peace in the world starts in our hearts with love for you and  our family members.

We pray for all those who will travel this week to be with family, friends, and neighbors to celebrate Thanksgiving.

We pray that everyone will dial down the hype and focus on you.

We pray for the lost, lonely, hungry, and the homeless.

We pray for all those who minster to those in cyberspace and online.

We pray for the courage and strength to practice good wellness habits.

Help us to be good stewards of our bodies, minds, and spirits.

Help us today to see the face of  Christ in everyone we meet and hold the Christ light for them.

Help us to have an attitude of Gratitude by showing it in both words and deeds.

Help us to remember to pray for___________________________.

Help us to give thanks for________________________________.

Help us we pray for all those who we haven't seen for awhile, help us to reach out to them.

Help us we pray this day that we may to remember that you are the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords and that we walk with you on your journey everyday as you walk with us.

Loving God we lift up these petitions to you and give you thanks that you are already at work responding to them in your time. Help us to wait patiently on you  and know that you are our Guardian, Guide, and stay this day and for evermore. Amen.


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