Speaking the truth about ourselves as a way of living out our lives authentically and spreading the Good News!

Dear Family of Love,

Many of you may have seen the latest life event I posted on Facebook today and maybe you haven't. I have officially come out as a lesbian! There! I have said it! Not at all like Ellen, but a long process that has been sped up due to Orlando and Pride Month. I wasn't sure when this was going to happen but I knew that it had to be soon because when you post lots of rainbow colored items on your Facebook and Twitter TLs it is almost like hinting around at something. I don't want to hint around and hide something. Orlando has affected us in so many ways as people and people of faith. For years I have been skirting around who I am to me not just who I am to you in the world. I have had conversations with God for a number of years and wondered where this oddball servant of his fits in the grand scheme of things? God has called me here to you at such a time as this to encourage you and to encourage me that we all must live authentically. Do I feel sinful? That's a good question? Yes, I do and please let me explain. I'm a sinner and Jesus died for me and for my sins once and for all not because of who or what I am but for the things that I have done and left undone. I was reminded more clearly that it was and is okay to be who I am when I attended my friend Jean "The Purple" Lady's funeral on Saturday.  In the final blessing in the BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER the words are clear 

Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your
servant N. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of
your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your
own redeeming. Receive him into the arms of your mercy,
into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the
glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

If those words don't give you comfort nothing will. So dear ones I can freely write authentically without having to dance around who I am and why I talk about more topics than others. Speaking the truth about ourselves is a way of living out our lives and spreading the Good News. God is using us all no matter who we are. We all matter no matter what. What is the Good News we are called to spread ? That God is Love and it is all about living a loving life with compassion, acceptance, love, and mercy. By caring for the least of these and that means everyone. You, me, each other, our enemies, haters, and everyone in between. We cannot choose which family member of God that we are to love, respect, and care for. Our baptismal vows are pretty clear about this.  So dear ones we are all encouraged to be ourselves with courage and without fear. Fear and hatred cannot win as long as we are strong, loving, and resolute to speak our truth openly. Hiding out doesn't work because that goes against our shining the light of God into a fragile and broken world. 

Let us continue to our nightly prayer vigil where we will light up the world with God's light.


Tonight we light our candles and pray for an end to hatred an fear that keep us from being reconciled to each other and ourselves.  We light these candles for all of our family members who live in fear because they are afraid to be who they are. We pray and light candles for reconciliation between all family members who have sought to be divided and not united. We pray and light our candles in memory of all indigenous peoples of the world and that we may respect their history, their persons, and their gifts to the world. We pray and light our candles this night so that we may light up the world with God's light as a message of Love, Peace, Hope, and Joy to all who have been affected by hatred, bigotry, racism, phobias, discrimination, violence, abuse, and terror. We pray that we may shine the light of God by authentically showing to others our true selves that God has made in God's image and likeness. We light our candles and celebrate each other's diversity and the gifts we bring to this beautiful world that God created. We lift up our prayers each day for the Orlando 49 and all who have been victimized by terror. We pray for_____________________. The Light of Christ in Me, Recognizes the light of Christ in you!

 And finally we close with:

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.

Tonight we are going to use the phrase "Be Still and Know... " in a few different ways to help us journey to the center of our inner being as we journey to our heart homes.

Be Still and  Know that I am God
Be Still and know.
Be Still
Be

Be Still and know that I am God's Child
Be Still and know that I am God's
Be Still and know
Be Still
Be

Be Still and Know that I am God's Neighbor
Be Still and Know
Be Still 
Be

Be Still and know that my neighbor loves me
Be Still and know that my neighbor loves
Be Still and know
Be

Be still and know that I am a member of the Family of God
Be still and know that I am a member of the Family
Be still and know that I am a member
Be still and know that I am
Be still and know 
Be still
Be

Be still and know that I love God, My Neighbor, Myself
Be still and know that I love Myself
Be still and know that I love My Neighbor
Be still and know that I love God
Be still and know that I love
Be still and know
Be still
Be

Be still and know that we live in God's Cathedral of life
Be still and know that we live in God
Be still and know that we live
Be still and know 
Be still
Be

Now let us listen to Be thou my Vision

Be still and know that I carry the Light of Christ into the world.
Be still and know that I carry the Light of Christ
Be still and know that I carry the Light
Be still and know 
Be still
Be

Be God's child
Be Jesus' friend
Be Holy Spirit's empowered Servant
Be the Sister and Brother to everyone
Be a good Neighbor
Be a Good Friend
Be a Good Family member
Be you
Be

Be yourself whose heart beats with love energy for a fragile and broken world
Be yourself whose heart beats with compassion for a fragile and broken world.
Be yourself whose heart beats with justice for a world that is crying out for peace
Be yourself whose heart beats with mercy, love, and kindness.
Be yourself whose heart beats with CALM (Compassion, acceptance, love, and mercy)

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Here we pray for God, ourselves, our community with hearts that are open to all with love and mercy.

We pray this night to end the need to hide our true selves from the world. 

We pray this night for all of our family members who are struggling to come to terms who they are.

We pray for loving and supportive families who won't be judgmental and who will offer a soft place in which to fall. 

We pray this night for the heartbroken and those who are in need of loving care.

We pray this night for all caregivers who are being drained and need respite.

We pray this night for all who are longing for love and companionship.

We pray this night for all the least of these that we may be able to help them in anyway we can.

We pray for all of our faith communities that we may learn from them with hearts and minds open to seek common ground.

We pray this night for all who have died that they may rest in peace and rise in glory.

We pray this night especially for______________________________

We pray that we may practice good conservation in the preservation of God's Cathedral of life.

We pray that we all may find soft places to fall and that they may be places of human and physical sanctuary.

We pray, We pray, We pray and we pray some more for any tender concern that is on our hearts this night ________________

We pray these our prayers this night for all refugees, migrants, victims of human trafficking and any and all forms of violence.

God we come to you this night still with heavy hearts and we pray as we have been doing for the past week remembering our brothers and sisters who perished at Pulse in Orlando. We pray and remember  them each by name and this night and respond with "Let light perpetual shine upon them"

Amanda Alvear, 25 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"

Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Cory James Connell, 21 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"

Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"

Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Frank Hernandez, 27 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"

Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Kimberly Morris, 37 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"

Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"

Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon her"

Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Luis S. Vielma, 22 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old
"Let light perpetual shine upon him"

God we lift up these precious ones to you as a reminder that life is precious and that we know that you know us all by name and love us. We pray that we may come together in memory and in honor of all your children to affect positive change in this fragile and broken world that you have made. Amen.

We offer these our prayers in the name of Jesus. Amen.

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Good Night Dear Ones! I love you! Remember You Matter to God, You Matter to Us, You Matter to Me, I hope that you Matter to You. Tomorrow is Take Care Tuesday. Take care of yourself so that you may take care of others. I give God thanks for you this night and always. Tomorrow let's talk about sanctuaries!

With love and blessings from your Walk With Me On Our Journey Community,

Sara