Good Evening Dear Family,
Happy Sabbath Rest Day and more opportunities for self-care. Lately it seems to me that we have been trying to beat each other up emotionally and spiritually! We can't seem to drop the negativity and find common ground to walk together as God's children. Nerves are being rattled, swear words are becoming more and more frequent, labels and names are being bandied about like free range chickens without any thought or care of who they hurt . Not good family of God.! Not Good at All! We see this as commonplace as apple pie and hot dogs. I would like us to begin this next week while we are still on our social justice pilgrimage that we begin to circle the wagons and learn to be united as the Family of God. Circling the wagons will be a reminder that
#WordsMatter
#WeMustStriveToBeEmpathetic
#WalkTheWalkThatJesusWalked
#CallEachOthersBadBehaviorOut
Tonight we need to take a look at the words from St. Teresa of Calcutta's poem/ prayer "Do it Anyway" as our beginning to come together as a family circle.
Mother Teresa's Anyway Poem
People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
I would like us to remember that our prayers tonight will be centered on a similar response as we light our candles, make vigil and form a prayer circle of love.
God we Light our candles virtually and form a circle of unity and light to form a family truly who are compassionate, accepting, loving, and merciful.
God we pray this night that we may seek to love you, our family members, enemies, neighbors, and ourselves anyway even when we do not feel like it.
God we pray that we may draw together in a circle of love even when we haven't had the energy to do so. Give us the courage to do it anyway.
God we pray that we may build bridges and tear down walls and meet each other half-way and walk together as a beginning. Let us seek to walk together wherever we are on the bridge and path as long as we do it together anyway.
God we pray that we may kind to one another regardless how we feel. Gently tap us on the shoulder to do it anyway.
God we pray that we may learn what it means to be truly family members and serve and care for the least of these and do it anyway.
God we pray this night that we may be encircled with a prayer quilt of love and that we may shine our lighted candles towards each other's faces and see your love in their eyes.
God let us pray for all of our family members through out the world and draw them into this holy circle where they will feel loved, accepted, have universal human rights, dignity and be freed from terror, bigotry, abuse, and hatred. May we help our family members who are afraid to join the circle of CALM by taking their hands gently and with a comforting embrace with encouragement be drawn in and not be made to feel invisible.
God encircle our hearts, hands, spirits, lives, and each other as we shine your light to all in this fragile and broken world. Amen.
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Now, dear ones,let us do the prayer quilt meditation and prayers to feel God's warmth and presence.
Let us start with our "Be Stills"
Be still and know that I am God
Be still and know
Be still
Be
Be still and know that I am God
Be still and know
Be still
Be
Be still and know that I am God
Be still and know
Be still
Be
Now imagine each of us placing a warm prayer quilt of love around each other. We pray this prayer:
God we pray and ask you to help us to envision a warm prayer quilt of love that will give us all loving comfort by imagining being wrapped tightly by each other in loving service to you and to each other.
We :
Imagine it enfolding us with love.
Imagine it making us feel safe from harm
Imagine it giving us strength when we feel weak.
Imagine it healing us through warm thoughts and loving prayers.
Imagine it feeling like home
Imagine it enfolding us when we feel, lost, lonely alone, and invisible.
Imagine it feeling like Gods arms enfolding us with love, light, and mercy.
Imagine it feeling like Jesus' redeeming and healing graces.
Imagine it feeling like the Holy Spirit being the Holy Comforter.
Imagine it feeling like it being encircled and wrapped around each other uniting us and not dividing us.
Imagine it wrapping our family members who are ill with the warmth and healing balm.
Imagine it wrapping the world in justice, mercy and with God guiding us in the pathways of peace.
Imagine it comforting all of us who are grieving.
Imagine it wrapping our dear departed loved ones for their journey home to the Thin Places.
Imagine it enfolding the least of these who are without food, clothing, and shelter.
We imagine it being made of stitched prayers of love, joy, hope, and peace.
We imagine the prayers that are being said as we wrap each other in the prayer quilt we choose for each other.
We imagine it enfolding our family members who long to feel accepted lovingly and authentically for who they and we are.
We pray that as we imagine we may feel the presence of God our Creator, Jesus our Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit Holy Comforter. We lift up these our prayers to you O God with warm, loving, and compassionate hearts and heart homes. Amen.
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Good Night Dear Ones. I love you! May this blog enfold you with love, warmth, and welcome and that you may know and feel that God is love, You are love, and we are love. I give God thanks for you this night and always.
With love as warm and enfolding as a prayer quilt of love,
Sara
Prayers have been said with these:
Memories have been shared, tears have been shed with these the A.I.D.S. Memorial Quilts.
Prayers have been said while crocheted and knitted together while these prayer shawls have been made.
Prayers have been said stitch after stitch and while square after square were placed when these prayer quilts have been made in love for healing and the presence of God for the recipients.
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