Meditating upon our Mentors, heroes, and role models who help us to be loving and merciful practitioners of social justice.

Good Evening Dearly Loved Ones,

Happy Being  Thoughtful and Thankful Thursday! Where was I last evening? I was taking a break from blogging due to a bad headache. I'm much better now. Tonight we offer our time together in prayer and loving gratitude for each other and thanksgiving for all our mentors, heroes, and role models. We must spend this holy time in silence and being mindful of all we have been seeing and hearing in all the various forms of the media. Let us open our heart, minds, spirits, to hear what God is saying to us. 

Let us center in with a return  to listening to the music of  Taize-mix  and pray the "Be Stills"

Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.

Peace be still.
Peace be.
Peace.

Love one another 
Love one.
Love.

Unite us in a circle of unity and love.
Unite us in a circle of unity.
Unite us in a circle.
Unite us.
Unite.

Tonight let us meditate upon our mentors, heroes, and role models 

Now let us ask ourselves who are our mentors, heroes, and role models? Go deeper with God! Use that Love Energy to take you there! When you arrive be still and know that God is God, Listen with the ear of the Heart, and feel the indwelling of God within you. Don't be afraid to reach down deep within and let go and let God grab a hold of you and love you for you not somebody different. Let God in to love you! Let God in to empower you! Let God in to call you on to unexpected pathways! Let God remove all hatred, disunity, and fear so that you may walk in the light of God and that as we said in many of our times together at DOK events "The Light of Christ in Me Recognizes the Light of Christ in you!" Go deeper seek out who your mentors, heroes, and role models are you may be surprised to find out who they are! 
Are any of these on this list those people?
Pray these names and think on them and see if they are your heroes or role models.

After the names are spoken aloud our response is this :
"IF YOU SPEAK MY NAME, I WILL LIVE FOREVER."
Festo Kivengere
 Nelson Mandela 
 Malala
 Anne Frank
 Raoul Wallenberg
 Frederick Douglas, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, William Wilberforce, John Newton, Alex Haley, ROOTS 
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Oskar Schindler
Elie Wiesel. The Albanian Muslims who Saved the Jews in World War II
Johnathan Myrick Daniels 
James Chaney
Andrew Goodman
Michael Schwerner
Martin Luther King Jr.
Sacheen Littlefeather 
St. Theresa of Calcutta
Fr. Damian of Molokai
The Martyrs of Japan
The Martyrs of Memphis
The Martyrs of Uganda
The Martyrs of lynching in our country past and present
The Dakota 38
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Our Japanese family members who were sent to internment camps
Our family members who died in the Nazi Concentration camps
Our family members who practice civil disobedience and peaceful-non violent protest
John Lewis
Clara Barton
Florence Nightingale
Thich Nhat Hanh
All Transgender Martyrs who have been murdered for living authentically.
Black Elk
Chief Seattle
Florence Li Tim Oi
 The Dalai Lama
Leonard Pelletier
 Harvey Milk
 Mahatma Gandhi
Oscar Romero
 Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin
 Our indigenous family members who walked Trail of Tears
 The Righteous Gentiles
 Madame C.J. Walker
Margaret Sanger
 Gabby Giffords
Francis Perkins 
All God's children who have died and survived Gun Violence
The Charleston 9
 The Orlando 49
 The Martyrs of Stonewall
Ryan White
Matthew Shepherd 
 Malcolm X,  Mohammed Ali, Salam Al Maryati, 
 Cesar Chavez
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Katherine Lee Bates, Marie Curie, The Philadelphia 11, Barbara Harris, Katharine Jefferts Schori 
Seneca Falls Conference.
 Christine Jorgenson, Billy Tipton, Renee Richards
 Sally Ride, Billy Jean King, Sheila Kuehl, 
 Your heroes of social justice.
Triangle Shirt Factory Fire Victims.
 Dorothy Day
 Jane Addams 

Addie Mae Collins

Cynthia Wesley

Carol Roberson

Denise McNair

Indira Gandhi

Benazir Bhutto

Trevor 

Those who have spoken and speak with prophetic voices.

We name before God the names of others who are on your hearts this day________________

"IF YOU SPEAK MY NAME, I WILL LIVE FOREVER."

For those who have died today in violence of any kind

"IF YOU SPEAK MY NAME, I WILL LIVE FOREVER."
We speak the names of Terence Crutcher and Keith Lamont Scott

Now let us pray the words from St. Francis.


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.


God we thank you for this night and all that you brought into it even the rocky parts.

God we give thanks and remember before you our mentors, heroes, and role models_____________

God help us to learn how to rely upon you when we find ourselves  in the depths of despair. 

God we pray for peace and that we may be the loving agents to bring about love, harmony, justice, and peaceful unity.

God we pray for rain for all drought parched areas of the world that the Earth may be cleansed and healed.

God we pray for all refugees around the world that they may find a place of sanctuary and safety in which to live and prosper.

God we pray for our family members who are homeless, hungry, and ill clad. 

God we pray that we may find our way to you each and every day and that we may feel your loving and  abiding presence in our heart homes.

God we pray for all who are ill in body, mind, and spirit that they may be healed and comforted.

God we pray for anything that is giving us cause for pause that we may find rest this evening and into the wee small hours.

God we pray for all who are in transition to eternal life and those who have died this day remembering Phyllis Tickle that they may rest in peace and rise in glory.

God we add our prayers and thanksgivings knowing that all though they are the last on our list they are first in your heart remembering especially______________________ . 

Let us pray again the "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'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.

We lift up these our prayers to you O God. Amen.
+++++++

Good Night Dearly Loved Ones! I love you and give thanks to God for you this day and always.

Love and blessings!

Sara

A scripture bonus!

Sirach 44Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

44 Let us now praise famous men,
    and our fathers in their generations.
2 The Lord apportioned to them[a] great glory,
    his majesty from the beginning.
3 There were those who ruled in their kingdoms,
    and were men renowned for their power,
giving counsel by their understanding,
    and proclaiming prophecies;
4 leaders of the people in their deliberations
    and in understanding of learning for the people,
    wise in their words of instruction;
5 those who composed musical tunes,
    and set forth verses in writing;
6 rich men furnished with resources,
    living peaceably in their habitations—
7 all these were honored in their generations,
    and were the glory of their times.
8 There are some of them who have left a name,
    so that men declare their praise.
9 And there are some who have no memorial,
    who have perished as though they had not lived;
they have become as though they had not been born,
    and so have their children after them.
10 But these were men of mercy,
    whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten;
11 their prosperity will remain with their descendants,
    and their inheritance to their children’s children.[b]
12 Their descendants stand by the covenants;
    their children also, for their sake.
13 Their posterity will continue for ever,
    and their glory will not be blotted out.
14 Their bodies were buried in peace,
    and their name lives to all generations.
15 Peoples will declare their wisdom,
    and the congregation proclaims their praise.

Enoch

16 Enoch pleased the Lord, and was taken up;
    he was an example of repentance to all generations.

Noah

17 Noah was found perfect and righteous;

in the time of wrath he was taken in exchange;
therefore a remnant was left to the earth
    when the flood came.
18 Everlasting covenants were made with him
    that all flesh should not be blotted out by a flood.

Abraham

19 Abraham was the great father of a multitude of nations,
    and no one has been found like him in glory;
20 he kept the law of the Most High,
    and was taken into covenant with him;
he established the covenant in his flesh,
    and when he was tested he was found faithful.
21 Therefore the Lord[c] assured him by an oath
    that the nations would be blessed through his posterity;
that he would multiply him like the dust of the earth,
    and exalt his posterity like the stars,
and cause them to inherit from sea to sea
    and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Isaac and Jacob

22 To Isaac also he gave the same assurance
    for the sake of Abraham his father.

23 The blessing of all men and the covenant
    he made to rest upon the head of Jacob;
he acknowledged him with his blessings,
    and gave him his inheritance;he determined his portions,

    and distributed them among twelve tribes.