Good Evening Dear Ones!
Happy Being Thoughtful and Thankful Thursday! Today I have ben grateful for the gift of sleep. When your body tells you that you need it, you do it. Still fighting fatigue from the residuals of the fall. I want everyone to know that we will be joining with the parish of St. Stephen's Gilroy and the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real on Saturday for their candlelight prayer vigil in memory of those who were killed and injured during the shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival. We also will be joining across the nation to yet again remember all those who have been killed in acts of gun violence. Tomorrow we will begin our time of action against racism and hatred by turning on our porch lights and renew our baptismal vows and go on a prayer walk. Tonight we pray and take Sabbath and remember Joseph of Arimathaea. So let us begin.
Tonight we meditate on the words of Audre Lorde, James A. Baldwin, and Isabel Allende! Lots of food for thought. We will use last evening's format: Read quote, Pause, Reflect, and Pray.
"When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak." ~ Audre Lorde
"Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced." ~ James A. Baldwin
"There is room in the human heart for all the divinities." ~ Isabel Allende
"There is no thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives." ~ Audre Lorde
"I can't believe what you say, because I see what you do." ~ James A. Baldwin
"In terrible moments, in moments of revolution, of war or repression, of illness or death, people react with incredible strength." ~ Isabel Allende
"Without community, there is no liberation." ~ Audre Lorde
"I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain." ~ James A. Baldwin
"Peace requires everyone to be in the circle - wholeness, inclusion." ~ Isabel Allende
"Divide and conquer must become define and empower." ~ Audre Lorde
"People who shut their eyes to reality simply invite their own destruction." ~ James A. Baldwin
"Nothing changes; we humans repeat the same sins over and over, eternally." ~ Isabel Allende
"My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you. But for every real word spoken, for every attempt I had ever made to speak those truths for which I am still seeking, I had made contact with other women while we examined the words to fit a world in which we all believed, bridging our differences." ~ Audre Lorde
"You cannot fix what you will not face." ~ James A. Baldwin
"In times of conflict, war, poverty or religious fundamentalism, women and children are the first and most numerous victims. Women need all their courage today." ~ Isabel Allende
"...and that visibility which makes us most vulnerable is that which also is the source of our greatest strength." ~ Audre Lorde
"I love America more than any other country in the world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually." ~ James A. Baldwin
"We live in an era where masses of people come and go across a hostile planet, desolate and violent. Refugees, emigrants, exiles, deportees. We are a tragic contingent." ~ Isabel Allende
"Your silence will not protect you." ~ Audre Lorde
"Please try to remember that what they believe, as well as what they do and cause you to endure does not testify to your inferiority but to their inhumanity" ~ James A. Baldwin
"Write what should not be forgotten." ~ Isabel Allende
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Come let us worship:
Christ Jesus, being found in human form, humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:8
If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 2 Corinthians 5:17, NRSV
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil:
for you are with me,
your rod and your staff are my comfort. Psalm 23:4
If we live, we live for the Lord;
and if we die, we die for the Lord.
Whether therefore we live or die,
we belong to the Lord. Romans 14:8
Blessèd be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whose great mercy
we have been born anew to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3
You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but citizens together with the saints and members of the household of God. Ephesians 2:19
Christ himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 224
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and those who are afraid are not perfected in love. We love because God first loved us. If anyone says, I love God, and hates his brother or sister, that person is a liar; for those who do not love their brothers and sisters whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. 1 John 4:18-20
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.
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.
It is time for our nightly Virtual Candlelight Prayer Vigil!
Let's light our candles and be at prayer. This night let us pray that we may put God's commandments to love God, one another, ourselves, and our enemies into action. We pray for the needs of this fragile and broken world. We pray for conservation of God's Cathedral of Life that sustains all living things. We pray that we may endeavor to be and bring the light and love to this troubled nation and world and continue to to pray and wisely consider the words of the prophet Micah:
He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
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.
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.
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.
"A new and Unsettling Force" by Luke Nephew
We’re a new unsettling force
And we are powerful a new
unsettling force And we’re here,
we’re a new unsettling force
For liberation and we’ve got nothing
to lose but our chains
And we’ve got nothing to lose but our chains
We’re a new unsettling force
And we are powerful a new
unsettling force And we’re here,
we’re a new unsettling force
For liberation and we’ve got nothing
to lose but our chains
And we’ve got nothing to lose but our chains
Psalm 16:5-11
5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
I have a goodly heritage.
you hold my lot.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
I have a goodly heritage.
7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also rests secure.
10 For you do not give me up to Sheol,
or let your faithful one see the Pit.
11 You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.
Hymn
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.
Genesis 23:3-9,17-19
3Abraham rose up from beside his dead, and said to the Hittites, 4‘I am a stranger and an alien residing among you; give me property among you for a burying-place, so that I may bury my dead out of my sight.’ 5The Hittites answered Abraham, 6‘Hear us, my lord; you are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places; none of us will withhold from you any burial ground for burying your dead.’7Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. 8He said to them, ‘If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me Ephron son of Zohar, 9so that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as a possession for a burying-place.’
17 So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, passed 18to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, in the presence of all who went in at the gate of his city. 19After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.
Judith 16:13-16
I will sing a new song to my God, *
for you are great and glorious, wonderful in strength, invincible.
Let the whole creation serve you, *
for you spoke and all things came into being.
You sent your breath and it formed them, *
no one is able to resist your voice.
Mountains and seas are stirred to their depths, *
rocks melt like wax at your presence.
But to those who fear you, *
you continue to show mercy.
No sacrifice, however fragrant, can please you, *
but whoever fears the Lord shall stand in your sight for ever.
James 1:17-18
17 Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.* 18In fulfilment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
Julian of Norwich
Christ revealed our frailty and our falling, *
our trespasses and our humiliations.
Christ also revealed his blessed power, *
his blessed wisdom and love.
He protects us as tenderly and as sweetly when we are in greatest need; *
he raises us in spirit
and turns everything to glory and joy without ending.
God is the ground and the substance, the very essence of nature;
*
God is the true father and mother of natures.
We are all bound to God by nature, *
and we are all bound to God by grace.
And this grace is for all the world, *
because it is our precious mother, Christ.
For this fair nature was prepared by Christ
for the honor and nobility of all, *
and for the joy and bliss of salvation.
Luke 23:50-56
50 Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph, who, though a member of the council, 51had not agreed to their plan and action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea, and he was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God. 52This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had ever been laid. 54It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning.* 55The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. 56Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments.
On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
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
Merciful God, whose servant Joseph of Arimathaea with reverence and godly fear prepared the body of our Lord and Savior for burial, and laid it in his own tomb: Grant to us, your faithful people, grace and courage to love and serve Jesus with sincere devotion all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
When I think of Jesus being placed in the tomb I imagine prayers being said.
This is a time when I would like us to remember those who are in the hospice and mortuary ministries as we pray this Litany of Healing from Enriching our Worship 2:
The people offer names either silently or aloud.
The Leader continues with these or similar words (any of the indicated petitions
may be omitted)
Let us offer our prayers for God’s healing, saying, “Hear and
have mercy”
Holy and Mighty, wellspring of abundant life,
Holy Immortal One, protector of the faithful,
Holy Trinity, the source of all wholeness,
Blessed Jesus, your Holy Name is medicine for healing and a
promise of eternal life,
Jesus, descendant of David, you healed all who came to you in
faith,
Jesus, child of Mary, you embraced the world with your love,
Jesus, divine physician, you sent your disciples to preach the
Gospel and heal in your name,
Jesus our true mother, you feed us the milk of your compassion,
Jesus, Son of God, you take away our sin and make us whole,
Jesus, eternal Christ, your promised Spirit renews our hearts and
minds,
Grant your grace to heal those who are sick, we pray to you,
O God,
Give courage and faith to all who are disabled through injury or
illness, we pray to you, O God,
Comfort, relieve, and heal all sick children, we pray to you, O God,
Give courage to all who await surgery, we pray to you, O God,
Support and encourage those who live with chronic illness,
we pray to you, O God,
Strengthen those who endure continual pain, and give them hope,
we pray to you, O God,
Grant the refreshment of peaceful sleep to all who suffer, we pray
to you, O God,
Befriend all who are anxious, lonely, despondent, or afraid,
we pray to you, O God,
Restore those with mental illness to clarity of mind and hopefulness
of heart, we pray to you, O God,
Give rest to the weary, and hold the dying in your loving arms,
we pray to you, O God,
Help us to prepare for death with confident expectation and hope
of Easter joy, we pray to you, O God,
Give your wisdom and compassion to health care workers, that
they may minister to the sick and dying with knowledge, skill,
and kindness, we pray to you, O God,
Uphold those who keep watch with the sick,especially those who are caregivers and hospice ministers, we pray to you,O God,
Guide those who search for the causes and cures of sickness and
disease, we pray to you, O God,
Jesus, Lamb of God,
Jesus, bearer of our sins,
Jesus, redeemer of the world,
Compassionate God: You so loved the world that you sent us
Jesus to bear our infirmities and afflictions. Through acts of healing,
he revealed you as the true source of health and salvation.
For the sake of your Christ who suffered and died for us, conquered
death, and now reigns with you in glory, hear the cry of
your people. Have mercy on us, make us whole, and bring us at
last into the fullness of your eternal life. Amen.
Silence
Minister and People
Compassionate God,
we confess our weaknesses and our need for your
strengthening touch.
We confess that some illnesses stem from our own fault,
while others are beyond our control.
We turn to you, source of life,
and ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ
for the gifts of true healing and life in you. Amen.
Minister
May the God of love visit us in our times of trial and weakness,
and raise us to newness of life, through Jesus Christ, in the
power of the Holy Spirit. Amen
The Song of SimeonNunc Dimittis
Lord now you let your servant go in peace:
your word has been fulfilled.
My own eyes have seen the salvation:
which you have prepared in the sight of every people,
a light to reveal you to the nations:
and the glory of your people Israel.
your word has been fulfilled.
My own eyes have seen the salvation:
which you have prepared in the sight of every people,
a light to reveal you to 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 shall be for ever. Amen.
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and shall be for ever. Amen.
As Christ teaches us we pray
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.
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.
now and for ever. Amen.
Psalm 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills:
but where shall I look for help?
2 My help comes from the Lord:
who has made heaven and earth.
3 The Lord will not let your foot stumble:
the one who guards you will not sleep.
4 The one who keeps watch over this people:
shall neither doze nor sleep.
5 The Lord is the one who will guard you:
the Lord at your right hand will be your defence,
6 so that the sun shall not strike you by day:
nor yet the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil:
yes it is the Lord who will keep you safe.
8 The Lord shall take care of your going out,
and your coming in:
from this time forth and for ever.
A Prayer of Thanksgiving for Caregivers
Merciful God, I thank you that since I have no strength to care
for myself, you serve me through the hands and hearts of others.
Bless these people that they may continue to serve you and please
you all their days. Amen
For Caregivers and Others in Support of the Sick
Lover of souls, we bless your Holy Name for all who are called to
mediate your grace to those who are sick or infirm. Sustain them
by your Holy Spirit, that they may bring your loving-kindness to
those in pain, fear, and confusion; that in bearing one another’s
burdens they may follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen.
or this
Compassionate God, support and strengthen all those who reach
out in love, concern, and prayer for the sick and distressed. In
their acts of compassion, may they know that they are your
instruments. In their concerns and fears may they know your
peace. In their prayer may they know your steadfast love. May
they not grow weary or faint-hearted, for your mercy’s sake.
Amen.
For Companions to Those Who Are Chronically Ill
O God, surround N. [and N.] with your compassion as
she/he/they live[s] with N. in sickness. Help N. [and N.] to accept
the limits of what she/he/they can do, that feelings of helplessness
and frustration [and anger] may be transformed into serene
acceptance and joyful hope in you. Let her/him/them remember
the grief and love of Jesus over the afflictions of his friends,
knowing that God too weeps. Bring her/him/them gladness and
strengthened love in her/his/their service; through Christ our
companion. Amen.
For Health Care Providers
Give your blessing, gracious God, to those whom you have called
to the study and practice of the arts of healing, and the prevention
of disease and pain. Give them the wisdom of your Holy Spirit,
that through their work the health of our community may be
advanced and your creation glorified; through your Son Jesus
Christ. Amen.
For Emergency Workers
God our strong deliverer: when those charged with the urgent
mediation of your healing power feel overwhelmed by the numbers
of the suffering, uphold them in their fatigue and banish their
despair. Let them see with your eyes, so they may know all their
patients as precious. Give comfort, and renew their energy and
compassion, for the sake of Jesus in whom is our life and our
hope. 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.
The Woke Prayers of St. Francis
Help us O God to be woke!
Woke as your peacemakers, change makers, heart changers, and love energy bringers!
Woke to the hatred so that we may sow seeds of love.
Woke to the injury so that we may heal the hurt and cease the harm.
Woke to the divisiveness that we may be eager to heal and unite as one neighborhood and family.
Woke to uncertainty that will lead us to be renewed in faith.
Woke to the despair of all our neighbors so that we may sow seeds of radical hope, love, hospitality, and inclusion.
Woke to the knowledge that we are God's beloved children. Help us to be woke enough to know that God has made us in God's image and we are all in God's hands
Let us be woke and sing He's Got the Whole World In His Hands!
He's got the whole world in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.
He's got my brothers and my sisters in His hands,
He's got my brothers and my sisters in His hands,
He's got my brothers and my sisters in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.
He's got the sun and the rain in His hands,
He's got the moon and the stars in His hands,
He's got the wind and the clouds in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.
He's got the rivers and the mountains in His hands,
He's got the oceans and the seas in His hands,
He's got you and he's got me in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.
He's got everybody here in His hands,
He's got everybody there in His hands,
He's got everybody everywhere in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.
Help us to be woke enough not to think of ourselves being the comforted, help us be the comforters and wounded healers.
Help not to be know it alls and be woke to understand what is plaguing our inner beings, neighbors, neighborhoods, the least of these, our family members.
God wake us up to be Woke to your agape love so that we may love everything that you have made. Wake us to be Woke to Radical Love, Hospitality, and inclusion.
Help us to know that being truly woke means being open to radical and random acts of kindness and giving. Where the giver is given and receives much by acts of giving.
Help us to be woke enough to forgive and then find ourselves being actually forgiven
God Wake us Up to Be Woke to know that death isn't the end but only the beginning of a new birth in your heavenly Kindom. Amen and let it be so!
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.
The Woke Prayers of St. Francis
Help us O God to be woke!
Woke as your peacemakers, change makers, heart changers, and love energy bringers!
Woke to the hatred so that we may sow seeds of love.
Woke to the injury so that we may heal the hurt and cease the harm.
Woke to the divisiveness that we may be eager to heal and unite as one neighborhood and family.
Woke to uncertainty that will lead us to be renewed in faith.
Woke to the despair of all our neighbors so that we may sow seeds of radical hope, love, hospitality, and inclusion.
Woke to the knowledge that we are God's beloved children. Help us to be woke enough to know that God has made us in God's image and we are all in God's hands
Let us be woke and sing He's Got the Whole World In His Hands!
He's got the whole world in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.
He's got my brothers and my sisters in His hands,
He's got my brothers and my sisters in His hands,
He's got my brothers and my sisters in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.
He's got the sun and the rain in His hands,
He's got the moon and the stars in His hands,
He's got the wind and the clouds in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.
He's got the rivers and the mountains in His hands,
He's got the oceans and the seas in His hands,
He's got you and he's got me in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.
He's got everybody here in His hands,
He's got everybody there in His hands,
He's got everybody everywhere in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands.
Help us to be woke enough not to think of ourselves being the comforted, help us be the comforters and wounded healers.
Help not to be know it alls and be woke to understand what is plaguing our inner beings, neighbors, neighborhoods, the least of these, our family members.
God wake us up to be Woke to your agape love so that we may love everything that you have made. Wake us to be Woke to Radical Love, Hospitality, and inclusion.
Help us to know that being truly woke means being open to radical and random acts of kindness and giving. Where the giver is given and receives much by acts of giving.
Help us to be woke enough to forgive and then find ourselves being actually forgiven
God Wake us Up to Be Woke to know that death isn't the end but only the beginning of a new birth in your heavenly Kindom. Amen and let it be so!
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.
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
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
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.
Prayers from Black Elk
EARTH PRAYER
"Grandfather, Great Spirit, once more behold me on earth
and lean to hear my feeble voice.
You lived first, and you are older than all need, older than all prayer.
All things belong to you -- the two-legged, the four-legged, the wings of the air,
and all green things that live.
"You have set the powers of the four quarters of the earth to cross each other.
You have made me cross the good road and road of difficulties,
and where they cross, the place is holy.
Day in, day out, forevermore, you are the life of things."
Hey! Lean to hear my feeble voice.
At the center of the sacred hoop
You have said that I should make the tree to bloom.
With tears running, O Great Spirit, my Grandfather,
With running eyes I must say
The tree has never bloomed
Here I stand, and the tree is withered.
Again, I recall the great vision you gave me.
It may be that some little root of the sacred tree still lives.
Nourish it then
That it may leaf
And bloom
And fill with singing birds!
Hear me, that the people may once again
Find the good road
And the shielding tree.
THE SUNSET
Then I was standing on the highest mountain of them all, and round about beneath me was the whole hoop of the world. And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being.
And I say the sacred hoop of my people was one of the many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all the children of one mother and one father. And I saw that it was holy...
But anywhere is the center of the world.
Let us all come together in love and harmony with our deeds and service to God from our place of CALM (Compassion, Acceptance, Love, and Mercy).
God’s Blessing be with you,
Christ’s peace be with you,
the Spirit’s outpouring be with you,
now and always. Amen.
(source: Celtic)
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more
than we can ask or imagine: Glory to God from generation to
generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever.
Amen. Ephesians 3:20,21
beside us to guard,
before us to lead,
behind us to protect,
beneath us to support,
above us to bless.
+++++
Good Night Beloved Ones! I wanted everyone to know that I have been relatively pain free today. I love you and give thanks to God for you and your prayers. Have a blessed and restful night!
Love and blessings,
Sara
Resources
Book of Common Prayer
Enriching our Worship 1 and 2
In Lak 'Ech- Luis Valdez
Satucket for Lectionary and Psalm Texts
New Zealand Prayer Book
Walk With Me On Our Journey
A to Z Quotes
Metis Aboriginal Ministries: Smudging Prayer
Who is the Patron Saint of Undertakers?
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