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Spirit of the One and the Many,
You Who live in us and through us:
We feel so connected in this intertwining,
We feel alive in Your/our passion.
We feel heard and affirmed by Your/our love.
You Who whisper in the deepest parts of us:
Still us into a peace we dare to imagine.
Center us in You -in us- to break free.
Peace and Passion us into liberation.
Then let us soar with You,
Yet be grounded in us, in the healing of the earth,
In the Healing of each other.
Amen.
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
(Psalm 139:23-24) (NRSV)
Gracious Creator,
We are gathered here, in Your Name.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Anoint our heads with the oil of understanding;
Weave within our hearts the fabric of love;
Sew throughout our tongues the thread of reconciliation;
Write upon our spirits the story of peace.
Amen.
Holy One,
We find it hard sometimes
to discern Your living Word
among the many words of the Bible.
Gay or straight,
we all struggle daily to be faithful.
Help us all to sort out our understandings and our doubts.
Amen.
Gracious and ever present Spirit,
Draw me near to You this day.
Calm my disquieted heart.
Soothe my anxious mind.
Free my bound up soul.
Guide me into paths of healing and wholeness.
Merciful God,
Whenever there is fear in my life,
Draw me into Your circle of grace.
Whenever there is sadness in my life,
Draw me into Your circle of grace.
Whenever there is depression in my life,
Draw me into Your circle of grace.
Joyful God,
Whenever there is hope in my life,
May it be sustained through the nurturing of Your grace.
Whenever there is community in my life,
May it be sustained through the nurturing of Your grace.
Whenever there is love in my life,
May it be sustained through the nurturing of Your grace.
Daring God,
Help me to discern more fully
That I deserve Your love and attention
As does every creature in your realm.
Draw near to me this day and grant me my petitions.
Amen.
O God, who made us and loves us as well,
Give us new visions to live and to tell;
Visions of people - all different, yet one;
One people together, and excluding none.
Cleanse all Your people from lies and from hate;
Women and men, young and old, gay and straight,
Break down the barriers that keep us apart;
Reclaim us by grace and renew each one's heart.
So shall we serve You, O God of us all.
You love each one and each one do You call;
Call us to witness to those who will hear
That all are Your children; You hold each one dear.
(Tune: Traditional Irish Melody: "Be Thou My Vision")
From (Genesis 1:26)
God of all creation,
What incredible love and trust You showed for us-
Making us in Your own image
And giving us the awesome responsibility
Of taking care of all You created!
Forgive us, Lord, for not doing a good job
Of looking out for each other,
Or taking care of Your natural world.
Forgive me, particularly,
for not being there for a brother or sister
Who feels alienated
By the church family because of sexual orientation.
Enable us, with the God-spirit in each of us,
To reach out in love to these
And to any other member experiencing alienation for any reason.
Empower us to be reconcilers, peacemakers, and good stewards
Of all the gifts with which You have blessed us.
In the name of our Lord,
Who loves each one of us unconditionally, I pray.
Amen.
Spirit:
We never expected -
We were unprepared -
We did not even imagine -
Had we known,
We would have been frightened.
Had we tried to prepare,
We would have failed.
Our imagination was too limited.
But You led us
Stumbling, eyes blinking, into --
This indeed is a new path,
One never entered
In all the history of the universe.
The stars and the animals and the
Trees smile down on us,
And we smile back.
Thank you, Spirit,
For the new creation
Which resides deep within our bones,
Tingles in our flesh,
And makes our world
New again.
Amen.
We give thanks, Almighty God,
that You have given us a new identity and a new community
in Jesus Christ
which undergirds us in our differences and
challenges us to "grow in faith toward You,
and in fervent love toward one another."
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Blessed are You,
O Lord Our God,
Creator of all life and lover of all humankind.
We give You thanks for minds that can ponder difficult issues,
hearts that can feel each other's pain,
and spirits that can open us
to Your Presence in our midst;
through Jesus Christ our Lord who reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God, forever and ever.
Amen.
Holy Word,
May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts
continue to be exchanged...
May we come to know that collectively we hold Your revealed truth,
and
that individually we only know in part...
Eternal God,
It's taken us 2000 years to get this far in the church.
From Your perspective, only minutes ago did we oppose slavery;
Only seconds ago did we approve of women pastors.
Give us the peaceful knowledge of Your Truth
willing out that is the basis of patience.
But let not our patience be mistaken for acquiescence
to the evils that we deplore.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Blessed Be God!
You gave us all Holy Scriptures for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast
the faith, hope and love which You have given us
through our Savior, Jesus Christ,
Who lives and reigns with Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Lord of Life,
Give us the will and the patience to study, ponder, and pray
as we seek to be open to Your Presence
in a world where sensitive and thoughtful people
have differing experiences of sexual orientation,
and where there is disagreement and uncertainty
about what these differing experiences mean.
In Your Name we pray.
Amen.
Passionate God,
Passion in the church results in conflict in the church;
And conflict in the church frightens us as a squall
in what once seemed a safe harbor.
Theology matters.
The Bible matters.
The Church matters.
Yet the people You created, redeemed, and now sustain,
mattered most to You --
That's why You entered the fray,
lived and died and lived again for the love of us.
You are with us, the church, in conflict and in passion,
Wrestling us to a new name and new visions of ourselves.
We will not let go until You bless us.
In His Name,
Amen.
Sacred Potter,
The church's laws seem written on stones rather than hearts!
May we trust ourselves in Your hands.
Melt our hardened hearts with the refining fire
of Your gracious judgment.
Shape the formlessness and chaos of our dialogue
into sanctuaries for all
along the spectrums of sexuality,
Gender, color, and ability.
In His Name,
Amen.
You can fill the darkest day with hope,
just by the way you decide to look at it.
Anger, frustration, and dismay are not the result of your circumstances
-- they are the result of your reaction to circumstances.
Your situation may indeed be difficult.
The obstacles may appear to be insurmountable.
It may seem that the whole world is against you.
Yet that is all the more reason to look up, to look ahead,
to find something positive you can grab on to.
You may have every reason to despair,
yet despair will only keep you down.
Is that what you really want?
You control your reactions.
You're in complete control of the way you interact with the world around you.
Any particular circumstance can be good news or bad news,
depending on what you make of it.
Everything that holds you back,
has the potential to move you ahead.
Your life is overflowing with possibilities,
if only you will decide to live them...
And God Said...No
I asked God to take away my pride. And God said "No."
He said it was not for Him to take away, but for me to give it up.
I asked God to make my handicapped child whole. And God said "No."
He said her spirit was whole, her body was only temporary.
I asked God to grant me patience. And God said "No."
He said patience is a by-product of tribulations. It isn't granted, it
is earned.
I asked God to give me happiness. And God said "No."
He said He gives me blessings, happiness is up to me.
I asked God to spare me pain. And God said "No."
He said suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you
closer to Me.
I asked God to make my spirit grow. And God said "No."
He said I must grow on my own. But He will prune me to make me
fruitful.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. And God said "No."
He said I will give you life, that you may enjoy all things.
I asked God to help me LOVE others, as much as He loves me.
And God said, Ah, finally you have the idea...
Please direct comments to Susan or Al
