Reflection “Believe one who knows: You will find something greater in woods than in the books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters.” –St. Bernard of Clairvaux Prayer Loving creator, The worl

Prayer

Loving creator,

The world you have made is a lesson waiting to a happen. A schoolroom of wisdom that outshines the knowledge we have coded in books and programs of study. With love for creation, help us retrieve “beginners’ minds” and to revive our awareness of what you have to teach us in the world you have made. May we relearn especially how to care for creation, so that generations to come will not be deprived of the gifts you have so graciously placed all around us: water, earth, seed, and harvest. Amen.

Reflection “People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.” –Dalai Lama Prayer God over all, You are certainly bigger than all our ideas abou

Prayer

God over all,

You are certainly bigger than all our ideas about you. And there is comfort in that, for it means we can be sincere in our own journeys of faith, while at the same time blessing neighbors and friends on their own roads to fulfillment. In a culture so insistent that one way must be wrong for another to be right, help us instead to embody humility and to believe that you can be trusted to guide each one of us along our way. Amen.

Reflection “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” –Thomas Edison Prayer God of work, We often miss out on opportunities because we envision the hard work they will entail. Op

Prayer

God of work,

We often miss out on opportunities because we envision the hard work they will entail. Open our eyes today to the deeper blessings of work and all the gracious opportunities that dignified work provides. As a ministry, help us lean more on each other as we work hard together, ensuring that all those who come through our doors are given their own opportunities, to encounter the highest quality service paired with the deepest degree of compassion. Amen.

Reflection “A true vocation calls us out beyond ourselves; breaks our heart in the process and then humbles, simplifies and enlightens us about the hidden, core nature of the work that enticed us in the first place.” –David Whyte Pra

Prayer

God who calls,

As we pursue our respective vocations, help us not to lose heart even in the midst of heartbreak. On behalf of colleagues struggling with burn out, we ask you to lead them humbly and gently into a place of conversion, where they might find renewal of spirit. May we all hold fast to what first enticed us into this ministry of healing, always remembering that we are simply extending your own great act of compassion for us. Therein, may we all find healing. Amen.

Reflection “It’s good to do uncomfortable things. It’s weight training for life.” –Anne Lamott Prayer Empowering God, It doesn’t take long for us to develop skills of avoidance, learning to evade those uncomfortable things that c

Prayer

Empowering God,

It doesn’t take long for us to develop skills of avoidance, learning to evade those uncomfortable things that could otherwise compel us to grow in maturity. Things like confronting a problem head on, speaking the truth in love, or realizing that we must decide every day to shine our light into a broken, dark world. If we allow them to, these uncomfortable things can instead become part of our training for life. Give us courage to grow and mature in the way we should go, and may the world be brighter for it. Amen.

Reflection “A good example has twice the value of good advice.” –Albert Schweitzer Prayer Unchanging God, Help us to be more like you, revealing integrity in all that we do and say. In our daily behavior and decisions, in our acti

Prayer

Unchanging God,

Help us to be more like you, revealing integrity in all that we do and say. In our daily behavior and decisions, in our actions towards others, may we model a way of living that shows, rather than preaches, about the breadth and depth of a flourishing life. A life spent with and for others in service to justice, peace, community, love. Let our good examples be the best advice we can give, inspiring others to come share this good place in which you have called us to dwell. Together. Amen.

Reflection “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” –Mahatma Gandhi Prayer Spirit of service, You came in our flesh and proclaimed an upside-down vision of a flourishing life. Against every in

Prayer

Spirit of service,

You came in our flesh and proclaimed an upside-down vision of a flourishing life. Against every instinct of selfishness, you showed us in word and in deed that real joy is found as we give ourselves away in service to others. Such wisdom is an anchor for us, as we strive to extend your compassionate ministry to so many in need. As we continue to serve them today, humbly we pray you would sustain us in joy and that all those who are especially weak would be blessed beyond measure with your abundant life-giving power. Amen.