Reflection “Let them praise his name in the festive dance, let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp. For the LORD loves his people, and he adorns the lowly with victory.” Psalm 149:3-4 Prayer Festive God, Your lovingkindn

Prayer

Festive God,

Your lovingkindness towards us is cause for more celebration! Remind us that there is room in our journeys with you for all our emotions. Even as we weep with those who weep, make us just as willing to sing and dance with those who are blessed today with victories of healing, in mind, body, and spirit. Renew us in spirit so that we can practice a more dynamic solidarity with others today, entering in to the many different ways we see your healing love all around. Amen.

Reflection “Knowing how to be solitary is central to the art of loving. When we can be alone, we can be with others without using them as a means of escape.” –Bell Hooks Prayer God with us, You call us to grow up and grow out of

Prayer

God with us,

You call us to grow up and grow out of unhealthy attachments, so that we can be wholly available to love others, freely and selflessly. Help us practice this way of being today, by welcoming moments of solitude. Quite moments in which we can learn to be fully present to you, first and foremost, so that you might fill us and restore us from the inside out. And then from that place of wholeness and integrity, lead us to share all the good gifts that you’ve given us for the sake of others who need them. Amen.

Reflection “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” –Matthew 23:12 Prayer Humble spirit, The ministry we share with you is anchored in your great example of service and humility. Help

Prayer

Humble spirit,

The ministry we share with you is anchored in your great example of service and humility. Help us to be more like you each day, ready to enter every lowly place and willing to wash the feet of those we encounter. May we be inspired by your great promise, that if we follow the way of humility, we will always be in good company. Amen.

Reflection “The Lord keeps faith forever, secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets captives free. The Lord gives sight to the blind. The Lord raises up those who were bowed down; The Lord loves the ju

Prayer

Just God,

We live in a culture that sometimes snubs its nose at our worship of you. Yet nothing on earth is so vital for our health and well-being than to acknowledge you and walk in your ways. Your ever greater vision of justice and peace is our hope for tomorrow! May all those who claim to know you be willing today to do as you do: securing justice for the oppressed, giving food to the hungry, setting free the captives in mind and body. With hope for tomorrow, use us these ways today. Amen.

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.