Prayers
Prayer at Standing on the Side of Love Worship and Witness Event
Denver Capitol Steps, September 2012
Spirit of Life and Love among us: We gather here as one community, one people - indivisible in our commitment to love in all its many ways.
Divine mystery: We stand here, on the side of love - that is, the side where there is no side, the side that is for all life, in its abundance.
And we cry out for a world where all loving families can be recognized equally, valued equally, honored equally.
We affirm families with two-moms, two-dads, or more.....single parents, transparents - all the combinations of families who strive to live together in commitment and love.
And we affirm the children who are are a part of these families. We affirm your family as whole, and blessed.
May each of you know that in your journey, you do not stand alone, not now, not ever, not here at the state capitol, not anywhere in the vast universe.
The actions of the state of Colorado and the actions of the US government do not, and cannot alter the underlying unity of creation, of which everyone and everything and all of us are only parts.
No human idea or fear can change the spiritual reality of your lives, or the worthiness and legitimacy of the love that binds you.
Love is bigger than the State of Colorado, bigger than the US government, bigger than any of us can even know.
Dear God whose name is Love, we pray today that a great swell of justice will rise up, that we will see a change in our laws, a change in our culture - a change to reflect the true unity of all life and love.
We give thanks for this gathering, and the opportunity it gives us to truly feel the power of courageous love among us.
And we pray that this love embodied here -this feeling we have in gathering with others who share our commitments- will fuel us, and keep us strong, and live in our hearts long after this day - so that we might stay faithful to this work, speaking up to our friends and families when they reveal fear or ignorance, and standing up to bullying in all its forms - that we will be faithful partners, each doing what we can, our little piece of this project - to create a world where all love is affirmed as good, and whole, and blessed.
My friends - may we be faithful, may we be brave, and may we be loving.
Today, and all days.
And the people say together - amen. And blessed be.
Denver Capitol Steps, September 2012
Spirit of Life and Love among us: We gather here as one community, one people - indivisible in our commitment to love in all its many ways.
Divine mystery: We stand here, on the side of love - that is, the side where there is no side, the side that is for all life, in its abundance.
And we cry out for a world where all loving families can be recognized equally, valued equally, honored equally.
We affirm families with two-moms, two-dads, or more.....single parents, transparents - all the combinations of families who strive to live together in commitment and love.
And we affirm the children who are are a part of these families. We affirm your family as whole, and blessed.
May each of you know that in your journey, you do not stand alone, not now, not ever, not here at the state capitol, not anywhere in the vast universe.
The actions of the state of Colorado and the actions of the US government do not, and cannot alter the underlying unity of creation, of which everyone and everything and all of us are only parts.
No human idea or fear can change the spiritual reality of your lives, or the worthiness and legitimacy of the love that binds you.
Love is bigger than the State of Colorado, bigger than the US government, bigger than any of us can even know.
Dear God whose name is Love, we pray today that a great swell of justice will rise up, that we will see a change in our laws, a change in our culture - a change to reflect the true unity of all life and love.
We give thanks for this gathering, and the opportunity it gives us to truly feel the power of courageous love among us.
And we pray that this love embodied here -this feeling we have in gathering with others who share our commitments- will fuel us, and keep us strong, and live in our hearts long after this day - so that we might stay faithful to this work, speaking up to our friends and families when they reveal fear or ignorance, and standing up to bullying in all its forms - that we will be faithful partners, each doing what we can, our little piece of this project - to create a world where all love is affirmed as good, and whole, and blessed.
My friends - may we be faithful, may we be brave, and may we be loving.
Today, and all days.
And the people say together - amen. And blessed be.
Prayer after Newtown, December 2012
Spirit of Life, Connector of All: What words can we say? What words can we say that would match the depths of our anger, our confusion, our pain, our heartbreak? We grieve our own powerlessness, We wail at the senseless loss. At this terrible moment, may we not turn away from the pain, but hold it. Absorb it. Let us hold those parents whose children were killed, those siblings, those friends who must try to go on. Let us hold the teachers who protected their students, and let us hold the community, whose story - in one devastating moment - was forever changed. In these coming days, may we grieve together, all of us a part of the one human family whose fabric has been torn but not undone, one human family where loss anywhere is loss for us all, where we are all saved only when all of us are made safe. May our tears inspire us to reach out and comfort one another, hold each other more tightly, and love one another with a greater boldness, and courage. As we grieve, may we discern together a new way forward. Beyond politics or divisive stories of us and them. Let us be a part of weaving a new tale, crafters of a new language where the choices move beyond winning and losing, or pros and cons. A language where we remember: Those are our children. Those are our schools. Those are our teachers, and parents, and aides. That is our gun, and that is our brother. We give thanks that we can share together in this lament, Lament in the biblical sense Where the words themselves are an act of resistance Where the prayers we write together are our sign of hope For in our struggle there resides the seeds of change And in our pain there resides the possibility of healing We give thanks for first responders, for school counselors, for faith communities, for teachers and school administrators, and for all those who have already and will be helping this community - and all communities who have experienced such violence- find its way forward. Together, may we release all in our hearts - all our anger and rage and disbelief and denial - all these feelings that keep us stuck - may these fall away into the air - and in their place, may we find a spirit of peace, and wisdom. For all these things, in the name of our great solidarity, we pray. |
Prayer for Transgender Day of Remembrance, including words from Foothills Youth
Great Spirit of Life, which connects us all, we come to honor and remember those who have lost their lives simply because they did not look or act in the way we have decided boys, or girls, are supposed to act. It starts in elementary school – people used to say –Girls go to college to get more knowledge;boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider. Back then, my best friend was a boy, and everyone always teased us – that’s your boyfriend! Did I mention I was in elementary school? There is a difference between us, generally. Boys grow up to be stronger, girls more nurturing – generally. But why do these general trends get mapped onto products and expectations? Why does a trend towards being nurturing mean everything you buy me is pink, and ruffled, and an assumption that I’m a good cook? Why does being physically strong mean I have to like blue, or GI Joe, or Legos, or be good at math? People always assume things about my gender, but when you assume, you aren’t always right. Most of the time when people assume things about me, they are wrong. We need to start asking, instead of assuming. And give kids the freedom to be whoever they are. Give us all the freedom to be who we are. Loving God, we have been told these stories for so long, we believe them as absolutes. And then we pass them on. For some of us, these messages are mere annoyances. But for others of us, they are a prison, and escaping them becomes a matter of life and death. On this Transgender Day of Remembrance, we seek openness in our own hearts and minds, and in our larger world, so that all of us can be freed from the boxes of gender expression and policing. We hold in our hearts the 29 individuals who have been killed across the world for their gender expression since last November. And we hold in our hearts all those whose stories never came to light, all those who have been teased or tormented, hurt physically or emotionally due to their gender. In the coming year, may we do all we can, in our own lives and in our communities, to make this world a safer place to be yourself, beautiful and worthy, however that may look or present, no matter what tools or toys bring you joy, no matter what clothes you may wear, or who you may love. Let us now enter into a time of silent reflection, a moment of grief and contemplation, a moment to honor these lives, and to re-dedicate ourselves to a new world. |
Pastoral Prayer The world at late fall can feel like a world in hiding, a world on retreat.
It reminds us there is always more happening than we can yet see. Even when all seems lost, even on the darkest day. There is always something waiting there for us - new life, new chances, new hopes.
May we have the patience to stand still through this time of winter.
May we have the courage to reach out to those around us, and ask for what we need,
And may we have the faith to believe in mystery, the strength to cherish the unknown.
We give thanks for this time, for the cold breeze and the bare branches, for candles and fire pits, for the first falling snow, and for oil lamps which refuse to go out.
Into this circle, let us now place our fears of the unknown, our desire to understand the unknowable.
Let us place our shopping lists, and our holiday cards.
Our decorations and our family stresses,
Our desire to have a life other than this one we have.
Into the circle, into the air, we release all these shoulds and supposed tos.
And in doing so, we let them all go. Just as we breathe, in, and then out.
May our hearts and minds be filled with a deep openness,
that only the greatest love may fill us up.
May it be so. And amen.
It reminds us there is always more happening than we can yet see. Even when all seems lost, even on the darkest day. There is always something waiting there for us - new life, new chances, new hopes.
May we have the patience to stand still through this time of winter.
May we have the courage to reach out to those around us, and ask for what we need,
And may we have the faith to believe in mystery, the strength to cherish the unknown.
We give thanks for this time, for the cold breeze and the bare branches, for candles and fire pits, for the first falling snow, and for oil lamps which refuse to go out.
Into this circle, let us now place our fears of the unknown, our desire to understand the unknowable.
Let us place our shopping lists, and our holiday cards.
Our decorations and our family stresses,
Our desire to have a life other than this one we have.
Into the circle, into the air, we release all these shoulds and supposed tos.
And in doing so, we let them all go. Just as we breathe, in, and then out.
May our hearts and minds be filled with a deep openness,
that only the greatest love may fill us up.
May it be so. And amen.