The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
A day of worship, meetings, fellowship, challenge, and prayer
We were reminded of our Baptismal vows today
Reminded as we were charged to do God’s work in the church
Reminded as we elected new leadership
Challenged by the word from the Prophets
Challenged to stand for Moral Revival in this land
Challenged to stand with The Poor People’s Campaign
Reminded that we as the Church have a sacred calling
To do Justice
To love Kindness & Mercy
To walk Humbly with God
As we seek to discern your call for the Presbyterian Church (USA)
May your Spirit guide us
May your Spirit strengthen us
May your Spirit encourage us
To be the voice of the Prophet in this world
To speak on behalf of the voiceless
To speak on behalf of the Immigrants
To speak on behalf of people of color
To speak on behalf of the marginalized
To speak on behalf of the LGBTQ community
Not only will we speak
We must empower
And may we do all in your spirit of Love and Justice
As we do so, hear this humble prayer
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
Well said Shirley, well said!
It’s hard to know where to begin when the Attorney General sites scripture to justify separating children from their parents. I imagine the cries of both parents and children are breaking the heart of God, as we stray far from our values as a nation. There are no easy answers to the plight of refugees trying to flee violence in Central America. I don’t know what I would do in a similar situation facing immigrants coming to our southern border. My instinct is that I would try to find a safe place for my children and myself, wherever that safe place was.
The kindest thing one can say is that Jeff Sessions is confused in his understanding of the Romans 13 text that he quoted. The apostle Paul was encouraging new Christians in Rome to avoid doing anything that would cause trouble with Rome. At the same time…
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“Wisdom emerges from our experience; it is not learned through intellectual knowledge but through the heart. We gain wisdom from the moments of life which challenge us and stretch us.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD The Self-Study Online Retreat ~ Practicing Resurrection through Creativity and Archetypes
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
A long day of traveling complete
Meetings and fellowship and prayer
As we discern the business of the church
We work and pray together
Lord, send your Spirit upon us
Show us the way to be your witness
In a time where Scripture is perverted
Where it was once used to justify slavery
It is now used to rip families apart
It is used to justify children being caged like animals
Lord, forgive them
Lord, help us to shine your light
Lord, help us to be your love
Lord, help us to be your instruments
For all of your children we lift this humble prayer
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
Jake, you spoke to my heart and you also heard the deepest groanings of so many… thank you for your powerful words!
Nothing makes sense. That’s how I read the author of Ecclesiastes when he says, “Vanity of vanities. All is vanity.” Repeatedly.
Maybe you’re a superstar in your chosen career. You’ve got a house in every state and the size of your stock portfolio makes Bill Gates feel small. So what! You’ll die like everybody else and your heirs will call themselves a big success if they manage to hang on to ten percent of that loot.
Then again, maybe you’ve washed your hands of the emblems of worldly success. Instead, you live among the poor. Feed the hungry. Comfort the suffering. Console the dying.
Swell! You’ll be called a saint and admired by people who would never consider following in your footsteps. And then you’ll be worm food like everybody else. Trust me, the sun will keep rising and setting like it always has.
Nasty jerks live like kings…
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verse of the day
The Lord watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
– Psalm 146:9
voice of the day
St. Paul was an apostle not of laws (we are not justified by laws, he says in Romans), but an apostle of a person: Jesus Christ. The one who said, ‘I was a stranger and you did not welcome me’ (Mt. 25).
– Fr. James Martin, SJ
prayer of the day
Help us to win over our enemies by our love and wear them down with grace.
– Adapted from Common Prayer
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
Preparing for a week of National Denominational meetings
Wading through agendas and proposals
While hearing continued news of horrific behavior at the hands of the government
Lord, how have your children lost the plot so deeply
Lord, it isn’t about my pie or yours
Lord, send your Spirit like a mighty rushing wind
Blow away the cobwebs of hatred and fear
Blow away the cobwebs of bigotry
Blow away the cobwebs of misogyny
Blown away the cobwebs of racism
Like a mighty rushing wind, blow Spirit
Challenge us
Renew us
Strengthen us
Direct us
All for your love’s sake
In your mercy, hear the cries of your people
Dona Nobis Pacem et in Terra
Grant Us Peace on Earth
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
