Matthew 18:21-35 To forgive you will pass through the sea. You will leave much behind: what is owed, obligations, the heavy chains of your master anger. Just leave them. You will be tempted to turn back and fight but that is the slavery you are escaping, the lie of superior and inferior, the cruel economy […]
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Teach me the habits that love you Show me the visions that ring true Shower on me the light that shines through In all of this hold me Give me the courage to reach out Help me to challenge where I find doubt Let me grow so I am curious about How you are holding […]
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Just being. This is a time for just being. Time is a gift, just as nature is a gift – a gift for just being; being one with the chatter of birds, the hum of the freeway in the distance, one with the sunlight through the gnarled oaks playing patterns on the path, one with […]
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Distract us From overthinking situations Beyond our control Distract us From being led astray By the lure of temptations Distract us From the vain pursuit of fame Wealth and status Focus our hearts On following and nurturing Shepherd us well A version for personal devotion: Distract me From overthinking situations Beyond my control Distract me […]
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This could be read by numerous readers (perhaps passing it around a circle) or in the traditional one/many responsive reading style. It might be used for a nightime reading with a child or with a group out under the summer stars. One: Holy darkness, hold us. Many: Gentle darkness, soothe us. One: Peaceful darkness, heal […]
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Be still Let the sound of nothing absorb you Be still Let time be motionless and free Be still Let clouds roll by in an unending sky Be still Don’t let thoughts intrude – let go Be still Grasp the precious freedom of now Be still This is just us, you and I, in communion […]
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O Blossoming Love, Creator of all that is Unfold my life… Revealing less of me And more of Thee In my planning Less of me And more of Thee In my worrying Less of me And more of Thee In my hoping Less of me And more of Thee In my creating Less of me […]
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Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without God. —Matthew 10.29 God does not go around pulling birds out of the air. God is not sitting at a control panel. God does not “plan” your victory or defeat, cancer, your accident, the moment of […]
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This might be used as a corporate prayer, substituting ‘we’ for I’. It might also be used at a service of affirmation — an induction, ordination, baptism, re-commitment or confirmation, substituting ‘you’ for ‘I’. May I…. Hands at third eye centre: May I see things as they really are, and not as how I want […]
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Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. –Paul’s letter to the Romans 8:26 My newborn grandson in my arms, Asleep in guileless peace – Heaven brought to earth afresh In sighs too […]
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Care. Tender care. Soul care. Spiritual care. Material care. Collective care. Not self care, no. Or, rather, not only self care. Because no self is separable from the multitude of our relations, and we are made for murmurations, and our lives and legacies and futures are bound up together, even now, even now. So, yes, […]
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Loving is sharing in beauty. Living is sharing in the earth’s great cycles–life and death, crucifixion and resurrection, germination and bloom, sorrow and wonder and solace. Our sorrow is deep. Our connection, pulsing too. Practicing resurrection is recognizing the love that flows through the heart of the world. Being alive is a gift. Tuning into […]
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May 8 marks the Feast of Julian of Norwich. Julian of Norwich (1342-c.1416), mystic and author of The Revelations of Divine Love, is considered the first woman to write a book (that has survived) in English. Revelations of Divine Love arises from a series of sixteen visions she received on the 8th of May 1373. […]
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The next time it gets light I will awake with hope And tonight as it gets dark I will not fear The next time it grows light I will welcome the dawn The next time morning comes I’ll be reborn The next time it grows dark I will not hide away The darkness does not […]
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Inspired by words of Julian of Norwich: ‘All shall be well and all manner of things shall be well for there is a force of love moving through the universe that holds us fast and we never let us go.’ Never let go Though it’s hard to hold on This love will hold you And […]
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Inspired by Psalm 23 God is my shelter, my protection, and my guide. I want for nothing, and I will practice thanksgiving! God invites me to places of peace and beauty where wildflowers bloom and mountain streams flow. God will restore me, and I will practice sabbath rest. Even when anxiety and fear threaten to […]
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Read the prayers aloud. At each point, pause to reflect and fill in the names of places and people as appropriate. Creator-Spirit, Heartbeat of God’s love, melt my coldness, chase away the shadows, captivate my heart, until I am filled with the same stubborn, selfless and self-giving Love for the world that is your […]
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Epiphany 2, Year C This prayer is inspired by Psalm 36:5-10 It’s like standing beneath a street lamp On a misty evening. In the light, I see light, But objects appear blurry and obscured, half lit. God, standing in your light, I see light, But the path ahead appears blurry and obscured, seemingly […]
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“I said to my soul, be still and wait without hope, for hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love, for love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith, but the faith and the love are all in the waiting. Wait without thought, for you are not ready […]
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Gratitude, the yoga of the gods, may sometimes take a little practice. Each day, select one thing to be grateful for: a cup of water, a wisp of green, sun on stone, a friend’s memory, gravity, so we do not float away…. Hold your gratitude like a seashell in your hand, and rehearse it. Come […]
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ready-to-print copies: PDF Disciples Prayer by Thandiwe Dale-Ferguson WORD Disciples Prayer by Thandiwe Dale-Ferguson Holy One whose name we honour and praise, When we laugh, you laugh with us. When we weep, your tears wash over the earth. You know the joys and sorrows of our hearts, Our efforts for change and our resistance to […]
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Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak… Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the day is breaking.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go, unless you bless me.’ —Genesis 32.24, 26 The angels you’ll have to wrestle with most often are no strangers: they’re your anger, fear, […]
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Written by David while he served as Co-ordinator for the Isle of Wight Street Pastors, this song was inspired by an interaction with a young man on the streets of Ryde. This video recording might be played as an integral part of a worship service.
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Remember the Holy One is with you. Bring to mind this loving presence within you and around you as you pray the following: Open my mind to remember your presence. Open my mouth to speak your wisdom. Open my heart to extend your love. Open my hands to serve you generously. Open my whole being […]
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Where do you live, God? Where can I find you abiding? I find you in moments of awe – breathing in the odor of lavender I find you in moments of wonder – looking across the icy waters toward the snow-covered hills I find you in moments of anxiety—lighting the flame of a devotional candle […]
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