Almighty God, open our minds to the sense of knowing in every picture of which we are a part. I remember a time of waiting – a time of frustration and of hope; a time of planning and re-planning; a time of not knowing. I remember thinking ‘what do I have to do?’ because we […]
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O Love, Thank-you for silence Rising, resting, holding Heart and mind In sacred submersion Of Spirit beyond my knowing But through which I am known. Gift descending or arising I know not how or why Only that eternity visits In the precious gift of now. Let me receive it Not trying to figure it out […]
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By your side There is peace, A quiet place Of beauty and realisation, Where wisdom Seeks reason and understanding, Where myth is laid to rest By the reality of knowledge. By your side There is hope, That arrogance and greed Will not destroy, That selfless love Will prevail. By your side Life is sacred, A […]
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A ritual for Lent: lighting candles in a bowl holding ashes, tulsi *, soil, and salt This might be incorporated into weekly worship or used for personal devotions. Elemental. Death mingling with life. The remnants of fire, holding the beeswax that becomes flame. Holy basil, cleansing and healing. Soil, where life begins and ends. Salt […]
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Womb of light from whom we shine, but whom we cannot see but by looking away, only the unseen hides you, eye of darkness, ring of light, mystery of day’s bright night. We too are you, eclipsed. Let our horror of losing you remain. What conceals you reveals you, but only the merest edges of […]
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I am the wick You are the flame I am the silence You are the presence I am the space You are the stillness I do not know how to pray as I ought But I hold still and you pray in me. I am the seen You are the rest Visit Steve’s blog, Unfolding Light, […]
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Words from around the world… What words can be uttered when our thoughts and imaginations are shattered? What words do we say aloud when we gather to worship? What words bring sense to violent senselessness? Perhaps the silence between the words will offer the needed time for sighs and tears. These prayers were originally written […]
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Appropriate for a Blue Christmas or Longest Night service, acknowledging the challenges often faced during the dark seasons of the year. On this longest night of the year, we gather to worship you, our Creator. The prophets tell of a light to the nations; a dawn from on high breaking upon us. The poets speak […]
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Lectionary reading — Lent 3 Year C O dear God, I love you! I ache for you, my heart burns for you and only you can quench this fire only you can satisfy my desire O sweet God, be on my lips lightly brushing, then with the full force Of my passion for your presence […]
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O Love, Unfold me anew; For my spirit easily tightens Around yesterday’s too much Sadness and loss and worry. Stretch me open With an energy not my own But given as the gift of Life Revealing beauty within Already formed by You Before I even knew to notice. Yes, Love, ground me In Your forming […]
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A prayer for healing after trauma Easily adapted for a group, e.g. using ‘our’ and ‘us’ God of all time, this time is difficult. My memories rush at me. My memories have disappeared as my mind manages each day. I am aware that others have had times like mine or worse. But God it feels […]
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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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The days are short. The nights are long. Your universe mirrors the reality of our hearts, Revealing your gracious spirit that Mourns with us in grief, Cries with us in sorrow, Sits with us in despair. You are not a distant God, removed from human pain, But a faithful companion Closer to us than our […]
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The nights are closing in, And darkness descends. Sometimes I feel lost in the dark, Wondering where you are; If you’ve left me. At times like these, Remind me of your presence and love And help me, Gently, to educate my feelings To fall in line with the truth of your promises. Enable me to […]
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Genesis 1 is often included in readings for the Easter vigil, Trinity Sunday and Epiphany. As the stars slid down the beams of the universe in it’s beginning, they burned with love…. so much so that some became vulnerable and exploded. Eons later, in free fall toward our planet many of their parts held us […]
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Prayers of approach and confession Loving God Our souls sing out in worship And all of creation bursts forth with praise! For you look with compassion on all who suffer. You shed tears of sorrow with those in grief. You reach down into the dark pit of hopelessness. You kneel in the dust to lift […]
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Let this be a sacred time, O God, in which I let what has begun, gradually grow, finding within me the patience and trust that allows me to tend my concerns with wisdom. This prayer by Annie Heppenstall was distributed at Gloucester Cathedral during the ‘Museum of the Moon’ exhibition in October 2019.
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When I lit a candle in Hereford Cathedral, I picked up a card that reads: The shrine of St Thomas of Hereford: a place where pilgrims have left their prayer for hundreds of years. Lighting a candle is a prayer When we have gone it stays alight — continuing our prayers of thanksgiving and intercession […]
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A reflection on Dame Julian of Norwich’s text from Revelations of Divine Love: ‘All shall be well. You shall see yourself that all things shall be well. That which is impossible for you is not impossible for me. I shall keep my word in all things and I shall make all things well.’ ‘All shall […]
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Written April 2018 during a time of personal reflection in the Lady Chapel, Ely Cathedral, UK, following the bombing of Syria by the US and the UK. Broken Bombed Darkness descends How did it come to this? God groans The world whimpers. We cower Fearfully crying out, ‘Which way?’ What about our grandchildren? Follow the […]
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In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ — Matthew 2:1-2 Light a […]
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Lofty, cavernous space Warm, earth-toned candlelight enfolding me in its womb. Nothing can harm you A suggestion of incense Soft, background chanting hinting at generations past and to come. Vast eternal community gathered in microcosm. Come and pray in us, Holy Spirit Majestic windows drawing my soul upwards on the rising […]
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God, you are not distant from us You came to us in vulnerability You offered yourself as a gift of love. We pray today for those who are in the midst of darkness The darkness of poverty The darkness of loneliness The darkness of grief The darkness of despair Wherever shadows threaten to overwhelm Wherever […]
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Each Advent season, the Scout International Peace Light travels from Bethlehem around the world. Towns and faith communities hold services for receiving the light and for sending it forth. These resources are for use in a Peace Light Service. Peace Light Prayer May the kindly spirit of Christmas spread its radiance far and wide, So all the […]
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