| Prayer | Matins I. Somewhere, out at the edges, the night Is turning and the waves of darkness Begin to brighten the shore of dawn. The heavy dark falls back to earth And the freed air goes wild with light, The heart fills with fresh, bright breath And thoughts stir to give birth to color. Matins II. I arise today In the name of Silence Womb of the Word, In the name of Stillness Home of Belonging, In the name of the Solitude Of the Soul and the Earth. I arise today Blessed by all things, Wings of breath, Delight of eyes, Wonder of whisper, Intimacy of touch, Eternity of soul, Urgency of thought, Miracle of health, Embrace of God. May I live this day Compassionate of heart, Gentle in word, Gracious in awareness, Courageous in thought, Generous in love. |
| Meditation | What is this precious love and laughter Budding in our hearts? It is the glorious sound Of a soul waking up! |
| Affirmation | And then all that has divided us will merge And then compassion will be wedded to power And then softness will come to a world that is harsh and unkind And then both men and women will be gentle And then both men and women will be strong And then no person will be subject to another’s will And then all will be rich and free and varied And then the greed of some will give way to the needs of many And then all will share equally in the Earth’s abundance And then all will care for the sick and the weak and the old And then all will nourish the young And then all will cherish life’s creatures And then all will live in harmony with each other and the Earth And then everywhere will be called Eden once again. Untitled poem from “The Dinner Party” by Judy Chicago |
| Prayer | God, we ask that in your loving persistence you pry loose what keeps us stuck inside ourselves. Reach into us with power and love so fully that we overflow toward the world around us. Dissolve the handhold’s where we stubbornly cling to guilt and self-condemnation. Shake apart our attachments to fear and judgment. Deep inside, we doubt that anyone could ever love us as we are, even you God, our creator and eternal lover. You are always closer to us than the air we breathe but so often we are unaware and inattentive. Forgive us when we wander off. Teach us the truth that you love us completely, right where we are, right now. May that truth transform our lives and set us free. by Barb Hargrave |
| Meditation | Quiet Breathe Listen Loosen Linger Be Not Do by Barb Hargrave |
| Affirmation | These are the minutes of my years. Here are the memories. Here are the fears. Here is what I don’t remember and everything I do. Here is the time I’ve been asleep and awakening to you. Here is what my family gave me, my childhood and education. Here are might have beens, unchosen roads, and paths no longer taken. Here is my future. Here is my past, the passing away and all that will last. Here is my joy. Here are my tears. Here are the minutes of my years. by Barb Hargrave |
| Prayer | My days are filled with losing things, forgetting things, dropping things, spilling things. But, please, dear Lord, may I never lose you or forget you, and when I drop, will you pick me up and spill your gracious love over me always? Of Losing Things by Mrs. Nancy Baldwin From Women’s Uncommon Prayers: Our Lives Revealed, Nurtured, Celebrated. 2000 by Council of Women’s Ministries/ Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church USA, Morehouse Publishing. |
| Meditation | A butterfly comes and stays on a leaf— a leaf much warmed by the sun— and shuts his wings. In a minute he opens them, shuts them again, half wheels round, and by and by— just when he chooses and not before—floats away. The flowers open, and remain open for hours, to the sun. Hastelessness is the only word one can make up to describe it; there is much rest, but no haste. Each moment is so full of life that it seems so long and so sufficient in itself. by Richard Jeffries |
| Affirmation | I have no parents I make the heaven and earth my parents I have no home I make awareness my home I have no life and death I make the tides of breathing my life and death I have no divine powers I make honesty my divine power I have no means I make understanding my means I have no secrets I make my character my secret I have no body I make endurance my body I have no eyes I make the flash of lightning my eyes I have no ears I make sensibility my ears I have no limbs I make promptness my limbs I have no miracles I make right action my miracle I have no principles I make adaptability to all circumstances my principle I have no tactics I make emptiness and fullness my tactics I have no talent I make ready wit my talent I have no friends I make my mind my friend I have no enemy I make carelessness my enemy I have no armor I make benevolence and righteousness my armor I have no castle I make immovable mind my castle I have no sword I make absence of self my sword a Samurai Song 15th century |