December 20, 2011

Adam Fleming sculpts Orange Infinity

Welcome to Third Tuesdays Prayer.  Leader reads the plain text, group reads the bold, and all join in the bold, italicized text.  Litany found at www.catholicdoors.com.

 

 

ADVENT LITANY

Lord Jesus, you are the light of the world.
Come, Lord Jesus.

You are light in our darkness.

Orange Infinity

Come, Lord Jesus.

Son of God, save us from our sins.

Come, Lord Jesus.

Son of Mary, deepen our love.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Bring hope into the lives of all people.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Give your peace to all nations.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Be the joy of all who love you.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Bring unity among all who believe in you.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Bless us as we gather here in your name.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Lord Jesus, stay with us always.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Let us pray:

May Christ give us his peace and joy,
and let us share them with others.
All peace and glory are his forever.

Amen.

Meditation 

Daddy by Timmy

The Lord of Advent tells us to be watchful for his coming, keeping our lamps lighted, and our hearts clean. Therefore let us confess to the Lord.

Silence for reflection.

What is the Sculptor forming in you? 

How can you yield to the time 

and pressure that formation requires? 

Do you allow the shaving, the 

pruning, or do you balk? 

What vision has the Lord given of the final, 

polished, light-bearing result?

Prayer for others 

Benediction
God and Father of all:

We prepare our hearts for the coming of your Son, 

confessing our sins, 

confessing our attraction 

to a godless world 

that does not know Christ.  

Forgive our sins, cleanse our hearts, 

and keep us faithful 

for the promised coming of your Son, 

Jesus Christ our Lord.  

God sent his Son, the Babe of Bethlehem, 

to show his infinite love and forgiveness for all. 

Your sins are forgiven in the holy name of  

Christ who came and will come again.

Amen.

November 15, 2011

Supernova.jpg

wallpaperblack.com

 Welcome to Third Tuesdays Prayer.  Leader reads plain text, group responds in bold. 

Liturgy (Daily Prayers for November 15 modified; from http://commonprayer.net)

 Risen Lord, teach us to trust : the power of your cross. 

(Psalm 78:18-22)They tested God in their hearts : demanding food for their craving. 

They railed against God and said : “Can God set a table in the wilderness?

True, he struck the rock, the waters gushed out, and the gullies overflowed : but is he able to give bread or to provide meat for his people?”
When the Lord heard this, he was full of wrath : a fire was kindled against Jacob, and his anger mounted against Israel;
for they had no faith in God : nor did they put their trust in his saving power.
Risen Lord, teach us to trust : the power of your cross.

news.xinhuanet.com

 

Prayer of Thanksgiving

  Walter Rauschenbusch 

From Living God’s Justice: Reflections and Prayers, 

compiled by The Roundtable Association of Diocesan Social Action Directors

O God, we thank you for this earth, our home;
For the wide sky and the blessed sun,
For the salt sea and the running water,
For the everlasting hills
And the never-resting winds,
For trees and the common grass underfoot.
We thank you for our senses
By which we hear the songs of birds,
And see the splendor of the summer fields,
And taste of the autumn fruits,
And rejoice in the feel of the snow,
And smell the breath of the spring.
Grant us a heart wide open to all this beauty;
And save our souls from being so blind
That we pass unseeing
When even the common thornbush
Is aflame with your glory,
O God our creator,
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Meditation

Please take the following moments to reflect on your personal thanksgivings to our Lord.

hypergurl.com

Prayer for Others

Benediction

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you;
may he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm;
may he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you;
may he bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors.

October 18, 2011

painting by Mark Daniels

 Welcome to Third Tuesdays Prayer.

Litany: Leader reads plain text, group responds with bold. The following is an excerpt from A Place Apart  daily prayer cycle for Wednesday evening

Jesus
Emmanuel, God with us,
Keep us mindful that you are within all
Who come to our door.
We pray for the gift of hospitality.
We pray for a loving spirit,
For a teaching spirit.
May our life together be our primary teaching.

Help me to strive to be least among
My sisters and brothers,
To kneel at their feet with basin and towel,
As Christ washed the disciples feet,
And called us to do likewise.
Bless our humble cells,
Our dwelling places
For solitary retreat
For rest
For study
For prayer
For sleep.
As sister death comes to me
And I leave the earthly table,
My body returned to the clay
From which I was formed,
You, O ever living Christ
Welcome the essential
Eternal part of me
To your eternal table.

Holy God
Holy communion
Holy order
Holy hours
Holy days
Holy seasons
Bless my sisters
Bless my brothers
The rhythms of the day
The work of my hands
My study
My prayer
The stranger you send to my door
My wounds
The Lord’s Prayer
Holy God guide me
And those who are absent from me

Meditation 

Icon by:Rita Stynes Strow The Cosmic Christ

Prayer for others

 

Benediction

Now may the Lord lift up the light 

of His countenance upon you, 

and give you peace, 

in your going out and in your coming in; 

in your sitting down and your rising up; 

in your work and in your play; 

in your joy and in your sorrow, 

in your laughter and in your tears; 

until that day comes 

which is without dawn and without dark. Amen.

                    - Thomas Graham

Sept 20, 2011 Third Tuesday Prayer

http://dailyspiritualtools.blogspot.com

Litany
Leader reads plain text, group reads bold text.
The following prayer is adapted by Sherill Hostetter (EMM) from Praying Our Goodbyes by Joyce Rupp



These transition days, these passage ways,
are calling me to let go of old securities,
to give myself over into Your hands
for a new chapter in my life.

Like Jesus who struggled with the pain
I, too, fight the "let it all be done"
Loneliness, lostness, non-belonging,
All these strike out at me,
leaving me pained with this present goodbye.

I want to be more but I fight the growing.
I want to be new but I hang onto the old.
I want to live but I won't face the dying.
I want to be whole but I cannot bear 
to gather the pieces into one.

Is it that I refuse to be out of control,
to let the tears take their tumbling journey,
to allow my spirit to feel its depression,
to stay with the insecurity of "no home"?

Now is the time.  You call to me,
begging me to let you have my life,
inviting me to taste the darkness
so I can be filled with the light,
allowing me to lose my direction
so that I will find my way home to you.

Meditation

Keltic Designs by Jen Delyth http://www.kelticdesigns.com/

Prayer for others

Benediction

Fractal of the Day by Jim Muth 
http://www.nahee.com/FOTD/FotD_99-11-10.html

For the promise of harvest

contained within a seed
we thank you.
For the oak tree
within an acorn
The bread
within a grain
The apple
within a pip
The mystery of nature
gift wrapped
for us to sow
we thank you

Amen.

Read more at: http://www.faithandworship.com/Praying_through_the_Celtic_Year.htm#ixzz1YMJC5870
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

August 16, 2011

Welcome to Third Tuesdays prayer. Leader reads plain text, group reads the bold text.
Taken from the book of common prayers http://commonprayer.net.

O Lord, let my soul rise up to meet you

as the day rises to meet the sun.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Come, let us sing to the Lord : let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.

Expose our broken systems, Lord : save us by the power of your cross.

Taken from Psalm 80:1 – 3

Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock : shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim.

In the presence of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh : stir up your strength and come to help us.

Restore us, O God of hosts : show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

Expose our broken systems, Lord : save us by the power of your cross.

Meditation

A quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “The church’s task is not simply to bind the wounds of the victim beneath the wheel, but also to put a spoke in the wheel itself.”

In 1989, a Solidarity-led government was elected in Poland, marking the beginning of a nonviolent victory over communism in Eastern Europe.

Prayers for Others

Benediction

Our Father which art in heaven

Hallowed be thy name

Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done

on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread

and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation

but deliver us from evil

For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory Forever.

Amen.

July 19, 2011

Taken from the common book of prayer, http://commonprayer.net

Leader reads plain text, group reads the bold text.

O Lord, let my soul rise up to meet you

as the day rises to meet the sun.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Come, let us sing to the Lord : let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.

Sing and rejoice, O daughters of Zion : sing a new song of freedom.

(Psalm 98:6 – 10)

Sing to the Lord with the harp : with the harp and the voice of song.

With trumpets and the sound of the horn : shout with joy before the King, the Lord.

Let the sea make a noise and all that is in it : the lands and those who dwell therein.

Let the rivers clap their hands : and let the hills ring out with joy before the Lord, when he comes to judge the earth.

In righteousness shall he judge the world : and the peoples with equity.

Sing and rejoice, O daughters of Zion : sing a new song of freedom.

Judges 16:15 – 31 Acts 22:17 – 29

Sing and rejoice, O daughters of Zion : sing a new song of freedom.

Meditation

On July 19, 1848, the first Women’s Rights Convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York, sparking a women’s movement that challenged both the church and the world with the good news that in -Jesus Christ, there is neither male nor female.

African-American abolitionist and women’s rights advocate Sojourner Truth said, “I have plowed and planted and gathered into barns, and no man could head me — ​and ain’t I a woman? I have born’d five childrun and seen ’em mos’ all sold off into slavery, and when I cried out with mother’s grief, none but -Jesus heard — ​and ain’t I a woman? . . . Den dat little man is back dar, he say women can’t have as much rights as man, ’cause Christ warn’t a woman. Whar did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with him!”

Prayers for Others

Prayer For ArtistsAttributed To: Rev. Karl Ryland

We praise Thee for all those, Thy servants, who have given their life in the service of the true, the pure, and the lovely; for all who work in form and color to increase the joy of life; for all who rejoice in their work and make things well. May life perpetual shine upon them.

Once more a new day lies before us, our Father. As we go out among others to do our work, touching the hands and lives of our fellows,

make us, we pray Thee, friends of all the world. Save us from blighting the fresh flower of any heart by the flare of the sudden anger or secret hate. May we not bruise the rightful self-respect of any by contempt or malice. Help us to cheer the suffering by our sympathy, to freshen the drooping by our hopefulness, and to strengthen in all the wholesome sense of worth and the joy of life. Save us from the deadly poison of class pride. Grant that we may look all in the face with the eyes of a sibling. If anyone needs us, make us ready to yield our help ungrudgingly, unless higher duties claim us, and may we rejoice that we have it in us to be helpful to our fellow travelers in this life.

Almighty God unto Whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from Whom no secrets are hid, cleanse the thoughts of our hearts with the inspiration of Thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love Thee, and worthily magnify Thy Holy Name.

Amen.

Benediction

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you;

may he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm;

may he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you;

may he bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors.

June 21, 2011 Prayer Call

The following is a sample from a “word release” prayer writing exercise from June 18, 2011, where the leader spoke out preselected words periodically for the writers to incorporate. Everyone was first instructed to write their favorite name for God at the top, and then begin their prayer. Used by permission.

Leader reads the plain text, group reads response in bold.

Jesus, my brother,

Sow across the sky like an airplane over boundless earth

Dropping potential like leaflets of peace indicate the end of wars.

Sow across mountain and beaches, deserts, jungles, tundra and prairies

Rolling your thunder into the earth like dough, rising with yeast

Becoming bread of life.

Rest upon the water, crushed of wars,

out of bloody streams you bring wine, sweet, new,

the tannins a jewel in the deltas and pearls in the gulfs,

restoring,

wash away decay and pollution,

restoring life in the marshes and bogs.

The swamps rise to meet you and glory in your name, brother,

as you pass over the whole earth in your living kindness.

Accept my prayer today.

I dream of a planet of art without propaganda and billboards of truth,

advertising nothing but connection with each other.

I dream of a river flushing selfishness to the seas, freezing into a berg and drifting to the unknown arctic never to be seen again.

I dream a king so powerful and humble that each servant grows like a spreading oak,

standing strong and growing to their full height.

I dream a church of wonder, surprise, waiting with suspended breath for creation renewed, for dances with stars, for the songs of the planets to reach the earth telling your greatness even afar, at such distance you’ve flown and sown and grown and been known.

Accept my prayer today.

Jesus my priest and king after the order of Melchizedek,

Dive now in your mighty flying craft and retake the world and make your dreams reality.

Come accept my prayer today.

Jesus my wisdom and shelter,

hold me in the palm of your hand.

My sailboat struggles against sky and wave and I know so little of sailing and of future. Brilliant sun, softer moon, and Northern star are only glimpses of your direction,

East and West, southern heat, alive with the scents of bougainvillea and curry, flour and corn tortillas,

draw and quarter me as I hang on to what’s called of me right at home.

Be my anchor, be my travel, be my sense of smell,

be my seven wonders of the world, and make me alive.

Accept my prayer today.

Over the fields of ripening corn and beans, mint, hops, orchards of apples and peaches, berry farms and even over tended golf courses your breath infuses the world.

Meditation

Prayer for others

Benediction

You are oxygen.

You are blood in the aorta

you are breath,

you are pulse

you are life abundant.

You are silent presence

you are all open spaces and endless vistas

all virility and all healing.

You are all barren landscapes pointing to the creator,

you are the lushness of all creation growing in the cracks of cities,

in the cracks of rocks, in the cracks of sidewalks, the cracks of deserts,

the cracks of dawn and dusk, growing.

Thank you! Accept my prayer today.

May 17, 2011: Prayer Reading for Third Tuesdays Call

The following is based on several versions of the book of common prayer, and A Place Apart readings compiled and altered for Third Tuesdays Prayer. Leaders read plain text, group reads response in bold.







O Lord, let my soul rise up to meet you

as the day rises to meet the sun.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Come, let us bow down and bend the knee : let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

We who believe in freedom : cannot rest until it comes.

Psalm 86:6 – 10

Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer : and attend to the voice of my supplications.

In the time of my trouble I will call upon you : for you will answer me.

Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord : nor anything like your works.

All nations you have made will come and worship you, O Lord : and glorify your name.

For you are great; you do wondrous things : and you alone are God.

We who believe in freedom : cannot rest until it comes.

Holy ever present God
Nothing can separate me from your love
I receive fully the giftedness of life
I enter into the great mystery of being
Unafraid
Engulfed in the happiness of being
Connected to all life
Loving
Living in the victory won in Christ Jesus

It all ends now.
We are just plain sick of it.
Sick of the lie
Sick of the game
Sick of the systems
Sick of ourselves
Sick of the maintenance
Sick of being afraid
The yearning
The longing
The aching
To be alive
Begins
To overpower
Fear.
I will begin here

I will no longer be afraid
Of being afraid
Now the healing begins
Now the curtain is torn
Now the veil is lifted
Holy Healing God
I open myself to your healing of my fear

Meditation

Prayer for Others

Loving God, into your healing presence we bring those who suffer physical pain and ill
health, with them we bring their families and friends and all who care for them…….
May they be held in the deep peace of Christ.
Loving God, into your healing presence we bring those who suffer emotional and mental
pain, who experience anxiety and depression, suffering in mind and spirit, and all those
who love and care for them……
May they be held in the deep peace of Christ.
Loving God, into your healing presence we bring the suffering people of the world, those
experiencing oppression, injustice, poverty, division, violence and war……
May they be held in the deep peace of Christ.
Loving God, into your healing presence we bring those struggling to overcome addiction
and those suffering from abuse, those who love them and all who support and work with
them……..
May they be held in the deep peace of Christ.
Loving God, into your healing presence we bring those facing loss through the physical
death of loved ones, and those who have experienced loss through broken
relationships…..
May they be held in the deep peace of Christ.
Loving God, into your healing presence we bring those whose names and needs are not
known to us, but are known to you.
We name in our hearts those who are close to us.
May they be held in the deep peace of Christ.

Benediction

God of Hope
Fill us with Joy
Fill us with Peace
Fill us with Love
Holy Healing God
Thank you. Amen.

April 19, 2011: Prayer Reading for
Third Tuesdays Call

The following is based on several versions of the book of common prayer, and A Place Apart readings compiled and altered for Third Tuesdays Prayer. Leaders read plain text, group reads response in bold.




Shona stone sculpture

Holy of Holies
Father of order, mother embracing,
Son leading,
Spirit empowering;

Give us this day The bread of the earth for our bodies,
The bread of your body for our Earth.
Help us to enter the hours In reverent worship,
The day in constant prayer
We pray your blessing on our communion,
Upon the bread,
Your body broken for us,
Upon the wine,
Your blood shed for us.
As these elements enter our physical bodies
Dispersing to organs, cells, muscle and bone,
So let your presence
Disperse to touch each aspect of our
Individual spiritual bodies
And our body life within community.
Bless the work of our hands
Open us to the giftedness of our work.
May our work be a blessing to the community
In service to Christ Jesus.

Psalm 96:1 – 4, 11 – 13

Sing to the Lord a new song : sing to the Lord, all the whole earth.

Sing to the Lord and bless his name : proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the nations : and his wonders among all peoples.

For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised : he is more to be feared than all gods.

Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea thunder and all that is in it : let the field be joyful and all that is therein.

Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy before the Lord when he comes : when he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness : and the peoples with his truth. Amen.

Meditation

painting by Mark Daniels

Benediction:

Holy God
Holy communion
Holy order
Holy hours
Holy days
Holy seasons
Bless my sisters
Bless my brothers
The rhythms of the day
The work of my hands
My study
My prayer
The stranger you send to my door

A Place Apart Home www.apartvermont.org

March 15, 2011: Prayer Reading for Third Tuesdays Call



The following is based on several versions of the book of common prayer, and A Place Apart readings compiled and altered for Third Tuesdays Prayer.
Leaders read plain text, group reads response in bold.



Holy, Holy, Holy
Creator God
Beyond Comprehension,
Beyond mystery,
Present within every created thing,
Nurture the mystic within me.
Nurture the mystic within us.

Holy God,
Baptize me in your Holy Spirit
To speak in both human and angelic tongues.
Holy Spirit
Consume me in your holy fire.
Nurture the artist within me.
Nurture the artist within us.

May the work of my hands,
Impart the essence of my soul.
We offer our hands to you.

Allow me to enter into:
The song of the hermit thrush on the lower branches,
The beating heart of the winter wren on the stone wall,
The flight of the kittywake off the cliff’s ledge above the waves,
The eyes of the barred owl in the winter night.
Allow us to enter in and be changed.

Lord, let my soul rise up to meet you
as the day rises to meet the sun.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Come, let us bow down and bend the knee : let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
Cleanse our hearts, Lord, by your Spirit : that we might praise your holy name.

(Based on Psalm 78:34 – 39)

Let us remember that God is our rock : and the Most High God our redeemer.

But we flattered You with our mouths : and lied to You with our tongues.

Our hearts were not steadfast toward You : and we were not faithful to Your covenant.

But You are so merciful that You forgive our sins and do not destroy us : many times You held back Your anger and did not permit Your wrath to be roused.

For You remember that we are but flesh : a breath that goes forth and does not return.

Cleanse our hearts, Lord, by your Spirit : that we might praise your holy name.

By FLORENCEandTUSCANsYtour

Benediction:

Remove the stone from the entrance
To the cave that shelters my heart,
To see as you see,
To love as you love,
To embody in my life
The message of the gospel
Revealed and set free in Christ.
After drawing my last breath
My body will merge into the earth
To be taken by spring rains
Into the streams flowing into rivers
To the oceans that touch every shore,
As my soul O God
Flows into you.

Holy God unite me
To the heartbeat of God,
The glowing heartbeat of life.
In your Spirit’s presence
I am fully alive.

Second Prayer Call Report

The second prayer call went well. Megan reiterated vision for these calls and then Jonathan led the prayer reading (that Megan created). We had visual art too, which was great, to reflect on. Jonathan introduced the silent prayer time with a quote from "the Practice of the Presence of God."

We then broke into two groups and prayed for the following things:
1. DSC Conference may 13-15.
2. DSC Groups:In TX, IN and OH. One excerpt from those prayers: "We ask for new confidence for the risk of being creative in front of others. Protection, bolstering of who they are. Equip them to overcome obstacles and the things that fill our time and keep us from the creative purposes you have for us."
3. Greenhouse Arts in CO.
4. Adam Fleming's coaching clients
5. Anna P's: Solo art exhibit
6. Jonathan Reuel's upcoming album
7. Zac's finances

1. Our Vision for the Third Tuesdays DSC Prayer Call call is that the love and purposes of God will mature in us and through us as we learn and pray together. We want to:
a. Follow Jesus in prayer - learn from what Jesus said re: prayer and what he modeled.
b. Pray in and for community - pray as a group, pray for the wider DSC community, the wider body, and beyond.
c. Pray creatively - practicing various forms of prayer including practicing the presence, personal house of prayer model, using images, silence, meditation, read prayers.

"If sometimes she becomes a little distracted from the divine presence, God gently recalls Himself by a stirring in her soul. This often happens when she is most engaged in her outward chores and tasks. She answers with exact fidelity to these inward drawings, either by an elevation of her heart to God, or by a meek and fond regard for Him, or by such words as love forms on these occasions. For instance, she may say, "My God, here I am all devoted to You," or "Lord, make me according to Your heart."

It seems to her (in fact, she feels it) that this God of love, satisfied with such few words, reposes again and rests in the depth and center of her soul. The experience of these things gives her such certainty that God is always in the innermost part of her soul that she is beyond doubting it under any circumstances." (From "the Practice of the Presence of God." Gender changed to reference us as the bride of Christ)

Feb 15, 2011: Prayer Reading for Third Tuesdays Call

The following is based on several versions of the book of common prayer, and A Place Apart readings compiled and altered for Third Tuesdays Prayer.
Leaders read plain text, group reads response in bold. Images of paintings by Mark Daniels.

O Lord, let my soul rise up to meet you
as the day rises to meet the sun.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.

Holy, Holy, Holy
Creator God
Beyond Comprehension,
Beyond mystery,
Present within every created thing,
Nurture the mystic within me.

Nurture the mystic within us.

Help me to awaken
From empty dreaming
So that I may become
One with you
And all creation.

Lord, Awaken us.

Source of all creativity, we are made in your image.

Thank you for giving us our creative natures. Thank you for giving us the ability to grow in skill and expertise.

Holy Spirit walk with me
As you walked with Christ
Into the desert,
The vast and empty space.

Lord, walk with us.

Walk me through the Valley
Of the shadow of death.
Expose my clinging
To the half-life,
To fear.

Lord, walk with us.

Shepherd us, Lord, with a faithful heart : and guide us in the way of truth.
You built your sanctuary like the heights of heaven : like the earth which you founded for ever.

Comfort me in my loneliness
So that I may comfort the lonely.

Holy Spirit, Let it be.

Through my suffering
Lead me to those who suffer.

Lamb of God, let it be.

Anoint my weeping
that I might weep with the brokenhearted.

Son of David, Let it be.

Use even my darkness
To bring forth light.
In my healing
Anoint me to heal.
Fill me with such abandon
That laughter becomes my second language.

Raiser of the Dead, Let it be!

So you shepherd us with a faithful and true heart : and guide us with the skillfulness of your hands.

Shepherd us, Lord, with a faithful heart : and guide us in the way of truth.

(Genesis 31:25 – 50 Hebrews 7:1 – 28)



Benediction:
Holy God unite me
To family and friends
To my community
To my enemies
To the poor
To the rich
To the hungry
To the filled
To the privileged
To the despised
To all humanity
To myself.
In your Spirit’s presence
I am fully alive.
In your Spirit's presence, we are fully alive.

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you;
may he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm;
may he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you;
may he bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors. Amen.

First Call Great

We just finished the first of our Third Tuesdays conference calls focused on prayer. We hope to do these every month.

We had a very small group of 5 which was good since we're working out how praying over the phone works. The call had a good balance of structure and creativity. We used a written prayer culled from several different daily prayer resources (including excerpts from A Place Apart's daily prayer cycle). We spent some time in silence, working on practicing the presence of God. We also took time to pray for the DSC groups in Ohio, Indiana and Texas. The TX group has their first regular meeting tomorrow, so the timing was good.

As a leader in the DSC for years I feel very relieved to see this happening and excited to be a part of it. It feels a bit like when your back has been slightly out of whack and it gets put right. This is something we need. This is good. This is part of who we are meant to be and we are becoming it -- steadily and surely -- because Someone patient and trustworthy is initiating and sustaining the process.

- Jonathan

Come join us on the third Tuesday of February.

First Prayer Reading for Third Tuesdays Call

Here's is the first prayer reading. It's based on several versions of the book of common prayer, and APlace Apart readings compiled and altered for Third Tuesdays Prayer.

Come, let us bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker.
Lord, have mercy.
Judge your earth with mercy, Lord.
Teach us to love justice.
(Psalm 94:2-4:)
Rise up, O Judge of the wicked; give the arrogant their just deserts.
How long shall the wicked, O Lord, how long shall the wicked triumph?
They bluster in their insolence, all evildoers are full of boasting.
Judge your earth with mercy, Lord. And teach us to love justice.

Come to me beloved, Embrace me
In the beauty of your completeness.
In the midst of storm,
Through thunder, lightening, and violent wind,
Help me to live in stillness.
As the world races, And humanity falls exhausted,
Quiet my spirit, Lift me to dancing.
Open me to my smallness
Within a galaxy of 200 billion suns,
Within a universe of millions of galaxies,
Make me smaller still;
The tiniest speck
But in your mercy
A speck of light.

Holy Spirit, guide us in the imprint of Christ’s footsteps to pursue justice, counting our neighbor’s welfare to be as important as our own.
Teach us to pray.
Help us turn our attention towards you throughout the day. Draw us towards you.
Teach us to pray regularly.
Open our hearts and lives to you great love which is an ocean that surrounds us everywhere and at all times.
Teach us to pray deeply.
You are good and kind and just and generous. You are love.
Teach us to pray without ceasing.
Teach us to pray.