It looks as though this week is a week for prayers. Maybe it is because Tom & I are getting ready for one of our quarterly retreat. The week before is always one of much reflection and contemplation for me. Much has happened for me and for Mustard Seed Associates in the last few months and I think this prayer which I wrote this morning reflects that.
From chaos to creativity,
From darkness to light,
From brokenness to wholeness,
You lead us Lord.
Through day and through night,
Through joy and through sorrow,
Through health and through illness,
You lead us Lord.
Behind us and before us,
On our left and on our right,
Above and below us,
You lead us Lord.
The circle of your presence embraces us,
The circle of your love surrounds us,
The circle of your redemption sets us free.
You lead us Lord.
I wrote this prayer this morning as I prayed for friends in Australia whose homes and livelihoods have been destroyed or damaged by fire today:
God Almighty giver and sustainer of life,
For those whose homes are threatened by fire,
we ask your mercy.
For those whose lives are threatened by flames,
We pray your protection.
For those who have lost all their possessions,
We prayer your comfort.
For those whose health is impaired by smoke,
We pray your healing.
Be with those who respond,
Keep safe firefighters, police and volunteers.
Make their efforts effective.
God in your mercy,
Hear our prayers.
Amen.
Christine Sine
Read updated prayer here
Iona cross with Bishop’s house in distance
We used this beautiful Celtic liturgy in church yesterday. It is called the Ionian Creed and is published in the Iona Abbey Worship Book
We believe in God above us,
maker and sustainer of all life,
of sun and moon, of water and earth,
of male and female.
We believe in God beside us,
Jesus Christ, the word made flesh,
born of a woman, servant of the poor,
tortured and nailed to a tree.
A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief,
he died alone and forsaken.
He descended into the earth
to the place of death.
On the third day he rose from the tomb.
He ascended into heaven,
to be everywhere present throughout all ages,
and His kingdom will come on earth.
We believe in God within us,
the Holy Spirit burning with Pentecostal fire,
life-giving breath of the Church,
Spirit of healing and forgiveness,
source of all resurrection and of eternal life.
Amen
This week has been an amazing week of rich blessing on the Light for the Journey Facebook page thanks to John Birch, Micha Jazz and Bonnie Harr. Enjoy the prayers.
“May we never walk
in solitude or fear,
but the fellowship
of the Spirit
warm our hearts,
the love of the Saviour
bring us joy
and the shelter
of the Father’s arms
forever keep us safe.”
© John Birch: www.faithandworship.com
God of stillness and creative action
Help us find space for quietness today,
That we may live creatively,
Discover the inner meaning of silence
And learn the wisdom that heals the world.
Send peace and joy to each quiet place,
To all who are waiting and listening.
May your still small voice be heard
Through Christ in the love of the spirit. Amen
(Retreat Assocn.)
Posted by Contemplative network
This prayer was inspired by the encircling morning fog
God you fill us with your Spirit
So that we can hear your voice.
God you ask us to listen
So that we can know your ways.
God you send us out to serve
So that we can be your people.
Come down God of life,
Fill us with your love.
Come in Christ of peace,
Anoint us with compassion.
Come amongst us Spirit of joy
Teach us to celebrate your ways.
Christine Sine
Show me grace O God eternal
Show me grace.
Lead me to your saving light.
Show me mercy O God eternal
Show me mercy.
Provide answers for my prayers.
Show me compassion O God eternal
Show me compassion
Reach down and take my hand.
Then I can thank you for your justice,
I can praise you for your righteousness,
I can trust you for your faithfulness.
Christine Sine
Lead us to a mountaintop
within our daily lives,
a sacred space
where life takes on
a different pace,
for we are too busy, Lord,
and fail to hear you call.
Lead us to a mountaintop
within our daily lives,
a quiet place
where we can rest
in your embrace,
for we are too busy, Lord
and need to hear you call.
© John Birch: www.faithandworship.com
O Christ of the dove, grant us the purity of the Spirit.
O Christ of the sparrow, grant us the Father’s protection.
O Christ of the mother-hen, grant us shelter beneath your wing. Amen.
Bonaventure of Bagnoregio (1221-1274)
Posted by the Contemplative Network
Lord Jesus Christ
You have poured out your love on me,
You have poured out your life into me,
You have poured out your faithfulness around me.
Within and without you hold me secure.
Your Word is my joy,
Your ways are my passion,
Your presence is my desire.
Christine Sine
Every morning, let me hear of your mercies.
– Every morning, let me hear of your mercies.
Make me know the path I should follow.
– Every morning, let me hear of your mercies.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– Every morning, let me hear of your mercies.
Posted by Contemplative network
Lord Jesus Christ,
May we pause to look
and see you in this moment.
Mountains red and white with morning sun,
Quiet gaps between traffic flow,
Smiling faces welcoming the day.
Lord jesus Christ,
May we draw breath,
and reflect on your presence,
enlivening all things,
sustaining all things,
transforming all things.
Lord Jesus Christ,
May this moment call me to respond
with just living,
generous giving,
grateful actions.
Christine Sine
Bless to us, O Lord,
the earth on which we walk,
each mountain top,
sunlit sky.
Bless to us, O Lord,
the beauty that we see,
soaring eagle,
butterfly.
Bless to us, O Lord,
the peace within our heart
when filled with joy
or sorrow.
Bless to us, O Lord,
the journey that we make,
the footsteps that
we follow.
©John Birch: http://www.facebook.com/
Seize God,
the weaver of heaven and earth.
Bring your past,
Bring the present day,
Bring the promise of the future,
before the Eternal One.
Seize God,
choose love,
seek the holy presence,
Let the Lord,
make your life extraordinary.
Christine Sine
Our sufferings bring acceptance,
acceptance brings hope:
and our hope will not deceive us,
for the Spirit has been poured into our hearts.
It is through the same Spirit that we pray:
– Stay with us, Lord, on our journey.
Posted by Contemplative Netowork.
Creator God,
on windswept beaches
your saints of old
held their hands up to you
in wonder and amazement,
felt your power through the roar
of wind and surf and,
exposed to the elements
felt a oneness
with the One
who had created all things.
This world does not often allow us
such intimacy with you, Father,
we are crowded out
by circumstances of our own choosing,
seeking fellowship with each other
rather than with you.
Forgive our unwillingness
to follow in the footsteps of your saints,
to meet you in the solitude of your creation.
Forgive our unwillingness
to get our feet wet
© John Birch – http://www.facebook.com/
Lord may I take time today
to be alone with you.
May I create the discipline of presence,
Knowing that inner retreat,
regardless of outer circumstances
is a gift worth pursuing.
May I remember that in the midst of storms
you slept in perfect confidence
rocked to sleep by your faith.
May I take courage when the waves swamp me
Knowing that to our cries of terror
you respond
be not afraid.
Christine Sine
This last weekend Tom and I visited Camano Island where the cross beams on our first Mustard Seed Village building is being installed. It is another small but exciting milestone but progress seems so slow. Yet because of that slowness it is all the more valuable and the unexpected rewards of new friends, new vision and new possibilities is amazing.
We live in a world that tells us fast paced action is the only way to go, yet slow is often better. We now have slow food movements, slow parenting movements, slow church movements and slow money movements. Chris Smith, commented in an article for Sojourner’s magazine last year:
Slow movements are beginning to recover what we have lost in our relentless pursuit of efficiency. Many Christians have been challenged by these Slow movements to consider the ways in which our faith has begun to move too fast as we make sacrifices to the gods of efficiency.
This quest has sparked a renewed interest in the joys of sharing life together in local congregations and has intensified into a growing conversation—rather than a movement—called Slow Church. Slowness itself is not a cardinal virtue of Slow Church, but rather a means of resisting the present-day powers of speed in order to be faithful church communities.
The psalmist too reminds us: Be still and know that I am God (psalm 46:10). Part of what I am learning in this season of slow building and slow transition is to do just that. I need to slow down, to take notice and to respond to the God who longs for my full attention. I encourage all of us to think about how we can do this as we head into the busy Advent and Christmas seasons.
Ask yourself: What am I doing to resist the present day powers of speed? What am I doing to prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ and the longed for coming of God’s eternal world?
These are questions I will probably challenge us with frequently in the next couple of weeks because I think this is an urgent need for all of us. I meet too many stressed out over indulgent Christmas celebrators who wished they knew how to unplug the Christmas machine.
Tom and I are preparing by going on one of quarterly prayer retreats next week. In November I will facilitate two retreats here in Seattle that offer opportunity for slow down and reflection. Exploring the Impact of Simple Living for the Overflow Project and Stop the Madness: Return to Our Senses in Advent. If you cannot attend one of these consider going on your own retreat. Or perhaps there is another way you plan to prepare – I would love to hear from you.
I don’t usually upload two posts in a day but this is an exception – tomorrow’s post is being uploaded early because tomorrow my blog is moving and I will not be able to add content. Hopefully those of you who visit the blog will not notice any changes – except that by the end of the day there should no longer be advertisements at the end of the posts. If you do have problems please bear with us – we hope that the change will make it easier to expand the resources available on the site and give us more freedom in what types of files we are able to upload. The url will change to https://godspacelight.com but if traffic will continue to be redirected from the old site. So with that preamble….
Yesterday morning I shared about spirituality and gardening in a class at Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. It was a beautiful morning and we were able to wander in the local pea patch for part of the time. Beautiful dahlias are still in bloom and the fragrance of roses wafted on the air. Rosemary, thyme and oregano waited to be crushed in hands to share their fragrance as well. But in the midst of the beauty there was also brokenness and death. Giant thistle seed heads ready to blow away on the wind. Piles of dead leaves, and much to our disgust dirty syringes and broken bottles.
Our instinct was to pull out the dying plants, deadhead the summer blooms and “tidy up”. We don’t like untidy spaces and we like even less, the brokenness it sometimes uncovers. We wanted to throw away the syringes and pretend that the brokenness of the city had not invaded this tranquil space.
But is that really what we should be doing? Evidently those untidy and seemingly dead flowers are an important source of nourishment for the birds over the winter. And the corners full of dead leaves provide warm hiding places for insects, frogs and other garden animals.
Maybe the brokenness of our world has a purpose too we speculated. Perhaps as the birds find nourishment from the seemingly dead flowers, we too find nourishment in the midst of the death and brokenness of our souls. And maybe those “dead leaves” are good places for us to hide too so that we can be protected from the wounds still too painful to bear. If we clean them up too quickly before they have done their winter work maybe our lives will suffer.
We grow closer to God in times of sorrow and heartache then we do when everything is going well. We find healing more rapidly when we recognize and face our pains and brokenness then we do in the height of “summer” when everything in our lives seems as sunny as the weather.
This wander in the garden provided some encouraging and challenging lessons for me. I know there are still broken areas in my life that I would love to tidy away right now. And as I look at my loved ones and my friends I see places in their lives I would like to tidy up as well. But God says be patient, make sure you nourish and protect them until God says it is time to tidy up.
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