We are in the final days of the 2020 election here in the States, and as I type this post, the last presidential debate is happening less than three miles from my house here in Nashville. Regardless of your political party, and even if you live somewhere else in the world, it’s been a long haul in terms of 2020. We all need ways to process the exhaustion of this year. The pandemic, losses of rhythm, the loss of hugs, closeness, the ease of life we once took so much for granted. What do we do with all of this?
Put candles in the window
LIGHT A CANDLE and/or PUT CANDLES IN THE WINDOW and PRAY FOR PEACE
One of the neighbors who lives near Belmont University where the debate is being held, had a great idea. She suggested that everyone in the neighborhood put candles in their windows tonight and pray for peace before the debate started. I got out my collection of battery candles that I usually use for Sacred Space installations and put them in all my windows as a tangible reminder of our need for the Light of Peace to shine brightly in our world. What if we all lit a candle each night in the days ahead to pray for peace and “lean towards the light” as Christine’s Advent Book invites us to do? What if we all encouraged our neighbors to put candles in their windows and pray for peace or “hold space for peace” each evening at a certain time?
WEAR A BAND AID… Pray for Healing for Our Nation and Our World
One of our prayer practices this past Sunday night at thinplaceNASHVILLE was praying with 2 Band-Aid Bandages. We were looking at the calling of Matthew. Where Jesus calls this tax collector to come follow him and then ends up at Matthew’s house for dinner with all his tax collector friends. The religious leaders, the Pharisees, grumbled and asked why Jesus was eating with the riffraff. Jesus said that he came for the sick not the well.
10-11 Later when Jesus was eating supper at Matthew’s house with his close followers, a lot of disreputable characters came and joined them. When the Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company, they had a fit, and lit into Jesus’ followers. “What kind of example is this from your Teacher, acting cozy with crooks and riffraff?”
12-13 Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: ‘I’m after mercy, not religion.’ I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.” Matthew 9:10-13 (The Message)
We all put on a Band-Aid bandage and touched the bandage while we prayed for healing for our country and our world. We also prayed for people in our lives who were in need of healing. The second Band-Aid bandage, we put somewhere we’d see it on a daily basis, since the original one we put on would probably fall off soon. One friend put the bandage on the back of her phone so she’d see it and feel it each time she used her phone this week and remember to pray for healing for our country and the world.
Light a Candle and Pray for Peace and Hope
FIND WAYS TO WORSHIP:
If you are a regular freerangefriday reader, you know that I’m all about worship! Worshiping with all our senses! Getting outside, being with God in Nature. Worshiping God through art, creating it or looking at it. Worshiping through silence and through song too. Listen to a beautiful song by my friend, Maggie Dawn.
Find a song that brings you hope and gives you peace. Listen to it daily to help you pray for our nation and the world.
Find some resources to help you pray! We have an abundance of Prayer Resources here at GodspaceLight!
And as chief curator at Freerangeworship, we provide resources and coaching to help people engage God with all their senses and learn to worship beyond singing. We just launched a new website freerangeworship.com this week and want to invite you to pray with us in the Digital Sanctuary. Some of these stations you may have seen here in my freerangefriday posts. We wanted to show how we can worship in different ways even though we cannot meet together. We have lots of resources for Advent and Christmas that are prayer station based and a family Advent Box created by Joanna Cummings of A Sacred Home. We are putting together two ways to process the election for churches and small groups and one using Prayer Hearts that is perfect for individuals too. Those Healing and Election Resources will be available to download next week so please check the website then.
PRAYING with Prayer Hearts
Finally, I want to invite you to a workshop that freerangeworship is hosting so you can experience worship beyond singing and learn ways to pray and worship on line using all your senses. It’s a free workshop on November 6th at 2pm central time via zoom. Please feel free to pass this invitation along to friend who might be interested.
FreerangeWorship Workshop: Creating and Experiencing Sacred Space Worship in Unfamiliar Times
Description
We end our thinplaceNASHVILLE gatherings with this prayer. It has helped me a lot during 2020. I have found myself praying it when I don’t know what else to pray.
Lord!
Give us grace today to love as you love. Help us to love with extravagance.
Give us hope today for ourselves and others. Heal our hurts and our hearts today,
So we can serve and help those around us. Help us to know that you are enough.
And help us live today and everyday in thankfulness. For all you’ve done and for all you bless us with.
In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.
May you find peace and healing this weekend.
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com
1 comment
Met’inks you’ll like this ‘un? Many thanks Lilly!