Author: revpaulcalkin

From “Mama Bears” on social media:

Lessons in Trying To Save The World

If you name it hope

instead of impossible.

If you hold it with tenderness.

If you call it the blessing of your ancestors.

If you look around and see the faces of everyone you love trying to save the world with you.

Then this work becomes love. 

And even mountains will move. – Nikita Gill

Peace Be With You. – Paul

Prayers Of The People from Sunday, November 9, 2025

Loving God, comfort us with the knowledge that you do not slumber nor sleep,

That you are vigilant, waiting, loving, on our behalf, 

And on behalf of all creation.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God.

Loving God, assure us that your presence is a constant covering,

Enfolding us more closely that even the blankets of our beds.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God.

Loving God, let us draw courage from your continuing love, 

Even in moments when we are afraid. 

Blessed are you, O Lord our God.

Loving God, when our own insecurities come to visit, 

When we walk again down streets we don’t wish to see again,

Let us remember that you are beside us.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God.

Loving God, when our lives seem to be more struggle than joy, 

When we relive anxieties we thought we had overcome.

Let us remember that you hold us close in love,

Blessed are you, O Lord our God.

Loving God, when we need to move on, but our hearts are still tender,

When we wake in the nights questioning choices and circumstances,

Let us remember that you walk these same paths with us.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God.

Loving God, when we need to focus on others, when we need to let go,

When we need to relax into your love and care,

Let us remember that you are still there.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God.

Loving God, once again, fill our souls, fill our hearts, with compassion.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God.

Forever and ever. Amen.

Peace Be With You. – Paul

From thetinyjoyproject:

You don’t need to be extraordinary. 

You just need to look up once in a while. 

That’s how awe finds you, 

in the middle of errands, 

in the middle of being human.

Peace Be With You. – Paul

From the United Church of Christ Prayers page.

Holy One, 

We pray for those whose hearts are broken by the cruelty, violence, and unnecessary suffering in our country and the world. 

We ask for clarity in understanding the situations around us, courage to respond in compassion and hospitality, and deep abiding love for you, ourselves, our neighbors, and our enemies. 

May we be good news for the world today through our thoughts, words, and actions. 

In your many names we pray, Amen.

-Amanda Udis-Kessler

Colorado Springs, CO

Peace Be With You. – Paul

Today’s devotional is from the poet John Roedel.

I fell through a hole in 

a church pew yesterday 

and landed right 

in the thick amber

field of a piece of 

stained glass

I asked a red saint

who was stargazing

“why must I suffer?”

without looking

at me

he said

“to know God.”

I didn’t like 

that answer 

so 

I crawled through

a mist of royal triangles

and swam across a sea of ovals

and scaled a pointed cusp

until I found a glowing sinner

and I asked her the

same question

“why must I suffer?”

she placed her

green hand on my

purple cheek

and sung

“Because a broken heart

is easier to share.”

suddenly

my hands became

turquoise doves

and my lips became

yellow vines

and my feet became

fat red rubies

and I became radiant 

painted glass of the divine 

and I became

reflected light

and everything

I touched glowed

and now my broken

illuminated heart 

colors the walls 

of every room I walk into 

~ john roedel 

{photo credit: Juan Manuel Aguilar}

Peace Be With You. – Paul

Blessing for the Week Ahead

May this week open like flower, 

slowly, softly, with promise hidden in its folds.

May you walk through its hours

with your eyes lifted toward small wonders:

a voice that warms you,

a kindness that appears unannounced,

the way sunlight bends through rain.

When challenges rise,

may your courage speak first,

steady and clear,

reminding you that grace grows

not in the absence of struggle

but in your way of meeting it.

And when evening falls,

may peace gather around you like gentle wings,

carrying all that you’ve done

and all you’ve left undone

into the quiet arms of rest.

Rivers in the Ocean

Peace Be With You. – Paul

Here are the Prayers of the People from All Saints Sunday, November 2, 2025.

Prayers Of The People

Let us remember who we are in Jesus-

Beloved, Wounded Healers,

Saints set apart by God and for God.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God.

Let us remember our purpose-

to lead lives of compassion, generosity, justice, and hope,

lives worthy of the calling to which we have been called,

lives which inspires faith in others.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God.

Let us remember and recommit ourselves to this life,

by honoring the lives of those who have inspired us-

the heroic and humble who ran the race before us,

the martyrs who sacrificed all,

and especially those whom we have known and loved,

who led us to deeper faith and service.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God.

You surround us with witness after witness to your transforming love.

Inspire us and empower us to persevere.

Fill our hearts with courage.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God.

Weep with us in our personal heartbreak and loss,

Comfort us and protect us in our mourning,

Fill our souls with hope.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God.

You weep with us in our communal heartbreak and loss.

Wars… Fires… Storms… Division… Injustice… Death.

Comfort us and protect us in our mourning.

Fill our souls with compassion.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God.

Forever and ever. Amen.

Peace Be With You. – Paul

From the United Church of Christ’s page of Prayers for Peace:

by United Church of Christ | published on Oct 30, 2025 

God who is She, They, Ze, He, and beyond many names,

Let this be our prayer:

We will not be silent.

We will not be violent.

We will love.

We will defend Black lives.

We will affirm LGBTQIA+ lives.

We will protect the vulnerable.

We will show up when it is hard.

We will demand justice when the world refuses.

We will organize, teach, march, feed, shelter, vote, heal, build community.

We will reflect critically, think rigorously, and act courageously.

And that love, radical and unrelenting, will change the world.

Amen

-Reed Kirkman, McKinney, TX

Peace Be With You. – Paul

A Prayer For Peace – Rev. Dr. Susanne Johnson

For those who are fleeing: sanctuary

For those who are staying: safety

For those who are fighting: peace

For those whose hearts are breaking: comfort

For those who see no future: hope

Peace Be With You. – Paul

From the poet Jessica Kantrowitz @jfkantrowitz:

Peace to those running a day late

and a dollar–or many–behind

who can’t keep up

with the pace of life these days.

Those still trying

and those who’ve given up

not in despair but in joyful abandon

Those who’ve failed 

by society’s standards

but have peace

but have joy

but have love. 

Peace Be With You. – Paul