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— WORD FOR THE DAY —Just as cultivating a garden requires turning over the ground, pulling weeds, planting, and watering, doing the work of love is all about taking action.BELL HOOKS

From grateful.org

Peace Be With You. – Paul

“I will make the blind walk a road they don’t know, and I will guide them in paths they don’t know. But I will make darkness before them into light and rough places into level ground. These things I will do; I won’t abandon them.” Isaiah 42:16 (CEB)

Photo by Susan Tesar

(From The Upper Room Sight Psalms, January 7, 2025)

The “I Don’t Know” Prayer

Did you know there’s a prayer called the “I don’t know” prayer?  You just go off somewhere quiet and hidden and you walk right up to the heart of God and you say, “I don’t know.”

I don’t know where to go from here.

I don’t know what is happening.

I don’t know how to process this.

I don’t know what to do with all these emotions.

I don’t know how to handle this situation.

It covers a lot of “I don’t knows.” 

And then, with whatever dusty little sand grain of faith you have, you say, “But you know.”

And you leave it there.

God most certainly hears that prayer. 

Peace Be With You. – Paul

Here are the Prayers Of The People from the

Mayfair Heights United Methodist-Sunday, Feb. 2

Prayers Of The People

Let us pray for this world, for others, for our church, for ourselves.

We pray for all who are journeying this day,

Who are leaving uncomfortable and untenable circumstances,

Looking to start their lives over.

We pray for those whom they leave behind,

That all may learn respect, love, and care for themselves and others.

God, in your love,

Hear our prayers.

We pray for all who struggle with health, with loss of self,

Loss of mobility, loss of independence.

We pray for those who seek to help, knowing that it is not enough.

We pray for all who make the difficult places easier.

God, in your love,

Hear our prayers.

We pray for all in authority, that they may seek the ways of compassion,

Of equity, of justice, of understanding.

Grant them an understanding of the vulnerable, the forgotten, the hurting.

May they become voices of mercy.

God, in your love,

Hear our prayers.

We pray for peace in our places of great sorrow,

In places of hurt, violence, greed, and struggle.

We pray that minds and hearts be changed

So that all may exist in safe places.

God, in your love,

Hear our prayers.

We pray for our own concerns, for the concerns of those whom we love,

We pray for these congregations, for the ministries performed here,

We pray for all those served in your name by these people.

May we always be humble stewards of your love and resources.

We pray for blessings and peace this day.

God, in your love,

Hear our prayers. Amen.

Peace Be With You. – Paul

New every morning is your love, great God of light, and all day long you are working for good in the world. 

Stir up in us desire to serve you, to live peacefully with our neighbors, and to devote each day to your Beloved Child, Our Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord.  Amen. 

– “A Liturgy for Morning Prayer,” Upper Room Worshipbook

Peace Be With You. – Paul

You belong. Everywhere. Yes, you—with all your history, anxiety, pain. Yes, everywhere—in every culture, community, circumstance. You belong in this body. You belong in this very moment. You belong in this breath…and this one. You have always belonged. – SEBENE SELASSIE

Peace Be With You. – Paul

We must cherish one another.  We must work — we all must work — to make this world worthy of its children.  – Pablo Casals (on grateful.org)

Peace Be With You. – Paul

From The Center of Action and Contemplation

Creating the Future by Honoring the Past

Cherokee descendent Rev. Dr. Randy Woodley and his wife Edith Woodley of the Eastern Shoshone tribe highlight how honoring the wisdom and traditions of our ancestors can inspire us to become healers and changemakers, creating a path to a better future: 

When we pass our traditions down to the next generation, we are passing down the presence of all our ancestors who came before us. Those songs and stories and teachings are not just from us but from those who came before us. Our ceremonies connect us to our ancestors because we know they once stood where we now stand, using the same traditions.  

I (Edith) bead Indian jewelry. My mother also did great Indian beadwork. Often when I am beading, I find my thoughts drifting to my mother, especially when I look at my hands. I think about what she would do with a color or a stitch, or how she looked for patterns or asked my dad what he thought. Then I ask Randy the same questions. In some ways, my mother is there with me during that practice. Randy’s mom loved nature, especially birds and flowers. When he sees exceptionally beautiful birds or flowers, his mother always comes to mind. “My mom would love this one,” he often says to me when he sees a hummingbird or a robin or a pretty flower. Our ancestors are always present to lead us into the future.  

When sharing stories, Native American elders often drift freely between current and past events. They may begin a story by saying something like “A long time ago …,” but if you listen carefully, you’ll notice that the behavior or problem they are addressing is likely a current one. Indigenous learning comes through reflected experience. We learn about how to live now by examining what has happened in our history.  

We depend on our stories, our ceremonies, and other traditions to guide us to a good future. Often that future is best expressed through exploring things from the past. We mine our past for those gems that are our payment for the future. That is why our stories and other past concerns are so very important. Without our past, we cannot be a people in the future.  

Think about what you have carried forward from your parents, grandparents, or caregivers. What practices, ideas, or lifeways rooted in the past are you keeping alive? 

Peace Be With You. – Paul

Here are the Prayers Of The People from worship at Mayfair Heights United Methodist Church. 

Sunday, January 26, 2025

Prayers Of The People

Let us pray for this world, for others, for our church, for ourselves.

We pray for all who are fearful, insecure, unloved, unseen.

Who are right alongside us, and yet are invisible. 

At this moment, they are in our hearts.

Allow them, O God, the environment to be affirmed,

To be safe, to be recognized for the lovely creations they are.

God, in your love,

Hear our prayers.

We pray for those who have suffered great loss,

how it has changed their lives forever. 

We pray for those who have been ill, injured, 

and for those who are with them in these moments.

We pray for those who gather around loved ones nearing the end,

We pray for those who leave this world with no one around them.

God, in your love, 

Hear our prayers.

We pray for those who have carved out safe places, 

Only to see them now crumbling.  

We pray for those who once more face restrictive barriers. 

God, in your love,

Hear our prayers.

O Loving One, bring peace, bring hope, to our world, 

to our communities, and to our hearts.

Instill in us courage to look for those in need, 

those who are hurting, those who seem to not matter anymore. 

Help us see them as your beloveds, as our beloveds.

Even when we are uncomfortable, help us be your presence, your love, your care.

God, in your love,

Hear our prayers. Amen. 

Peace Be With You. – Paul

Give grace for yourself to still be in-progress. You don’t have to have it all figured out. 

– To Write Love On Her Arms

(To Write Love On Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting home and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide.)

Peace Be With You. – Paul