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“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is “thank you”, it will be enough.”

~ Eckhart Tolle  @eckharttolle

Peace Be With You. – Paul

“Don’t let the sun go down without saying thank you to someone, and without admitting to yourself that absolutely no one gets this far alone.”~ Stephen King

Peace Be With You. – Paul

A great thought for today from Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston:

The next time you have a quiet moment, take some time to look at your hands. They are critical tools for your spiritual life. With them you can work to make the world a better place. You can use them in prayer and blessing. You can lay them on others in a sacred act of healing. The next time you doubt yourself, take a look at your hands, and remember all the good you can do.

Peace Be With You. – Paul

From Jan Richardson:

Happy Epiphany! I love this day of mystery and light, and how it invites us to remember that we find our way through the unknown by being willing to set out into it. This blessing is for you, for this day, with gratitude for your company on the path.

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FAR TO TRAVEL

An Epiphany Blessing

If you could see

the journey whole

you might never

undertake it;

might never dare

the first step

that propels you

from the place

you have known

toward the place

you know not.

Call it

one of the mercies

of the road:

that we see it

only by stages

as it opens

before us,

as it comes into

our keeping

step by

single step.

There is nothing

for it

but to go

and by our going

take the vows

the pilgrim takes:

to be faithful to

the next step;

to rely on more

than the map;

to heed the signposts

of intuition and dream;

to follow the star

that only you

will recognize;

to keep an open eye

for the wonders that

attend the path;

to press on

beyond distractions

beyond fatigue

beyond what would

tempt you

from the way.

There are vows

that only you

will know;

the secret promises

for your particular path

and the new ones

you will need to make

when the road

is revealed

by turns

you could not

have foreseen.

Keep them, break them,

make them again:

each promise becomes

part of the path;

each choice creates

the road

that will take you

to the place

where at last

you will kneel

to offer the gift

most needed—

the gift that only you

can give—

before turning to go

home by

another way.

—Jan Richardson

from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons

Image: “The Wise Ones”

© Jan Richardson

janrichardsonimages.com

(P.S. If you haven’t seen the new retreat for Women’s Christmas, which some folks celebrate on Epiphany Day: https://sanctuaryofwomen.com/womenschristmas.html. You can download it as a PDF at no cost.)

Peace Be With You. – Paul

Prayers Of The People from Mayfair Heights United Methodist Church, Epiphany Sunday, January 5, 2025

Prayers Of The People:

Joining our voices with the song of the angels,

let us pray for the church, the world, and all who are in need. 

God of wanderers, you sent the magi from afar to witness the mystery and majesty of your birth. Send us into the world with your love in our hearts and in our actions.

Loving God, hear our prayers. 

Gracious One, as you have created heavens and earth, now send your all-encompassing love throughout creation. Bless the stars that guide our way and the night sky that invites the earth into quietness and calm.

Loving God, hear our prayers. 

Gracious One, you sent magi to follow the star into an uncertain future. May all leaders and peoples seek your love and care, especially when paths are not clear, conflicts rage, tyrants oppress, and fear abounds.

Merciful God, hear our prayers. 

Gracious One, may your presences be with all who are imprisoned and those who are oppressed. Give us courage and wisdom to create justice and freedom. 

Loving God, hear our prayers. 

Holy One, bring your healing power to all who seek love, support, and restoration. Dispel fears and shadows, calm broken hearts. Bring relief to those who are sick or struggling. 

Loving God, hear our prayers. 

Holy One, you sent the holy family to seek safety in a new land. Protect all who make similar journeys. Send your guiding Spirit to asylum seekers, refugees, and all who journey toward safety.

Loving God, hear our prayers. 

Gracious One, we give thanks for those whose earthly journey has ended and now dwell with you forever. Give us signs of your continual presence until that day when we also join in your unending presence. 

Loving God,  hear our prayers. Amen. 

Peace Be With You. – Paul

Perhaps the art of harvesting the secret riches of our lives is best achieved when we place profound trust in the act of beginning. 

Risk might be our greatest ally. 

To live a truly creative life, we always need to cast a critical look at where we presently are, attempting always to discern where we have become stagnant and where new beginning might be ripening. 

There can be no growth if we do not remain open and vulnerable to what is new and different. 

I have never seen anyone take a risk for growth that was not rewarded a thousand times over.

— John O’Donohue

When the world is falling apart around you, understand you have no power to hold it together. 

The only power you have is letting go and releasing the chaos of your life into the loving arms of Christ to carry you through it. 

– Paul Bane

Peace Be With You. – Paul

— WORD FOR THE DAY —Tomorrow belongs to those who conceive of it as belonging to everyone, who lend the best of ourselves to it, and with joy.AUDRE LORDEgrateful.org

Peace Be With You. – Paul

A Prayer For Our Earth. By Pope Francis

All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures. You embrace with your tenderness all that exists. Pour out upon us the power of your love, that we may protect life and beauty.  Fill us with peace, that we may live as siblings to all, harming no one. O God of the poor,help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this Earth,so precious in your eyes.  Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it, that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction. Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain at the expense of the poor and the Earth.  Teach us to discover the worth of each thing, to be filled with awe and contemplation, to recognize that we are profoundly united with every creature as we journey towards your infinite light. We thank you for being with us each day. Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle for justice, love and peace. Amen.

Peace Be With You. – Paul

Prayers of the People from Mayfair Heights UMC service – December 29, 2024

Prayers Of The People

Gracious God, Creator of all that is, we lift our prayers to you.

We pray for help.  

Help for family and friends.

Some are carrying burdens too great for them to carry alone.

So we join with them today to share those burdens.

God, in your love,

Hear our prayers.

We pray for our responses. 

Because we are not always kind to those we love the most.

So we pray that gracious words, uplifting words, loving words, 

Will be on our lips as well as in our hearts. 

God, in your love,

Hear our prayers.

We pray for help from others.

Those who work with, stand with, the ill and the needy, 

With the unloveable and the forgotten.

Some have been struggling so long that it is the only life they know. 

Assist us that we may be loving, generous, helpful.

God, in your love,

Hear our prayers.

Keep our minds and our words away from judgment and advice. 

Remind us that we are not perfect.

Remind us that there is quite enough criticism and negativity in this world.

May we all stay far away from these.

God, in your love,

Hear our prayers.

Gracious One, please be as clear as you can be about how we can be helpful to others.  God, in your love,

Hear our prayers. Amen.

Peace Be With You. – Paul