Moment of Oneness - 11/25/20

Photo by Debra Trees, ARCWP

Zoom: 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81507551772

Meeting ID: 815 0755 1772

To connect by phone dial: 

  +1 646 558 8656

Opening Prayer: (Bridget Mary) O Divine Presence, this evening we come with thankful hearts for eyes to see the beauty of our earth, for ears to hear laughter and music, for the smell of fresh-baked bread and the sweet taste of delicious food. Most especially we come with grateful hearts for the embrace of friends holding us gently.

We come with open hands and loving hearts with gifts we have to offer. 

We come with gratitude for the ways our gifts serve the needs of our sisters and brothers and we rejoice in the abundant blessings we have received from others. Amen.

(Thanksgiving prayer by Bridget Mary Meehan)

Opening song: Berakah, the Blessing by Jan Novotka

https://youtu.be/awJwUf6fq7k

Reading: “Blessings” by Br. David Steindl-Rast

https://gratefulness.org/blessings/

Mary Theresa: Bless what there is, for being. Whatever it be, bless it because it exists; you need no other reason.

Denise: Source of All Blessings,

you bless us with breath —

In and out, in and out, ever-renewing us, ever anew, making us one with all who breathe the same air.

May this blessing overflow into a shared gratefulness, so that with one breath I may praise and celebrate life.

 

Dennis: Source of All Blessings,
you bless us with humility —

That down-to-earth quality that has nothing in common with humiliation but makes us stand tall and acknowledge both the humus that feeds us and the stars to which we aspire. 

May I learn to practice, and to honor in others, this sparkling humility which is the dignity that we, as human beings cannot afford to lose. 

 

Denise: Source of All Blessings,
you bless us with imprecision —

With all that is vague, close but not quite; all that leaves room for the more specific, the more precise, and room for the imagination.

May I know when to be exact and when to move freely and blessed in the space so generously provided by all that is not perfectly defined, giving full scope to my dreams and my creativity.

 

Dennis: Source of All Blessings,
you bless us with memory —

That sacred ingathering of the past that allows us to recognize faces, learn poems by heart, find our way back when we are lost, and bring forth old and new from its nearly inexhaustible store. 

May I know what to forget and what to retain and treasure, keeping in mind the smallest kindness shown to me and spreading its ripples for a long time to come. 

 

Denise: Source of All Blessings,
you bless us with change —

In the seasons of the year, from snow to greening, flowering, fruiting and harvest, in the seasons of life, from childhood to youth, full ripeness, and saging. All living things keep changing. 

May I welcome change as a sacred opportunity to grow and savor in each unrepeatable moment’s fleetingness what IS beyond change.

 

Dennis: Source of All Blessings,
you bless us with departures —

For they are a necessary part of our journey, necessary for the arriving. 

May I always be ready to take leave, always aware that every arrival is a prelude to departure, every birth a step towards dying, and may I thus taste the blessings of being fully present where I am. 

Mary Theresa: May blessings help to sharpen your taste for the gift of life in its immeasurable facets. 

May you grow ever more blessed, ever more able to bless. Amen.

Prayers for the Community: (Kathie)

Let us pray for our local and global community:

We pray for our newly elected U.S. leaders, and the team they will bring together to unite us,

We pray for all who exercise leadership roles in all faith traditions,

We pray for all who are infected by COVID-19 and their care-givers as well as those who are researching a vaccine and cure,

We pray for all who are unemployed and underemployed, for migrants and refugees,

We pray for all who work to promote justice by eradicating sexism, racism, and discrimination of every kind,

We pray for an end to the “arms race” and peaceful ways to resolve conflicts among nations,

And we pray for all unspoken attentions.

(moment of silence)

Mary Theresa: O Holy One, you know our needs before we even speak. Yet, we must speak, if only to remind ourselves of our responsibility to care for the least among us. With your grace, may we act justly and love tenderly in addressing the needs of our world, and may we walk humbly on our mother, the Earth, all the days of our lives. AMEN

Our closing meditation is: A Grateful Day with Brother David Steindl-Rast - Gratefulness.org

https://youtu.be/zSt7k_q_qRU