7:00pm EST
Meeting ID: 815 0755 1772
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LOVE SURROUNDS US
Opening Song: There is Only Love by Karen Drucker
Opening Prayer: Holy Mystery, we gather in celebration of the world that surrounds us reminding us of the deep and lasting love that has been bestowed upon all of creation. May we be ever aware of the responsibility we have as true stewards of all creation, and of the care and nurturance of all life to which we are called. Amen
Reading:
The signs are all around us. We can see them springing up like wildflowers after the prairie rain. People who had fallen asleep are waking up. People who had been content to watch are wanting to join. People who never said a word are speaking out. The tipping point of faith is the threshold of spiritual energy, where what we believe becomes what we do. When that power is released, there is no stopping it, for love is a force that cannot be contained. Look and see the thousands of new faces gathering from every direction. There is the sign of hope for which you have been waiting. . . .
Hope lets us literally see the presence and action of the holy in our everyday lives. This is not an imaginary desire viewed through rose-colored glasses. It is the solid evidence of the power of love made visible in abundance.
Sometimes, in this troubled world of ours, we forget that love is all around us. We imagine the worst of other people and withdraw into our own shells. But try this simple test: Stand still in any crowded place and watch the people around you. Within a very short time, you will begin to see love, and you will see it over and over and over. A young mother talking to her child, a couple laughing together as they walk by, an older man holding the door for a stranger—small signs of love are everywhere. The more you look, the more you will see. Love is literally everywhere. We are surrounded by love.
Bishop Stephen Charleston
Reflection
Intentions
Holy One, fill us with your wild love that we may embrace and protect each other, those living at the margins, and the natural world.
RESPONSE: Fill us with your wild love.
Holy One, reconnect us to our compassion that we may extend our hands to those who need our help in these challenging days.
RESPONSE: Fill us with your wild love.
Holy One, help us reorder our society in justice and peace for women and men of all races, abilities, and sexual orientations.
RESPONSE: Fill us with your wild love.
Holy One, soothe our frazzled spirits, calm our troubled minds, and strengthen our weary bodies that we may better face the challenges of the coming days.
RESPONSE: Fill us with your wild love.
Holy One, in these days of rampant income inequality, remind us of the joy and pleasure to be found both in nature and in each other, lest we too go crazy for power, for things.
RESPONSE: Fill us with your wild love. AMEN.
Closing Prayer:
Eternal Source of Life, I pray in great gratitude this holy day for Love. Love raises the sun and greets me in each drop of water I drink, in each crumb of bread I taste, in each smile and tear I touch, in each child I meet. In a mantle of awe I stand enwrapped. My feet rest upon Earth and my head meets the moon.
O God of All Names and Beyond All Names, Whose Face is Love may I and we collectively be the face of Transforming Love in this moment, in this day, in these times. Amen.
Closing Song: Power of Kindness by MaMuse
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