Moment of Oneness, March 23, 2022

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81507551772
Meeting ID: 815 0755 1772
To connect by phone dial: +1 646 558 8656

Opening Prayer:

Holy One, as the people of the earth curl in fear and dread as waves of war break around us, you call us to be open.  You call us to move forward in love, to reach up and out; just as soon we will see the newborn leaves and shoots striving to do.  We come together in your name this evening and ask you for the courage to do just that.  To open up, to un-curl, to reach out in hope, and to act on that hope.  That is what Jesus did.  That is what we need the courage to do.  We ask this tonight in fervent prayer.  Amen.

Opening Song:  Nostalgia, Joe Hisaishi  https://youtu.be/tyN8FHmGRLs

Reading:  Psalm 72 (excerpt), adapted by Nan Merrill 

Bring justice to the peoples, O Beloved,
and your mercy to all generations!
May the people be known for mercy,
rendering justice to the poor!
Let their spirits soar as the eagle;
let joy abide in every heart!
May You heed the cry of the poor —
the young and the old,
Setting free all those in need, melting the hearts of oppressors!
For You heed the needy when they call,
the poor and those who have no friend.
You have compassion on the weak,
the downtrodden,
and give them strength and hope.
From injustice and oppression,
You redeem their life;
and precious are they in your Heart.
Long may You live in our hearts,
may praises be sung to You!
May our prayers rise up before You
and blessings of love be freely rendered!
May we be ever grateful for the grain of the fields,
for the fruits of the vine to be shared with all;
and may the people blossom forth in the cities,
like flowers in the meadow!
Blessed be You, who come in the Name of Love;
May your glory fill the earth! Amen and Amen!

Intentions:

 

For the people of Ukraine, may the world continue to reach out to them in their time of terrible need and may they be filled with loving kindness.  For this we pray.  Amen.

For the people of Russia, may they receive the most vital of necessities, Truth.  And may they respond to truth with loving kindness.  For this we pray.  Amen.

For the leader of the Russian people, may his eyes be open and his heart be filled with the reality of the human beings he has visited such horrors upon, and may he be filled with loving kindness and respond with mercy.  For this we pray.  Amen.

For the people of Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Tunisia, all of whom also suffer from the horror of war or terrorist insurrection.  People who suffer daily but who do not make headlines in the nightly news.  May they be remembered.  May they be fed.  May their wounds be bound.  May they be carried to safety and received with open arms as refugees.  May they be filled with loving kindness.  For this we pray.  Amen.

Closing Song:  Loving Kindness, Karen Drucker  https://youtu.be/uLwm68BlH_4