Moment of Oneness, June 3, 2026 - Prepared by Denise Hackert Stoner

 

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81507551772
Meeting ID: 815 0755 1772
To connect by phone dial: 1-301-715-8592

Opening Prayer:  Beloved, we thank you for safe passage through the darkness of winter.  We thank you for the rain that fell this spring.  And we thank you for the coming season of blossom and fruit, of warmth and growth.  May we turn to you as flowers turn to the sun, in love and gratitude.  Amen.

Opening Song:  Arise by Three Altos 

https://youtu.be/pYgJqEmbE38

Reading:  From:  Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Our family spent summers canoe camping in the Adirondacks and every day began this way.  I can picture my father, in his red-checked wool shirt, standing atop the rocks above the lake.  When he lifts the coffeepot from the stove the morning bustle stops; we know without being told that it’s time to pay attention.  He stands at the edge of camp with the coffeepot in his hands, holding the top in place with a folded pot holder.  He pours coffee out on the ground in a thick brown stream.  The sunlight catches the flow, striping it amber and brown and black as it falls to the earth and steams in the cool morning air. With his face to the morning sun, he pours and speaks into the stillness, “Here’s to the gods of Tahawus.” The stream runs down over smooth granite to merge with the lake water, as clear and brown as the coffee.  I watch it trickle, picking up bits of pale lichen and soaking a tiny clump of moss as it follows a crack to the water’s edge.  The moss swells with the liquid and unfurls its leaves to the sun.  Then and only then does he pour out steaming cups of coffee for himself and my mother, who stands at the stove making pancakes.  So begins each morning in the north woods: the words that come before all else.  I was pretty sure that no other family I knew began their day like this, but I never questioned the source of those words and my father never explained.  They were just part of our life among the lakes.  But their rhythm made me feel at home and the ceremony drew a circle around our family.  By those words we said “Here we are,” and I imagined that the land heard us—murmured to itself, “Ohh, here are the ones who know how to say thank you.”

Prayer of Gratitude

For the sights of summer:  bright flowers, colorful birds and butterflies, green fields, hopscotch grids on city sidewalks, strutting pigeons, flickering fireflies, mischievous squirrels, children splashing in pools, or running through sprinklers, quiet lakes reflecting moonlight, and all of the sights we contemplate now…….

For all of these, we thank you.

For the sounds of summer:  singing birds, chattering squirrels and chipmunks, music of the ice cream truck, crashing ocean waves, whine of cicadas, rhythmic thumping of basketballs on pavement, rainfall, laughter of children set free from school, music of outdoor concerts, and all of the sounds we contemplate now…..

For all of these, we thank you

For the smells of summer:  fragrance of roses and honeysuckle, fresh, sun-warmed mint, basil, and all fresh herbs, barbeques, the ocean, freshly-mowed grass, the garden after a rain, and all the aromas we contemplate now…..

For all of these, we thank you

For the sensations of summer:  sun on bare skin, sand under bare feet, immersion into cool water on a hot day, ice cream on the tongue, the warmth of a bonfire as the day cools into night, and all the sensations we contemplate now…..

For all of these, we thank you

For the flavors of summer:  sweet corn, fresh herbs, young lettuce, ice cream eaten outdoors, barbequed hamburgers, marshmallows toasted over open flame, and all the flavors we contemplate now…..

 For all of these, we thank you

Closing Prayer:  Holy One, we thank you for the gift of our senses.  May we not forget, as this blessed season unfolds, to notice its many facets as they glitter through our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin; for the gifts of summer are fleeting.  We thank you for every season of our lives, and particularly now, as we stand at its doorway, we thank you for summer.  Amen.

Closing Song: Wonderful World, Kings Return                               https://youtu.be/k-7uK5Ff2WY?si=Ionf02dYXKToaIaA