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Meeting ID: 815 0755 1772
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Let us put aside any anxiety or worry and think about the miracle of being alive in this body in this moment on this planet!
First Reading: What if…..? by Kai Siedenburg
What if the leaves,
stirred to singing
by the breeze,
sing with even more joy
when they notice
you are listening?
What if the small white flower
quivers with delight
when you notice
her tiny
yet honorable
contribution
to the beauty
of this world?
And what if that brief moment
is all she needs
to know that her life
is worth living,
all her efforts
not in vain?
What if the trees
feel the depth
of your pain,
and are quietly
reaching toward you,
offering solace
with everything
they have to give?
what if the whales
diving into the deep blue
can feel your love
for them,
even across all that
open ocean?
What if the water,
weary from
her endless journey,
is replenished by
your gratitude,
which gives her
the strength
to keep going?
What if the Earth
herself
longs to feel
the caress
of your naked feet
on her warm, brown skin?
And what if the granite mountain,
no matter how remote
feels a quiet shiver of joy
when you are touched
by his majestic beauty?
What if……?
Published in Poems of Earth and Spirit: 70 Poems and 40 Practices to Deepen Your Connection with Nature
Silent reflection (long enough to re-read the poem)
Second Reading: Famous by Naomi Shihab Nye
The river is famous to the fish.
The loud voice is famous to silence,
which knew it would inherit the earth
before anybody said so.
The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds
watching him from the birdhouse.
The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.
The idea you carry close to your bosom
is famous to your bosom.
The boot is famous to the earth,
more famous than the dress shoe,
which is famous only to floors.
The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it
and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.
I want to be famous to shuffling men
who smile while crossing streets,
sticky children in grocery lines,
famous as the one who smiled back.
I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous,
or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular,
but because it never forgot what it could do.
From Words Under the Words: Selected Poems by Naomi Shihab Nye. Copyright © 1995. Reprinted with permission of Far Corner Books, Portland, OR.
Silent reflection (long enough to re-read the poem.)
Intentions: We bring to prayer tonight:
All those gathered here, for our Community, and for all of us on earth.
All our families- for those struggling with careers, or with health issues.
All those suffering from mental or physical illness, those who are grieving, and those who await surgery.
All those suffering from emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.
All those who are in-need of fairness-those mistreated because of the color of their skin, sexual orientation, disability, size, gender or age.
All those who live in abject poverty and for those suffering the devastation of war.
All those suffering from earthquakes, famine, fires, floods and all environmental disasters.
All those who are suffering from cancer especially those we have on our prayer list.
All the medical staff and caregivers who are doing their best to provide healing and love.
All our politicians who are at war with each other for the sake of power. May they lay their gauntlets down and do their best for our nation and our world.
All of creation. May we take care of all that you have given us and may we take care of each other with loving kindness.
Please voice any other intentions……
We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen
Closing Song: Dance Then Wherever You May Be
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