Sunrise
in Wheatley, Ontario taken by Suzanne De Froy, October 5, 2025
Meeting ID: 815 0755 1772
To connect by phone dial: 1-301-715-8592
Welcome:
Creating the space for discernment is upon us, and nature helps to guide
the way forward. As the first day of
fall approaches, we find ourselves needing to prepare for another transition as
one season eases into another. By settling
into the joy and tenacity of the eternal Christ spirit and the mystery of
creation, we become aware of what remains constant and true.
Opening Song: by Lisa Kelly Deer’s Cry
https://youtu.be/34DVkdZAIw4
Opening Meditation:
by Cherokee Elder Joyce Sequichie-Hifler
Some things never fade or wither in the late summer sun
while a transition is occurring. Totally
adapted to heat and dry weather, the sunflowers grow tall and heavy with bright
yellow blooms. Their beauty brightens
the roadsides and fencerows with the first look at autumn. Quail and wild turkeys abound in the meadows,
nervously breaking cover at the slightest sound when a quiet walker eases
by. As evening settles in, a spider is
silhouetted against the sun’s last glow.
It glides back and forth weaving sturdy gossamer threads into an
intricate design to capture sustenance for another day. It is all part of the serenity that pervades
the silent hours before the dark arrives singing a song: Peace be with you.
First Reading: Attributed to the 13th century
Sufi mystic Rumi
Be empty of worrying.
Think of who created thought.
Why do you stand in prison
when the door is so wide open?
Move outside the tangle of
fear-thinking.
Live in the silence.
Flow … down and down,
into the always widening rings
of being.
Second Reading: by Macrina Wiederkehr in Seasons
of Your Heart: Prayers and Reflections
Slowly …
she celebrated the sacrament
of letting go.
First, she surrendered her green
then the orange, yellow, and
red,
finally, she let go of her brown.
Shedding her last leaf
she stood empty and silent,
stripped bare.
Leaning against the autumn
sky
she began her vigil of trust.
And Jesus said:
“Why do you worry about clothes? Remember the flowers growing in the fields;
they do not fret about what to wear; yet I assure you not even Solomon in all
his royal robes was dressed like one of these.”
Shedding her last leaf
she watched its journey to
the ground.
She stood in silence
wearing the colour of
emptiness,
her branches wondering:
How do you give shade with so
much gone?
And Jesus said:
“Do not be troubled or needlessly
concerned.”
And then, the sacrament of
waiting began.
The sunrise and sunset
watched with tenderness.
Clothing her with silhouettes
they kept her hope alive.
They helped her understand
that
her vulnerability,
her dependence and need,
her emptiness,
her readiness to receive,
were giving her a new kind of
beauty.
Every morning and every
evening
they stood in silence
and celebrated the sacrament
of waiting!
And Jesus said:
“Now if that is how God cares for the
wildflowers in the fields, which are here today and gone tomorrow, will not the
Creator all the more, care for you …?”
Affirmations and Intentions:
In the
name of our Creator God, we bow in awe and gratitude for the harmonious,
balanced, and interconnected gifts of the changing seasons.
In the
Jesus way, we ask that the water, lands, endangered species, and national parks
continue to be protected by our global leaders for the benefit of future
generations.
In the
name of love, may we be empowered to work in creating a renewed awareness on
what it truly means to be responsible stewards dedicated to the life sustaining
waterways, land, and all that exists on our blue planet.
We bring forward our blessings, cares and concerns of this
day.
Closing Prayer: by Wendell Berry, An Autumn Poem
Geese appear high over us,
pass,
and the sky closes.
Abandon,
as in love or sleep,
holds them to their way,
clear in the ancient faith:
What we need is here.
And we pray, not for a new
earth nor for heaven,
but to be quiet in heart, and
in eye, clear.
What we need is here.
Closing Song: Morning Prayer: I Will Surrender by Karen Drucker – Video
by MT Streck
https://youtu.be/Nz2zAY3xcbE
Lyrics: Deer’s Cry by Lisa Kelly
I arise today
Through the strength of Heaven
Light of sun
Radiance of moon
Splendour of fire
Speed of lightning
Swiftness of wind
Depth of the sea
Stability of earth
Firmness of rock
I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me
God's eye to look before me
God's wisdom to guide me
God's way to lie before me
God's shield to protect me
From all who shall wish me ill
Afar and anear
Alone and in a multitude
Against every cruel merciless power
That may oppose my body and soul
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me
Christ on my right, Christ on my left
Christ when I lie down
Christ when I sit down
Christ when I arise
Christ to shield me
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me
I arise today
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