Tag Archives: grace

February 5, 2023 · 1:44 pm

A prayer for us all

Remind me, God,

that I am your Beloved Child.

When I fall short,

I am your Beloved Child.

When I go astray,

I am your Beloved Child.
When I make mistakes,

I am your Beloved Child.

When I embarrass myself,

I am your Beloved Child.

When I act with kindness and grace,

I am your Beloved Child.

When I work for justice,

I am your Beloved Child.

When I walk humbly with you,

I am your Beloved Child.

When I am loved and when I love,

I am your Beloved Child.

In all things,

I am your Beloved Child.

In all circumstances,

I am your Beloved Child.

Today, tomorrow, and forever,

remind me, God,

that I am, and always will be,

your Beloved Child.

In Jesus’ name I pray.

Amen.

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November 30, 2022 · 9:13 pm

A prayer for patience and grace

God of infinite patience,

God of unquenchable grace,

help my impatience,

touch my ungraciousness,

When I become frustrated with,

or angered by,

or annoyed at,

another person,

remind me that person

is your beloved child,

made in your image.

Strengthen my patience;

renew my grace,

that I might find ways,

beyond what I perceive as my capacities,

to act in kindness and

to demonstrate love

that we might walk together humbly with you

and work for justice.

I pray in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

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September 24, 2022 · 9:25 am

A prayer for this day, a prayer for every day

Creator God,

thank you for this day.

Help us trust that

you will give us

the grace and strength

and whatever we need

to face what this day brings

We pray in the name of

Creator Sets Free [Jesus].

Amen.

inspired by “Gift from Creator Tells the Good Story 6:33-34” in the First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament

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September 11, 2021 · 11:33 am

A prayer, September 11, 2021

Gracious God,
twenty years on
we remember.

We remember
your precious children killed in
New York
Washington, DC,
Shanksville.

We remember
your precious children killed in
Afghanistan
Iraq
and around the world.

We remember
death
wounded bodies
wounded spirits
wounded souls.

We remember
acts of terror
acts of valor
acts of violence
acts of peace.

We remember
fear
anger
hate
prejudice.

We remember
kindness
courage
grace
generosity.

We remember
people coming together to
reach out
weep
sing
embrace
care.

We remember
songs ended
songs gone
songs created
songs begun
songs lived
songs shared.

Remembering,
may we take bold, faith-filled, hopeful steps
to unlearn the ways of war and
turn to ways that might make peace between people;
to overcome fear of one another
and recognize the dignity and value of every person;
to seek understanding of suffering
and nurture the empathy needed to work to alleviate it; and
to walk the paths of love
that leads to peace and justice.

Remembering Jesus,
in response to your Holy Spirit,
we pray. Amen.

with thanks to Shannan Vance-Ocampo, Chris Shelton, leaders of the United Church of Christ and Come from Away

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June 4, 2021 · 9:22 pm

15 months

You could never have imagined these past fifteen months.
You could not have planned for them.
But you faced them.
You adapted,
you improvised,
you learned,
you wept,
you laughed,
you cursed,
you resisted,
you persisted.
You found strength and love
and grace and hope undreamed of.
You made it this far
and you, awesome you,
will keep on going.

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March 30, 2021 · 12:57 pm

Swamp oaks

Bare now,
soon to be leafed,
the four hundred
raise their branches
to remember
horror and hope
fear and courage
destruction and grace
and, in a place of death,
to proclaim love and life.

30 March 2021
Louisville, Kentucky

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March 1, 2021 · 9:05 pm

You will know

Amid all the challenges these days bring, remember:
One day this pandemic will end 
and then you will know. 
One day you will know 
how brave you have been. 
One day you will know
how strong you have been. 
One day you will know 
how resilient you have been. 
One day you will know
how resourceful you have been. 
One day you will know 
how gracious you have been. 
One day you will know
how loving you have been
Each day be yourself
and one day you will know. 

1 March 2021
Louisville, Kentucky

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February 17, 2021 · 4:31 pm

So, dusty

Friends –
we are dust.
But do you not know
have you not seen
what the Holy One
can do with dust?
All of creation
every blessed creature,
every amazing facet,
every wonderful human being
you and me and all of us,
made from dust by God.
Made from dust and beloved of God.
So Dusty, if I may call us each that.
Go Dusty,
go and live.
Go and love kindness.
Go and do justice.
Go and walk this Lenten journey humbly with God.
Know, Dusty, that
the love of God
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
and the peace and fellowship of the Holy Spirit
are with us now and forever.
Amen.
17 February 2021
inspired by a blessing from Jan Richardson

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September 19, 2020 · 11:25 am

To remember, to motivate

God of justice,
God of love,
God of grace,
we thank you for the life of
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
We remember her service to our country,
her compassionate, caring heart,
her fierce devotion to fairness,
her persistence in pushing for equity,
her brilliant dissents,
her commitment to pursuing justice for
women, the LGBTQ community, and people pushed to the margins.
We marvel at the incredible courage and grace
she publicly displayed in the face of illness.
We are grateful that she
“used whatever talent she had
to do her work to the very best of her ability”
and that she helped
“to repair tears in her society,
to make things a little bettert
hrough the use of whatever ability she has.”
We give thanks for the life of
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
May her memory be a blessing.
Amen.

Note: the words in quotations are quotes from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

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September 2, 2020 · 2:25 pm

A prayer for awareness

God of all people,
none of us know fully
the challenges that another person faces
the burdens that another person carries
the troubles that weigh upon another person.

As we encounter one another,
inspire us to refrain from quick judgement and easy criticism,
to treat each person gently with grace and kindness and love,
and to seek to understand.
We pray in Jesus’ name.
Amen. 

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