God, grant us the Peace that is You within us.

led by Dustin G. Wright on Thursday, August 27, 2009

Opening Prayer:

God, thank you for this day,

and all that are gathered here to share it.

Please bless and be with us today

as we seek to better understand You.

God, grant us the Peace that is You within us.

God, help us to the share the Peace that is You with the world everyday.

Amen.

First Reflection: Ephesians 6: 10-20

¹⁰A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. ¹²For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.¹³Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. ¹⁴Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. ¹⁵For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. ¹⁶In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. ¹⁷Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

¹⁹And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.

²⁰I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.

- from The New Living Translation

Second Prayer: meditative prayer while listening to "Wartime Prayers" by Paul Simon

Prayers offered in times of peace are silent conversations. Appeals for love, or love's release. In private invocations. But all that is changed now. Gone like a memory from the day before the fires. People hungry for the voice of God hear lunatics and liars.

Wartime prayers. Wartime prayers in every language spoken. For every family scattered and broken. Because you cannot walk with the holy if you're just a halfway decent man, I don't pretend that I'm a mastermind with a genius marketing plan. I'm trying to tap into some wisdom. Even a little drop will do. I want to rid my heart of envy, and cleanse my soul of rage before I'm through.

Times are hard. It's a hard time, but everybody knows. All about hard times, the thing is, what are you gonna do? Well, you cry and try to muscle through. Try to rearrange your stuff. But when the wounds are deep enough, and it's all that we can bear, we wrap ourselves. In prayer.

Because you cannot walk with the holy, if you're just a halfway decent man, I don't pretend that I'm a mastermind with a genius marketing plan. I'm trying to tap into some wisdom. Even a little drop will do. I want to rid my heart of envy, and cleanse my soul of rage before I'm through.

A mother murmurs in twilight sleep and draws her babies closer. With hush-a-byes for sleepy eyes, and kisses on the shoulder. To drive away despair she says a wartime prayer.

Second Reflection: excerpt from Experiencing the Soul  "A Native American Elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: 'Inside of me there are two dogs.  One of the dogs is mean and evil.  The other dog is good.  The mean dog fights the good dog all the time.'  When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, 'The one I feed the most."
- by Elliot Rosen and Ellen Burstyn

Third Prayer: The Peace Prayer of St. Francis

Lord make me an instrument of your peace Where there is hatred, Let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is error, truth; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, Joy. O Divine Master grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled As to console; To be understood,as to understand; To be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
- Author unknown

Third Reflection: Marker in the Sand, by Pearl Jam
LYRICS HERE

August 13th, 2009

Selected and led by Heidi Jakoby

This evening we began with an opening prayer and then listened to "Fly Like and Eagle" followed by a prayer and then after each of the other readings we used songs as our prayers.


First Reflection:

Steve Miller Band “Fly Like an Eagle”

Time keeps slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
I want to fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
Till I'm free
Oh, Lord, through the revolution
Feed the babies
Who don't have enough to eat
Shoe the children
With no shoes on their feet
House the people
Livin' in the street
Oh, oh, there's a solution
I want to fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
Till I'm free
Fly through the revolution
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin',

Second Reflection: (CEV) Ephesians 5:15-20
15Act like people with good sense and not like fools. 16These are evil times, so make every minute count. 17Don't be stupid. Instead, find out what the Lord wants you to do. 18Don't destroy yourself by getting drunk, but let the Spirit fill your life. 19When you meet together, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, as you praise the Lord with all your heart. 20Always use the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to thank God the Father for everything.

Prayer (in the form of music):

"Let if Fade" by Jeremy Camp

Third Reflection:
The Flood Story
A flood threatens a town, forcing everyone to evacuate, But Joe thinks, "I'm a devout man, God will save me," and staysput. As the waters rise, Joe's neighbor comes by and says, "Joe come with me, we've got to go." Joe declines, "I'm a devout man, God will save me." The waters keep rising, Joe scrambles to his second floor. A firefighter in a rowboat comes by. "Get in the boat or you'll drown," he says. Joe again declines, saying, "God will save me. So this flood story goes."
Finally, the flood waters force Joe to his roof. A police helicopter comes by and throws down a rope. "Climb up or you'll drown," the policeman yells. "No, I'm a devout man, God will save me," Joe replies. Soon, Joe drowns.He arrives in heaven and challenges God. "Why didn't you help me?" "What do you mean?" God says. "I did help. I sent a neighbor, a firefighter and a helicopter."Like Joe, many of us wait for something to rescue us while we miss opportunities to help ourselves. Whether in our business lives or personal lives, we hope for a transforming event. A terrific new customer, a great relationship, a better family life. But life isn't like that. Like Joe, if we want things to be different, we have to do something ourselves. But where to start? How do we learn to recognize an opportunity when it comes our way?
Make a plan - Form a vision of what you want to achieve, then develop a plan of how to make that vision a reality, To judge whether an opportunity is one to seize or let pass you need to Understand whether it fits your goals.
Make a commitment - Get used to saying no, Get used to saying yes.But whatever you do, do it with commitment and conviction. Like Joe, we have to learn to recognize opportunities and then grab them. (from www.promisefogod.com)

Prayer (in the form of music):

"Strong Tower" by Kutless

Come Together, Talk Together

compiled by Dustin G. Wright, led by Heidi Jakoby on August 9th, 2009

Opening prayer:
Father, we give thanks this day.

For this fragile planet earth,
its times and tides, its sunsets and seasons:
We give thanks this day.

For the joy of human life,
its wonders and surprises, its hopes and achievements:
We give thanks this day.

For our human community,
our common past and future hope,
our oneness transcending all separation,
our capacity to work for peace and justice
in the midst of hostility and oppression:
We give thanks this day.

For high hopes and noble causes, for faith without fanaticism,
for understanding of views not shared:
We give thanks this day.

For all who have labored and suffered for a fairer world,
who have lived so that others might live in dignity and freedom:
We give thanks this day.

For human liberty and sacred rites;
for opportunities to change and grow, to affirm and choose:
We give thanks this day.

We pray that we may live not by our fears but by our hopes,
not by our words but by our deeds. Amen.
- adopted from "we give thanks for this day," by O. Eugene Pickett

1st Reading: Ephesians 4:25 - 5:2
25What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ's body we're all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself.

26-27Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don't use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don't stay angry. Don't go to bed angry. Don't give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.

28Did you use to make ends meet by stealing? Well, no more! Get an honest job so that you can help others who can't work.

29Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.

30Don't grieve God. Don't break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don't take such a gift for granted.

31-32Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.

1-2Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.
- from The Message

Prayer:
Come together, talk together,
Let our minds be in harmony.
Common be our prayer,
Common be our end,
Common be our purpose,
Common be our deliberations,
Common be our desires,
United be our hearts,
United be our intentions,
Perfect be the union among us.
- Rgveda X.191.2-4

Second Reflection: dialogue from the movie Dogma
Rufus: He still digs humanity, but it bothers Him to see the shit that gets carried out in His name - wars, bigotry, televangelism. But especially the factioning of all the religions. He said humanity took a good idea and, like always, built a belief structure on it.

Bethany: Having beliefs isn't good?

Rufus: I think it's better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier. Life should be malleable and progressive; working from idea to idea permits that. Beliefs anchor you to certain points and limit growth; new ideas can't generate. Life becomes stagnant.

Prayer:
Lord, thank you for your unconditional love… you still ‘dig’ us no matter what we do. Help us learn how to live in community with one another… despite whatever differences we may have. Help us know when it is okay to be angry, but help us know when we must be gentle as well. Are both feelings possible at once? Most of all, help us to love one another as a reflection of Your love. Amen.

Third Reflection: lyrics from Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me, performed by George Michael & Elton John
I can't light no more of your darkness
All my pictures seem to fade to black and white
I'm growing tired and time stands still before me
Frozen here on the ladder of my life

Too late to save myself from falling
I took a chance and changed your way of life
But you misread my meaning when I met you
Closed the door and left me blinded by the light

Don't let the sun go down on me
Although I search myself, it's always someone else I see
I'd just allow a fragment of your life to wander free
But losing everything is like the sun going down on me

I can't find, oh the right romantic line
But see me once and see the way I feel
Don't discard me just because you think I mean you harm
But these cuts I have they need love to help them heal

Don't let the sun go down on me
Although I search myself, it's always someone else I see
I'd just allow a fragment of your life to wander free
But losing everything is like the sun going down on me

Living in Unity Appreciating Diversity

led by Bill Petersen on July 30, 2009

Opening Prayer
O God you created us, you saved us, and you sustain us in our daily journey. Help us this evening to stop, to rest, and to be in your presence. As we pause and breathe deeply in you, we give you thanks for this day and time together. For what else do we give God thanks….? We also come burdened and tired from the busyness and distractions of our daily lives, we ask for rest and renewal this evening. For what else do we want to ask God for…? Open our hearts and ears to you O God; to the unity you call us to, to the peace you call us to, to see and use the gifts you have given each of us. Grant us humility, gentleness, and patience to bear with one another and all we encounter along the way in love. Amen.

Reflection 1: Ephesians 4:1-16 (The Message)
1-3In light of all this, here's what I want you to do. While I'm locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don't want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don't want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.

4-6You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.

7-13But that doesn't mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift. The text for this is,
He climbed the high mountain,
He captured the enemy and seized the booty,
He handed it all out in gifts to the people.
Is it not true that the One who climbed up also climbed down, down to the valley of earth? And the One who climbed down is the One who climbed back up, up to highest heaven. He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ's followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ's body, the church, until we're all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God's Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.

14-16No prolonged infancies among us, please. We'll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.

Prayer:
O God our teacher and guide along the way, you gather us as one body and one Spirit... one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism… as one God, Mother and Father of all; unite us in our diversity. Bind us together as we serve you, our neighbors and each other. Thank you for the gifts and instruction you give in your Word. Make our uniqueness and variety our strength. Amen.

Reflection 2: Won’t you be my neighbor
July 24, 2009 - 2:22pm by Thomas + http://everydayliturgy.com/blogs/thomas/wont-you-be-my-neighbor

Prayer:
(With thanks to Mr. Fred Rogers for opening the door…)
O God our neighbor and guide along the way. It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor. Help us to recognize one another, reach out and ask, would you be my, could you be my neighbor? It’s a neighborly day in this beauty wood, a neighborly day for a beauty. Help us to see the gifts and needs as we ask, would you be my, could you be my neighbor? Help us to engage our neighbors and neighborhoods with you. Help us to make the most of this beautiful day and see beauty, diversity and giftedness in our unity as your creation. Amen.

Reflection 3: Betty’s Diner
Carrie Newcomer, 2003

Miranda works the late night counter in a joint called Betty’s Diner.
Chrome and checkered tablecloths, one steamy windowpane.
She got the job that shaky fall, and after hours she’ll write til dawn.
With a nod and smile she serves them all…

(Chorus)
Here we are all in one place the wants and wounds of the human race. Despair and hope sit face to face when you come in from the cold.
Let her fill your cup with something kind, eggs and toast like bread and wine. She’s heard it all so she don’t mind.

Arthur lets his Earl Grey steep since April it’s been hard to sleep.
You know they tried most everything, yet it took her in the end.
Kevin tests new saxophones but swears he’s leaving quality control for the Chicago scene, or New Orleans where they still play righteous horns…
(Chorus)

Jack studies here after work to get past high school he’s a first.
And his large hands seem just as comfortable with a hammer or a pen.
Emma leaned and kissed his cheek and when she did his knees got weak. Miranda smiles at Em and winks…
(Chorus)

You never know who’ll be your witness, you never know who grants forgiveness. Look to heaven or sit with us.

Deidre bites her lip and frowns, she works the Stop and Go downtown.
She’s pretty good at the crossword page and she paints her eyes blue black. Tristan come along sometimes, small for his age and barely five but she loves him like a mamma lion.

Veda used to drink a lot, almost lost it all before she stopped.
Comes in at night with her friend Mike who runs the crisis line.
Michael toured Saigon and back, hair the color of smoke and ash.
Their heads are bowed and hands are clasped, one more storm has passed...
(Chorus)

Prayer:
O God our comforter and guide along the way, here we are all in one place the wants and wounds of the human race. Despair and hope sit face to face when we come in from the cold world. Fill our cup with something kind, eggs and toast like bread and wine. You’ve heard it all and we know you don’t mind. Amen.