Blessing/Charge

May Adonai bless you and keep you,
in hard times and easy times;
May the lord's face shine upon you
as you teach and witness;
May Adonai lift up the divine countenance upon you,
and fuel your passion for the Word;
May the Lord give you the peace that passes all understanding.
Amen.

Call to Worship

Leader: From the mdist of our real lives with their very real problems.
People: We come to seek courage and strength from the presence of God and the support from one another.
Leader: As person who never fully live up to their creation in God's mage,
People: We come to be encouraged to do our best for one more day.
Leader: Praise to God, our Creator, who has made us and all things.
All: Let us worship, with hearts open to the love of God, and hands outstretched to one another
Amen.

adapted from Ruth javascript:void(0)Duck, Bread for the Journey (Pilgrim Press, 1981)

Fear

Fear
Joy Harjo

I am not afraid to be angry.
I am not afraid to rejoice.
I am not afraid to be black.
I am not afraid to be white.
I am not afraid to be hungry.
I am not afraid to be full.
I am not afraid to be hated.
I am not afraid to be loved,
to be loved,
to be loved,
fear.

Source: I Give You Back

Grouneded and Moving

Jesus truly was dangerous. He was creating a following with a kind of thinking that was much more on the side of inclusiveness than exclusiveness.... Jesus is always moving the boundaries out while still respecting the center. That's the key to wisdom: being grounded in the center and still, from that deep foundation, knowing how to move out.

-Richard Rohr

Source: Jesus' Plan for a New World

Come Alive

Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. -Howard Thurman

Be Ready

“You don’t have to prove anything,”
my mother said. “Just be ready
for what God sends.”

A Franciscan Bendiction

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears the shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that you may reach out your hand and comfort them and to turn their pain to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.