A Blessing From Between
Between us all,
We bring blessing into the world.
Blessing in action,
Blessing in reflection.
Blessing in staying,
Blessing in going.
Blessing in companionship,
Blessing in solitude.
May we know and feel how blessing
Wells up from among us.
May this guide us all our days.
Peace, Khaire, Amen.
So be it, see to it.
16 August 2024
Undefended Hearts
May we all have undefended hearts,
that we can be open to the care life calls us to.
May we bless this world with our lives,
and be blessed by the world in turn.
24 November 2024
Here in Fellowship
We each come from different places in life
Seeking words which capture awe
When we have no words
So we gather here in fellowship.
We each come with deep and shallow hurts
Longing for comfort
In word, in song, in presence,
So we gather here in fellowship.
We each come from different places in life
Needing to find our center
And sometimes to be shaken from it
So we gather here in fellowship.
16 July 2023
Blessing A New Religious Educator
(from the worship leader)
May you be filled with and held by all the love, wonder, and curiosity this community contains.
May you hold it all gently in your arms.
And when your arms tire of holding so much, may you rest.
May you know when to say “no” so you can resoundingly answer “yes” to what is most precious.
May you build strong and flexible partnerships in the shared ministry of our congregation.
May you draw strength and wisdom from your colleagues within and beyond these walls.
May you be curious, grounded, nimble, brave.
May you remember that no-one gets it right all the time, and that’s OK.
And when you, or your committees, or your colleagues, fall short as we all do, may you remember that the shortfall does not matter as much as what comes after.
May all the love, wonder, and curiosity of [This Congregation] fill and hold you in your time here.
~~~
(from the congregation)
We welcome you into this new role, full of new challenges and new possibilities. May we grow strong and wise together.
Together, may we draw from our present and past to form the future of our faith.
Together, may we tend to the shared life and shared ministry of this congregation.
May we serve together, may we dream together, may we disagree and reconcile.
May our principles and values guide us in all of this.
Together, may we [live out our congregation's mission statement, covenant, etc.]
Peace, Amen, So May It Be.
12 May 2024
These blessings are part of a larger ritual you can see here.
Hello, Goodbye
As you breathe in, say “I welcome what is new.”
As you breathe out, say “I let go of what is gone."
To begin, set your body comfortably, stably. Rest your hands in your lap, at your sides, or however you can rest them without straining. Straighten your back as much as you can without straining. Close your eyes if that helps you find your center. Now clench your muscles. Start with your fingers and toes; then your arms and legs; then your shoulders, your neck, your jaw. Now relax. Clench your muscles again, and relax.
Breathe in.
Say to yourself, “I welcome what is new.
Breathe out.
Say to yourself, “I let go of what is gone”.
Breathe in, breathe out.
Deep and steady.
31 October 2021
Promises
Plant your feet below you, place your hands in your lap, straighten your spine – or whatever helps you compose yourself. Breathe in long, gentle, and deep. Breathe out, feel your body unwind as you release your breathe.
To whom have you promised yourself?
Who is sitting next to you, breathing out as you breathe in?
Whose glance did you catch with your own, on your way in this morning?
Whose glance did you avoid?
Feel your body – where is it relaxed, or tense? Breathe in, breathe out.
Who promised themselves to you?
Whose hello warmed you?
Whose hug welcomed you home?
Whose smile has uplifted your own? Or didn’t?
Who has given their light to you?
What faint beacon drew you here, for the first time? Did your own glow flicker?
Were you afraid?
Who was the first person you shared your light with? Who has stayed because of your light?
This journey, this light, is not yours to keep jammed shut in your breast pocket. Your light cannot be kept within you, lest you burn down, burn out. Though it can be tiring to hold your light on your own.
Here may we open up our light. You never need go by yourself. Our way is lit by the sharing of others, whose way is lit by our sharing. How filled with light our room is now! Though we each bring the flames of love to the world, we never do so on our own.
Our light is our own and borrowed and given, endlessly circling.
Leave the shadow of the conviction that you were made to be alone, that you are not made of promises.
Breathe in, and breathe out. Come back to the center of this space.
26 January 2020
I wrote this to accompany "Spilling the Light," by Julián Jamaica Soto, in Spilling the Light, (Boston, MA: Skinner House Books, 2019), 1.
In Restful Dark
In the middle of this hour, in the middle of our lives, we make time for restful, healing stillness. Please join me in this guided meditation.
Find a position for your body that is comfortable, stable. Rest your hands in your lap, at your sides, or however you can without straining. Straighten your back, but don’t strain. Close your eyes if that helps you find your center, to shut out a bright noisy world and welcome the peaceful dark.
Breathe in deep, down into the warm dark of your belly. Breathe out, long and slow. Breathe in deep, breathe out slow. As you breathe in, feel the dark wrapping around you, like a warm blanket. As you breathe out, surrender your pains and worries to the bright world.
Breathe in quiet darkness. Breathe out loud brightness.
Breathe in rest. Breathe out worry.
Breathe in deep, as deep as you can. Now breathe out in a big sigh. Notice how your body feels.
Open your eyes, if they are still closed. Come back slowly into the room.
It is good to be together.
22 December 2024
In This Moment
Our meditation this morning focuses on the present moment, letting go of whatever plans we had. Let your attention rest on these words. We will follow them with a minute of silent thought, meditation, or prayer.
Breathe in, and out. Breathe in, as deeply, slowly as you can. Let your breath back out. Focus on your breaths. In, out.
Focus on the space in front of you. Pay attention to it. Be present with it.
Did you plan this moment? Did you mean it to happen, like this?
Let go of your plans as you breathe out.
What do you see? Look at the shape of something in front of you. How it catches light. How it casts shadow.
Let this moment come up to you. Let it fill this space. Let it fill your awareness.
What do you hear? Focus on it for a little while. Rest your attention on the sound of the world around you.
Notice how this moment surrounds you. Notice this world of moments.
What do you feel? Feel the texture of something against your skin. How your body moves across its surface.
Let this moment hold your awareness. Let it grasp you firmly, gently.
What do you smell? Breathe it in, notice it. Notice how it fills your nose. Draw it down all the way to the center of your body.
Let this moment fill you. Take in a little more of this moment with each breath.
And then, let this moment go. Let yourself move on to the next moment. Leave behind your plans to stay.
Breathe in, and out. Breathe in, and out. Come back to the center of this space.
13 June 2021
Running Into A New Year
In the middle of this hour, in the middle of our lives, we pause together for gentle reflection in each other’s company.
Amid the rush of life, our opening words** call us into the small space this moment opens up for us. If we come into this space between years and moments, we will find room to reflect on the things we want to leave behind. We can consider the ruptures we long to repair. And alongside reflection and repair, we can dream of the life ahead of us. Let’s hold and uplift all of these possibilities together in the small space between this year and the year to come.
Aloud, silently, or in the chat online, I invite you to reflect on something you long to let go of; something you ask for forgiveness; and some blessed thing you hope for in the coming months.
Let us sit together in the silent company of these things.
[ring gong]
[pause 1 minute]
[ring gong]
** - Lucille Clifton, Good Woman: Poems and a Memoir 1969-1980 (Rochester, NY: BOA Editions Ltd., 1987), 134.
When Times Are Trying
In the middle of this hour, in the middle of our lives, we long for comfort. We long for companionship. We long for rest to prepare us for the road ahead. But for now, come be with us in this gentle space.
Settle in, and notice how your body feels. Where is the tension?
Behind your eyes? In your clenched jaw?
Your hunched shoulders? Your chest? Your stomach?
Breathe in deep, with the love of the people around you.
Breathe out, until you can’t anymore.
Breathe out all the tension in your body. Let it go.
Breathe in again, deep,
breathe in the peace your body needs today.
In deep, out deep.
10 November 2024
Holy of Holies
Love of All Loves
The Sum of all things in this universe
You are the holiness among us.
There is a magic in our midst
That wells up from between us
That seeps in from beyond us
Which we call to heart and mind today.
May we call forth this love, this magic, this holy wonder
To bless our lives and world today.
08 December 2024
Power Between Us
Love of All Loves,
Life of All Life,
Fellowship of All Fellowship,
be here with us now.
We know you move among us.
We know that even when there are two of us,
there is a power between us.
A power to comfort. A power to heal. A power to just be together.
May this power guide us, now and always.
10 November 2024
A Congregational Prayer
We have come from near and far to celebrate with you
And to bear witness to this transformation of your relationship
We gather here to say that as you hold each other in love, commitment, and accountability,
We will hold you both in these ways as well
We gather here to support you in building a healthy, enduring, and joyous union
We gather here to build a just and loving world that may nurture your relationship and so many others
We gather here to celebrate the interweaving of our lives.
04 May 2024
A Ring Blessing
God of All Gods,
Love of All Love,
Fellowship of All Fellowship
Co-Constituted of the Universe,
You dwell among and bless all things.
So bless this union,
as we have blessed it,
and its symbols, these rings.
Circles of love,
[the spouses’] links to one another and the rest of your being:
A circle made whole each moment.
So may these rings be blessed, so may this union be blessed.
04 May 2024