Opening prayer, Dec. 5, 2020

In our secret yearnings

we wait for your coming,

and in our grinding despair

we doubt that you will.

And in this privileged place

we are surrounded by witnesses who yearn more than we do

and those who despair more deeply than do we.

Look upon your church and its pastors

in this season of hope

which runs so quickly to fatigue

and this season of yearning

which becomes so easily quarrelsome.

Give us the grace and the impatience

to wait for your coming to the bottom of our toes,

to the edge of our finger tips.

We do not want our several worlds to end.

Come in your power

and come in your weakness

in any case and make all things new.

Amen.

Walter Brueggemann – Awed to Heaven, Rooted to Earth

Prayer chosen and read by Diane B.

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As I walked slowly though the woods, the sun penetrated and warmed the forest floor. But there are some spots in the forest that rarely or never see the sun. They remain in darkness, but are no less important or worthy in the cycle of nature. The light needs the shadow to illuminate the joy and wonder of life.

Photos and reflection by Nancy L. – Dec. 5, 2020

In this difficult time, the beauty of nature is calming and reassuring that we will see brighter times.

Photos and reflection by Nancy B. – Dec. 19, 2020

Today’s brisk wind felt cleansing… invigorating… fully alive. I imagined the wind cleansing the planet of virus and division and hatred. And all the while, the sun felt so warm and gentle on my face and reminded me of the returning light.

Photos and reflection by Nancy L. – Dec. 19, 2020