For Miss Freckles

Thank you, Lord, for our dear pets who keep us warm in the dark moments. Bless my baby Freckles and keep her healthy and with me for a while longer. Help me to manage her diabetes well and do what is good for her. Bless our relationship that is more than pet and owner. Thank you for every day I have had with her. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Bravely into the future....

A Four-fold Franciscan Blessing
May God bless us with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that we may seek truth boldly and love deep within our hearts.
May God bless us with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that we may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.
May God bless us with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that we may reach out our hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.
May God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we really CAN make a difference in this world, so that we are able, with God’s grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.
And the blessing of God the Supreme Majesty and our Creator, Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word who is our brother and Saviour, and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Guide,be with us and remain with us, this day and forevermore.
AMEN.

Strength for the Heart

Dear Lord and now the work begins. Please bless the Area Ministry program that is underway in the East Bay and all those who are looking for a new way of doing ministry and being church. Let us be light for our corner of the world and give us strength of heart to do the Lord's work. In Jesus name we pray. Amen and Amen and Amen again.

THE GREAT DAY!!! GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!!!!

Creator and sustainer of the universe, known in so many different ways by so many different people, we rejoice today in the privilege of living in a society in which peaceful political change is possible. We rejoice in our power to do a new thing, to act on our beliefs and to amend our ways. We rejoice that today marks a milestone in our life together that many of us thought we would live and die without seeing. We rejoice in the witness of all who gave their lives so that we all might inherit freedom, and we pledge ourselves to be worthy of their sacrifice, to strive always to be the people they died believing us to be. We ask your blessing upon Barack Obama as he takes up the heavy burden of his office. We ask your blessing and protection upon his family as they share him with us, and upon the challenging life into which they now move. And we ask your blessing upon all of us, that we might find, each of us in his or her own way, the means to support his leadership and develop our own, for the benefit of all people everywhere. All of this we pray in unity of heart and purpose. And let all the people say, AMEN.

Prayer by the Reverend Barbara Crafton At NYU's campus in Florence, Italy

A lot of people haven't had very diverse experiences, so they don't have enough dots to connect and they wind up with very linear solutions."
—Steve Jobs

Creative Spirit of the Universe - immerse us in your Creativity so that we may connect the dots that further the Kingdom in our worlds. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Thank you, Father, for prophets to show us the way to live in your Kingdom. Lead us to the next step, give us grace and courage to follow. In Jesus name, amen.

Remember "Rosa sat, so Martin could walk. Martin walked, so Obama could run. Obama is running, so our children can fly." (-Ed Welch, quoting a text message from a friend, on NPR's All Things Considered, 10/28/08).

Thank you Great and Gracious Lord for leading this country in the way of truth and peace. Grant us years of hard work and loyal service to You under the guidance of our new government. Thank you for all the prophets who led us to this new and wonderful place.

Amen.

Dear Father,

Even though we are now in Epiphany, I find myself in the Wilderness still. I want to make a straight path and I am struggling to do that. I depend on your love and guidance to find my way forward into the new ministry to which you are calling me and others in Eastern Contra Costa Co. in the Diocese of California. And guide me through the Wilderness that is in my mind, lingering fears from the far past. Bring me whole into your and service as I find your Way to a new life. We pray for Cary's Mom who has had several strokes and for Maggie's Dad and Paula's Dad, both of whom are dying. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

The Deep Compassion of Christ

"A religious person is one who holds God and humans in one thought at one time, at all times, who suffers harm done to others, whose greatest passion is compassion, whose greatest strength is love and defiance of despair."
— Abraham Joshua Heschel

Today we pray for MM and HM and what should have been and might have been. God has resurrection power and for this we give great joy in the triumph of good over evil. Amen.

God Walks With Us

Dearest Jesus,
You became human to make us divine. Let us never forget that we are good and that life is good, just as God is always good. Give us joy in becoming more human knowing that in doing so we are also becoming more divine and more at one with You. Let it be so.

Jesus Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

For Safe Travel

Creator of the Universe, please keep our travelers safe today, those returning from vacation and those off on new adventures. (Sarah and Kim, especially). We pray for all those in the hospital and ask for your presence in their lives and the lives of their loved ones. We particularly ask for healing for Nancy and all the patients at SVH. As the New Year begins we remember parents who have lost their children this year, now in your loving care. Especially be with Garland's parents as they try to make sense of his senseless death and mourn the shortness of his life and its tragic end. Be with us all into the New Year and hold us safe in your arms. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.