Praise to the One whose love stirs the ancient embers,

And sparks the breath to prayer.

Praise to the One whose love entices the wandering,

And beckons the confused.

Praise to the One whose love grows wings on the weary,

Dreams hope in the discouraged.

Praise to the One whose love dips deeply into diversity,

Pours forth boundless beauty.

All praise to this Gracious One.

All gratitude to this Beloved.

All devotion to this Shaper of Hearts.—AMEN.

_{(Out of the Ordinary: Prayers, Poems, and Reflections for Every Season by Joyce Rupp)}

Today we pray the “Prayer of St. Francis” for peace in our world and for peace in our hearts:

Lord, make us instruments of Your peace:

where there is hatred, let us sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that we 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.—AMEN.

Holy Fire at the heart of all reality, warm our human hearts with the energies of passion and compassion.

Illuminate our minds with the truth of our temporary and mortal state.

And give us a hint of enlightenment about the purpose of our existence.

Illuminate for us the world with all its awesome wonders, so that we may go about our life wisely and [creatively], ready to reject illusions, ready to accept facts, however harsh, grateful for the honor of being [present to] it all.

Give us enough wisdom to cope with the gift of this astonishing life itself.

We ask this in Your name.—AMEN.

_{(We Side with the Morning by William Cleary)}

Heart of Love, source of all kindness, teacher of the ways of goodness, You are hidden in the pockets of daily life, waiting to be discovered.

Heart of Comfort, sheltering wings of love, refuge for sad and lonely ones, You embrace all who bear loss, gathering our tears with care.

Heart of Understanding, one who gazes upon the imperfect, the incomplete, the flawed, the weak, You never stop extending mercy.

Heart of Deepest Peace, resting place at the core of our being, You are waiting always for our return to this sacred home.—AMEN.

_{(“Heart of Love” in Out of the Ordinary by Joyce Rupp)}

O God in whom we hope, we ask You to bless our efforts to bring leadership, justice, and ongoing solutions to the challenges of these days.

Give us the strength to accomplish the seemingly impossible with limited time, energy, and resources.

Help us to be especially sensitive to the needs of those on the margins, those whose losses have brought them close to despair.

May all that we do today lend credence to the words of Harvey Milk that “hope will never be silent”.

And so, Gracious God, we continue to hope in Your providence, and in our ability to engender hope in our communities by our collaboration for the common good.—AMEN.

In her poem, “A Brave and Startling Truth”, Maya Angelou tells us a startling truth about ourselves as humans: that we have the ability to create peace and freedom for all.

We, this people, on this minuscule and kithless globe

Who daily reach for the bomb, the blade and the dagger

Yet who petition in the dark for tokens of peace

Out of such chaos, of such contradiction

We learn that we are neither devils nor divines.

And when we come to it

We, this people, on this wayward, floating body…

Have the power to fashion for this Earth

A climate where every man and every woman

Can live freely without sanctimonious piety

Without crippling fear.

And when we come to it

We must confess that we are the possible

We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world

That is when, and only when

We come to it.

So, Gracious God, give us the courage to trust in our ability to create peace, and may we all take the steps necessary to achieve it.—AMEN.

_{(“A Brave and Startling Truth” by Maya Angelou)} 

Today we pray a prayer of Rabbi Harold Kushner:

Loving Creator, let the rain come and wash away the ancient grudges…

Let the rain wash away the memory of the hurt, the neglect.

Let the sun come out and fill the sky with rainbows.

Let the warmth of the sun heal us wherever we are broken.

Let it burn away the fog so that we can see each other clearly—

So that we can see beyond labels, beyond accents, gender, or skin color…

Let the light of the sun be so strong that we will see all people as our neighbors.

Let the Earth, nourished by rain, bring forth flowers to surround us with beauty.

And let the mountains teach our hearts to reach upward to heaven.—AMEN.

Grant us wisdom, discernment, and integrity as we make important decisions for California. Inspire us to serve people with humility and to seek justice and mercy in all our actions. Give us strength, peace, and the support of each other as we lead.—AMEN.