It’s been a tough couple of days as we hear about another Residential School gravesite count in Saskatchewan. My heart goes out to all those whose pain is sparked again.
Today, I find it hard to pray. And so I share some of my personal journaling with you from today. It is a prayer I wrote with a kind of historic perspective – a prayer for those who came to build Canada. It might not be a prayer you agree with, but take it in. It is raw and unedited and is a personal opinion.
O Divine Creator and Loving Spirit, as our men come onto new land, be with them.
Be with them as they discover the new land and whether we can inhabit it.
Be with them as they may possibly meet people. May they find a way to communicate in a good way.
Be with them in their hearts.
I understand this new land may have great hopes and futures for us who want to start over in a new place. I hope that, if we encounter other people who are already there, that we can coexist in a good way. I hope that we can learn from them and be in close community with them.
I hope that the powers that be may step away from political, religious, or even personal agendas.
God, in the historic nature of our faith, we take over and convert others. Guide us. Nurture us. Remind us that you are in all things and all people already. That we may have different ways of expressing you, how we understand you, how we practice what it means to be and do good in this world. Help us to discover those things within each other and to see how much bigger you are because of that.
God, take away the destructive nature we hold within. Remove any fears we may hold if we meet others. And if there is fear, simply because of the unknown, may we be hesitant and careful, but also open and willing to the encounters and experiences to come.
If we make promises, O God, help us to keep them and to live them out in a good and honest way.
Keep us humble, keep us faithful and keep us open.
Keep us safe, keep us worthy, and keep us excited for what is to come.
I pray this in the name of the One who died for all of us,
Amen.
My prayer for us all today is that God helps us to take care of each other and to hold our hearts tightly in comfort and grace.
Today, I find it hard to pray. And so I share some of my personal journaling with you from today. It is a prayer I wrote with a kind of historic perspective – a prayer for those who came to build Canada. It might not be a prayer you agree with, but take it in. It is raw and unedited and is a personal opinion.
O Divine Creator and Loving Spirit, as our men come onto new land, be with them.
Be with them as they discover the new land and whether we can inhabit it.
Be with them as they may possibly meet people. May they find a way to communicate in a good way.
Be with them in their hearts.
I understand this new land may have great hopes and futures for us who want to start over in a new place. I hope that, if we encounter other people who are already there, that we can coexist in a good way. I hope that we can learn from them and be in close community with them.
I hope that the powers that be may step away from political, religious, or even personal agendas.
God, in the historic nature of our faith, we take over and convert others. Guide us. Nurture us. Remind us that you are in all things and all people already. That we may have different ways of expressing you, how we understand you, how we practice what it means to be and do good in this world. Help us to discover those things within each other and to see how much bigger you are because of that.
God, take away the destructive nature we hold within. Remove any fears we may hold if we meet others. And if there is fear, simply because of the unknown, may we be hesitant and careful, but also open and willing to the encounters and experiences to come.
If we make promises, O God, help us to keep them and to live them out in a good and honest way.
Keep us humble, keep us faithful and keep us open.
Keep us safe, keep us worthy, and keep us excited for what is to come.
I pray this in the name of the One who died for all of us,
Amen.
My prayer for us all today is that God helps us to take care of each other and to hold our hearts tightly in comfort and grace.