Saturday, April 4 - Holy Saturday

One of my favorite poems is called “Prayer” by George Herbert, a 17th Century English poet and Anglican Priest. It starts off,

           Prayer the churches Banquet, Angels age, 

           God’s breath in man returning to his birth, 

           The Soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,

And in that 14 line poem, 27 different images of prayer are given. Indeed prayer is a banquet where we feast on God’s gifts as we take in God’s spirit inside us as we breathe deeply of the life of a different dimension rather than the surface plodding through each day. When I breathe in to prepare for prayer, I am bringing in the breath that God spoke in the creation of the world, the same breath that Jesus gives back to God on the cross, the same breath that He breathed on the disciples after His resurrection. These 27 different images give the freedom to not worry about the “how” I pray, but the openness and honesty in which I pray. Margaret Guenther, an Episcopal Priest and Spiritual Director and author says that the word “pray” is so similar to the word “play” because “it stretches us and helps us push out the boundaries.”

There is no grading system on prayer and sometimes it is only one word. Guenther in her book The Practice of Prayer, which is part of the Episcopal Church’s Teaching Series, shares a poster that was given to her before she went to seminary:

A prayer to be said 

when the world has gotten you down 

and you feel rotten 

and you’re too doggone tired to pray 

and you are in a big hurry 

and besides you are mad at every body

HELP! 

Prayer is at least 27 images and sometimes only one word.

Tom Wilson

Friday, April 3 - Good Friday

For me, and as I believe for many, prayer has evolved throughout my life. At first it was a special time to share with my Dad teaching me the Lord’s Prayer; and moved into a bargaining tool in my teens. Then prayer became a learning or enlightening part of my life. Over time prayer has offered peace, solace, and sometimes acted as a sound board for my anger. For me prayer has allowed me to become closer to God. To have a well-­rounded and sometimes not so happy relationship with God and to see and understand the wonder of God. Prayer has opened my eyes over time to the joys and sorrows of God.

During Lent it is especially the joys and sorrows that I reflect on. The sorrow of God giving up his only Son for us because a group of people that were afraid of Him and His works. The sorrow that to this day there are many people who are still afraid or still feel threatened. The joy of new life in the resurrection and new life in nature that has been hidden all winter long. The joy of knowing that I am loved and that God knows I am far from perfect, yet He forgives me. Lent is the time that I ponder most on all of our sorrows and losses and rejoice in the joy of new life and new beginnings for those who have gone before us with God. Every day I rejoice in the simplicity of where we live, my friends and my family. Every day I become closer to God through all of this and in my prayers.  

Jennifer Adams

Thursday, April 2 - Maundy Thursday

“One of you men who has eaten with me from this dish will betray me.” (Matthew 26: 23)

During Lent I reflect on experiences throughout the past year and how my readings and lessons from the Bible help me through those experiences. The season is devoted to fasting, abstinence, and penitence in commemoration of Christ's fasting in the wilderness, and as we look towards the Easter season Betrayal is center stage.

Betrayal is a loss of trust; betrayal is hurtful and is caused by ego and selfishness. Betrayal can be between you and God; it can be between parents and children, husbands and wives, it can be between friends. Often betrayal is private and not out in the open for the world to see. However, betrayal is most egregious when people we hold in positions of leadership and public trust betray the very people who empower the leaders. In today’s world we are experiencing betrayal by those we put into Public Service and this is very much in the open, much like Jesus at the end. Those in Public Service and leadership in Public Service must hold the support of the people sacred. To betray that Trust is to tear down the very essence of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness declared in our Constitution. Now we have people given the Public Trust ruling and dictating rather than governing and leading, tearing at the very fabric of our Christian lives in a country founded under God.

So let us pray for lost souls. 

Warren Judge

Wednesday, April 1

I Pray to the God in Whom I Believe

Prayer of Petition has always presented peculiar problems to the theologians because of the confluence of seemingly contradictory elements resulting in paradoxical situations. Moreover, to the ordinary believer, the question of unanswered prayers presents a problem that turns off many people from prayer altogether. Emily Dickinson’s cry, “Of course - I Prayed - And did God Care?” echoes the sentiments of millions whose orisons have gone unanswered.

But there is more. Given that God is absolutely powerful, absolutely knowing, absolutely good, absolutely provident, what can prayer effect, if anything at all? How can we influence the will of God by our petitions? If we could, would this not make us more powerful than God? And if we did not, what is the use of praying? Is not God’s providence to be fulfilled regardless of our intentions and impetrations?

St. Thomas Aquinas answers that we petition only to obtain from God what God has arranged or planned to happen on condition that we pray. Alonso Rodríguez, a Spanish master of the spiritual life, agrees, writing that “What God, in His divine providence and disposition has determined from all eternity to give to us, He gives in time through the instrumentality of prayer.”

But we are free, and God, in His providence, must take into account (through His absolute knowledge) that we may or may not pray for the things he has designed to be obtained by prayer, or that we may pray for their opposite, or not pray at all. But providence must be fulfilled regardless and, as Fosdick explains, often in total disregard of our prayers. So prayer always implies the proviso, “If God has planned for this to be.”

God’s mind is not changed, nor are His plans, yet prayer is efficacious when it observes the condition of abiding by the absolute will of God. God, says Fosdick, “does not remake His world for the asking, not because He cannot, but because He must not.”

But the confluence of the necessity of providence, of human freedom of choice, and of human desires and aspirations remains paradoxical regardless of the many theological efforts to explain it - and there have been many, and very elaborate ones, through the centuries.

Recently I heard a gentleman confess on TV that a particular event that was being discussed was “a miracle.” Why so? He answered fervently, “Because I believe in the power of prayer.”

Which means that he believes in a God whose almighty power is at the service of every human request; that is, a God who is not almighty, since He is subject to the power of prayer, a God who is not all-merciful, since He is partial to some, not others; a God who is like a magician, ready to perform an astonishing trick on demand. Saying “I believe in the power of prayer” with great conviction is not a sign of piety, as the gentleman thought, but of a pitiful if petulant ignorance.

I believe in a kind and loving God, a fair and just God, an all-powerful God, an all-knowing God, a provident God, and an unfathomable God. To this God I pray, “Your will be done on earth as in heaven.”

Ignacio L. Götz

Tuesday, March 31

...[T]he angel Gabriel was sent from God... to a virgin... and the virgin’s name was Mary... “Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God... and you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call him, Jesus...” And Mary said, “How shall this be, since I have no husband?” And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you...” and Mary said, “BEHOLD, I AM THE HANDMAID OF THE LORD, LET IT BE DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.”

(Luke 1, 26-38)

As a former Roman Catholic, devotion to Mary was a big part of my early spiritual life. As a female, attending Notre Dame & Mary Manse, Mary was honored on a regular basis. In a very male oriented culture, Mary was our touch stone to the holy. Upon leaving the Roman Church at age thirty, I spent less time with Mary, focusing more on biblical knowledge, philosophy, theology, healing and spirituality in different forms and faith walks.

In my old age I have discovered “natural spirituality,” turning to dreams and nature and how God speaks to me now. Prayer has come full circle, back to Mary and her prayer, LET IT BE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.” I pray that I have, indeed, found favor with God and that God will conceive in my heart (womb) so that I, too, may bring Christ to the world. To become a handmaid of the Lord is to become a servant or assistant of God.

So prayer, for me, is not necessarily asking for anything, but being totally present to the Holy Spirit, so that it “MAY BE TO ME ACCORDING TO GOD'S WORD!”

Pat Wilson

Monday, March 30

        Two Prayers

Down on my knees 

Seeking my Savior there 

Sobbing out my pleas 

Giving up my hidden fears 

He waits for me 

He knows I come when I despair 

When I am lost 

When my soul is bare 

There I find God 

When all is peeled away 

Only then beyond the clouds 

I see the hopeful rays

              *****

Busy working all the day 

Wait says God 

Take time to pray 

Looking inward all the while 

Wait says friend take time to smile 

We talk the talk of love and care 

But walk the walk of sighed despair 

Jesus showed us how to be

To just let go to just be free 

Each day we must try again 

To bracket all we do and when 

We pray all night and through the day 

Our cross is carried all the way

Jane Williams

Sunday, March 29 - Palm Sunday

The Prayer of Faith

...and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. (James 5: 15-16)

PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER

Recently I visited my brother's church. Upon entering, each member or guest was invited to sign a slip of paper. (I wondered at first if this was a unique way of taking attendance.) During the celebration of the Eucharist, I came to know the real reason. After all have received the bread and the wine, the congregation stands in a large circle. A child carrying a basket distributes those little slips of paper, one to a person. The name you receive is the person you are asked to pray for in the coming week.

Oftentimes in churches we pray for those who are sick, or others whose special needs are lifted up in worship or through prayer chains. Rarely do we simply offer a prayer for one of the "regular" people whose needs we may not know. Maybe we pray for our congregation as a whole. We might even pray for its leaders. Mostly we pray for people whose needs we know are great. But imagine the power of having your name lifted up in prayer each week while you also adopt a fellow member as the object of your week's prayers.

Praying for our church family by name, one by one, week by week, could be a very powerful ministry. Perhaps it could go one step further. What if I called that person and said: "I am praying for you this week. Do you have anything in particular - ­a special need or concern - ­that you would like me to pray for?"

At the very least, a prayer ministry of this kind would keep the faithful praying for one another, and help them stay in touch with each other. Perhaps even greater bonds could develop as concerns are shared and joys are celebrated. Even in uneventful weeks I would be honored and humbled knowing that someone is praying for me. For that, only one response is needed: "Thank you."

O God, you know us better than we know ourselves. You have brought us together into this community of faith in order that we might be a blessing even as we are blessed. Lord, teach us to pray for each other. Amen.

Pastor Keith Dey 

Emanuel Lutheran Church 

Southern Shores, NC

Saturday, March 28

Of all seasons, Lent is the most appropriate to undertake a pilgrimage. In ancient times it would have been a journey of unimaginable hardships; today it is of little hardship aside from the cost of transportation and comfortable accommodations.

The easiest would be a trip to the sites of our Anglican heritage in England, such as the great cathedrals in Canterbury, Durham, York and Salisbury. Visiting those great piles of historic and beautiful masonry is an inspiring experience, especially if one takes the time to sit quietly and absorb the spirit of the place. Even caressing a piece of stone filigree of a chapel wall can bring to mind the workers of a distant age who labored with great faith.

Better yet, go further to Rome where we find the many locales of the early faith and our catholic antecedents, too many to name but which collectively endue one with a sense how small numbers of simple folk multiplied into an institution of great power and wealth with the buildings and art to demonstrate that power and wealth. Walking through the few remains of ancient streets in Rome, or better, the rediscovered streets of ancient Pompeii or Ostia Antica, one can imagine the ordinary, working people walking to an early house church where they often had to gather in secret to celebrate the Lord's Supper.

Best, of course, is to go on to the Holy Land, that small piece of this earth which is, at the same time, holy to the three great monotheistic faiths and so often in turmoil, bloodshed and hatred. The pilgrim instinctively heads for the ancient buildings that have been erected during the centuries over the locations which marked the life of Jesus. Some locations are guestimates, others fairly certain; some humble and others grandiose; some of spiritual impact, others of little more than scenic or architectural interest. One can walk the Via Doloroso, likely not the actual route to Calvary, amongst the tussling crowds of tourists and faithful. Or visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where the contending faiths closely guard their piece of the building against unwelcome encroachments. Or, retreat to the Mount of Olives, Gethsemane, and sit quietly overlooking the ancient city where ended our Lord's earthly ministry. It was under such gnarled olive trees that Jesus prayed to God that the cup of suffering be taken from Him. Think on it.

Dick Calhoon

Friday, March 27

 Walking With Presence: Gratitude Prayer

Feet feel the ground’s energy while walking through the woods. 

Eyes see the turtles, frogs, deer, raccoons, and otter. 

Ears hear the leaves rustling in gentle breezes, 

Nose smells the forest after the rain. 

Tongue tastes the sweet wild grapes. 

Ears hear the ocean’s waves coming to shore. 

Nose smells the ocean before eyes see it. 

Eyes see the ocean’s weather patterned mood. 

Tongue tastes the waves’ saltiness. 

Body feels the ocean’s healing wetness.

My heart sighs thankfully for Presence with God on this walk through 

forest into ocean.

Fran MacEachern

Thursday, March 26

Lent is a time for introspection, meditation and prayer.

After the death of my second husband, I moved and changed churches. I fell into debilitating depression and lost all confidence and self-esteem. Self-destructive behavior, such as not eating or taking care of myself and not breathing properly, caused health problems. I had to retire because I couldn't function.

God didn't give up on me. I have felt Him working in my heart through my prayers and those of others. I now attend a mental health group and a Christian-­based grief group. God has given me the tools and opportunities to build a life of my own.

Life is short.

With the help of Jesus Christ, who suffered for us, we must try to glorify him by living life the best we can. If He doesn't give up on us, we have to face our fears and not give up on ourselves.

Mary Glover

Wednesday, March 25

God adores the sound of your voice; Talk to Him often

My first prayers were at meal time: 

     “Come Lord Jesus be our guest. And let thy gifts to us be blest.”

At bedtime: 

     “Now I lay me down to sleep.

     I pray the Lord my soul to keep. 

     If I should die before I wake, 

     I pray the Lord my soul to take.”

And then a prayer in Swedish: 

     “Gud som haver barnen kar

     Sig til mig som liten ar, 

     Vart jag mig I varlden vander, 

     Star min lycka I Guds hander.”

This means: 

     “God who cares for his little children, 

     You will still take care of them when they are older and out in the world.

     Wherever they wander, you will still have them in Your hand.”

Later we learned the Lord’s Prayer and some Psalms. When I joined St. Andrew’s I was given a copy of the Prayer Book which is a treasure of prayers.

I now have a collection of prayers from other sources, One of my favorites is A Complete Idiot’s Guide of Christian Prayers and Devotions. This is intended to nurture your divine connection. The introduction says, “You’re no idiot. You know there’s more to prayer than reciting the ones that you learned as a child. Daily conversations with God help foster your relations with Him.” This insightful guide offers words of inspiration from the ancient scriptures to modern times.

I have a book called Paws for a moment with God which has a prayer for animals, “Hear our prayer, Lord, for all animals. May they be well fed and well treated and happy: protect them from hunger and fear and suffering.”

I also pray when I see or hear emergency vehicles that God will be with those who are in trouble and for those ministering to them. I end my day with the Lord’s Prayer and those with special needs.

God adores your voice. Talk with Him often. Pray without ceasing. 

Ruthie Charlton

Tuesday, March 24

Lent

                                           Oasis in time, 

                                           1800-­year old gift of God 

                                           and ancients, 

                                           to deepen bonds with 

                                           both... 

                                           and “I” 

                                           (like psychotherapy ?)

Noise, 

in us 

and 

surrounding us, 

delivers us to both; 

where, at our intuitive best, 

and their efficacious best, 

God

and I 

meet

                                                                              Ahoy,       

                                                                              oasis ahead! 

                                                                              Refresh....

Wayne Barry

Monday, March 23

"Prayer is not an idle occupation. 

It's a very powerful instrument of our work and love." 

Saint Julian of Norwich 

1342-­1416

When I was beginning my faith journey as a teen, I would sit in the back pew of my home church in Ohio. The morning sun would stream through the columns of stained glass behind me and manifest itself in the most beautiful illustrations in front of me. The sanctuary was nearly three stories high in the middle and the room was always bathed in magnificent light. So many times I would pinch my eyelids together to block out all of that distracting ambiance. I had it in my head that in order to pray properly, I was supposed to have my eyes closed, I was to be completely still and my thoughts were to be a direct and solitary link between me and this mysterious God. If I allowed my mind to wander and admire the light or bask in the beauty, I had somehow missed my chance to commune. I often failed at prayer.

Through college I prayed less. Instead, I took on ritual as my bridge to the Almighty. I fasted every Wednesday of Lent from sunrise to sunset, indulged only in the wafer and the wine during the noon meditation service. I sacrificed some beloved item for the weeks before Easter. I would be terribly disappointed if I strayed off of my determined path. I often failed at ritual.

In my late twenties I had settled into the belief that God is love. When I began to appreciate my thoughts and actions as an extension of the Divine, I began to feel my relationship with God come alive. I realized that quiet prayer is one thing and that ritual is one thing, but for me living and loving with the God force behind me is everything.

Dawn Kiousis

Sunday, March 22 - Fifth Sunday in Lent

For me, prayer has always carried with it a spiritual “side-kick”: struggle! It has been a battle between my view of what a praying Christian ought to look and act like, and the reality of who I actually am, a reality which consistently has fallen short of my view of what faithfulness in prayer should look like! Looking back, it’s really been quite humorous! Getting up way early to hear God’s “still small voice” and falling asleep; settling into a safe prayer place and losing the battle to my mind racing through my “to do list”; and setting numerous “prayer goals” all for naught!

So, I am grateful beyond words for God’s call upon my life to 40 years of active pastoral ministry, because the pressures and demands of that call had an uncanny way of driving me to pray simply out of my own sheer need. And it was there at the intersection of my own need and God’s always available presence that I discovered the simplicity and power of prayer! I love the way Saint Paul puts it: “God can do anything, you know - far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! God does it not by pushing us around, but by working within us, God’s Spirit deeply and gently within us.” (Ephesians 3:20, The Message)

I’ve not totally made peace or become guilt-free when it comes to the gulf between my prayer expectations and realities. But, I’ve been blessed by the keen incites of Charles Keating in a gem of a book called Who We Are is How We Pray! He makes the point that it’s like swimming-­up-­stream to ditch our (Myers-Briggs) personality type when it comes to the way we pray. Our prayer preferences flow out of the person God infinitely loved and created us to be in Christ! In the struggle for real self-acceptance I’m discovering that praying is far more important than the way we pray!

PRAYER: Thank you, Dear God, for the awesome gift of talking to you and the unimaginable joy of hearing you speak to us alone and with others at our side! We ask you to use the frailty of our prayers, so that your will may be done on earth as it is in heaven! AMEN.

Craig Peel

Saturday, March 21

Part of the process taught to The International Order of St. Luke the Physician (OSL) members for praying with others for healing is to “image” the predicament, and pray into it. (Image v. ”to see in one’s mind’s eye, hear in one’s mental ear, etc.” - my definition). I was preparing to write a piece about this, then I read the newest issue of Sharing, OSL’s magazine. Copies of Sharing are in All Saints’ library.

In “Listening at the Gates” Dr. Sheffield writes: “Proverbs 8:34 says, ‘Blessed is the person who listens to Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at My doorposts.’ Listening is an art in healing prayer... It shows sensitivity for greater effectiveness to actively focus on what they are saying to us. However, I want to focus on the art of listening to the Lord and the many ways God speaks to us.

“At a healing conference, a woman came up to us with a twisted spine. I ‘heard’ the Lord say, ‘Ask her when her back started to twist.’ She said, ‘When I was seven. I was attacked under a tree.’ I immediately asked Jesus to come to the little seven year-­old under the tree. She suddenly smiled and said, ‘Oh my, He is dancing with me all around the tree.’ Then we heard a pop in her back. A nurse praying with us checked her spine, and it was as straight as an ironing board.

“We could have tried to heal her for an hour and nothing happen... But with... a direct encounter with the Lord Himself, she was free... She heard from the Lord herself... We did so by listening. The highest form of love is listening, being attentive, and waiting on the Lord. Blessings flow.”

“Dear Jesus, 

Speak to us, for, like Samuel, your servants are learning to listen. 

Open the eyes and ears of our hearts to receive revelation and wisdom              from you. 

We can do nothing without you. Train our spiritual faculties of sight, touch, hearing, tasting and even smelling so we may freely discern what is of You and what is simply our own works. 

Open to us and the people we minister to the gates of favor and blessing! Amen.”

The Rev. Dr. Jack Sheffield, from San Antonio, TX is North American Director, The International Order of St. Luke the Physician.

Perry White

Friday, March 20

SIGHS TOO DEEP FOR WORDS

For we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. (Romans 8:26 NRSV)

It is a fascinating definition of prayer: to pray using “sighs too deep for words.” Perhaps it’s just a deep breath of relief, or to breathe with emotion. Sometimes when I think about our world, all I can do is sigh. I often am lost for words about what to say or think, especially when a friend dies suddenly or another is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after losing her husband. Then all I can do is sigh - as in “heave a sigh,” or even a groan or moan. I think God feels that, too. It’s nice to know that a sigh can be a prayer, too. When I pray, as I think about our world and my place in it, I can think of that sigh as a feeling which invites the Spirit of God to connect with me in outreaching love. Then comfort comes.

I believe that every moment and every daily event are opportunities for prayer. Prayer for me is a way of life, not an event. Prayer grows out of your own life, personality, needs, and rhythms. Each day and every moment are filled with opportunities for prayer. If we seize these moments, we open ourselves to the greatest enrichment possible. Prayer leads us to the One who satisfies every prayerful heart.

My guidelines:

Don’t worry about words or formulas. Prayer is a listening.

There is no special method. Do it your own way.

Pray where you are - God is everywhere.

When you sin and fail, pray anyway. God keeps on loving you.

Pray when worried. Prayer puts everything in perspective.

Pray when sad or sorry. Weep. Tears are a prayer of the heart.

When your heart is bursting with thanks, enjoy. God’s spirit is praying within you.

Embrace the whole world in prayer. Peace depends on it. 

To pray is to breathe. Do it deeply and be filled with life!

Kaye White

Thursday, March 19

“Pray Without Ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

My soul sister told me, “It is hard to find the space for centering prayer.” I would say to her, “You are my space for centering prayer.” In your presence, I know that prayer works. Through you, God’s everlasting waters baptize me in prayer; the secret mists of light and smile.

You rescue the sick and elderly, whether calling game numbers in their nursing home parlor, or speaking their cause in government’s halls. Whatever it takes. You cherish your family; no journey is too long. My family is gone, yet, by God’s grace through you, I know they are with me in spirit, for family never ends.

God has called me on a difficult path that few understand, and your generous activism reminds me of what’s important, and that opinions have nothing to do with it. Prayer is action, and action is prayer, upon which the multiverse turns. You and I, my soul sister, holding a tai chi pose alongside a creek, or brainstorming political action over a meal, or praising God in poetry - it’s all the same. Our lives are the prayer that forms the labyrinth in the clearing, shining up through the tall pines to the world beyond.

Sweet hours of prayer calm the world’s soul, as skillful hands douse its fires. You go on, do what you do, knowing that your space for centering prayer is that because of you, I am centered, and I can pray.

Sharon Keene

Wednesday, March 18

“Everyone must believe in something. I believe I’ll go canoeing.” 

(Thoreau)

Thinking about this reflection has been a gift to me. Let me explain: I was raised in a United Presbyterian Church, and we didn’t make much of Lent, although my Catholic friends did. The sacrifices they made seemed insignificant.

Now, late in life, I realize that this Lenten discipline can serve as a means to deepen my relationship to God, which I want.

So how? As my mind ran over the common spiritual disciplines . . . fasting, meditation, giving, study, simplicity, service, etc., nothing seemed to have energy for me at this time, although all are worthwhile.

Then I found my “canoe.” Because the “something I believe in” is that God is within and without us, and in every person creature and creation, I recognized that “deepening my relationship” to God, meant spending time with God. This is true in any relationship, by paying attention to the person speaking to me, the kitten on my lap, the good meal set before me, the smile of the service person, the wisdom of other friends of God.

To cultivate this awareness I need to practice quieting myself, realizing my breathing in and out, releasing tension in my muscles, and when my thoughts run away like monkeys, bringing them back to the stillness with a chosen word (God, love, Jesus, peace, etc.).

I believe I’ll practice being quiet for a set time daily. Then I’ll paddle into my day, my life, my Easter.

Jane Welch

Tuesday, March 17

Lent has always been a time for me of taking on rather than giving up something. I try to take on something that involves giving to others, e.g., a charity, helping a friend or neighbor. At All Saints’ and on the Outer Banks, we’re involved in so many aspects of giving to our church family and the community that I find myself wondering if there is something else I need to do.

As part of a small study group on faith development for several years, I have been exploring my faith and how I am part of the greater universe. The group has helped me grow spiritually in so many ways. Being mindful of the spirit of the Creator within me, being in the moment with that spirit rather than ignoring it by planning and doing lots of busy work, seeing the spirit in the beauty around me – all are things I will focus on this year.

Who am I? Why do I get so caught up in the busyness of this world? Wondering which way to turn next. I get confused about what’s important. But I am one with the spirit, the Creator -­ when I take time to listen to a voice from my soul often forgotten.

And when rediscovered, I fly with wings of freedom past old frustrations with power to exist each moment. Alive! Breathing with the universe.

Carole Kimmel

Monday, March 16

We often associate Lent with repentance, alms-­giving and self-­denial. But for me, it is more a period to remind myself of the importance of going deeper – deeper into myself, deeper into the Creation within and around me.

And for me, going deeper starts with listening -­ you know, active listening. The kind of listening that:

• allows you to hear the demanding catbird in the tree

• allows you to see the sunset over the bay (yes, you can listen with your eyes)

• allows you to hear your heart beat (yes, you can listen to your body’s pulsations)

• allows you to hear, really hear, what the other person is saying. Not the type where you begin to form your response before they have finished their first sentence. Rather, the kind of listening that lets you appreciate that person’s part in the Creation.

We can listen with any and all of our senses. We can listen in meditation or prayer or many other ways, with our morning coffee (listen to the percolator) or in the dead of night. Listening is many things. One thing it is not -­ projecting our thoughts or biases on the subject. Listening helps us appreciate Creation; our thoughts and biases only get in the way of doing that.

Jesus provides us with many examples of a meaningful life. One of those is removing yourself to a space where you can be at one with the Creator. That may be in a closet; but you may be able to move into such a space in much “busier” places. Wherever, Lent provides us a time to consciously focus on going deeper.

Try listening – and don’t be too hard on yourself for what you hear. The Creator loves us in ways that we can only begin to imagine.

I found a female cardinal dead below our feeder. She visited our feeder often along with her mate. I wonder what he will do now. I listened to God within me crying.

Gary Kimmel

Sunday, March 15 - Fourth Sunday in Lent

                             What does prayer mean for me?

Prayer to me is communication with God. The challenge of prayer is, of course, the fact that God does not return our calls, answer our texts or our emails. God does not respond to us in the ways familiar to us humans. Thus, prayer is often fraught with frustration in the sense that we seem to get no answers to prayers or what happens in the situation that prompted our prayers is the opposite of what we prayed for.

When I am confronted with this situation, I have discovered that I am not alone or the first one with this experience. For comfort, I often return to the Psalms. The Psalms in my mind are a wonderful compilation of prayers that were made by ancient people of faith trying to discover where God was and what God was about, no different than us and our lives today.

I am most comforted by the Psalms when I hear the breadth and depth of the feelings expressed. As an example, let me share some verses from Psalm 28. First the situation of Prayer. . .

1 O Lord, I call to you; my Rock, do not be deaf to my cry; lest, if you do not hear me, I become like those who go down to the Pit

2 Hear the voice of my prayer when I cry out to you, when I lift up my hands to your holy of holies.

3 Do not snatch me away with the wicked or with the evil-­doers, who speak peaceably with their neighbors, while strife is in their hearts.

Then the Psalmist goes on, expressing his faith and hope: 

7 Blessed is the Lord! for he has heard the voice of my

prayer.

8 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I have been helped;

9 Therefore my heart dances for joy, and in my song will I praise him.

How can we not be comforted by these words?

David A. Feyrer

Saturday, March 14

                             What Does Prayer Mean For Me

For me prayer has been an evolving undertaking throughout my life. When I was much younger, prayer was “my personal request” line to God, with lots of please, please, pleases. As I aged and hopefully matured, this attitude toward prayer changed: there were many guides – nuns, teachers, friends, books, and clergy, each with their own recipe for the way prayers should be said and in what order. All this advice seemed too formulaic to me and lacked a very important element, a spiritual component.

One of the most significant moments for me in regard to prayer came from my mother-­in-­law, a no nonsense woman, raised a Roman Catholic but a committed Episcopalian in her adult life. She had a strong, unshakeable faith and her understanding of prayer went as follows: “prayer is simply talking to God.” Talk just like you would to your best friend and remember to listen. In other words there is no magic formula or mantra to use.

The second words of wisdom came from a friend with whom I shared a small Lenten study group. Her wise words have stayed with me: “remember to thank God -­ for all things -­ the good and the not so good.” That is sometimes very difficult to do, but when I remember to give God thanks for all things, I really do see how blessed I am and very grateful for this spiritual connection to our Healer and Redeemer.

Mary Lou Beckett

The Prayer of the Chalice*

Father, to You I raise my whole being, 

a vessel emptied of myself. Accept, Lord, 

this my emptiness, and so fill me with 

yourself: your light, your love, your 

life, your joy, that these precious gifts 

may radiate through me and over-­ 

flow the chalice of my heart into 

the hearts of all with whom I 

come in contact this day, 

revealing unto them 

the beauty of 

your joy 

and wholeness 

and 

the 

serenity 

of your peace 

which nothing can destroy 

through Jesus Christ, my Lord, Amen

*From the International Order of St. Luke the Physician.