December 4, 2016
Meditation
It is our quiet time.
We do not speak, because the voices
are within us.
It is our quiet time.
We do not walk, because the earth is
all within us.
It is our quiet time.
We do not dance, because the music
has lifted us to a place where the spirit is.
It is our quiet time.
We rest with all of nature. (words by Nancy Wood)
Time of
silent meditation…
We hold in
the quietness of this place and the love of our circle
All those
who lost their homes, their businesses, their family members or friends during
the fires in Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains.
We hold
tenderly the spirits of those whose lives could not be saved.
We hold with
gratitude the effort and work of the firefighters, the first responders, the
public officials, the Red Cross, the social workers, the national park staff,
the chaplains, all the helping neighbors in a time of need.
We give our
attention to all the people who have lost their livelihood, their work, the
income that supports their families.
We hold the
forests, the trees, the streams, the animals, the air, water, and soil of our
beloved and thirsty mountains.
We give
thanks this day for rain, for water is life.
We connect
our loss and our pain to the larger story of our warming and changing planet.
We admit our
reliance on fossil fuels, and confess our own complicity in a system that is
bringing devastation.
Knowing what
we have lost, what we are losing, we mourn.
Knowing what
we have lost, what we are losing, we look for hope, for ways to be that hope.
This morning
we connect our loss and our pain to the hope of the Water Protectors in North
Dakota.
We hold in
respect and care the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and the people from many other
Native Tribes, their elders and their youth, who are standing together and
putting their bodies at risk in the service of the common good, for protection
of the land, the water, our planet.
We send our
love and solidarity to the veterans and the clergy and the people of many
different faiths who are gathering today in North Dakota to be in prayer and to
be a presence of protection for the Water Protectors.
We join our
prayers with concerned citizens across this globe who may not know the answers
to the global climate crisis we face, but who see a part of the answer in being
in solidarity and following the way of the Water Protectors.
Spirit of
Life, God of Love, Mystery of this Universe,
We ask for
blessing and protection of the most vulnerable.
We ask that
a peaceful way forward will open.
We ask that our
own hearts open to consider more ways we might also become protectors of the waters,
protectors of the earth.
May this
Fellowship bring us courage, creativity and compassion so that we help make it so.
Until all people have access to the gifts of this life. Amen.
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