HYMNS

Through the star-filled realms of evening. (BL)

Thank you, thank you, thank you God. (BL)

Call of the songbird rising to Heaven. (BL)
 
Rise, O my heart.

http://www.methodist.org.nz/resources/hymns/the_mystery_telling
 
PRAYERS AND AFFIRMATIONS

ON RISING

May awareness be my companion,
love my friend
and amazement my expectation.

This day shall be a day of kindness
kindness to my body,
kindness to my mind,
kindness to my spirit,
kindness to all I meet and
kindness to the earth itself
for I AM humankind.

Within the boundaries I shall sing,
beyond the boundaries I shall dance,
in the mystery I will rest.

Today I will live life with more awareness,
more compassion and
more delight
than ever before.

Day l greet you!
Life I delight in you!
Love I embrace you!

O God, no matter what this day holds for me,
help me to live it as an adventure
in meeting, accepting and communicating with other people,
that I may hear what you are saying to me through each of them.

Dear God , help me to accept this day as a precious gift from you,
that I may appreciate its beauty,
respect the people I meet,
courageously bear the sufferings which it may hold
and seek in all things to love you more fully.
This day I shall let the hills embrace me,
the trees comfort me,
the waves wash over me.
This day I shall let the sap rise within me
and unfolding dance the music of the Cosmos.

O God, this is a wonder-filled day!
you are wonder-filled!
life is wonder-filled!
and I am aware.
Therefore I will laugh with you,
sing with you,
dance with you and
weep with you.

World you are delightful,
life you are exhilarating,
nature you are nurturing,
love you are embracing,
divine you are around
and within me.
I greet you all with reverence
and honor your intertwining.

May the freshness of the dawn enliven my spirit,
May the rising of the sun enlighten my mind,
May the noon-tide of the day warm my heart,
May the benediction of sunset clothe my being
with restfulness.
 

ON GOING TO BED

May sleep bring the mantle of peace,
May dreams bring enlightenment,
May forgiveness be my benediction.

Gracious God, I commit into your hands the joys and frustrations,
successes and failures of this day;
free me from its destructive forces
and grant that the power of its beauty and love
may grow within me to make me a more effective ‘Friend of Jesus.’
 
BLESSINGS (of people)

May wonder be our companion in work,
hope our strength in grief,
belonging our friend in joy
and Earth our sustenance
in each moment of living.

May beauty delight us,
May tenderness envelop us,
May love nurture us and
May silence give us peace.

May the womb of the divine silence mother us
the encompassing of the nothingness confirm us
and the energy of the stillness fire us,
For I AM is everywhere and forever.

May the joy of life fill our minds,
the love of life fill our hearts
and the energy of life fill our whole being
this day and for the rest of our days.
 
GRACES (Food Blessing)

For past memories,
For continuing commitment,
For the hope of the future,
For love, life and health
and for this food and celebration,
we thank you God.

Blessed be this meal,
May it nourish our bodies,
awaken our sense of justice,
deepen our bonds of love
and enable us to be at one with all life.
 
REFLECTION

I AM GREATER

I am greater than my mind,
I am greater than my heart,
I AM PART OF THE UNIVERSE OF LOVE
AND TENDER CARE.
I am greater than my pain,
I am greater than my fears,
I AM PART OF THE UNIVERSE OF LOVE
AND TENDER CARE.
I am greater than my birth,
I am greater than my death,
I AM PART OF THE UNIVERSE OF LOVE
AND TENDER CARE.
I am greater than my past,
I am greater than my dreams,
I AM PART OF THE UNIVERSE OF LOVE
AND TENDER CARE.
I have found the Christ within,
I have found my deepest self,
I AM PART OF THE UNIVERSE OF LOVE
AND TENDER CARE.
 

LOGO NOTE: At the heart of the mystery all the separate boxes disappear and all is one, all is love.

Text and graphic © William Livingstone Wallace but available for free use.