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In this coming Sunday’s gospel reading Luke 11:1-13, Jesus’ disciples ask him to teach them to pray. As a pastor I have been asked to teach people to pray. Each time I have been asked to teach someone to pray I have cringed inside because I do not feel up to the task. For some reason the old hymn “I Come to the Garden Alone” keeps playing in my mind. I keep telling it to, “Shush!” so that I might hear the “bath qol” but the daughter of a sound eludes me. Below is a portion of a sermon I preached a couple of years ago on the subject of prayer. If nothing else, it reminds me to shush!

Source of Good;
grant me the serenity
to accept
that I cannot change other people;

A gun took me from you,
but not only a gun.
Behind the gun burned hatred born of fear.
Bullets took them from us,
but not only bullets.
Behind the bullets the smallness
of fear-hate aspired to grandiosity.

This groundbreaking and moving book gathers responses from leaders of diverse spiritual and religious traditions ranging from Buddhism to Islam to Christianity, as well as those who do not claim one or any particular walk of faith. Contributors include Brother David Steindl-Rast, Matthew Fox, James O’Dea, Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, Tessa Bielecki, Lama Surya Das, Hank Wesselman, Father Bede Griffiths, Byron Katie, Joan Halifax, Normandi Ellis, Andrew Harvey, Dan Millman, Kristena Prater, Nicki Scully, Mirabai Starr, and more.

Fifty.
Today, a number of tragedy
symbol of guns drawn, shots fired, sheer horror.
I prayed that it was not religious extremism.
But it was.
Again.
Once more, lives lost senselessly invoking the name of God.
And so I grieve.
I let myself feel the grief and the tears.

From a rich lode of speeches, articles in eBulletins, and numerous publications, Fred Plumer has mined those that define the Progressive Christianity movement as it evolves to meet new challenges in a rapidly changing world.

Xavier Rudd and The United Nations perform @ LEAF Spring 2015. Since the very beginning, Xavier Rudd’s ability to connect with people has been his most powerful gift. The more he has toured the world, the more hearts he has touched and the more of the world he has put back into his music.

From time immemorial the circle has been a symbol of inclusiveness
and unity.

We have come in the midst of life to grieve for the death of ____, to give thanks for his/her life and to bid him/her farewell. Death and life are one in the purposes of love. Jesus said ‘if you grieve with all your heart, you shall find healing’.

O Dear One, we are overwhelmed with frustration with the impossibility of fully accepting this unacceptable death.

Prayers are a significant part of public church services. They can also form an important part of one’s personal life. Some people engage in praying frequently and regularly. For some it is a formal, repetitive experience, performing the same ritual at the same time each day; for others it can be a long or short intimate time of spontaneous, deep reflection/sharing. For some it can involve significant searching for a way through the maze of life, while for others it may be the outpouring of grief, sorrow or thanksgiving. For many it is a time of self-reflection or contemplation of one’s particular situation.

The pain of our Good Fridays
still lingers among us.
We still dwell inside the long waiting
of our Holy Saturdays.
Old wounds hold us in calloused hearts.
Ancient histories mold our souls in fear.
New worries drag us toward the abyss of dread.

O God, our Divine Parent, may your presence be ever revered. May your peace and justice dwell among us. May your love and compassion live within and between us. Nourish us daily with the necessities of life; sustenance for our bodies, and inspiration for our spirits.

  For the many churches that have asked us for a book with calls to Worship and other liturgies, we now have an excellent one. It is Prayers of Via De Christo. It is the product of …

‘Prayers of Via de Cristo: Calls to Worship for Progressive Christians’ offers a collection of 125 service prayers created specifically for an informal and introspective Progressive Christian congregation. Comfortable with contemporary situation, conversation, and scholarship, these reflective prayers focus on a wide range of themes and perspectives.

Practice being a person of increase and thanksgiving. Our gratitude will lead us naturally to giving, we’re grateful so we give, and then we receive, and then we are grateful some more! What we will do for a life of meaning, peace, compassion and love will always be far more powerful than what we will do for money.

In my own experience, the best thing I can do for my friends is to listen to them. If I’m doing too much of the talking, then I’m not adequately listening. And when I listen, I do best if I really listen: just be present in silence and give my friend my full, compassionate, truly interested attention. The fourth century Christian mystic, Gregory of Nyssa, said that “we consider becoming God’s friend the only thing worthy of honor and desire.” Mindful prayer is being God’s friend, and letting God be a friend to us: simply being, attentively, with each others’ being.

Download the PDF of A Joyful Path, Year One, Lesson #4- “Discovering Divine Energy ” right into your digital device. Divine energy is always available to us if our hearts are open and willing to let it flow.