Tag Archives: John 14

Easter 5A in Quarantine: Refuge in God

06 Wednesday May 2020

Posted by in Current Events, Liturgy, Pop, Quarantine Liturgy and Prayers

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Texts used this week include John 14:1-21 and Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16

Entry Into Worship
Your space was prepared for you.
In this time, you are where you need to be.
Embrace the Spirit sent by God
In our quarantine dwellings.
Receive the gift of refuge, knowing that God is near.
Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Release the worry and abide in God.

Invocation
Divine Architect, as we abide in our homes, we wonder what will come next.  We grieve what we have left behind, and we mourn the life we are no longer living.  Fill us with a new Spirit, that we can vision a future filled with joy.  May we spend this time rejoicing in the power of Divine Hope, knowing that your presence is forever with us, God.  Amen.

Prayer of Reconciliation
Have we forgotten about you God?  Have we turned our eyes away from your presence?  In this time, we have welcomed crutches to endure this time of loneliness and uncertainty.  We have forgotten that you are our Great Supplier of Hope and Root of All Faith.  May we begin to invest our trust in you instead of false idols.  May we begin to adopt the practice of gratitude in our daily lives.  Amen.

Assurance of Grace
The steadfast love of God journeys with us forever – in the peaks and valleys of our pilgrimage.  May we embrace the grace which stems from God’s love.  Amen!

Reflection on Giving
In God, we seek our refuge.  In our Divine Architect, we find our wisdom.  Even in this season of the unknown, God is caring for us.  And we are called to give what we have to care for our church, our community, and our world.  We are nudged to give what we can to share the Good News of God’s unconditional and steadfast love for each of us.

In a spirit of thanksgiving, we pray together-

Holy God, Divine Architect, in your presence we find a peaceful refuge.  In your presence, we are called to keep your commandments to love our neighbor as ourselves.  Give us the courage and strength to carry your light into our communities and world with the talents, time, and treasures you have bestowed upon us.  We pray in the name of Jesus the Christ, our Compass in unsure times, Amen. 

Benediction
As we dream of a future with hope,
We seek our refuge in God.
We find enduring comfort in the Holy Spirit.
We embrace the peace furnished by Jesus the Christ.
We will not let our hearts be troubled or afraid
as the steadfast presence of the Divine is in our midst
giving us the vision to look ahead to the future with love and hope.
Amen.

(c) 2020 Rev. Michelle L. Torigian.  Permission to us with attribution.

Mental Health Litany of Wholeness

29 Saturday Feb 2020

Posted by in Church Life, Health, Liturgy, Pop

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Scripture John 14:26-27

One: “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

Entry into Healing

One: When the world is topsy turvy around me, and I can’t see reality clearly.  When the medications haven’t clicked in, and I find myself in a manic state, or when depression is weighing me down.  Is this a panic attack coming on?!?

(Sets a medicine bottle on altar/table)

All: Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

One: This substance helps me avoid the discomfort of life.  And now, it’s tough to set it down. I need it to function. I need it so I don’t feel everything.  It brings relief… and it’s a weight.

(Sets a weight on altar/table)

All: Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

One: Trauma from war has clouded my brain.  All of a sudden mental pictures flash in my mind.  Will these visions ever leave?

(Sets a photo from veterans’ memorial on altar/table)

All: Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

One: My dad can’t remember what he had for lunch earlier today.  And he no longer knows my name.

(Takes off name tag from neck and sets it on altar/table)

All: Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

One: When you lose a spouse, you lose a part of yourself.  I haven’t been able to sleep as well. I’m not like I was before their death.

(Sets a box of tissues on altar/table)

All: Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

One: So many in my pews are hurting – grief and depression, anxiety and trauma, addictions, caregiving.  Where do I go next?

(Sets a stole on altar/table)

All: Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

Scripture Isaiah 41:10

One: “Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”

The candle is lit.

Prayer of Healing

Gracious God, Divine Travel Companion,

On this journey filled with worry and grief, our souls feel unsettled.  Our hearts rattle with the notion that something about our bodies and minds will fail.  Will illness and death surround us? Will the ones we love desert us?

Such anxiety sometimes needs additional help, God.  We thank you for counselors, therapists, psychologists, and others who offer a listening ear and constructive feedback.  With their help, we may begin to understand ourselves in new ways.

Bless the medications that we take each day which keeps our minds and our bodies in balance.  Bless the doctors who prescribe and consult and the pharmacists who care for our safety.

Bless the clergy who offer prayers when life crumbles and who will rush to bedsides when illness has overtaken us.  We give gratitude for their words of comfort when grief rolls in like storm clouds.

Through our trauma and our mourning, our anxiety and depression, when substances take the place of healthy living, and as our bodies begin to fail us, comfort us on this journey.  May your peace strengthen us. May your warmth give us hope for the future. Through your gifts and your presence, we see a future with hope.

Amen.

(c) Michelle L. Torigian 2020 – – Permission to use with attribution

Never Orphaned – A Memorial Day Prayer

19 Monday May 2014

Posted by in Church Life, Current Events, Life, Religion

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Gerry J. Gilmore [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons U.S.: Army Col. Carolyn Jones prepares to place some rose petals into the reflecting pool at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial’s annual Memorial Day observance, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., May 26, 2008.

Never Orphaned – A Memorial Day Prayer
Based on John 14

For the families who have been torn apart by war-
You are not orphaned.
For the wives, husbands, girlfriends, boyfriends wondering how their loved one will return-
You are not orphaned.
For the child who barely knows her father,
And for the child who lost his mother-
You are not orphaned.
For the mothers and fathers who receive the news of their child’s injury or demise,
And for the courageous who lost a piece of their body, soul or mind in battle-
You are not orphaned.

In a world torn apart by war,
In a world where conflict rides heavy,
And where we wonder how we’ll make it through another day-
God is here.

Encircling us in every moment is the peace which Christ left with us.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, bringing us comfort to make it until the next moment
To make it one day, one hour or one minute at a time.

And so we love.
We love those who return fragmented, traumatized by what they have seen
Or what they’ve had to do to survive.

We love those who no longer know how to relate to their spouse
After months of deployment, wondering how their marriage will survive.

We love those who long to see their loved one
After six months and a third deployment.

We love those who have external and internal wounds from wars
Ten, twenty, forty or seventy years ago.

Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.
For wherever you abide, God is there.
Wherever you journey, the Divine walks with you.
And so do we.

Christ’s peace is left with us. Christ peace continuously is given to us.
Do not be afraid. Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Never will you be orphaned.

Written by Rev. Michelle L. Torigian