Tag Archives: peace

Easter 2A in Quarantine: Peace Be With You

14 Tuesday Apr 2020

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

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Entry into Worship
Peace floats on the breezes
And peace sails on the calm waters.
Peace is heard in the dove’s coos
And in a child’s laughter.
Today, we pray for peace-
A peace which transcends the restlessness in our world,
A peace which fills our souls with hope.

Invocation
Divine Architect of Peace, the waves of anxiety crash upon us daily.  Will we have enough?  Will we survive? When will “normal” return?  We are riding the swells of the emotional seas.  God of Peace, in this great storm of life, calm the waters.  In the howling wilderness, settle the gusts. For you are our source of peace, our deliverer of serenity.  Amen.

Prayer of Reconciliation
Holy Tranquility, we listen to the news instead of seeking your serenity.  We read article after article instead of meditating upon your presence. Your child spoke “Peace be with you,” and we turned our backs.  Help us to focus on the hope of resurrection and renewal instead of the world’s destructive preoccupations. May we focus our care in ways that are constructive for our neighbors across this community, country, and world during this pandemic and times of isolation.  May we turn our worry into acts of mercy and justice. Encourage us to seek help for overwhelming anxiety so that we can live whole and healthy lives. Amen.

Assurance of Grace
Even when we turn our backs to God’s peace, God continues to send holy calmness in our direction.  May we continue to open our souls to this steadfast peace which already surrounds us. Amen!

Reflection on Giving
In this season of uncertainty, we often want to hide in the caves of scarcity.  Instead, God calls for us to give in a spirit of abundance. Through these gifts, we are able to reach many people outside of the church’s walls.  Through these treasures, our mission continues – even when the world slows down.

With hearts of hope and openness, we pray together…

Divine Tranquility, may we embrace your steadfast peace.  Through your peace, may we confidently give our treasures, talent, and time in order for the work of the church to continue.  Through your peace, may our congregation utilize these gifts wisely to reach a world filled with anxiety and uncertainty and to share your hope and love.  Amen.

Benediction
As this morning starts a new week, may we embrace the peace of God-
A peace which will carry us through moments of turmoil,
A peace which will connect us with God and neighbor,
A peace which will ask us to be still, and get to know God,
A peace which surpasses our understanding.
May the hope of God, the peace of Christ, and the love of the Spirit
chase away despair and encourage us to embrace divine serenity.
Amen!

Written by Rev. Michelle L. Torigian.  Feel free to use/adapt this liturgy with attribution.

Advent Candle Lighting Prayer for Peace

07 Thursday Dec 2017

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One: Uneasiness stems from the unrest in our world.  News echoes from our TVs and phones alerting us of turmoil around the globe. From what happens in our communities, schools, and world, it’s often tough to find harmony.

Words between neighbors reflect a dismal connection with fellow children of God.  Bullies in schools, workplaces, and other institutions cloud our once happy souls.

Yet even as we stand in the midst of commotion and even when anxiety stirs within our hearts, God is with us. The buzzing of hatred will not be the final noises we hear as God’s song of serenity will rise above the clamor.

Today we light the candle of peace to remember that harmony will abide.  The turmoil of the outside world and the unrest in our souls will convert to peace that goes beyond all understanding.  The light of peace and hope will transform our world to holy tranquility.

And you will be with us in the peaks and valleys of our journeys, God of Placidness.

Amen.

A Prayer in Dad’s Last Days

15 Friday Sep 2017

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God in whose arms rock me throughout all my bouts of tears, I abide in pain as I watch my dad struggle to draw breath after breath.

He was with me throughout my first sleep-deprived nights and now I sit with him through his final sleeps. His tears flowed in my struggles; my well of lamentation has now run dry of liquid grief watching his body’s strength evaporate before me.

I ache for the days when I could hear his voice, see him write on a piece of paper, listen to his monotone singing.

Those moments can only be found in my rear view mirror.

As the aches of my heart pass along to my mind and spread fatigue throughout my body, give me the balm I need to survive these next hours.

Together, Holy One, we will continue to linger on every sacred breath, every twitch of his face. Even as his body is minimally alive, I bask in the radiating sunset of his soul, cherishing the last few moments of summertime innocence.

Amen.

 

Cranky Christmas: The Return of the “Bah Humbugs”

20 Tuesday Dec 2016

Posted by in Current Events, Holidays, Life, Pop

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pexels-photo-249209Much like living with a high pitch noise that won’t go away, I feel as if I am experiencing this Advent/Christmas season with a humming irritation swirling inside of me more than I’ve experienced in other years.

Maybe it’s due to the amount of work I wish I could do but haven’t gotten done.  Maybe it’s due to the things I haven’t gotten accomplished – like Christmas cards (for the billionth year in a row) and how many more extracurricular tasks have to complete before December 25.  Maybe it’s due to all of the failures of this past year or what isn’t going right in my life – according to the world’s expectations.  Maybe it’s due to my endometriosis flaring up a bit (not enough to stop me from getting things accomplished but enough to make me slightly grouchier than the norm).  Maybe it’s due to disastrous political and heartbreaking world events of the past few months.

Now, I won’t describe this as melancholy, because I wouldn’t categorize this as sadness or depression.  Sure, there are moments of sorrow due to the shortened days and lack of peace in our world.  But my Blue Christmas is not a traditional lament.  Rather, I’m irritated.  And this lingering frustration will not subside no matter how many episodes of Modern Family and Parks and Recreation I watch, how many times I view Love Actually or how many peanut butter and chocolate candies I eat.

And all I want to say… or scream…is BAH HUMBUG!

My annoyance at the circumstances of 2016 has placed a filter for the joy of the season.  It’s drowned hope.  It’s robbed my soul of peace, and loving one’s neighbor tends to suffer as a result of my irritations.

And while the presence of the Christ is in my midst, there is a veil between my eyes and Christ’s presence.

So I’m praying that when the Christ candle is lit on Saturday evening, it will be the light I need to see hope, peace, joy, and love that’s been a bit absent in recent weeks.  I pray that it will soothe my soul throughout these shallow-filled days.  I pray that I will not allow this light that is coming into our world to diminish and that it continues to remain strong as time gives birth to 2017.

 

 

Still Part of the Same Body as Rick Warren

07 Sunday Apr 2013

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Today, I heard the news that Rick Warren’s son committed suicide.  I can’t imagine what pain a parent would feel upon hearing the news that his or her own son ended their own life.

Granted, I may not agree with many theological points that Rick Warren believes.  His style of ministering and preaching may not be my style.

But, without a doubt, he is a child of God just as you and I are children of God.  He is part of the same Body of Christ that we belong.  He is made in the image of God the way all of us are made in God’s image.  God loves Rick Warren as much as God loves all of us.  And on the other side of heaven, Rick Warren will be there along with all of us.

Right now, God mourns with Rick.  God cries with Rick.  God surrounds Rick and his family with love, grace, comfort and peace.

We are called to do the same.

Because there is a hole in the heart and spirit of Rick, there is a hole in our spirits as well.  Because we are all part of the same vine and branches, we feel the branch that has been lost because Rick’s son Matthew is not walking with us on earth.  We feel a tremor in the whole body because Rick and his family have experienced this loss.

I tire hearing some theological traditions that believe that suicide sends people to hell.  Suicide is a result of mental illness.  As depression is a health issue, it can consume a person so greatly.  People do not choose to end their lives because Satan or some “evil force” causes them commit suicide.  Because of body chemistry and hormones, depression grasps the emotions of a person and causes them to understand reality in different ways.   This is a scientific and medical reality.  So Matthew isn’t in hell.  Matthew is finally seeing God in God’s fullest.  Matthew is able to see himself as God sees him.  Matthew can experience God’s full love and grace.  And Matthew is still a member of the great Cloud of Witnesses who will welcome us as we transition from this life to the next.

May the Warren family feel God’s peace, love and comfort during this time.  We pray for all who are contemplating suicide tonight and those who experience deep depression.  Amen.