A Labor Day Prayer

02 Saturday Sep 2017

Posted by mictori in Current Events, Holidays, Pop, Social Media

Tags

harassment, Labor day, laid off, Prayer, Prayers, progressive, progressive Christianity, sexual harassment, stay at home parents, UCC, unemployed, workplace abuse

God of our coming in and going out: this world which was originally designed by you is beautiful but has spiritually rotated away from your intentions. We have been given the assignment of work, but there are workplaces corrupted by unfair practices. From harassments to unequal pay, from limited benefits to wages that can’t support families, labor and earnings are difficult subjects for us to face.

So we remember the workers who are harassed and bullied at work. Give them the courage to stand up for what is right. Give them new opppetunies when workplace harassment is abusive.

We remember the workers who desire to be hired but who have been overlooked because of who they are. We pray for them as they endure discrimination.

We remember the workers who do not make livable or equal wages. May they be strong and courageous in standing up for what they need, and may we create systems where wages are fair.

We remember the workers who cannot find jobs. May they find work that not only sustains their homes but sustains their souls, and may they feel dignity as they continue on the journey of searching.

We remember those who have been laid off. Keep their spirits and confidence high hat they may find work in the immediate future.

We remember the workers who feel stuck in their positions. Create a sense of newness in their current jobs or allow them to see a new path on which to travel.

We remember those who can no longer work due to disability. May they find avenues in which they find purpose even when their bodies and minds are in pain.

We remember those who are retired. May this current chapter in their lives create opportunities which bring them joy.

We remember the parents who stay at home caring for their children. Give them renewal in their work whether it’s cooking, carpooling, or wrapping their arms around their sick child.

We remember those whose work places them in harm’s way and ask for their protection.

May we each realize our own power and use this power to serve the world, not to serve ourselves. May we see you, God, as we walk down hallways, eat in cafeterias, join in contentious meetings, try something new, or look towards retirement.

Amen.

An Eclipse Day Prayer

21 Monday Aug 2017

Posted by mictori in Current Events, Life, Pop

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Current Events, Eclipse, Eclipse Prayer, Prayer, Psalm 139, religion, Social Justice, Solar Eclipse, Solar Eclipse 2017

God of blazing beams and unsettling shadows,
As the moon obstructs the light of day
And gifts us a midday nighttime,
Give us the much needed illumination for our souls.

We ask that in this eerie midday spectacular
We can see you in the shadows of day.
We ask that in this eerie season of multiple spiritual eclipses
That your light can rip off the biases and prejudices that blanket our hearts.

Make this weekday intermission one where we come together despite divisions
And celebrate the totality of darkness instead of wrapping ourselves in fear.
We know that darkness is as light and bright and beautiful to you, God.
Transform our hearts to see darkness as a gift and necessity to our world.

As the sights in the sky pass from one end of our country to the other
May it bless the land with peace.
May it bless the people with understanding of one another.
And may it beam love as it travels from north to south and west to east.

May this majestic and fearful apocalyptic-esque dance in the sky
Be one that unites us – even for the afternoon.
Let us set aside differences just for the day
And bask in the slivers of glow under this postmeridian phenomenon.

Amen.

A Prayer for the Flare

07 Monday Aug 2017

Posted by mictori in Life, Pop

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Tags

chronic fatigue, chronic illness, chronic pain, Endometriosis, Endosisters, fibromyalgia, Prayer, prayer for chronic illness, rheumatoid arthritis, spoon theory, spoonie

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For my friends in the “Spoonie,” or chronic illness, community…

God who rides the roller coaster of life with us,
There are times we endure a flare of our subpar health.

Sometimes the flare lasts a day or an hour.
But during that time we experience our own agony-
Our own hell on earth.

Twinges and spasms and aches and overcoming pains keep us silent and still
When all we want to do is move.

Just last night our bodies were cooperating,
And today they revolt against us.

God, our bodies have driven our lives to the land of unpredictability.
We no longer have “spoons” or battery power or energy to keep moving throughout this day-
But we’ll keep pushing as long as we need.

So we turn to you.

If you can refill our cup so that we feel strong again, fill the cup.
If you can rearrange our schedule so that we don’t feel guilty about resting, rearrange the schedule with a touch of your grace.
If all you can do is sit with us in our pain, we are grateful for your presence.

We look forward to the time when our batteries are at 100% again and we can move about our days.

Amen.

A Post-Synod Prayer

06 Thursday Jul 2017

Posted by mictori in Church Life, Pop

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Church, General Assembly, pastor, Prayer, returning home, UCC, UCC General Synod, UCC General Synod 31, uccgs

God who fits into the spaces that seem too small to exist,
The demon of exhaustion has embedded into my soul after the past week.
What a gathering of our denomination with its highs and lows!
Gathering information. And more information. Wrestling with your call, Dear Holy.
Knowing that we all have so much work to do.

Now we are home.
Now we resume everyday life.
Now we try to infuse the ideal into the normal,
To marry the theoretical and practical-
If that is possible.

God of all connections and spaces,
I miss my friends,
My support, my kin.
Like the disciples, we have scattered across the miles-
From California to Connecticut and beyond.

So here in the silence of everyday life,
I give thanks for the extraordinary days,
The exciting conversations,
The laughs that lasted for hours,
And the friendships that will last forever.
Amen.

An Extrovert in Hell

30 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by mictori in Life, Pop

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Tags

Extrovert, lonely extroverts, Prayer, prayer for extroverts, social, UCC, UCC General Synod

“Why am I back to my room so early,” I asked myself. “I should be out socializing with someone. I wonder what everyone else is doing? Could it be I should have gone to the one mixer or another?”

It really wasn’t that early. Ten o’clock at night. Most people would be craving time to themselves at a later hour. But the extrovert finds their batteries charged when being around other people.

This is me tonight. Here I am- needing to get up at 7 and go all day tomorrow. I’ve been going over 10 hours today. But this extrovert finds missing out on social occasions to be hell.

When it comes down to it, I’m tired. My body needs rest. Dear Michelle: it’s perfectly fine to miss a social event to spend quiet time with a book, blogging, or sleeping. It’s time to find balance to my day.

A prayer for the extrovert in hell:

God of the gaps and empty spaces, including the sabbath hours and silent seconds, quiet the hearts and minds of extroverts yearning for more time with people. Help us find strength in our alone moments as much as our social time. Give us peace when we are out of our element… like being solo and finding ourselves surrounded only by the sounds of humming air conditioners.

Amen.

A Prayer on the Summer Solstice

21 Wednesday Jun 2017

Posted by mictori in Current Events, Life, National Day Prayers, Pop

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Prayer, seasonal affective disorder, seasons, Solstice, Summer, summer Solstice

Creator God, Divine Designer of the solar and lunar lights:

The day has arrived when the sun has reached its peak tenure. We rejoice under its light, its persistence in brightening our world. Day has delayed its departure.

For the long days and 9pm sunsets, we give gratitude, God.

Holy One who gifted us the Summer Solstice, create a desire in us to give this day our all and time to pause in the abiding daylight. Delay our time in the shadows.

The night will creep into the days demanding its mornings and evenings for itself.

We know that our uplifted moods of this Solstice will be quite different as the winter one rolls around.

So today we do what we can to grasp the fleeting daylight and delight under the sun, to celebrate your presence in our lives no matter the season, and to love one another on these long summer days.

Amen.

A World Oceans Day Prayer

08 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by mictori in Current Events, Life, National Day Prayers, Pop, Social Justice

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Creation, creation justice, National Day Prayers, Prayer, Prayers, world prayers

Swirling God, who at the dawn of creation swept over the face of the waters, hover over our oceans and all waterways with your blessed presence.

May each droplet of mist and sea be clean and fresh for all life who come in contact with these holy streams.

Bless each cell and molecule of life below the surface of the waters who trust in you and us to create a prosperous world.

Continually nudge us to nurture creation, joining together with humans all over this planet to covenant with one another and celebrate the gifts of water, air, fire, and land that you have given us.

Amen.

Lent Day 26: A Prayer for When I Want to Quit Writing

30 Thursday Mar 2017

Posted by mictori in Lent Prayers, Life, Pop, Religion

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Blogging, Lent, Lenten Practices, Prayer, Prayer for blogger, Prayer for writer, Prayers for writers, progressive Christianity, spiritual gifts, Writer's Block, Writing

God of the infinite who abides in the finite,
You ask me to keep writing, keep writing, keep writing.

But does it really matter?

Does anyone really read my material?
Does it make a difference in anyone’s life?
Does anyone want to forward it?

Is my ego in the way?

The words flow freely at times
And other times, they are immobile as in clogged pipe.
So why do I bother to write when I feel like the words aren’t there
And they matter little?

Set my sometimes-too-large and sometimes-too-small ego to the side.
Help me realize that I’m a vessel for holy words and not a blogging prima donna,
And that there will be times when my work creates change in the world,
There will be times when they make no difference,
And there are times when it causes controversy.

Ignite the spiritual fire within my being to live into my call
With creativity and courage.

God of all spaces and times,
Pursue me if it looks as if I will quit,
If writings are rejected,
And I feel like my calling makes no difference.

Remind me each day that I use these gifts to glorify you,
To create a justice-filled world,
And to take the droplets of love and fill them into the gaps of our fractured world. Amen.

Lent Prayer Day 13 – A Prayer for Our Trauma Triggers

15 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by mictori in Pop

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abuse, domestic violence, hate, Lent, manipulation, Prayer, progressive Christianity, PTSD, racism, sexism, trigger, trigger warning, triggers

God of the connections between yesterday and today…

The past lingers behind us closely like shadows- a sinister presence that we are never able to completely leave behind.

One word. One smell. One song, and we are ushered back into the cobweb-filled corners of our souls.

One conversation on the television. One article online, and we are transported to a place we never thought we would relive.

The words that beat her up reminds us of the words that pummeled our souls. The sharpness of images are razors to our minds.

Now that we are stuck in a yesterday place, God, drive us back to today.

Grasp our hands as we work together to close the doors that have remained opened for decades. Be like cool waters and wash over our bruised souls to renew us.

Grant that today is reserved for today only- with just bits of room set aside for happy snapshots of the past and tomorrow’s dreams. Amen.

Michelle L. Torigian

~ God Goes Pop Culture

Tag Archives: Prayer

A Prayer for the Flare

A Post-Synod Prayer

A Prayer on the Summer Solstice

Lent Day 26: A Prayer for When I Want to Quit Writing

Lent Prayer Day 13 – A Prayer for Our Trauma Triggers

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