The Rev. Josh Pawelek
Blessed Spirit of Life:
Be with us now in the holy quiet of this hour.
Calm us now, as this beautiful, still autumn day breaks into our lives.
Ease the weight of our burdens now, just as the land begins to yield its final harvest, giving over the bounty it has carried through these many months of growing.
Place us now, locate us now, position us now as the earth’s northern regions move ever further from the sun, bringing shorter, colder days; bringing brilliant autum leaves; bringing, in time, barren autumn fields ready for winter rest.
Hold us now, embrace us now, just as nature’s abundance embraces us, blesses us, sustains us.
Move through us and among us now, just as autumn wind moves through the trees, whose floating leaves move through the wind, finally coming to rest yet still moving through the process of decay, of becoming one with the dark brown pungent earth.
Blessed Spirit of Life, help us find our center. Remind us of the people we long to be. Remind us of our best selves, our brightest selves, our most authentic selves, our deepest selves. Remind us of our beloved community and what we must do to build it well.
Blessed Spirit of Life in these strange and difficult times, these partisan times, these fearful times, these angry times, enable us to keep open the doors of our hearts, to forgive ourselves when we miss our mark, to apologize when we harm others, to return when we have strayed from our vision, to atone. Yes, in these strange and difficult times, these partisan times, these fearful times, these angry times, enable us to begin again, to care again. Enable us, as if for the first time, to hear and be heard, to see and be seen, to know and be known, to love and be loved.
Amen and Blessed be.
