Saturday morning peace*

Dear God,

We praise you this morning for the wonderful world you created and gave us. We woke this morning to blue skies and growing plants and the songs of birds in the air. We read messages from loved ones and hear the voices of family and friends and we know that we, too, are loved. Thank you!

But God, there is horror in the world. We are keeping distance from people who don't live with us in an effort to protect everyone from disease. We hear sirens out the window. We hear stories of deaths that don't make sense. We see the evil around us and we know it is not the life that you want for us.

Be with us. Help us to unite together for healing. Repair our broken bodies. Bring rest to our troubled minds. Mend our wounded souls.

We believe in the sacrifice of your body, broken on the cross. We believe in the power of the resurrection from the grave. Let us be your body in the world, united in your glory.

Amen

* Emailed to a church friend in response to a prayer request

after I asked if there were actions for us to support our family

And it was good

God created human beings;
        he created them godlike, 

Reflecting God’s nature.
        He created them male and female.
God blessed them:
        “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
        for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”

Then God said, “I’ve given you
        every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth

And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
        given them to you for food.

To all animals and all birds,
        everything that moves and breathes,

I give whatever grows out of the ground for food.”
        And there it was.

God looked over everything he had made;
        it was so good, so very good! 

It was evening, it was morning— 

Day Six.

Genesis 1: 27-31 from Eugene Peterson's interpretation in The Message

 

 

Is there a better time to reflect on our stories of creation than when we gather in the face of destruction? When we pause to consider what we have wrought, that is the time to remember what we have been given. And what we give to each other.

I wanted a sign to reflect my religion--to say, "This I believe. And this, too, I believe."

We are responsible.

Postsecret

Question:

Answer:
Yes.  They may not announce it to the church. They may not even tell it to the one(s) they love. But yes.

I'm sure the loved's response varies based on the situation. I am grateful that (atheist) list boy comes to church with me. The people that know him are humored by it. The people I've told at church are initially confused by it and then supportive.

I'm not trying to convert him. I am trying to share a part of myself that is foreign to him. He started coming to church with me without my asking him to. He invited me to the worship he attended as a child, despite obviously not attending anymore. It reassures me that while we have deep religious differences, he can be open to mine. If anything, I need to learn how to be open to his.

Not sure how our parents will handle all this.

I haven't mentioned it to mine.

Can't really tell what his father knows.

I'm trusting everyone to trust us.