Happy Easter! For the last 46 days, we have shared devotions on our Lenten theme, Becoming Beloved Community. I am so grateful for the creativity and trust that have gone into them. For Easter, I have put together the prayers that closed our devotions as one prayer for new life as we deepen and widen this Beloved Community. Many of the prayers were in the form of blessings, so this prayer ends with an Easter benediction! I invite you to open yourself to all these prayers and blessings, and perhaps to pull out a few that speak to your heart to carry with you into this Easter season.
Deepen our community, O God, that our roots may intertwine. Widen our community, O God, that we may scatter seeds of hope near and far.
Creator, help us create places of welcome and lover for all creatures great and small. May we continue to seek and find new ways to welcome everyone into the sanctuary of beloved community.
Heavenly Father, please watch over us during these trying times. Help us to know when to stand up and do our part and when to take time for self-care and rejuvenation, so that together, we can do what seems impossible alone.
Bless us, O God, that when we enter into the deep water of faith and love and community, we might hear your voice, assuring us that we are beloved.
You have blessed us, O God, with so many gifts in this community–people we admire and appreciate. May we dare to let them know.
Dear Lord, help us to remember Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
We give thanks, O God, for communities that have nurtured, inspired and taught us. May we bring the gifts of each community we have been part of into the new communities we form.
Buoy us up with your love, O God, that our hearts may be bold.
Open us, O God, to Your traces in our lives. Heal us, O God, in our grief and pain. Awaken us, O God, to our calling to walk with others on their journeys of healing
Loving God, help us to recognize the opportunities to build Beloved Communities and thank you for the ones we are already building.
Open us, O God, to the gifts of surprising friendships.
Bridge-building God, help us go where we are needed, not to serve our own interests, but to serve yours and those of your people, wherever they may be. And may we all be lifted up through what we learn from each other.
Bless our hearts, O God–all of them.
Creator God, Larry’s memory is a blessing. May we remember to welcome others as he welcomed me, and may we find words (especially 150 words or less!) to speak up when it’s needed.
Bless us, O God, with courage to be open to the possibility of building and nurturing a community to become beloved.
Thank you, holy one, for your love and the many ways it is shared.
God of Change, help us to listen for your Still, Small Voice, and to have the faith and courage to hear You when you speak. May our communities be our refuge, and may we find greater refuge in You.
Jesus, just like you had your apostles and disciples to share time, stories, and meals with, may we also find the community connections we need when we need them.
God of Us All, thank you for friends who stand up for each other, and who stand with people we have never met whose rights and dignity are threatened. May we all belong to a beloved community, and may we see all of Creation as our Beloved Community.
God of reconciliation, bless our thoughts and our prayers and our actions, that we might be kind to ourselves and one another.
Thank you, God.
Help us find our wings, holy one.
Thank you God for giving us each other to love. Help us to be truly grateful, and always remember to welcome in the stranger.
God,
In this place, there are signs.
There are core memories.
There is community.
And Freedom to both give and take.
In this place, we show up.
In this place, we know gratitude.
In this place, we build beautiful things.
This is our sanctuary, where we hold space,
We create safety for ourselves and for others.
During the hard days, when we struggle,
Your invisible, yet palpable presence heals us.
You knit together our hearts,
You return us to our center–gently held within each other.
And so this is where we return-
Seeking belonging, knowing welcome,
Coming home.
God of love, may our loving care create a firm foundation for people of all ages.
God, may we always cherish this beautiful world you have created.
May we sing a joyous welcome to friends from many faiths.
As we sing and pray, O God, may chains of fear be unfastened.
God of community, may our welcome be as bright and beautiful as our art work.
God of depth, God of community, may we dare to share our hearts.
God of beauty, may we care for ourselves and each other.
Lord, may we support each other through life’s adversities and joys.
May God lead us always in paths of right living and lead us to beloved community.
May we continue to forge this path to promised joy.
May we all work together to preserve a climate that nurtures life on this planet.
May we be open to new ways of thinking and being community.
May we trust that you will never let us go. May we live our determination to never let each other go.
May we immerse ourselves in the deep, wide river of God’s love.
May we trust that when we share, there is abundance.
May we extend an extravagant welcome to all your beloved, O God.
May we use our hands in the service of healing, hope and love.
God of love, may our lives be made richer as we care for one another.
Amen. Happy Easter!