God of this new morning…
As the sounds of sunrise stir us from our slumber…
As the birds chirp their songs outside our windows…
As the squirrels scamper from tree to tree…
we celebrate the gift of rest…
the gift of sabbath…
the gift that reminds us to take care of ourselves…
so that the moments when we’re overwhelmed
by the burdens and challenges of life
might find balance with the much needed moments
of relaxation and self-indulgence.
We have all gathered here,
if only for a few days,
to find respite from our task-filled days.
We have all gathered here,
if only for a few days,
to be inspired with new ideas
and new visions of what it means to be “church”.
We have all gathered here,
if only for a few days,
to eat,
to drink,
to sing,
to dance,
and to play…
to create,
and to be RE-created…
to hear,
to smell,
to feel,
to taste
and to see your goodness!
We give thanks for the community we share at UNCO…
even this morning…
whether we struggle to stay alert
in our pre-caffeinated trances;
we struggle to stay focused
with each soothing, intra-caffeinated sip;
or we struggle to stay still
in our post-caffeinated restlessness.
In the aftermath of many spoken words
and many ingested thoughts…
give legs to those things that should not lose momentum…
so that vision, energy, and creativity
are not stifled by skepticism, traditionalism,
or any other “-ism” that seeks to sabotage
the potential that you see…
the potential that you CREATED…
within each of us.
Draw us closer to you…
and draw us closer to one another…
so that when we travel in all directions
back to our homes…
back to the churches we serve…
back to the ministries in which we participate…
back to our task-filled days…
we might be drawn closer to the world around us
that is longing to hear and SEE real good news
that has no conditions…
no punchlists…
no barriers…
and no secret handshakes.
This IS our prayer…even now…
as we sing the familiar words of Jesus’ prayer together…
(We closed with a sung version of “The Lord’s Prayer”)
Submitted by Scott Cervas, pastor at Meadowthorpe Presbyterian Church (Lexington, KY), this prayer was used in a morning prayer service at Unconference East at Stony Point Conference center (Stony Point, NY) on May 23, 2012.
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