[player id=7485]

Where do you see yourself in the story of the Black Super Shero? 

“Centering Prayer is a form of contemplative prayer where the pray-er seeks to quiet scattered thoughts and desires in the still center of Christ’s presence.” (Adele Ahlbergh Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook)

Four Simple Steps to Practice Centering Prayer

1. Use the word HEALING as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within
2. Sitting comfortably with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently and introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.
3. When you become aware of thoughts, return ever so gently to the sacred word.
4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.

Instructions for Visio Divina

1. Look at the image and let your eyes stay with the very first thing that you see.
2. Keep your attention on that one part of the image that first catches your eye.
3. Try to keep your eyes from wandering to other parts of the picture.
4. Breathe deeply and let yourself gaze at that part of the image for a minute or so.
5. Now, let your eyes gaze at the whole image.
6. Take your time and look at every part of the photograph. See it all.
7. Reflect on the image for a minute or so.

Questions to Consider

• What emotions does this image evoke in you?
• What does the image stir up in you, bring forth in you?
• How does this image connect to the call to healing?
• How does it connect to the image? To the scripture?
• Does this image lead you into an attitude of prayer? If so, let these prayers take form in you. Write them down if you desire.
• Now, offer your prayers to God in a final time of silence.

An Imaginative Prayer with John 4:1-42, NRSV

• Imagine. Picture yourself in the scene. What happened as you entered the scene?
• Notice. Notice what happened as the scene unfolded.
• Respond. What insights came as the scene unfolded? What feelings arose? Share with God what stirred within you as you prayed with the scene.
• Rest. Let God speak to you about what you saw, heard, and felt.
• Reflect. What did you learn about Jesus, God, or yourself? Is there any action you are called to take?

Text

Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, “Jesus is making and baptizing more disciples than John” —although it was not Jesus himself but his disciples who baptized— he left Judea and started back to Galilee. But he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.

Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”

Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” They left the city and were on their way to him.

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”

[player id=7326]

Lyrics
I heard a story from the Bible
When I was just a little girl
About a broken-hearted woman
Who met the Savior of the world
Thought it was just another story
One that the preacher man would read
But as I’m sitting here at home
Drinking red wine all alone
I think that woman might be me
‘Cause tonight I feel just like
The woman at the well
Wondering how someone could love me
When I can’t love myself
But You want me as I am and that sounds crazy
I guess maybe that’s why grace is so amazing
Staring at that empty bottle
I swear I caught a glimpse of Him
He met me right there at the bottom
And turned that wine to living water
And taught me how to love again
Yeah, tonight I feel just like
The woman at the well
Wondering how someone could love me
When I can’t love myself
But You want me as I am and that sounds crazy
I guess maybe that’s why grace is so amazing
It’s no longer just a story when I read it (when I read it)
‘Cause I’ve seen Him for myself and I believe it
‘Cause tonight I feel just like
The woman at the well
Wondering how someone could love me
When I can’t love myself
But You want me as I am and that sounds crazy
I guess maybe that’s why grace is so amazing
Just like the story from the Bible
I heard when I was just a girl
I’m the broken-hearted woman
Who met the Savior of the world

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Jesse Pryor Reeves / Steve Fee / Olivia Joy Lane
WOMAN AT THE WELL lyrics © Centricity Songs, Lane Train Music, Liv Write Play Publishing, Creed Love Music

[player id=7610]

The Seventh Man by Patrice Gerideau
It was high noon on a hot day. The kind of day that even made sitting in place a waste of time. We needed some water and we needed it badly, and since, getting the water was woman’s work, it was my job to go get it. I had no choice about the time of day. Unlike the other women of the village, I couldn’t go in the morning or at night. I could go, but I just didn’t want to deal with the folks. I was tired of the ridicule, the smart remarks and insults of the other women. I was tired of the men staring at me as I walked by them and their wives. So, high noon was my time to go. I got my water pot and went about my business.

As I was walking up to the well, I noticed this stranger, a man. I didn’t expect to see him there, but I was not about to go back to my house. I knew how to deal with men. I had plenty of experience and I was determined to keep to myself. Because he was a Jew and I was a Samaritan, I figured he would ignore me anyway.

Seems like he hadn’t gotten the memo because as soon as I walked up, he made a request, “Please give me a drink.” I’m thinking, don’t you know the deal? I was about to get him straight. So I asked, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?”

Everyone knew that the Jews despised us. We were their illegitimate offspring. The result of intermarriage between two enemies: The Jews and the Assyrians. Not only were we considered half-breeds, but we also worshipped in two different places. The Jews worshipped in Jerusalem, and we Samaritans worshipped at Mount Gerizim. Besides all of that, he had to know that if he used utensils, it would have made him unclean.

But before I could remind him of all of that, he responds, “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would ask Him, and He would give you living water.”

My interest was piqued. He wanted to give me a gift.
Maybe…No, I have heard this before.
A man offers me a gift and I accept it thinking this time it will be different only to be left stranded.
Five husbands later, I’ve learned, everything that looks like a gift, is not really a gift.

That’s why I don’t ask or expect anything from a man anymore, especially his hand in marriage. Shacking is better than healing from the broken heart of yet another divorce. I am calling the shots from now on, and I am not going to let this man hoodwink me.

But, when I looked at him to tell him where he could go, something in his eyes, something in him stopped me.
It said to trust him. He had said that he would give me living water. What did he mean living water? I was torn. I wanted to ignore him, but he looked so sincere.

So, against my better judgment, I said, “Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then will you get that living water? Are you better than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”

He was quick to respond, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I give will never thirst. The water that I give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Now, I was really intrigued. He was offering water that meant I would never thirst again, where I would never have to come to this well at noon, in the heat of the day, where I no longer had to deal with the ridicule, the whispering, the judgment, and the side glances?

I could take one drink and be done with needing water forever.
It was too good to be true, but I wanted to see if he was real or just pulling my leg; so, I responded, “Sir, give me this water that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”

You know what he had the never to say next, “Go, call you husband and come back.”
Her I was thinking he was sincere, that he was different, that he was not here to condemn me. I was not going to let him make me feel like less than.
I may not be the most reputable woman. I may be a woman of little importance, but I didn’t need his judgment.

I stiffened my back, held my head up high, looked him right in the eyes and said, “I have no husband.” And he says, “You have said well, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you have now is not your husband.”

Oh my, how did he know all of that? Was he some spy? Did he know me?
This man is different.
The only thing that made sense was that he was a prophet, and if he was, I thought that perhaps he could help me with something that had been nagging me my whole life.
I said to him, “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”

He replied, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem.
You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.
But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Well, even I knew that, so I confidently said, “I know that the Messiah is coming.” When He comes, He will tell us all things.” Then he spoke the statement that would forever change my life.
He said, “I, who speak to you, am He.”

In that instant, something in me changed.
A change had come over me.
He changed me, and all I could do was drop my water jar and run to tell everyone about him.
“Hey, I think I found Him. Hey everybody, Come see a man who told me all things that I ever did.
Could this be the Christ?”
I was running so fast that I forgot about my past, my reputation, my sins, my restrictions and my fears.
Something in his voice, something in his eyes, something in him, changed something in me.
Could this be the Christ? The one we’ve hoped for, waited for, could this be Him?
Hey everybody, He saw me, he knew me, He knew all I had done; yet, he chose to break all the rules and talk to me, to reveal himself to me, to little ole me, me.
Oh my, it is Him.
To be loved is to be known and today, I found a love like no other.

“Hey everybody, He saved me. He the seventh man, with his perfection, made me complete. He saved me. He saved a wretch, a woman like me.”

And that day, I had found my purpose, a purpose that was not about having a man in my life.
I began my new job as the world’s first recorded female evangelist.
I told the whole village about him and many of my fellow Samaritans believed in Him because of my testimony.
So, when they came to Him, they urged Him to stay with them.
He stayed there two days.
And many more believed because of His own word.

Then they said to me. “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”

Yes, indeed, He was the Savior of the world.
He was my Savior.
He saved me. He saved me.
He saved a wretch, a woman like me.

The Skin I’m In by Patrice Gerideau

Window to my soul
Spread across my face
A hole in my pride
A blank in my race

The skin I’m in makes the world stand back and stare
Take in all of me in
Assessing all of me, my walk, my style, my grin
Can’t help but stare cause I’m someone you’ve never seen
Makes you went to holla, run, hide and step on my self-esteem

The skin I’m in makes no explanation
Leaves you with questions as you walk to your destination
You can’t even look me straight in the eyes
As you ponder the who, what, when, where and why
Scared to speak, scared to keep silent, scared to breathe
All you know is when I exit, you sigh with relief

The skin I’m in shouldn’t make you worry my brotha
I’m not going to cling
I just want to be me, you know, do my thing
Sistah you’re gonna have to try a little harder with me
To fill this loving hear with jealousy
I don’t want your body or your man
Got my own curves and I love them as best I can
Never been one to build my house on the ruins of another woman’s world
Even when this disease kept my head in a twirl

The skin I’m in at times made me want to die
And there have even been times I’ve given it a try
But something within kept me holding on
I’ve made it, I’ve made it
Now, I’m going to keep on singing my sing
I said, I’ve made it, I’ve made it
Now, I’m going to keep on singing my sing
I’m gonna keep on singing my song
Keep on, keep on
Singing my song

Meditation Instructions

1. Read through the instructions below until you are clear on how the meditation is done
2. Turn on the music and do the meditation
3. Don’t overthink it.
4. There is no wrong way to do it.
5. The right way is what works best for you.
6. Trust the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
7. Feel free to modify the directions as lead by God.

Quiet Me by Salt of the Sound

[player id=7768]

Instructions for The Decision Meditation

1. This meditation is best done if you put the music track on repeat.
2. You can download it and play it using the app of your choice.
3. Take 5 deep breaths.
4. Settle your inner world as much as you can.
5. Turn off as many distractions as you can.
6. If there is silence, take it in
7. If there is no silence, create inner silence and let it permeate outward
8. Take 5 more deep breaths
9. If you’d like, close your eyes and imagine for a moment that you are walking the earth during biblical times
10. Take your time and set the scene
11. Where are you?
12. What are you doing?
13. You are immersed in your world then you see Jesus and his disciples walking towards you.
14. You want to ask him for something, but you are not sure how to go about it.
15. You wrestle back and forth while Jesus drawers nearer and nearer.
16. You must decide whether to make your request known to him.
17. After a few more moments, you have no choice and you make a decision.
18. You decide to ask.
19. What will you ask of him?
20. How will he respond?
21. Continue playing the scenario out in your head until you reach the end of the interaction.
22. Now, open your eyes.
23. Check in with your breath and body.
24. Record your observation.

In thinking of the call to healing, where does it hurt the most?

How do you think God feels about it?

What do you think God feels about it?

What is God saying to you right now about it?

Imagine an older version of you? What would she say to you?

What do you want to carry forth in your life and Sabbath practice?

“Centering Prayer is a form of contemplative prayer where the pray-er seeks to quiet scattered thoughts and desires in the still center of Christ’s presence.” (Adele Ahlbergh Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook)

Four Simple Steps to Practice Centering Prayer

1. Use the word SURRENDER as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within
2. Sitting comfortably with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently and introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.
3. When you become aware of thoughts, return ever so gently to the sacred word.
4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.

Instructions for Visio Divina

1. Look at the image and let your eyes stay with the very first thing that you see.
2. Keep your attention on that one part of the image that first catches your eye.
3. Try to keep your eyes from wandering to other parts of the picture.
4. Breathe deeply and let yourself gaze at that part of the image for a minute or so.
5. Now, let your eyes gaze at the whole image.
6. Take your time and look at every part of the photograph. See it all.
7. Reflect on the image for a minute or so.

Questions to Consider

• What emotions does this image evoke in you?
• What does the image stir up in you, bring forth in you?
• How does this image connect to the call to surrender?
• How does it connect to the image? To the scripture?
• Does this image lead you into an attitude of prayer? If so, let these prayers take form in you. Write them down if you desire.
• Now, offer your prayers to God in a final time of silence.

An Imaginative Prayer with Matthew 14:22-33, NRSV

• Imagine. Picture yourself in the scene. What happened as you entered the scene?
• Notice. Notice what happened as the scene unfolded.
• Respond. What insights came as the scene unfolded? What feelings arose? Share with God what stirred within you as you prayed with the scene.
• Rest. Let God speak to you about what you saw, heard, and felt.
• Reflect. What did you learn about Jesus, God, or yourself? Is there any action you are called to take?

Text
Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

[player id=7330]

Lyrics
My heart beats, standing on the edge
But my feet have finally left the ledge
Like an acrobat
There’s no turning back
I’m letting go
Of the life I planned for me
And my dreams
I’m losing control
Of my destiny
It feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe
So I’m letting go
This is a giant leap of faith
Trusting and trying to embrace
The fear of the unknown
Beyond my comfort zone
I’m letting go
Of the life I planned for me
And my dreams
I am losing control
Of my destiny
It feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe
So I’m letting go
Giving in to Your gravity
Knowing You are holding me
I’m not afraid
Ooh, I’m letting go
Of the life I planned for me
And my dreams
I’m losing control
Of my destiny
It feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe, yeah
It feels like I’m falling and this is the life for me
And I’m letting go
Oh, yeah
It feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe, yeah
It feels like I’m falling and this is the life for me

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Battistelli Francesca / Wood Tony Webster / Eskelin Ian Ashley
I’m Letting Go lyrics © Designer Music, Honest And Popular Songs, Row J Seat 9 Songs, Word Music, Llc, New Spring Publishing, Inc.

The Grace of Rest: A Devotional by Patrice Gerideau

[player id=’7810′]

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. –Psalm 23:1-3, NRSV

Sometimes, all we need is rest. This sounds counter-intuitive to us. The culture of our nation does not allow us to rest. It tells us to keep going and going and going and going. We sleep because, eventually, our bodies won’t let us continue. That is if our minds don’t keep us awake with worry and planning and thinking about everything. However, sleep is not the same thing as rest. We don’t just need sleep. We need rest.

That’s what it means to lie down in green pastures as in Psalm 23:2. This type of rest is so important that God initiates it.  David does not say God asks him to lie down. David does not say that he decided to rest. David says that God “makes me lie down in green pastures.” The key to surrendering to this type of rest is to remember that God is our Shepherd and there is nothing that we need that God cannot provide.

While we may sleep every night, how often do we truly rest? Think about the last time you slept and truly allowed yourself to sink into it to the point where you slept through the alarm clock. I’m not talking about pressing snooze continuously until you wake for the day. I am talking about the kind of sleep that babies do when they finally stop trying to stay awake. I mean the kind of sleep that kids do after they have played the day away. I mean the kind of sleep that God asks us to do in Sabbath rest.

The only way we can truly sleep and rest the way God intended is to stop, that is to cease all that prevents us from resting. For some of us, it is mental (worry, fear, planning, strategizing, rationalizing, overthinking, catastrophizing, etc.). For some of us, it is physical (working, moving, gathering, doing, running, cleaning, cooking, keeping busy, etc.). For some, it is social (helping, meddling, changing, correcting, talking, gossiping, being mini saviors, etc.). For all of us, most times, to ask us to stop doing to focus on just being is terrifying. We ask ourselves, who am I if I am not doing this thing that makes me who I am? We forget that we are who we are because God created us to be the children of God, the creation of God, the image and likeness of God.

What would it mean if our entire existence is focused on worshipping God? Worship is not just a Sunday thing. It is an everyday thing. That in essence is what Sabbath is all about. It’s not just one day of the week. It is a lifestyle, a way of being in the world. Abraham Heschel said, “The Sabbath is not for the sake of the weekdays; the weekdays are for the sake of Sabbath. It is not an interlude but the climax of living.”

As Christians, we are great at treating our Sabbath (Sunday) like an interlude to our week. We spend the entire week toiling away to the point where Sunday is just a speedbump to Monday. What if it were a roadblock to the tyranny of the urgent? What if instead of dreading Monday, we have done Sabbath so well that Monday is just another chance in the week’s preparation for the climax of Sunday? What would our lives look like if we reorganized it so that every day is form of Sabbath rest? What if we truly believed and understood that the Lord is our Shepherd and that our primary job is to just breathe and be in Christ Jesus?

Prompt for Thought: Where in your life do you need to experience the grace of God through real rest? How can you embrace fully daily Sabbath in your life?

Prayer for the Journey: God, we thank you for the grace of rest. Show us your mercy when we overextend ourselves by focusing too much on doing and not enough on being. Show us your love when we don’t think we are doing enough, fast enough, for enough people, in enough places. Help us to see that because you created us, we are enough just the way we are. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Time to Turn off the Computer: A Sabbath Manifesto
Time to cease work
Time to trust God
Time to turn off the computer

Time to be intentional
Time to discern and embrace call
Time to turn off the computer

Time to rest my mind
Time for joy
Time to turn off the computer

Time to bridge the divides
Time to forgive
Time to turn off the computer

Time to see our neighbor
Time to evision the imago Dei in all
Time to turn off the computer

Time to embrace wholeness
Time to heal
Time to turn off the computer

Time to build a community table
Time to cook a meal
Time to turn off the computer

Time to sit still, sit in silence
Time to see God everywhere
Time to turn off the computer

Turn off the computer
Turn off the computer
Turn off the computer

What is your computer?

Meditation Instructions

1. Read through the instructions below until you are clear on how the meditation is done
2. Turn on the music and do the meditation
3. Don’t overthink it.
4. There is no wrong way to do it.
5. The right way is what works best for you.
6. Trust the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
7. Feel free to modify the directions as lead by God.

Surrender by Salt of the Sound

[player id=7772]

Water Walker: A Meditation on Surrender by Patrice Gerideau

1. This meditation is best done if you put the music track on repeat.
2. You can download it and play it using the app of your choice.
3. Take 5 deep breaths.
4. Settle your inner world as much as you can.
5. Turn off as many distractions as you can.
6. If there is silence, take it in
7. If there is no silence, create inner silence and let it permeate outward
8. Take 5 more deep breaths
9. Listen to the song one time through
10. On the second time, begin moving to the song. Any way you’d like is fine.
11. Just get let your body get used to the song.
12. As you continue to listen to the song, think about what it means to surrender.
13. What does surrender feel like and look like?
14. If you were Peter, how would you walk on water?
15. Act out the scene through your dance.
16. As you continue to reflect on the word surrender and the scripture, demonstrate it through your body.
17. Become a water walker.
18. Don’t overthink this. Just move and allow the music to move you.
19. Continue moving and embodying surrender for as long you desire.
20. When the song ends or you stop, take 5 more deep breaths to close the meditation session.
21. Feel free to include any props such as flags, scarves, tambourines, etc.

In thinking of the call to surrender, what are you holding onto defiantly for dear life? Why?

How would your life be different if you let go of this thing?

What do you want to carry forth in your life and Sabbath practice?

“Centering Prayer is a form of contemplative prayer where the pray-er seeks to quiet scattered thoughts and desires in the still center of Christ’s presence.” (Adele Ahlbergh Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook)

Four Simple Steps to Practice Centering Prayer

1. Use the word RESISTANCE as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within
2. Sitting comfortably with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently and introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.
3. When you become aware of thoughts, return ever so gently to the sacred word.
4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.

Instructions for Visio Divina

1. Look at the image and let your eyes stay with the very first thing that you see.
2. Keep your attention on that one part of the image that first catches your eye.
3. Try to keep your eyes from wandering to other parts of the picture.
4. Breathe deeply and let yourself gaze at that part of the image for a minute or so.
5. Now, let your eyes gaze at the whole image.
6. Take your time and look at every part of the photograph. See it all.
7. Reflect on the image for a minute or so.

Questions to Consider

• What emotions does this image evoke in you?
• What does the image stir up in you, bring forth in you?
• How does this image connect to the call to resistance?
• How does it connect to the image? To the scripture?
• Does this image lead you into an attitude of prayer? If so, let these prayers take form in you. Write them down if you desire.
• Now, offer your prayers to God in a final time of silence.

Background on Image & Divine 9: https://www.ajc.com/life/image-goes-viral-of-black-atlanta-sororities-strolltothepolls/XGVFPC3RJRGZPDCB37DPNZQD3I

An Imaginative Prayer with Exodus 14:1-29, NRSV

• Imagine. Picture yourself in the scene. What happened as you entered the scene?
• Notice. Notice what happened as the scene unfolded.
• Respond. What insights came as the scene unfolded? What feelings arose? Share with God what stirred within you as you prayed with the scene.
• Rest. Let God speak to you about what you saw, heard, and felt.
• Reflect. What did you learn about Jesus, God, or yourself? Is there any action you are called to take?

Text
Then the Lord said to Moses: Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall camp opposite it, by the sea. Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, “They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has closed in on them.” I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, so that I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And they did so.

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the minds of Pharaoh and his officials were changed toward the people, and they said, “What have we done, letting Israel leave our service?” So he had his chariot made ready, and took his army with him; he took six hundred picked chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out boldly. The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his chariot drivers and his army; they overtook them camped by the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” But Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground. Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot drivers. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot drivers.”

The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

[player id=7329]

A Lyric for Citizens Who Are Christians By Patrice Gerideau

[player id=7794]

Movement #1
He sat watching the local news. His face splashed across the 72-inch screen, good for football, not good for journalists expressing half-truths. Had he not grown the church to 25,000 members, no one would have even noticed him trying to be discrete. They both were consenting adults, but he had taken a vow to not practice his lifestyle while he served as a pastor. In his twenties, the compromise was nothing compared to his passion for ministry and his love God’s people. In his forties, the isolation and loneliness of 15 years in ministry overpowered his resolve to remain celibate. His only “sin” was to love differently. He sits – his bowed long after the anchor’s voice faded – hoping the single bullet will stop the pain.
What does the Lord require of us?
We are one in the spirit.
We shall overcome.

Movement #2
He stays through the whole service, on the front pew, but no one sees him. He is of small build and wouldn’t take up too much space in someone’s home. Biblical hospitality no longer exists these days. “After all, we must be safe and sensible about this.” “Inviting them into our homes is just a handout.” “That won’t solve the problem. “We’ll just keeping on cooking eggs and bacon.” “We’ll keep preaching the word to them.” “We must focus on this gentrification situation.” “After all, if we lose the church, who will cook him eggs and bacon?” He listens at the door of their concerns. He sits – his head bowed long after they move on to other matters – hoping the hallway light will reach the doors of their hearts.
What does the Lord require of us?
We are one in the Lord.
We shall overcome.

Movement #3
She ran from inappropriate touches between pews, in choir stands, and at dark corners of the sanctuary. Now, she is trying to make a dollar out of 15 cents on her back, between legs that have birthed lost babies in the middle of the night before she even had a chance to attend her senior prom. Mom no longer looks for her in the streets but hopes in heart. Dad no longer speaks of her but hopes in head. Mrs. Matthews arrives with fresh flowers at 4am. This morning, she lingers on the steps and does a slight turn to the corner. The still small voice trying to get Mrs. Matthew’s attention is interrupted by sirens at the other corner. The younger woman watches the older woman from the corner. Will this church love her? Perhaps, Perhaps. But now, she must work. On the ground, in the valley of the alley, she sits – her head bowed long after the church door closes – hoping the final customer will erase the pain of hope.
What does the Lord require of us?
We are one in the spirit.
We shall overcome someday.

Movement #4
She faced the statue one last time. Long ago, Lady Liberty smiled as millions came through the open doors of a country that was friend to the friendless. Today, she weeps as her friends are being sent away, back to places they fled, risking life, for a shot at a dream that has now become a nightmare. Her brother, a natural-born citizen, stands next to her. His angry permeates the atmosphere. Only six years separates them. Now an ocean will tear them apart. She wished dad hadn’t died. She wished mom knew English to explain why they never got their papers, why money was always so tight, and why they kept on dreaming. She sits – her head bowed long after the gentle breeze carries away dreams – hoping the breeze will shift hearts in power.
What does the Lord require of us?
We are one in the Lord.
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe.

Movement #5

Their names are merging together as we never fully mourn losing the previous
Their faces are becoming one youth permanently arrested in development
Their moments of glimmering hope died in eyes closed forever by one moment of rage
I can no longer hear freedom ring.
I can only hear Emmitt, Amadou, Trayvon, Jordon, Michael, Arbery, Taylor, Floyd
Dr. King, I need you to speak to a mind that doesn’t want peace but revenge
I can no longer feel the desire to love my neighbor.
I can only hear KKK, NYPD, Zimmerman, Dunn, Wilson, McMichael, McMichael, Bryan, Cosgrove, Hankison, Mattingly, Chauvin
God, I need you to speak to a heart that doesn’t want forgiveness to lead to forgetfulness.
What does the Lord require of us?
And we pray that our unity may one day be restored.
We shall overcome someday.

What does the Lord require of us?
We are one in the spirit.
We shall overcome.
We are one in the Lord.
We shall overcome.
And we pray that our unity by one day be stored
We shall overcome someday.
And, they’ll know we are God’s by our love, by our love.
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe.
But God, will they know we are yours by our love.
We shall overcome someday.

But God, will they know we are yours by our love.
We shall overcome someday.

Meditation Instructions

1. Read through the instructions below until you are clear on how the meditation is done
2. Turn on the music and do the meditation
3. Don’t overthink it.
4. There is no wrong way to do it.
5. The right way is what works best for you.
6. Trust the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
7. Feel free to modify the directions as lead by God.

Waging War by CeCe Winans

[player id=7775]

Waging War: A Meditation on Resistance

1. Not every form of resistance is human against human.
2. Not every attack is from the outside.
3. Sometimes, our greatest weapon is our own mindset.
4. This meditation is designed to get at those negative thoughts that limit and hold us back.
5. Gather some art basic art supplies (whatever you can find – pen, pencils, crayons, markers, blank sheet of paper, etc.)
6. Sit in a quiet place where you have enough time to listen to the song at least 3 times.
7. As you listen, respond to the song using images, single words and short phrases.
8. This does not have to be a masterpiece.
9. The more authentic, the better.
10. If you get stuck, just listen to the music and respond how you’d like.
11. The goal is to wage war against negativity and shift to a Holy Spirit state of mind.
12. If it helps, remember the words, “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12, NRSV
13. When you are done with your creation, take some, look at it, and then journal on the experience.

In thinking of the call to resistance, who or what is your personal Pharoah? Where is your Egypt? How will you pursue freedom?

If you have no struggle, what wisdom can you offer?

What do you want to carry forth in your life and Sabbath practice?

“Centering Prayer is a form of contemplative prayer where the pray-er seeks to quiet scattered thoughts and desires in the still center of Christ’s presence.” (Adele Ahlbergh Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook)

Four Simple Steps to Practice Centering Prayer

1. Use the word COMMUNION as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within
2. Sitting comfortably with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently and introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.
3. When you become aware of thoughts, return ever so gently to the sacred word.
4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.

Instructions for Visio Divina

1. Look at the image and let your eyes stay with the very first thing that you see.
2. Keep your attention on that one part of the image that first catches your eye.
3. Try to keep your eyes from wandering to other parts of the picture.
4. Breathe deeply and let yourself gaze at that part of the image for a minute or so.
5. Now, let your eyes gaze at the whole image.
6. Take your time and look at every part of the photograph. See it all.
7. Reflect on the image for a minute or so.

Questions to Consider

• What emotions does this image evoke in you?
• What does the image stir up in you, bring forth in you?
• How does this image connect to the call to communion?
• How does it connect to the image? To the scripture?
• Does this image lead you into an attitude of prayer? If so, let these prayers take form in you. Write them down if you desire.
• Now, offer your prayers to God in a final time of silence.

Ignatian Contemplation: An Imaginative Prayer with Luke 22:1-30, NRSV

• Imagine. Picture yourself in the scene. What happened as you entered the scene?
• Notice. Notice what happened as the scene unfolded.
• Respond. What insights came as the scene unfolded? What feelings arose? Share with God what stirred within you as you prayed with the scene.
• Rest. Let God speak to you about what you saw, heard, and felt.
• Reflect. What did you learn about Jesus, God, or yourself? Is there any action you are called to take?

Text
Now the festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people.

Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve; he went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers of the temple police about how he might betray him to them. They were greatly pleased and agreed to give him money. So he consented and began to look for an opportunity to betray him to them when no crowd was present.

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it.” They asked him, “Where do you want us to make preparations for it?” “Listen,” he said to them, “when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house he enters and say to the owner of the house, ‘The teacher asks you, “Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ He will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there.” So they went and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!” Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this.

A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. But he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

“You are those who have stood by me in my trials; and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

[player id=7331]

Lyrics
There’s no question of Your greatness
No searching of Your power
All the wonder of Your glory
To You forty years is but one hour
Your knowledge is all encompassing
To Your wisdom there is no end
For You alone are God
You are God alone

Your mercy is everlasting
Your truth is here always
You are He who was and is, and is to come
Who is He that can number you day
You’ve flung the sun to burn in space
And the night’s moon powers light from day
You are God alone

Now unto the King
Eternal, immortal, invisible
The only wise God
The only wise God
You alone are God For You are God alone

Now unto the King
Eternal, immortal, invisible
The only wise God
The only wise God
You alone are God
For You are God alone
For You are alone are God
For You are God alone

Be all glory
And honor
Dominion and power
Forever and ever, amen
Be all glory
And honor
Dominion and power
Forever and ever, amen
Repeat 5x

For You alone are God
You are God alone
You’re my Jehova Jireh
You’re my Jehova Nisi
You’re my Jehovah Elion
You alone are God
You are God alone
For you alone are God
For you are God alone
For you alone are God
For you are God alone

This Do In Remembrance Of Me by Patrice Gerideau

[player id=’7802′]

She was always fascinated with the communion table. She stared at it many Sundays. The thing that fascinated her the most were the words carved on its front, “THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME.”

It was in all caps, evenly carved, each letter holding the same weight and significance. The phrase was a bit off, out of sync with contemporary times. It made the table special.

As she grew older and made the connection between that table, the words the ministers spoke, and the sacred ritual of communion, it grew even more special. The words stood as a reminder of what Jesus Christ, her first love, did for her. To this day, each time she eats the bread and drinks the fruit of the vine, she recalls. “THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME.”

LOVE FEAST.

Only a few faithful gathered on Thursday nights. The pastor, his wife, his sister, his cousin, and the little girl were half the crowd. The others were various church members who saw a need to gather, to seek forgiveness, to get right with God before the first Sunday. It was called Love Feast, a time of devotion, a time to heal the community, an opportunity to remember, to forgive, and to prepare for communion Sunday.

Each took a piece of Piggly Wigley’s finest white bread, 3 packs for a dollar, and a bit of water to symbolize living waters, cleansing waters, freeing us from all sin. They gather in a circle to remember as they eat the bread and drink the water, facing the table and the command, “THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME.”

SHADES OF LIGHT.

The little girl sat on the front pew, imagining her time when she would be allowed to touch the communion table, the pulpit, and the communion dressings. She watches the two women (one older and one younger) place the perfectly starched white clothes.

They carefully unfold the white cloth from one end to the next. The older holds the cloth while the younger unfolds. The older she stands, stable, sure, solemn, and waiting for the younger to make her way around the altar.

The little girl watches the younger walk to the other end of the altar with her end of the cover.

The two women pull away from each other to tighten the cloth and then they tie the support ties. There are seven of them and the older woman always ties the last. The older stops for a moment and looks at the younger. They both smile and then return to their solemn gazes as the older ties the final strip of cloth. They move slowly and carefully, dressing the altar chairs and lectern. Finally, they come to the last task, the table.

Up and then down, the tablecloth goes as brown hands – older and younger – throw the covering towards the heavens, capturing shades of light. God is in that motion for sure. The motion is repeated to ensure that the cloth lands perfectly on the table so as to not hide the words, “THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME.”

“THE BLOOD WILL NEVER LOSE ITS POWER.”

She prays that her aunt will sing her favorite song during communion. The entire service is a drag as she anticipates the ritual. She forgets about the achy shoes. She will even allow Ernest to pull her ponytail today. Why was her great-granduncle preaching so slowly?

Miss Claire caught the Holy Ghost again. Folks are fanning her, but the service continues. The altar call is short, no one joins because everyone present is a member.

The ministers come down from the pulpit in their flowing white robes. The choir opens with the first verse of “Down at the Cross.” The liturgy begins. The little girl loves the liturgy. She sings out all the songs in between the words as her excitement builds.

Oops, Ernest has to pull hair because she misses the children’s call to the altar. They make their way to the table. The choir finishes the last verses of “Down at the Cross.” Her aunt steps to the mic and the little girl can barely contain her excitement as the soprano voice oozes the words.

“The blood that Jesus shed for me, way back on Calvary. The blood that gives me strength from day to day. It will never lose its power. It reaches from the highest mountain. It flows to the lowest valley. The blood that gives me strength from day to day. It will never lose its power.”

The little girl smiles as her eyes connect with her aunt’s eyes and then land on the table. She smiles as the words make more sense. “THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME.”

GOD IN THE WINE.

The little girl sits, once again impatient. She is still beaming with excitement from the day’s event. There is one more thing to experience, the grape juice. There was just enough for a full cup. She doesn’t think about Christ’s blood, big fancy words like substantiation or co-substantiation, or the word mystery. She is thinking of how the juice makes her feel. Once a month, she gets to feel special. She gets to taste more than the others.

She waits as the younger and older carefully and solemnly remove, fold and put away the clothes. Finally, they remove the left-over elements. The wafers will go back in the pack in the back office. The trays, with the juice, are taken to the kitchen. 

While waiting, she imagines the tart, yet sweet, juice flowing down her throat. When she was younger, her great-grandaunt would tie a towel around her before she grabbed the plastic cup of juice. When she was even younger, she imagined that it was probably put in a sippy cup. Now, she waits until she is called.

Finally, she hears her nickname. She gathers her things slowly, she wants to savor the moment, savor the taste. She begins walking towards the kitchen as she takes one last look at the table, “THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME.”

A Call to Worship by Patrice Gerideau
Voices shout to eternal drums
Minds ascend to timelessness
Bodies dance to holy cadence

Dark, now lit with your radiance

Hands extend to heavenly home
Emotions rise to meet Spirit’s wind
Hearts cry out to the Only One

Broken now sealed by your Only Son

Souls curve along light’s path
Thoughts conform to fruitfulness
Lives bend at the mercy seat

Lost, now found in eternity

Feet lift to float on air
Touching down nowhere
Now aware
Of the Immortal Engineer

Paving highways out of sinfulness
Paving roads toward godliness
We worship you God with all we are
We worship you God for who you are!

Meditation Instructions

1. Read through the instructions below until you are clear on how the meditation is done
2. Turn on the music and do the meditation
3. Don’t overthink it.
4. There is no wrong way to do it.
5. The right way is what works best for you.
6. Trust the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
7. Feel free to modify the directions as lead by God.

Made a Way by Salt of the Sound

[player id=7784]

Walking with God: A Meditation on Communion

1. For this one, you will need a portable device loaded with the song
2. Get on your walking shoes
3. Set aside 15 to 30 minutest
4. Go outside and take a walk with God
5. All you need is the song playing in your ears and a walking path
6. Just focus on the conversation with God
7. Talk about whatever is on your mind
8. Also focus on hearing God speak to you
9. Walk as long as you’d like but at least for 15 minutes
10. When you return, journal about the experience

In thinking of the call to communion, reflect on a time when you felt close to God, how can your recapture that now?

Think of a time when you felt distant from God? What helped you move past it?

What do you want to carry forth in your life and Sabbath practice?

“Centering Prayer is a form of contemplative prayer where the pray-er seeks to quiet scattered thoughts and desires in the still center of Christ’s presence.” (Adele Ahlbergh Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook)

Four Simple Steps to Practice Centering Prayer

1. Use the word COMMUNITY as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within
2. Sitting comfortably with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently and introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.
3. When you become aware of thoughts, return ever so gently to the sacred word.
4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.

Instructions for Visio Divina

1. Look at the image and let your eyes stay with the very first thing that you see.
2. Keep your attention on that one part of the image that first catches your eye.
3. Try to keep your eyes from wandering to other parts of the picture.
4. Breathe deeply and let yourself gaze at that part of the image for a minute or so.
5. Now, let your eyes gaze at the whole image.
6. Take your time and look at every part of the photograph. See it all.
7. Reflect on the image for a minute or so.

Questions to Consider

• What emotions does this image evoke in you?
• What does the image stir up in you, bring forth in you?
• How does this image connect to the call to community?
• How does it connect to the image? To the scripture?
• Does this image lead you into an attitude of prayer? If so, let these prayers take form in you. Write them down if you desire.
• Now, offer your prayers to God in a final time of silence.

An Imaginative Prayer with Acts 4:23-37, NRSV

1. Imagine. Picture yourself in the scene. What happened as you entered the scene?
2. Notice. Notice what happened as the scene unfolded.
3. Respond. What insights came as the scene unfolded? What feelings arose? Share with God what stirred within you as you prayed with the scene.
4. Rest. Let God speak to you about what you saw, heard, and felt.
5. Reflect. What did you learn about Jesus, God, or yourself? Is there any action you are called to take?

Text

After they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard it, they raised their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and everything in them, it is you who said by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant:

‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples imagine vain things?
The kings of the earth took their stand,
and the rulers have gathered together
against the Lord and against his Messiah.

For in this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.

Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”). He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

[player id=7403]

Lyrics
How can I say that I love the Lord who I’ve never ever seen before,
And forget to say that I love the one who I walk beside each and every day.
How can I look upon your face and ignore God’s love, you I must embrace.
You’re my brother, you’re my sister,
and I love you with the love of the Lord.

Kufis and Prayer Cloths: A Short Story by By Patrice Gerideau
She knew that she really should get some work done, but the depression was thick today. Its fog clouded any chance of her being productive. She battled internally, trying her best to find a reason to get out of bed. Friday was always the worst.

It had been seven months since Covid-19 ran her into her house, locking the doors to the outside world and creating the perfect storm for her depression to rage. Today was a typical Friday. The week’s events were being replayed in her mind and the latest thing she’d done wrong was on a loop.

She was sitting in her bedroom where she had only managed to make up the bed. She was sitting on top of the covers trying to figure out how to get off the bed and into the shower.

It was noon when his voice traveled through the old windowpanes. At first, his Arabic prayer chant startled her. Part of her wanted to run to another room, and another part of her wanted to win the battle for God’s attention. She needed silence to get out of this fog. He insisted on singing to God. They both were singing to the God of Abraham, but who was right?

When she heard his solo voice, she assumed that the local church had resumed its rental operations and that he was one of the men who came each Friday for weekly prayer.

Before Covid-19, she watched them come and go, some in American outfits, some in traditional outfits, and some in a combination of both. She had gotten used to their collective voices. While she didn’t understand one word of Arabic, their prayers floated up to her bedroom, and usually, she was battling the fog.

Every time, she would feel startled then she would battle for God’s attention, but eventually, they would win. She would settle down into the rhythm of their voices for the hour that they were together. By then, she’d forgotten her depression. Afterward, she was able to leave her bedroom to shower, eat, and go about her day.

That Friday, when his lone voice pierced her cloud, she’d realized that she had come to rely upon the weekly intrusion by the men praying in Arabic. Friday was the one day when the cloud cleared long enough for her to see the sun shining outside or to enjoy the melody of raindrops on her window.

Like with the group, his lone voice was welcomed and once again she came to rely upon the battle for God’s attention to remind her that there was a God, even now that Covid-19 seemed to be winning the battle of life versus death.

As time went on, she became used to the solo voice. She took him for granted and would be upset when he was not there beneath her window. She would wake up to the sounds of construction and just sit there waiting for him to come. When he didn’t for a month, she just assumed he was gone. Then she started to worry that maybe Covid-19 had won against his prayers. What if he needed someone to pray for him?

One Friday, she started to talk to God on her own instead of being provoked by her jealousy that the Muslims were praying more to God than she was. She started praying to God about her problems. She started praying to God about Covid-19. She started telling God why she’d left the church. She started praying to God about her family and friends whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.

She prayed to God about anything and everything until finally, she remembered why she’d started praying in the first place. She allowed herself to remember him and to care for him. She prayed to God for him, even though he was Muslim, and prayed in a language she didn’t understand. She didn’t pray for his soul to be saved from hell’s fire. She prayed that he was okay, that his family was okay, and that she would see him again. She didn’t know how he looked. She only heard his voice and never bothered to look out her window. She couldn’t describe him, but she still believed that she would know him when she saw him.

A few weeks later, she was sitting in her car after returning from her bi-monthly trip to the grocery store. She was wallowing in the latest hurt and reliving all the missteps she took in her entire life. Just as she was about to sink deeper into her depression, a homeless man appeared at the passenger window of her car.

As she tried to make out the words he was saying, she assumed he was looking for food. She didn’t have any. She also didn’t have any money to share. The dollars that she usually kept on her for her unhoused neighbors were dried up by the newest attack on the economy. She yelled through the window that she didn’t have any food or money. He didn’t understand her; so, he came to the driver’s side window to repeat his question.

She remained calm and determined not to be afraid or take offense. He did an eating gesture, and she yelled louder that she didn’t have any food. As she yelled, she zeroed in on the kufi covering his head. She stared at it as he kept begging for food. She couldn’t take her eyes off of it. She kept staring after he left her window and walked away. That’s when she noticed the thwab covered with a coat. As soon as she recognized him, like that, he was gone and so was her depression.

It was him, her prayer partner. As she came out of her daze, she remembered the verse, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2, NIV).

Healing By Patrice Gerideau

In a rural town of Guatemala.
Before I can even sit down
their little hands are upon me.

They are concerned about the woman whose
left foot is locked into a brace of some sorts.
After translators break down communication barriers,
I hear
What is wrong?
Is she okay?

They are in an orphanage.
These three little boys
But
They are concerned about me.
They have just enough to get by
But
They are concerned about me.

They don’t rest.
They don’t stop until their hands are upon me and
they love on me.
They don’t let go until pain subsides.
The heat from their healing touch permeates foot and heart
Two days later, I discard my brace.
Two days later, I discard my unbelief.

Meditation Instructions

1. Read through the instructions below until you are clear on how the meditation is done
2. Turn on the music and do the meditation
3. Don’t overthink it.
4. There is no wrong way to do it.
5. The right way is what works best for you.
6. Trust the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
7. Feel free to modify the directions as lead by God.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor by Mister Rogers

[player id=7787]

Won’t You Be My Neighbor: A Meditation on Community

1. Left to their own pure devices, children tend to work out issues.
2. We can a lot from them about being neighbors in the way Jesus meant when he commanded us to love our neighbors
3. So, to help us out in our attempt to build community with ALL our neighbors, we are going to use a childhood classic.
4. Mr. Roger’s classic, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” is just what we need in times like this.
5. Listen to the song repeatedly until you feel what it felt like when you only knew the pure love of a child.
6. If you are having trouble, ask God to send some children your way to help you see this world and your neighbor through their lens.
7. When you are done, take time to craft a Manifesto of Neighborly Love.
8. Post it and share it wide.
9. Then, journal about the entire experience.

Besides church, where do you find support and spiritual nourishment? How can you strengthen your connection to this community or build one if you don’t have one?

How can you be passionately Christian and compassionately interfaith?

What do you want to carry forth in your life and Sabbath practice?