Opening Prayer As we draw together this evening, let us pause for moment to remember the faces of the many women who have gathered in this space to build a house for <name>....

To the God of our own understanding, the spirit with whom we commune this morning – we ask that our minds be open, our hearts welcoming, our arms embracing. We lift up those whose lives are touched by sadness, by illness, by worry, or by loneliness. May they find comfort, hope, and healing...

The following meditation will begin and end with the sound of the mindfulness bell. breathing in i am aware of my pain. breathing out i am aware that i am not my pain. breathing in i am aware of my past. breathing out i am aware that i am not my past. breathing in i am aware of my anger....

Many of the past generation and many of today have found three abiding values in prayer: the quiet meditation on life, the reaching out toward the universal and the infinite, and the courageous facing of one's profoundest wishes....

I love to pray, to go deep down into the silence: To strip myself of all pride, selfishness, and coldness of heart; To peel off thought after thought, passion after passion, till I reach the genuine depths of all; To remember how short a time ago I was nothing,and in how short a time again I will...

In the presence of these flowers,These representatives of Creation's profound beauty:Diverse and Unique, but Related and Interdependent,These flowers which come to us as gifts from we know not whereAnd which we, in turn, choose to bring to our shared and common altarAs gifts to one anotherIn thei...

We pray for the peace not past understanding: The peace of children laughing and students quietly studying, Of young women dancing and men flirting beneath the stars. The peace not past understanding: Where no gunfire disrupts the night, Where girls can walk downtown and not be afraid, Where boys...

There is a living web that runs through us To all the universe Linking us each with each and through all life On to the distant stars. Each knows a little corner of the world, and lives As if this were his all....

In this familiar place, listen: to the sounds of breathing, creaking chairs, shuffling feet, clearing throats, and sighing all around Know that each breath, movement, the glance meant for you or intercepted holds a life within it....

I wish for you a troubled heart at times As woes of world and friend come close beside And keep you sleepless. I wish for you the thrill of knowing Who you are, Where you stand, And why. Especially why....

Often I have felt that I must praise my world For what my eyes and ears have seen these many years, And what my heart has loved. And often I have tried to start my lines: "Dear earth," I say, And then I pause To look once more. Soon I am bemused And far away in wonder. So I never get beyond "Dear...

Let us pause, and breathe, and be in touch with the sacred presence that permeates all, including this room, now. Web of All... of life, death, and renewal: We open our hearts to those who suffer as a result of the wildfires.

Holy spirit, We feel you moving among us here. Bless us with your presence. For we are in need… …in need of strength and courage. Our road is filled with rocks, with boulders strewn, boulders so high we sometimes wonder whether we can climb them, We are in need… …in need of comfort and...

Spirit of life and love, In this season of beginning Some of us are hurried and harried. Some of us feel sorrowful and afraid. Some of us are not yet ready to step forward into the future. May we minister to one another with wisdom, Meeting our friends with open ears, open eyes, and open hearts....

We pray for the children, For the voiceless, for the innocent, for the vulnerable, for the least powerful among us, and those most in need of our protection....

It is worthwhile to live and fight courageously for sacred ideals.