Susan Maginn

In her formal military portrait, Susan Maginn poses solemnly in her dress uniform in front of the US flag.

Susan Maginn (she/her) is a U.S. Navy chaplain currently serving the Marines in California.

From Susan Maginn

Displaying 1 - 10 of 18

From behind, the silhouette of a U.S. Marine in dress uniform with a blue sky and a few clouds

None of us are mission-making machines.

Reflection | By Susan Maginn | May 18, 2022 | From Braver/Wiser
Tagged as: Compassion, Direct Experience, Humanism, Leadership, Military, Ministry, Secular, Vulnerability, Worship

Gracious God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid. In the Psalms you tell us our days in this life are like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone....

Prayer | By Susan Maginn | November 25, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
Tagged as: Bridging Ceremony, Change, Children, Christianity, Coming of Age, Generations, God, Graduation Recognition, Love, Young Adults
a view from the ground, looking up, at the tops of evergreen trees with a starry sky above. A warm glow of campfire is reflected off of the trees' trunks.

Gracious God, Morning rises toward high noon just as our spirits gaze toward your radiant refuge. We remember the days of trial, not so long ago, among the shadows and valleys of wilderness wandering and wondering if we were forever forsaken, outcast, left behind. And just then, as the sun breaks...

Prayer | By Susan Maginn | October 11, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
Tagged as: Christianity, God, Home, Journey, Relationships, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality, Unitarianism
a view up from the floor of a cathedral to the ceiling, with stained glass windows on all sides

Gracious God, from Exodus we hear you say, "I am going to send an angel in front of you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared." You have called us all toward uncertain destinies, to cast our fate into unknown perils, upon paths as yet untrodden....

Prayer | By Susan Maginn | September 18, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
Tagged as: Calling, Caring, Christianity, God, Service, Trust, Vulnerability
Over an out-of-focus background of musicians on a chancel, a single hand is raised in praise, fingers spread

Gracious God, From Isaiah we hear you say, “Do not fear. I have called you by name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. And when you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flames shall not consume...

Prayer | By Susan Maginn | August 15, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
Tagged as: Christianity, Courage, God, Intimacy, Judaism, Presence, Relationships, Spirituality, Transformation
A female marine recruit, exerted, does a pushup on the sand while the women recruits behind her rest, exhausted

Gracious God, A warrior fights for those who cannot fight for themselves. As a warrior prepares for battle, there is a solemn responsibility: to know how and when and if to take life, just as a warrior must know how and when and if to risk their own life....

Prayer | By Susan Maginn | August 11, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
Tagged as: America, Christianity, Discernment, Humanism, Justice, Military, Responsibility, Secular, Self-Respect, Service
Amidst a field of men doing jumping jacks, a drill instructor in uniform bends over to shout at a man doing push-ups.

He's not where he is supposed to be. He should be practicing sprints in the desert sun with all the other aspiring Marines, but instead he is here, retreating into the quiet shade of the chaplain's office, the one person who won’t yell at him. Since he was seven years old, he wanted to be a...

Reading | By Susan Maginn | July 10, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Calling, Choice, Direct Experience, Humility, Military, Psychology, Sacrifice, Secular, Service, Work, Young Adults, Youth/Teens

Sometimes you can open your eyes and find that everything is new like you moved to a new town don't know where your grocery store is don't even know what lies at the end of your own street. You can open your eyes and everything is new like a shock like the call that delivers the message the...

Meditation | By Susan Maginn | February 20, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Beauty, Faith, Imagination, Searching, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism
An open hand stretches out, the word "breathe" written or tattooed on the wrist

Come into this room, weigh into this chair, breathe into this body, the very body that will be you, for better and for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do us part....

Meditation | By Susan Maginn | February 20, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Beauty, Body, Contemplation, Solitude, Spiritual Practice, Unitarian Universalism, Wonder

We are here and together at home in this evolving place, home in this ever changing breath and body, home in this dewy morning even as it reaches toward a hot high noon.

Opening | By Susan Maginn | February 20, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
Tagged as: Body, Calling, Direct Experience, Environment, Listening, Nature, Transcendence, Unitarian Universalism

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