In the midst of the whirling day, In the hectic rush to be doing, In the frantic pace of life, Pause here for a moment. Catch your breath; Relax your body; Loosen your grip on life....

Let us join hearts in the spirit of meditation and prayer: Juntemos corazones en el espiritu de meditacion y oracion: Mysterious Presence, Presencia misteriosa, God, our Father and our Mother, Dios, nuestro Padre y nuestra Madre, Spirit of Life whom we struggle to name in our joys and our sorrows...

(The prayer was written to be read by three people, as indicated by the typefaces.) Peace is more than the absence of worry. It is the creation of safe havens for all; It is the building of security for everyone; It is the forgiveness of self, as well as one who would harm you. Let us seek...

Let us be attendant now upon hope, faith, and love. Let us know ourselves to be in the presence of the Source and Ground of these things and everything, everything known and unknown, everything known and to-be-known, everything known and never-to-be-known. Here, in the conjunction of past and...

It’s hard to believe it is finished. She was so full of life and fun until just before the end— keeping track of people, enjoying the outdoors, caring for family, all of it. Something came for her. She did not want to go. She denied the summons, fighting this final truth of her life. We did not...

There once was a man named Daniel who was as gentle as a lamb. The King loved Daniel so much that he gave him power over the entire kingdom. But this made many men jealous of Daniel. One day, when the men happened to see him praying to God, they thought of a way to hurt Daniel....

Once there was a little girl who was queen of an island. One day an advisor said to her, “Your majesty, the people on this island are good, but we must beware of the people on the next island for they are our enemies.” “Our enemies?” responded the queen, “How terrible!” “Yes, it is...

May our lives be reflections of the beauty, peace, and joy that is possible in the world, and may the love we find in this place sustain us as we go our separate ways.

We call for this blessing on all sheltered here whether in body or in spirit... May the flame of our community ignite a love bold enough to share. And, in return May we all be embraced by a love that remains constant in times of sorrow and in days of great gladness.

As we prepare to depart, we give voice to these hopes: May we know ourselves bound in community, even while we are apart. May a passion for justice burn in our lives. May we carry the light of compassion in our hearts and in our every interaction....

Nature provides ready metaphors for peace and justice. Jesus' peaceful kingdom is described as a mustard seed that grows into a large bush, providing shelter to all. the Hebrew prophet Amos cried for justice to roll down like water, and we sing, "I've got peace like a river" and "strength like a...

Holy Unnamable One, Wholly Unknowable One, Again we have read the story. Again we have sung the tale. Again we wonder at our place in it. Is it ours to tell? How can it beours to live?...

Spirit of Life, God of Love, grant me the courage to love boldly in the face of my greatest fears. Grow me in your wisdom and let my actions speak when silence threatens justice and indifference disturbs peace....