A Blessing for Canvassers and Callers as They Begin

[This blessing can be paired with the Blessing for Canvassers and Callers upon Their Return.]

A man with light brown skin in a white T-shirt and with his black hair in a ponytail holds a binder and a small American flag on a stick as he stands on the porch of a house. He is turned partly away from us, and is speaking with an older man, also with light brown skin, whose gray hair falls past his shoulders onto his blue, green, and purple plaid shirt. The older man is inside the house, and the door is open.

In these times of fragmentation
When turning away is falsely honored as virtue
And hiding our light sometimes feels like necessary protection
To canvass is to choose the deeper assurance of interconnectedness
And to heed the call of radical, all-embracing love

As you move out of the safety of the known
May you find courage in the certainty that every connection
Brings you into the presence of the holy
Even if its form is unfamiliar

May you find joy in the possibility that your nearness
Will awaken the fire within someone else
Or ease their fear
Or cause them to feel less alone

May you receive every story shared with you
As a holy offering
entrusted to one who is helping to weave the web of all life

In those moments when the door to the house slams shut
And you are left shaken and dismayed
May the door to your heart remain open.

And when grief or rage rises up in the presence of malice or cruelty
May you gift yourself with the patience
To attend more closely for the hidden wound
And in doing so protect your own tender and hopeful center.

May the strength of our collective power embolden you
May the joy of witness offered and received enliven you
And may the love that holds us all carry you through this day.

Mantras for after a tough call or door:

  • Their fear is not as strong as our love
  • May the deepest needs of their spirit be met