Let us join our hearts and minds in the quiet of meditation and prayer.

How shall we pray?

• First, let us be open to the silence. Let us hear the sounds in this room, the noises outside, and the comfortable murmur from the children downstairs. Let us begin to hear the soft beating of our hearts. And let us listen intently for messages from within.
• Next, let us feel gratitude for our lives and for our beautiful earth. As hard as life gets, as sad or lonely as we sometimes feel, let us always be warmed by the gifts of this life.
• Next, let us hold in our hearts all those, known or unknown who are in need. May we find in ourselves the energy and knowledge to bring care to the world.
• And finally, let us be aware of the blessing that it is not ours alone to do the work of the world. Love and community work wonders that we by ourselves could never manage.
• In this time of silence let us form our own prayers out of the concerns of our hearts.

—Amen