Thou who knows the secrets hidden within all hearts; thou who knows all sorrow and all joy, who knows all hope springing from sources unknown, who knows all loneliness, all desolation, all sadness; thou who knows all this, and understands, and with everlasting love seeks to lead us in each moment toward beauty and harmony: we would seek thee here this morning; we would bring ourselves just as we are into thy healing and transforming presence.

Thou who hears in silence, who sees in darkness, who dwells closer than breath: teach us, once again, thy ways of loving kindness, that we may spread loving kindness from within our souls out into the entire world; communicate to us, once again, thy peace, that we may spread peace from within our souls out into the entire world; Spirit of life, we feel like strangers even to ourselves at times; help us, once again, to feel thy steady patience at work within us, that we may spread patience from within our souls out into the entire world.

And now let us gather at the river of life and wonder that flows through all souls; and let us bring together all the unspoken messages of our hearts into a moment of shared silence.

In the name -- and the presence -- of compassion and hope. Amen.