Be pleased to love us, O God our God, as the mother hen loves her chicks, as the bread loves to nourish the hungry. Be pleased to love us, O God our God, for love is your essence and character, hospitality and creativity are your way of being. Be pleased to love us, O God… Read More
Friday Prayer: I say a little prayer
Today’s prayer is inspired by one of the hit songs of the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin (1942-2018). May we each say a little prayer for those who knew and loved her best, that their hearts will be comforted. And may all of our “little prayers” today have wings to those who need them most. The… Read More
Thursday Prayer: a blessing for a clergywoman
May God bless you this day: May God’s presence undergird your days: sustaining you in hope, indwelling you in peace, encouraging you in faith. May you find freedom and room to breathe when the space seems narrow; may you find boldness and clarity when you are called to speak truth to power; may you find… Read More
Sunday Prayer: Waiting
For those who die in the raging war of injustice, O merciful God, hear our cries & our prayers. For those who kneel in protest and in despair, O merciful God, hear our cries & our prayers. For those who dream and those who are haunted, O merciful God, hear our cries & our prayers.… Read More
Saturday Prayer – Evening
Whatever we need this night, to prepare us for the morrow – celebration or solitude, prayers or parties, chores or cheer – grant us oh God. Amen. Jennifer Garrison Brownell serves as pastor at First Congregational Church -UCC in Vancouver, Washington. She contributed to the Revgals book There’s a Woman in the Pulpit and is the… Read More
Friday Prayer: Simple Things
Holy One, You got my attention At lunchtime today when I watched the kids Romping in the fountain… I realized… I forget the simple things That you put in front of me every day To declare your boundless love… The sunlight through the leaves, The wren’s song on her nest, The crisp pages of a… Read More
Thursday Prayer: like a bird
Dear Holy Spirit, A sacred kingfisher came to sit on the fence today and I was having an Important Conversation about identity and vocation, about solid ground, tūrangawaewae, a place to stand; and I was reminded that birds do not exist only on solidity: they perch on branches that sway, and on telegraph wires; they… Read More
Wednesday Prayer
Holy Mystery, I pray today to connect to Your Presence. I know You are There… and I am over here, and although that knowledge is a comfort, I pray for the There and Here to come closer together. Do I really want that? I don’t know, frankly. I know I should want that, your… Read More
Tuesday Prayer
Running, I’m running from thing to thing today and I am grateful for the gift of a responsibility that my friendly calendar puts before me: “Post Tuesday Prayer” If I calendared the things I really need to do each day for ME Like “Pray” and “meditate” Might I actually get them done? I think I’ll… Read More
Monday Prayer
This day, Holy One, help me to see life through the eyes of another–the child of small stature, the overweight man, the woman with the prosthetic leg, the boy whose skin color differs from mine. Help me see the challenges and the blessings that I take for granted or to which I cling too tightly,… Read More
