Team Expenses
Closing Words
Narratives
Let me be not quick to judge you,
For who am I but a stranger in your dream.
If I am to know you at all, I must listen.
Not with hurried and anxious senses,
But with a careful and considerate mind.
Then, and only then, as I listen to your story,
Will I glimpse your singular truth,
And behold the wonders held within your heart.
by kasey (2012.01.07)
Touchstones: Vocation
10.1: We all have two religions
by Rev. Bill Gardener
We all have two religions:
the religion we talk about
and the religion we live.
It is our work --
and may it be inspired and joyful work --
to make the difference between the two
as small as possible.
10.2: We have a calling in this world
by Rev. Jean M. Rickard
We have a calling in this world:
We are called to honor diversity,
To respect differences with dignity,
And to challenge those who would forbid it.
We are people of a wide path.
Let us be wide in affection
And go our way in peace. Amen.
10.3: If you are proud of this church
by Rev. Michael A. Schuler
If you are proud of this church, become its advocate.
If you are concerned for it future, share its message.
If its values resonate deep within you, give it a measure of your devotion.
This church can not survive without your faith,
your confidence, your enthusiasm.
Its destiny, the larger hope, rests in your hands.
10.4: Be About the Work
by Andrea Hawkins-Kamper
May we see all as it is, and may it all be as we see it.
May we be the ones to make it as it should be,
For if not us, who? If not now, when?
This is answering the cry of justice with the work of peace,
This is redeeming the pain of history with the grace of wisdom,
This is the work we are called to do, and this is the call we answer now:
To be the barrier and the bridge,
To be the living embodiment of our Principles,
To be about the work of building the Beloved Community,
To be a people of intention and a people of conscience.
10.5: Blessed is the Path
by Eric Williams
Blessed is the path on which you travel.
Blessed is the body that carries you upon it.
Blessed is your heart that has heard the call.
Blessed is your mind that discerns the way.
Blessed is the gift that you will receive by going.
Truly blessed is the gift that you will become on the journey.
May you go forth in peace.
10.6: For Hard Times
by Maureen Killoran
No matter how weak or how frightened we may feel, we each have gifts that can make a difference in the world. In this coming week, may you do at least one thing to support the broken; to welcome the stranger; to celebrate what is worthy; to do the work of justice and love. Be strong. Be connected. Each day, act — so you may be a little more whole.
10.7: The Promise and the Practice
by Rev. Kimberly Quinn Johnson
Hush:
Somebody’s calling your name—
Can you hear it?
Calling you to a past not quite forgotten,
Calling us to a future not fully imagined?
Hush, hush:
Somebody’s calling our name.
What shall we do?
10.8: These Hands Connect Us to One Another
by Revs. Amy Bowden Freedman & Keith Kron
Become aware of the hands that you are holding:
their warmth, texture, and weight.
As an infant, these same hands
reached out for the nourishment of milk.
As a child, these hands shakily wrote
a name on paper for the first time.
These hands have wiped away tears,
clenched in anger,
waved hello and good-bye countless times,
and embraced loved ones.
And now these hands are the tangible link
that connects us to one another.
Look and see those around you
who have experienced so much that is life.
These hands have worked, are working,
and will work to make the world a better place.
Go in peace; go in love; work for justice.
Go forth and bless the world.
