We gather now, living and inviting happiness, celebrating the mystery of life. We gather in Holy Presence and in the presence of what is holy in each of us and, indeed, all around us in this place of rest, challenge and growth. Our experiences with the pain, sadness and unfairness of life mingle with our delight in conveniences, wealth and freedom - and now we sit side by side, stranger and neighbor to think anew again...to find comfort and quandary and change our dancing partners once again. We are grateful for Summer sun, for abundant growth, the bird song that beckons us to a slower pace...to listen, to appreciate, to wonder....to be at peace with ourselves in the harried world we create. We are grateful as well for opportunities to affirm common ground with each other in sanctuary and the ability to intentionally carve out our lives with thoughtfulness, active response and intention.

As Summer days unfold, we commit to moving beyond our previous selves and to continue emerging into persons and into a community dedicated to enhancing this world. To assist others in making adaptations and dealing with life’s difficulties; to say words that heal and encourage; to initiate gestures that warm, transform and welcome. Are we really committed to the sacred in all creatures in the daily, the humdrum - in the hours that pass - hours mostly unfilled with awareness, vision, passion, intention?

We are restless, frantic in our schedules, harried in our errands, consumed with accomplishment, insecure in ourselves. We are depressed, obsessed, looking for easy solutions. And we know that these things left unexamined and unattended will bring us to die before we die this earthly death. We choose happiness and celebration this day, no matter what we believe or do not believe; we choose happiness as a posture toward life and each other and even ourselves; we choose happiness and celebration this day because it bears good fruit and because it is the best option; we choose happiness this day for in doing so, we are light in the dark places and we are salt adding zest and taste all around.

As we pray, we open ourselves to be different, to be more in tune, involved and one with each other and the world. We sense our greater connection to the sacred within all, and resist old models that would place us at the egotistical center - with the world revolving around us. We commit to learning, changing, thinking again...doing our theology and daring again to imagine how faith and tradition lead us inevitably to each other - to engage us all in the depths and dimensions of what it means to be human, to be neighbor, to love, to include, to laugh, to be free. We gather in the presence of the Holy, within, between and beyond....remembering Jesus and all others who lived the way of peace, contentment and inclusion.

Amen.

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