Spirit of Life and Grace, we raise our thoughts, prayers, resistance and curiosity once again. We are awed and bored, comforted and confused, at odds and in-sinc. We gather again out of habit and out of firm, thoughtful conviction -waiting for things to happen and making things happen with our presence, complacency and cares. We stand within the firm grip of Autumn, witnessing naked trees, boney branches, increasing darkness, realizing again how magnificent nature’s rhythms and cycles are. May we be awed by the delicate balance, the daily changes, the dynamic nature of our existence. As leaves decompose into new soil, as life hunkers down for a new winter season, as change unfolds, may we, too, recognize and embrace our daily growth and journey. For we are different than we were yesterday while even today we emerge toward an unknown end. We commit to actively guiding each other, ourselves and our families toward hope-filled futures this day and during the days of this week.

So much at stake and yet we are mostly numb to the fact that life can be so tender and can end so unexpectedly. How many stories and realities about cancer claiming people’s lives, accidental deaths, estrangement within families as well as great joys and beautiful possibilities will it take to compel us to commit daily to the health, happiness and emergence of our lives and the lives of those we care for? Will we join again the litany of love with kisses upon foreheads and lips with friends, spouses and children; will we plan, in our busy-ness, new rituals that allow us to look back and say, “Yes, we were connected, yes we knew each other, we celebrated each other along life’s way and really lived?” And what risks would we take today in order to live without regret or fear, without judgments and defensiveness? What are we willing to let go or take on anew?

We express gratitude for the ongoing heartbeat of this community. For its postures and position around justice, resisting war and violence, militarism, deception and fear. For its community presence and commitment to partnerships that celebrate humanity, build trust and transform lives both young and old. We express our curiosity and gratitude for those who affiliate here through firm conviction, with affirmations and commitments to continue the human journey. This community and congregation is so beautiful and amazing. Yes, riddled with disorder and human flaw...but this is all we have and so we commit again to honest discernment on how to move ahead and to move boldly, to be prophetic voice and presence in a changing land. As with Moses, Gandhi or Jesus, may we proclaim good news, sharing new conviction and truth about God within, between and beyond and ourselves. Let us take on the quest, the questions, the tentative and firm conclusions; let us again face our humanity with confidence; let us face the world with hope; let us face each other and this community with open arms, humble hearts and generous hands – especially in this giving season.

We celebrate each other this day, those here and not here. Families facing great change through divorce and alienation; others recovering from surgical procedures, teenagers finding their way with defiance, confusion and isolation. There are new babies born and others in the warmth of womb. Cancers of all kinds inhabit the bodies of those we love. Life is grand but it is short, this earthly pilgrimage of ours; the daily, the humdrum. Even now, our tears flow, our hearts soar...and we raise this hour our new intentions about this place and about the people we care for - and to living in such ways as to bring vitality to our lives, our families and to this good community in which we live and call home. In and through life and love, in honor of saviors, prophets and others who have lived the ways of compassion, justice and inclusion we do pray. Amen!

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