In this heartbreak what we carry forth is our humanity in newly revealed form—our hearts tender and delicate.

Building relationships requires the risk of being open and curious.

God, teach us to consider also how others experience the world. To understand how my reality and their reality are different and yet they share qualities of the same core desire. Teach us to listen for shared feelings, for places of connection. Teach us to be curious and open to hearing differences.

This work isn’t all prayers and beautiful moments, nor is it laments and trauma. It’s not even both/and, because this work is something greater than you, greater than us, greater than the whole of those we serve. This work is a calling. And we’re doing it. Day after day, night after night,...

Let this banner be a symbol of hope, A blanket of protection for those who need it, And a cape of power for those who must be empowered. Let this flag be a standard of our conviction to embody all of these things, And to be the change we will upon the world. Let the will we weave to empower and...

Every little thing that breaks your heart Is welcome here We'll make a space for it Give it its due time and praise for the wanting it represents the longing for something more, some healing hope that remains not yet We promise no magic no making it all better But offer only this circle of trust...

So much undone. So much to do. So much to heal in us and the world. So much to acquire: a meal a healthy body— a fit one— a lover a job a better job proof we have and are enough just around the corner of now. And up against it the reality of all that falls short and the limits of today. We honor...

Religion is as much about faith in humanity as it is about faith in deity. And many of us will find that, over and over, our faith in humanity gets tested. We are immersed in a culture that's deeply corrupted by selfishness, greed, and oppression-borne privilege and fear....

”If we don’t find a way to transform our pain, we will always transmit it to those around us or turn it against ourselves… If your religion is not teaching you how to recognize, hold, and transform suffering, it is junk religion.” —Fr. Richard Rohr People are in pain all around us, all of...

Go forth in simplicity. Find and walk the path that leads to compassion and wisdom, that leads to happiness, peace and ease. Welcome the stranger and open your heart to a world in need of healing. Be courageous before the forces of hate. Hold and embody a vision of the common good that serves the...

Spirit of life and love, light within and without, mystery from which we have all emerged, within which we live and die: be with us now as we allow ourselves to drop into the silence and stillness at the center of our being. As people of faith, we seek to live in a spirit of love, a spirit of...

This piece can be read as a meditation, or used as a litany, in which the congregation responds to each line (in unison), "We ask a blessing on this day." In one way or another, each of you was born of a mother. Because we are human, it's likely that your relationship with that mother is, was, or...

Sisters, I stand before you without homily or lecture or opinion. I stand here naked on the page. I stand here with my hands extended in helpless prayer. I will never know your pain. I will never know your agony of spirit. I will never know the dark nights of your souls. I will never know the...

It is an hour before sunrise. The waves keep coming, but each minute they make less progress than the minute before....

Let us enter into a time of meditation, contemplation, and prayer. Feel the earth beneath your feet as it supports you. Feel the love of this community as it surrounds and enfolds you. Feel your breath as it flows in and out of your body. Listen to your heartbeat. Listen to your heart . . ....

We join our voices in a holy communion of mind and heart, dedicated to the promises that bind us in compassion, one with another. In this hour we light the flame that signals our intention to find the sacred in every living thing.

Despair is my private pain Born from what I have failed to say failed to do failed to overcome. Be still my inner self let me rise to you let me reach down into your pain and soothe you....

In a world filled with the darkness of ignorance, let us bring the light of reason In a world filled with the darkness of despair, may we share the light of hope In a world filled with the darkness of hate, let us shine the light of love...

Every day brings struggle, every day brings joy. Every day brings us the opportunity to ease the struggle of another, to be the joy in another's life. May this flame remind us to carry our light to each other and to the world.

When the world’s violence shatters the joy of a moment We pause and reach out for the hands that remain We open our hearts with love. When despair rises as a monster from the deep and drags down one of our own, our answer is that We open our hearts with love....