Night has its own kind of beauty, different than the beauty of day. Night is a time of sleep and dreams and inward visions, A time of pause within activity. Darkness is an invitation to imagining and storytelling, And to using ears instead of eyes to listen to the world in its stillness....

Ever since I graduated from college, I have had a recurring dream. My wife has had it, too, as well as a lot of other people I know. In my dream, it is time to take an exam and I am unprepared. I have not gone to classes all semester. I failed to do the reading....

It is the day before the election as I write these lines, and whatever the outcome, I will be glad when it’s over. Some will be elated by the results, and others will feel dejected, but regardless of who wins or loses, our world will still be broken and suffering from ills that government is...

Gracious Mother Matrix of Creation Womb of Mystery We thank you on this day for the miracle of birth, For the holiness of sex, For the power of eros and passionate love To regenerate the world. Mother Nature, Earth Mother, We lift our hearts in song For all forms green and fragrant Glad with the...

In his avant-garde theatrical “The Last Supper At Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” New York choreographer/dancer Bill T. Jones includes a backwards broadcast of Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech: Last At Free Are We. Almighty God Thank! The jumbled juxtaposition of the great orator’s...

We thank you God for potlucks Where a multitude can cook With ingredients and spices That aren’t from just one book. From casseroles and dumplings, Hors d’oeurves and canapés, Puddings, sauces, pastas, To sensational flambés. How boring when there’s just one dish Or flavor to fit all. How...

Keeper of our journeys, Today we mark and celebrate a significant moment in the lives of these young people Who this year assume the responsibility of becoming licensed drivers. We ask that they might be gifted with wisdom to make good choices as they navigate the roads ahead....

Our time is short here on the earth. Around us swirl immensities of time and space, A universe infinite in all directions. How small our hopes and cares seem Amid the panorama of creation....

We thank you sky for your blue, Also, breeze, for what you do: Everything simple, Undivided, And too ordinary to be tried as true. The sound of rain when we’re warm inside, Purple shadows on the mountainside, Help us to notice, Open our eyes, Give us grateful hearts, And unclinging minds. That we...

Maybe prayer doesn’t mean talking to God at all. May it means just listening. Unplugging the TV, turning off the computer, Quieting the mental chatter and distractions. Maybe it means listening to the birds And the insects, the wind in the leaves, the creaking and groaning of the trees, noticing...

We gather on this beautiful morning, the anniversary of a day painful to remember but impossible to forget ... We remember all the heroes and heroines of that day, the firefighters and emergency responders who demonstrated such courage in the midst of crisis....

Gracious Spirit, Who makes the first to be last and the last to be first, Who makes the rain to fall and the sun to shine upon all, Help us to understand that life is not an contest Where having the most toys is the point of the game, To realize that the victor’s circle can be the loneliest spot...

Children widen the circle of our being in ways that are limitless. Every baby that’s born connects us to our history, our own parents, grandparents and unknown forbears who brought new life to the world in each successive generation. Every baby that’s born links us to the future, to a world yet...

We give thanks for love, Agape and Eros, Chocolates and pillow talk, And all of cupid’s arrows. For unrequited yearning And the grand passion burning, For quiet appreciation And platonic contemplation. For lovers, too, we offer thanks: Those gay and straight, near and dear, Gender metamorphic or...

Loving Spirit, Be our guest, Dine with us, Share our bread, That our table Might be blessed And our souls be fed.

We give thanks for the animals Who live close to nature, Who remind us of the sanctities of birth and death, Who do not trouble their lives with foreboding or grief, Who let go each moment as it passes, And accept each new one as it comes With serenity and grace....

Once more the year's turned round. We've come full circle on this small planet, Spinning down the grooves of change, Another revolution completed around the sun. Another year older ... Another set of rings on the tree ... As seasons parade in endless procession The people's troubles and prayers...

We pray for the peace not past understanding: The peace of children laughing and students quietly studying, Of young women dancing and men flirting beneath the stars. The peace not past understanding: Where no gunfire disrupts the night, Where girls can walk downtown and not be afraid, Where boys...

Each of us will be grateful this Thanksgiving in differing ways, Gathered in our separate families, Each with our own distinct recipes, customs and traditions; For some will have pies of mince, And others of pumpkin or apple; And some will dine early And some sit down late to the meal, Passing on...

We pray for the children, For the voiceless, for the innocent, for the vulnerable, for the least powerful among us, and those most in need of our protection....