I expect to pass through life but once.
If therefore, there be any kindness I can show,
or any good thing I can do to any fellow being,
let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it,
as I shall not pass this way again.

- - - William Penn

Creative and Divine Surprise

Life overwhelms us at times. We find it challenging to maneuver through the chaos the world imposes so that we might see the order God intends for our lives. Yet God’s intention is wholeness and peace. Peace is not the absence of chaos but the ability to persevere and thrive in the midst of the confusion.

-Connie Davis Rouse, Upper Room Disciplines, 2008

We must be the change we want to see in the world.

Note: The following was sent from Jerusalem to the District Office as District Superintendent Rev. Sharon Moe began her July trip with the Kids/Youth for Hope program.

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Dear Friends in Ministry,

Birds chirp outside my window in the courtyard of the Knight’s Palace Hotel. I was awakened at 7:00 am with wild and joyous pealing of bells. A car or two honk in the distance. Another bell telling me it’s quarter to 9:00 am–”better get a move on to church,” it says. Breakfast, with lots of hot coffee, rolls and zatar (look it up), boiled eggs and stewed fruit. Many other choices, but why take too much? Most of all, lots of hot coffee. This morning (our second here in Jerusalem) I began with praying the beads. My friend Peter makes such beautiful Anglican Prayer Beads and writes rituals for prayers that reach deep inside and span the needs and realities of the entire world. This morning’s prayer used phrases and prayers (adapted) from many current and ancient sources. The prayer for the Cross: ”We must be the change we want to see in the world.”

The prayer for the Invitatory Bead: ”Jesus said, ‘Come, follow me.’” The Cruciform Beads: ”For it is in giving that we receive; it is in forgiving that we are forgiven; it is in surrendering our lives that we discover eternal life.”

Then the prayer goes on for The Weeks:

Where there is fear, be – through me – Love;

where there is discord, be – through me – Unity;

where there is doubt, be – through me – Faith;

where there is grief, be – through me – Comfort:

where there is numbness, be – through me – Joy;

where there is despair, be – through me – Hope;

where there is conflict, be – through me – Peace.

The Prayer for The Weeks repeats four times, and then the prayer concludes with the initial prayer sequence, and finally: ”We must be the change we want to see in the world.”