Please join with me in the spirit of contemplation and receptivity

for a time of spoken prayer and silent reflection, to be followed by a gift of music.

Come into an awareness of your body resting in your seat, held by it, held by this place and the earth, held by this community and by the abiding spirit of life.  Notice your breathing, in and out.

Be aware of your neighbors’ breathing, our common breath, which is the breath of life.

Let us pray to the gracious mystery of life—

O Spirit, we give thanks for the simple gift of this new day,

for this community which holds us in welcome and kindness.

On this new day, we ask for the Spirit of Love to hold in love all those whom we care about, rejoice over, worry about, and remember fondly and thankfully.

We ask for healing, serenity, and courage for ourselves and those we hold in our hearts.

We ask for the strength to hold our world in compassion.

We ask for the blessing to hold our ordinary lives in love, delight and thankfulness.

On this final day of the month of June, we are aware of the many transitions of the season:

a school year ending, graduations marked and celebrated, careers concluded with honor as new ventures call us to delight and love.

This time is often a time of relocations, as we bid farewell to those we have held in affection and friendship and prepare to receive those coming to live nearby.

It is a time to anticipate new neighbors, new friendships,

new members in our caring community.

This is a time of summer jobs for some, and for others a time of a continued search for work that is meaningful and sustaining.

This is a time of growth in fields and farms and of enjoyment of the abundance of the harvest.

May it call forward those parts of our spirits longing to grow.

May we seek to grow in awareness and understanding.

May we seek to grow in courage and compassion, in patience and persistence.

May we seek to grow in wonder and thanksgiving for all that is our life and for all that makes our spirits grow.  So may it be. Amen.