Our family usually has mealtime grace at dinner. Each member of the family gets a turn to choose how to pray: silence, sing a song from a prescribed list, or speak a prayer. (Six Year Old sometimes chooses laughter, but that's another story.)
Tonight, we didn't observe grace. Robin left before dinner to go to a committee meeting at Ben Lomond Quaker Center. She is serving her last meeting as clerk of the board of directors tomorrow.
So tonight at bedtime, Ten Year Old said, "Daddy, if we had had grace tonight, it would have been my turn. I would have spoken a prayer. I would have said how lucky I am. I said that another time on my birthday. Another time, I said silence, but then I thought of a prayer, so I just said it in my mind."
There was another time recently -- not his birthday -- when Ten Year Old shared a vocal prayer at dinner. He gave thanks for the food and our family, and for how blessed we are, and he asked for help for those who need it. He went on to say something like, "Take care of Yourself, so you can be okay and help people."
I wish I had written it down at the time! It was really touching for him to be concerned with God's own Well-Being. Beautiful.
God, how blessed I am. Help me remember that in every moment, and to give thanks to You continually!
Showing posts with label prayers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prayers. Show all posts
9/12/2008
1/08/2008
The prayer bells of heaven lay hidden in the silence
Today I helped facilitate a session on Quaker silence as one part of a board retreat for a local organization. It took a lot of planning with my fellow presenters, and a lot of logistical support (thank you, George and Katherine and Daniel, Peter, Greg, and Rosemary, Marisa and Kevin and Levi, and of course Robin, Nine Year Old and Six Year Old!).
It was really pretty extraordinary. One helpful tool in preparing my part was Brent Bill's book Holy Silence. Chapter three starts with this quote from William Penn, which I read to the group: "True silence is the rest of the mind; and is to the spirit, what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment."
Another aspect was an experiment in group centering that you might like to try with a group unused to silence. I suggested we create a lot of noise and hub-bub in the room, then decrescendo into silence. It worked! It helped to have the external experience of going from the noise to the quiet.
We only had 15 minutes scheduled for the actual silence, and most of the group were not Quakers, so we called it "silent reflection/worship time."
Worship actually went almost 30 minutes. Not long into it, one person spoke, and that opened up the opportunity for several more people. Each one felt deeper than the previous one. Several of us had tears in our eyes, as the expressions of gratitude came. It ended just after a friend talked about how the board always had the next hurdle in front of it, yet he noticed that he was happier the more time he spent around this institution; he asked us to take time to notice what we had already built as a community, even as we were looking ahead at the next step.
What was in my mind as we closed worship was Brent Bill again, this time quoting Carrie Newcomer's "Holy as a Day is Spent" (link is to a PDF of the lyrics):
I wouldn't have been able to read it without sobbing at that point, though, so it's just as well worship ended. (Like AJ and Allison, I have recognized tears as a sign of the Spirit's presence.
- - - - - - -
It's seeming like I have an ever-growing prayer list for both my own life and personal connections and the world at large. So I'll just offer up these lyrics as a parting prayer, instead. (I found two versions of this on YouTube and chose not to link to them. There's just not as much bluegrass gospel video as there is the blues videos like those that Johan Maurer links to!)
Prayer Bells of Heaven
While we are living in this world of care
Many the burdens that we have to bear
But there's a prayer bell at the Lord's right hand
Give it a ring and He will understand.
Chorus:
Prayer bells of Heaven, oh how sweetly they ring (they keep ringing)
Bearing the message unto Jesus the King (of glory)
When you are burdened with troubles and care (my brother)
Ring on and on for God will answer your prayer.
Three Hebrew children to the flames were thrown
Because the mortal king they would not own Jesus delivered and the king then saw
Prayer bells of Heaven beats a man made law.
Chorus
When Paul and Silas were both thrown in jail
They did not worry about who would go their bail
But on the prayer bell they began to ring
Off fell the stocks and they began to sing.
It was really pretty extraordinary. One helpful tool in preparing my part was Brent Bill's book Holy Silence. Chapter three starts with this quote from William Penn, which I read to the group: "True silence is the rest of the mind; and is to the spirit, what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment."
Another aspect was an experiment in group centering that you might like to try with a group unused to silence. I suggested we create a lot of noise and hub-bub in the room, then decrescendo into silence. It worked! It helped to have the external experience of going from the noise to the quiet.
We only had 15 minutes scheduled for the actual silence, and most of the group were not Quakers, so we called it "silent reflection/worship time."
Worship actually went almost 30 minutes. Not long into it, one person spoke, and that opened up the opportunity for several more people. Each one felt deeper than the previous one. Several of us had tears in our eyes, as the expressions of gratitude came. It ended just after a friend talked about how the board always had the next hurdle in front of it, yet he noticed that he was happier the more time he spent around this institution; he asked us to take time to notice what we had already built as a community, even as we were looking ahead at the next step.
What was in my mind as we closed worship was Brent Bill again, this time quoting Carrie Newcomer's "Holy as a Day is Spent" (link is to a PDF of the lyrics):
"Holy is the familiar room
And the quiet moments in the afternoon
And folding sheets like folding hands
To pray as only laundry can"
I wouldn't have been able to read it without sobbing at that point, though, so it's just as well worship ended. (Like AJ and Allison, I have recognized tears as a sign of the Spirit's presence.
- - - - - - -
It's seeming like I have an ever-growing prayer list for both my own life and personal connections and the world at large. So I'll just offer up these lyrics as a parting prayer, instead. (I found two versions of this on YouTube and chose not to link to them. There's just not as much bluegrass gospel video as there is the blues videos like those that Johan Maurer links to!)
Prayer Bells of Heaven
While we are living in this world of care
Many the burdens that we have to bear
But there's a prayer bell at the Lord's right hand
Give it a ring and He will understand.
Chorus:
Prayer bells of Heaven, oh how sweetly they ring (they keep ringing)
Bearing the message unto Jesus the King (of glory)
When you are burdened with troubles and care (my brother)
Ring on and on for God will answer your prayer.
Three Hebrew children to the flames were thrown
Because the mortal king they would not own Jesus delivered and the king then saw
Prayer bells of Heaven beats a man made law.
Chorus
When Paul and Silas were both thrown in jail
They did not worry about who would go their bail
But on the prayer bell they began to ring
Off fell the stocks and they began to sing.
8/16/2007
Quaker Workers?
This piece by Bil Paul, a local columnist, appeared in the San Mateo Daily News today:
Quote: "The Catholic Workers share a few similarities with the Quakers (more formally known as the Religious Society of Friends). The Catholic Workers aren't a homogenous group, and Purcell doesn't speak for all of them, but he believes that 'nothing's more important than people. ... The way I live is that people who are so-called losers are treated as if they are our brothers and sisters. If they need something and I can find it, I (provide it).'"
It's striking that the column doesn't mention Dorothy Day or the Catholic Church -- only Quakers!
There is a real affinity among Friends with the Catholic Worker movement. Our friends Carin Anderson and Chris Moore-Backman lived at the very same Redwood City house for a while. Forrest Curo recently wrote about the LA Catholic Worker and speculated about why there's no Quaker Worker movement at A Quaker Watering Hole. Stephen at our meeting subscribes to the LA Worker's newsletter. When I was at 15th Street Meeting in New York in the early 1990s, John and Vince had great stories to tell about volunteering at the Lower East Side Worker house.
In the blog post linked to above, Forrest wrote, "Despite minor hardships and inconvenience, we are drawn to the Catholic Worker way of life because it 'makes sense' where the so-called 'American Way of Life' doesn't."
Yep. Makes sense to me. Even if I don't live that way, much.
May we all treat so-called losers as our brothers and sisters. May we labor -- together, side by side -- for peace and justice and dignity for all creation.
- - - -
PS May the Lord bless and keep the members of the India team from Newberg Friends Church, including Gregg Koskela, who are on their way to or in India right now. May they travel safely and may they open hearts -- their own and others'.
Catholic Worker House helps needy on a limited budget
Quote: "The Catholic Workers share a few similarities with the Quakers (more formally known as the Religious Society of Friends). The Catholic Workers aren't a homogenous group, and Purcell doesn't speak for all of them, but he believes that 'nothing's more important than people. ... The way I live is that people who are so-called losers are treated as if they are our brothers and sisters. If they need something and I can find it, I (provide it).'"
It's striking that the column doesn't mention Dorothy Day or the Catholic Church -- only Quakers!
There is a real affinity among Friends with the Catholic Worker movement. Our friends Carin Anderson and Chris Moore-Backman lived at the very same Redwood City house for a while. Forrest Curo recently wrote about the LA Catholic Worker and speculated about why there's no Quaker Worker movement at A Quaker Watering Hole. Stephen at our meeting subscribes to the LA Worker's newsletter. When I was at 15th Street Meeting in New York in the early 1990s, John and Vince had great stories to tell about volunteering at the Lower East Side Worker house.
In the blog post linked to above, Forrest wrote, "Despite minor hardships and inconvenience, we are drawn to the Catholic Worker way of life because it 'makes sense' where the so-called 'American Way of Life' doesn't."
Yep. Makes sense to me. Even if I don't live that way, much.
May we all treat so-called losers as our brothers and sisters. May we labor -- together, side by side -- for peace and justice and dignity for all creation.
- - - -
PS May the Lord bless and keep the members of the India team from Newberg Friends Church, including Gregg Koskela, who are on their way to or in India right now. May they travel safely and may they open hearts -- their own and others'.
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