Midas

For you, Leah. 

Yesterday I got out my new red-glass vase,
and filled it with fairy lights,
and took away the dead leaves from the mantlepiece,
and lit a new candle.

And I missed you (again), and how your touch makes everything more beautiful.
On the mantlepiece and in life.

A Blessing

May God grant us:

Time                    to ponder life’s beauty,

Strength               to bear all its tyranny,

and Humour        to laugh at its folly;

Love                     to cherish our friends,

                             to be open to the stranger,

                             and to pardon our enemy;

Hope                     to envision God’s Kingdom come,

with Confidence   to play our own part

and Humility         to let others play theirs;

Discipline             to resist what is evil,

Anger                    to challenge injustice,

Compassion          to mourn with the broken;

Tenacity                to stand in adversity,

Patience                to live with our limits,

           and ultimately,

           even when all else fails,

Faith                      to trust in the saving grace of God.

Amen.

Graced with God's Presence

Every year, those training for ministry at the different denominational colleges in Oxford gather for shared worship, so this responsive prayer of praise was written for that setting.

When the warmth of spring permeates our skin,
When our path is blossom-scattered;
When the air is filled with avian trills
And happy musical chatter;
When the sun lights up these limestone walls
And the vibrant green of neat-clipped lawns,
And we praise You who has made it all:
You grace us with your presence.

As the Word made flesh, our form you took,
And graced us with your presence;
When love speaks through the words of your Book:
You grace us with your presence;
And when with word and flesh combined,
We celebrate in holy sign,
Through eating bread and drinking wine:
You grace us with your presence.

In sister- and in brother-hood,
In laughter and in prayer,
In grace-filled living and forgiving,
In off'ring costly care;
As we encounter the stranger too,
The poor, and those held in negative view;
When we find in all people the likeness of you:
You grace us with your presence.

And now together in this place
From different customs gathered,
With common call to share your grace -
Thus shortly to be scattered;
We lift our voice in worship, for
By your Spirit now outpoured –
In this moment and forever more
You grace us with your presence!