Borderless Sea of Substance

Hospitality of Mercy

The following prayer was used as part of the Prayers of the People Service at St. Andrew’s Scots Memorial Church on March 3. It was followed by “Mother, Father God, Creator and Sustainer, borderless sea of substance, hear our prayers.  I love the water images here, images not often found in prayers created for worship services---"waterfalls of tenderness," "bathe them in the river of your healing," "shower upon them the light of hope,"  and finally the wonderful "borderless sea of substance." 

One of the unique challenges of serving a church like St. Andrews is that every sunday we get a completely different group of people because we get pilgrims coming to the holy land. We have a core group of worshipers but every sunday there is a different congregation. This makes Prayers of the People an interesting moment because people don't really know each other in the way a congregation gets to know each other therefore there is not usually a sharing aloud but more of a quiet contemplative reflection. 

This prayer, I was told, touched people in deep ways.  I think the ending asking for peace especially hits people as they become aware of the desperate need for peace here. This is true for both those who live here and those who are passing through.

Prayer

Maya Angelou

Father, Mother God

thank you for your presence

during the hard and mean days

for when we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence

during the bright and sunny days

for when we can share that which we have

with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence

during the holy days, for when we are able

to celebrate you and our families

and our friends.

For those who have no voice,

we ask you to speak.

For those who feel unworthy,

we ask you to pour your love out

in waterfalls of tenderness.

For those who live in pain

we ask you to bathe them

in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask

you to keep them company.

For those who are depressed

we ask you to shower upon them

the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless

sea of substance, we ask you to give all the

world what we need most------peace.



" Hospitality of Mercy" was painted by Jan L. Richardson