Dear Friends,

 We pray you are safe and well.

 In the spirit of our philosophy of co-creating community and our awareness that the Spirit speaks through each of us, we invite you to share your meditations with us as well. We truly believe that in God’s economy of abundance, when we share our blessings, our thoughts, our feelings, we are all made richer.

Today's Meditation comes to us from Rev. Austin Fleming, a Concord Pastor, as he reflects on and challenges himself with Labor Day.

We invite you to join us as we commit ourselves to working tirelessly to end systemic and structural racism in our society, in healthcare, in the workplace, in the Church--wherever it shows up so that everyone may come to have more abundant life. May this meditation nourish our contemplative-active hearts and sustain all of us in action.

We hope and pray that you and your loved ones experience genuine peace of mind and heart, and remain in good health during this challenging time.

In this "Season of Ordinary Time" in the Church Year, may this be a time of peace, of healing and hope, of the infusion of joy in your life!

With our love and care,

Ron & Jean

MEDITATION 143: A Concord Pastor reflects on and challenges himself on Labor Day (Rev. Austin Fleming)

Monday Morning Offerings for Labor Day 2020

Posted: 06 Sep 2020 06:37 PM PDT

This post offers two Monday Morning Offerings for Labor Day...

LABOR DAY MORNING OFFERING 1

Good morning, good God!

This Labor Day, Lord,

I'm grateful for the world you created

and that I, too, am the work of your hands:

you formed my inmost being,

you knit me in my mother's womb...*

How can it be that you took the time,

before time was,

to imagine my being,

to consider even for a moment

that I would exist:

to conceive of me

before I was conceived?

And then from the love of two,

you made, you fashioned me

in your own image and in theirs

and gave me a soul you'd given no other

and breathed in me

the spirit, the breath of your own life...

How great are your works, O Lord,

and how grateful am I

that this life of mine

is truly the work of your hands...

Who am I that you should be mindful of me,

care for me and love me?

Yet you have crowned me with glory and honor:

your love, my crown,

your mercy, my glory,

your grace, my honor...

Without you, Lord, I am nothing;

without you,

I am not...

You created me, Lord,

and now I,

the work of your hands,

offer you

the work of my hands,

knowing that all that I have

was first your gift to me...

Every good thought of mine,

every imagined word,

every work I dream,

every gift I offer

is the work of your Spirit within me -

and yet you are pleased

when I lift up to you a gift

that was always yours to begin with...

On this Labor Day, Lord, I offer my work

and pray you'll accept it and know

that I'm humbled that my hands share in your work

and your hands share in mine...

And I pray for those who have no work

and for those whose work's too much to bear:

lift up the jobless, Lord

and lighten the load of the weary...

Make me mindful, Lord,

of the ways you move in my life

through the work of all whose paths cross mine...

Good God of Monday mornings

and of every labored day,

I praise you for the work you began in me

and pray you bring it to fulfillment...

Amen.

*Psalm 139

LABOR DAY MORNING OFFERING 2

Good morning, good God!

This Labor Day morning,

I offer you my work, Lord,

in all its shapes and forms...

I offer you the work of my hands:

my sometimes graceful, often clumsy efforts

to reach out, lift up and support

those around me and any who ask for my help...

I offer you the work of my words, Lord:

inspire my writing and my speech

with the counsel of your Spirit

and the spirit of your truth...

I offer you the work of my listening:

keep me attentive, Lord,

and sensitive to what is said and not said

in all that I hear;

and keep me open, Lord,

to the sound of your voice in my prayer...

I offer you the work of my imagination, Lord:

open me to colors, shapes, sounds, ideas and visions

to help me bring the beauty of your word and presence

to the eyes and ears of those around me...

I offer you the work of my heart, Lord:

heal and strengthen my heart where its been hurt;

nurture and exercise my heart where it's grown weak;

enlarge and open my heart

to those whose paths cross mine

and who need another's heart

to listen, to understand...

I offer you the work of my ministry, Lord:

keep me faithful to my share of the work that is yours,

the work you've entrusted to my hands...

I offer you the work of my will and desire to be faithful:

to what you ask of me,

to the work you give me,

and to those who are served by my work...

Keep me faithful to the work of serving others

and open me, Lord,

to the blessing and help of those

whose work serves me...

Give those in need a job, Lord,

and to the tired grant well earned rest...

Let all our work give glory to your name

this Monday morning

and all this day and week ahead...

Amen.

NIGHT PRAYER: Sunday 9/6

Posted: 06 Sep 2020 06:20 PM PDT

This Labor Day weekend, Lord,

I've been thinking about some work I need to do...

I need to work harder at understanding folks

whose politics are different from mine:

I need to work at moving

- beyond their slogans and stump speeches,

- through their deceptions and half-truths,

- above the sarcastic and snarky,

- out of my own bias and prejudice

around my stubborn resistance,

apart from my untested theses

and into their ideas and philosophies...

I need to dig deeper, Lord,

to see what the other side sees as good and just

where I don't see it at all...

I need to work harder, Lord,

at accepting that their beliefs are based on

reason, good will and justice as they understand it...

I need to work at acknowledging:

- that they're as sincere in their beliefs

as my side is in ours

- that not all the bad guys are on their side

and not all the good guys are on mine

- that neither side has all the answers:

we're all sometimes right

and we're all sometimes wrong

So, that's the hard work ahead of me, Lord

and to complete it I need to let go of

- my pride and rigid intransigence,

- the conviction that I'm always right

- the notion that some folks have nothing to teach me

- thinking I've sufficiently thought through my positions

- assuming you're on my side, Lord,

and want nothing to do with the other...

That's a lot, Lord, and to achieve I'll need some rest

so protect me while I'm still awake

and watch over me as I sleep

that awake, I might keep watch with you

and asleep, rest in your peace...

Amen.

Before You I Kneel: A Worker's Prayer

by Stuart Towned and Keith Getty

Before You I kneel, my Master and Maker,

To offer the work of my hands.

For this is the day You've given Your servant;

I will rejoice and be glad

For the strength I have to live and breathe,

For each skill Your grace has given me,

For the needs and opportunities

That will glorify Your great name.

Before You I kneel and ask for Your goodness

To cover the work of my hands.

For patience and peace to shape all my labor,

Your grace for thorns in my path.

Flow within me like a living stream,

Wear away the stones of pride and greed

'Til Your ways are dwelling deep in me

And a harvest of life is grown.

Before You we kneel, our Master and Maker;

Establish the work of our hands.

And order our steps to seek first Your kingdom

In every small and great task.

May we live the gospel of Your grace,

Serve Your purpose in our fleeting days,

Then our lives will bring eternal praise

And all glory to Your great name.