FOR FAMILIES

O God, whose home is the universe and whose universe is also our home: we lift up grateful hearts that the human race dwells together in families and that members of our families dwell together in trust and love.…

O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home,
Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting You are are God,
To endless years the same.…

Enlighten our minds, O Holy One, so we may understand each other and be saved from sterility of mind.
Fill us with a sense of the urgency of our task.
Save us from disabling despair and from undue optimism.
Help us to continue daily self-examination which prevents us from sinking into mere routine and enables us to understand the ever new quest for truth.…

A PRAYER OF AFFIRMATION

Before You, O God, we freely affirm our faith:
We believe in the goodness of life, realizable in the present world, available to all the people of the earth who seek the masteries of thew spirit in every condition.…

PULLING AND LETTING GO

The archer hits the target partly by pulling, partly by letting go;
the boatman reaches the landing partly by pulling, partly by letting go.

Before You, O God, I would learn the rhythm of relaxed strength. I would find my quiet, constant rhythm in society and solitude, work and play, duty and pleasure—in all of my relations with persons and with groups.…

There is a sighing in the wood,
A murmur in the beating wave;
The heart has never understood
To tell in words the thoughts they gave.
Yet oft it feels an answering tone,
When wandering on the lonely shore;
And could the lips its voice make known,
‘T would sound as does the ocean’s roar.…

From the unreal, lead me to the real.

From darkness, lead me to light.

From death, lead me to immortality.

Upanishads are part of the Vedas, the oldest sacred texts in Hinduism. The Upanishads are considered divinely inspired poetic liturgies, discussing meditation, the nature of reality, and philosophy.

God, though this life is but a wraith,
Although we know not what we use,
Although we grope, with little faith,
Give me the heart to fight—and lose.
Ever insurgent let me be;
Make me more daring than devout;
From sleek contentment keep me free,
And fill me with a buoyant doubt.…

Ah, God, the torment of this task that
You have laid on me
To tell the splendor of Your love!
I sing and sing,
Yet all the while the truth evades telling.
No words there are, no words,
To show You as You are!…