In this time we turn
our thoughts to how we can touch and be touched, love and be loved,
forgive and be forgiven, heal and be healed, so that the goodness of our
lives becomes a shared blessing. --Marta M. Flanagan (adapted)
Prayer
For Strength and Wisdom
Grant me the strength from day to day To
bear what burdens come my way. Grant me throughout this bright New Year More
to endure and less to fear. Help me live that I may be From spite and petty
malice free.
Let me not bitterly complain When cherished hopes of mine
prove vain, Or spoil with deeds of hate and rage Some fair tomorrow's spotless
page. Lord, as the days shall come and go In courage let me stronger grow.
Lord,
as the New Year dawns today Help me to put my faults away. Let me be big
in little things; Grant me the joy which friendship brings. Keep me from
selfishness and spite; Let me be wise in what is right.
A happy New Year!
Grant that I May bring no tear to any eye. When this New Year in time shall
end Let it be said I've played the friend, Have lived and loved and labored
here, And made of it a happy year. --Edgar A. Guest
Prayer
for the Coming Year
Oh Thou, who art ever the same, Grant us so
to pass through the coming year with faithful hearts, that we may be able
in all things to please Thy loving eyes. Amen. --Mozarabic, 700 A.D.
A
Prayer for Peace
For Peace Eternal God, in your perfect realm
no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, and there is no strength
but the strength of love. So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all
peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as your
children; to you be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen. --Brother
Roger of Taizé
Salutation to the Dawn
Look to this
day! For it is life, the very life of life. In its brief course Lie
all the verities and realities of your existence: The bliss of growth; The
glory of action; The splendor of achievement; For yesterday is but a dream,
And tomorrow is only a vision; But today, well lived, makes every yesterday
a dream of happiness, And every tomorrow a vision of hope. --Attributed
to Kalidasa | Source: Holistic Living
May There Be Peace Within
May
you trust your highest power that you are exactly where you are meant to be... May
you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you
use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given
to you... May you be content knowing you are a child of God... Let this
presence settle into our bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance,
praise and love. It is there for each and every one of you... --Author Unknown
For
New Beginnings
O God, We thank you for this earth, our home; for
the wide sky and the blessed sun, for the ocean and streams, for the towering
hills and the whispering wind, for the trees and green grass.
We thank
you for our senses by which we hear the songs of birds, and see the splendor of
fields of golden wheat, and taste autumn's fruit, rejoice in the feel of snow,
and smell the breath of spring flowers.
Grant us a heart opened wide to
all this beauty; and save us from being so blind that we pass unseeing when even
the common thorn bush is aflame with your glory.
For each new dawn is filled
with infinite possibilities for new beginnings and new discoveries. Life is constantly
changing and renewing itself. In this new day of new beginnings with God, all
things are possible. We are restored and renewed in a joyous awakening to the
wonder that our lives are and, yet, can be.
Amen. --Appleseeds.org
Finally,
there is no prayer more suited to the New Year, or any other time, than that of
St. Francis of Assissi:
Make Me An Instrument of Your Peace
Lord,
make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is
sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be
consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved
as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that
we are pardoned, it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. R. Amen.
--St. Francis of Assisi
If you want to talk with someone in person, please feel free to call 917-439-2305
The Rev. Charles P. Henderson is a Presbyterian minister and is the author of God and Science (John Knox Press, 1986).
A revised and expanded version of the book is appearing here. God and Science (Hypertext Edition,
2015).
He is also editor of a new book, featuring articles by world class scientists and theologians, and illustrating the leading views on the relationship between science and religion: Faith, Science and the Future (CrossCurrents Press, 2017).
Charles also tracks the boundry between the virtual and the real at his blog: Next World Design, focusing on the mediation of art, science and spirituality in the metaverse.