Staying Safe and Staying Connected
Good Morning Saint Stephen’s Church,
We continue our life of daily prayer. The Lord be with you!
Today’s Prayer
O thou transcendent,
Walt Whitman, 1892
Nameless, the fibre and the breath,
Light of the light, shedding forth universes, thou center of them,
Thou mightier center of the true, the good, the loving,
Thou moral, spiritual fountain – affection’s source – thou reservoir,
(O pensive soul of me – O thirst unsatisfied – waitest not there?
Waitest not haply for us somewhere there the Comrade perfect?)
Thou pulse – thou motive of the stars, suns, systems,
That, circling, move in order, safe, harmonious,
Athwart the shapeless vastnesses of space,
How should I think, hop breathe a single breath, how speak, if,
out of myself,
I could not launch, to those, superior universes?
Walt Whitman’s early career consisted of short spells as a clerk, a printer, a teacher, and a journalist. In order to look after his brother, who has been wounded in the Civil War, he became a volunteer nurse, but the experience left him a shattered man. He was given a government clerkship but was dismissed from it for publishing ‘an indecent book’, Leaves of Grass. What shocked his readers was that Whitman sought to find a transcendent meaning in the events of contemporary life.
From Our Prayers of the People
Today, let us pray:
For the just and proper use of your creation: for the victims of hunger, fear, injustice, and oppression.
For comfort and healing for all who are affected by the Coronavirus: for physicians, nurses, and all others who minister to the sick and the suffering, may God grant them wisdom and skill, sympathy and patience, and may God keep them healthy and safe.
For all essential workers: for police, firefighters, EMTs, postal workers, sanitation workers, grocery personnel, delivery and transport workers, and all who must report to work because what they do is essential for our well-being, health, and safety.
For those on the Parish Prayer Chain: Mary Alice, Pauline, John, Jane, Molly and David.
For those who are homebound: Stephen, Pauline, Joan, Janet and Marilyn.
Our Government Leaders: Donald Trump, President of the United States; Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York State; Gary McCarthy, Mayor of Schenectady.
Our Church Leaders: Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop, William Love, and Daniel Herzog our bishops; James and Dennie our priests; Pat our deacon and Allison our Lay Reader.
Those who are imprisoned: those particularly vulnerable at this time, especially the women in the Schenectady County Jail.
For those in need of healing: Jean, Cindi, Mary Frances, Debbie, Joe, Matt and Lisa.
For Tom – today is his birthday!
For all the blessings of this life.
For our dioceses in the Anglican Nnewi (Nigeria), Armagh (Ireland), Johannesburg (Southern Africa).
For all who have died: especially Hugh, Tom, Louis, Michael and Mary Ann.
For one another.
Something to share
From “The Explorers”
Away O Soul, hoist instantly the anchor!
Walt Whitman
Cut the hawsers – haul out – shake out every sail!
Sail forth – steer for the deep waters only;
Reckless O Soul, expoloring, I with thee, and thou with me,
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.
O my brave Soul.
O farther, farther sail!
O daring joy, but safe! are they not all the seas of God?
O farther, farther, farther sail!
Reminders
If you have an update/news, a prayer or poem or something inspirational you would like us to share with the congregation, please send it to us. Please also send us any prayer requests. We will incorporate these into the Morning Prayers as best we can.
Prayerbook Parish Morning Prayer in Zoom – each morning. Join Dennie and me for an inter-active service of Morning Prayer at 9 am. Time to bring your prayer concerns will be provided. (contact me for the link: james.ross.mcd@gmail.com)
If you did not receive a phone call in the last few weeks from a member of the Vestry and you would like to be added to the communication list, please let me know (james.ross.mcd@gmail.com) and share with me the best telephone number(s) where we can reach you. We will add you to the list right away.
Our church campus is closed. All parish meetings and gatherings are canceled and postponed until further notice.
Our goal is for all of us to stay in touch and connected in this time of isolation.
Share this news, and spread some love, not the virus!
Irish Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be at your back,
May the sun shine upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
Be of good courage. We are in this together, and we will be together again soon. God bless you and may God be with us in the days ahead.
Peace,
James+