Category: Peace

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me….

9/29/2019

I was lay leader at church today. Here is what I shared. (I sang the first line.)

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me….

We gather here today knowing and believing that peace on earth begins we each of us and that it is strengthened when we come together as a community.

As the psalmist tell us,

Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.
(Psalm 85:10-11)

Increase our faith O God, open our hearts to love so that righteousness will spring up from us and peace will look down on us all.

Today, right now, let peace begin with me, let it begin with each person here, in this town, in this country, and in the world.

Peace flag on display

7/1/2017

We just hung our PEACE flag out one front window, and the American Flag out the other. Our flags represent what we believe God wants for all human beings: peace and freedom.
It’s really quite simple. God, who has perfectly made each one of us, loves us and shows no partiality in wanting freedom for all of us.
In believing this, what we must do it quite simple: love everyone and do what we can to give freedom to all.

Let there be peace on earth

1/18/2017

“Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.”
Please pray for a peaceful weekend in this country. Please pray for civility and respect. Please pray that all voices will be heard.

I spent today prayerfully preparing to participate in Saturday’s Women’s March on Washington by being silent—reading, praying, writing, sitting in the mystery. I even cancelled an evening obligation. The march will be noisy, with elbow to elbow human beings, and complex logistics. No silence, solitude and simplicity.
Although our demeanor will vary, we will all gather under the umbrella of full respect, opportunity and protection for every human being. My goal is to be a positive, prayerful presence, which means that I must do my best not to step into the political rhetoric and critique. By abstaining from reading or listened to the news in the past two months, I have put myself on the fringe of any serious discussion of the issues. And that, helps me be a positive, prayerful presence.

Prayer march

1/12/2017

Dear Prayer Friends,
On January 21st I will be participating in the Women’s March on Washington with my daughter, sister (who lives near DC), and other family members. I am not going to protest but to support the rights of all human beings. My energy is positive and prayerful.

I have begun a list of family, friends and friends of friends who can’t make the trip but who want to be there in spirit. I will keep the list close to my heart, at least for the start, but I may leave it somewhere along the way—in another marcher’s hand, at a designated memorial spot, on Lincoln’s lap. I may release it to the wind or bring it home with me. I’m open for surprises and miracles.

If you would like me to add your name, or the name of someone else to the list, please let me know.

Peace and love,
Bobbi

Praying for a peaceful election~

8/8/2015

I’ve posted the following on my cottage by the sea blog. Here are a few comments specifically about faith and prayer. As a Christian I try to respond to all situation with love, not critique. So my prayer is that love will surround the candidates, the issues and the election itself.

     I’ve mentioned before that I’ve pretty much chosen to stay away from the news, and particularly from politics. It isn’t easy as the presidential primary in the state just north of us is heating up, and as the debates have started. I watched the other night, telling myself that I needed a ‘visual’ of what was going on. I was disappointed on two levels.

     I was disappointed at the cynicism, rancor, rudeness, and negativity of some of the candidates. I was disappointed that the needs of the poor and disenfranchised were dismissed or framed only in legal terms. I was disappointed that these privileged men (and one woman) couldn’t show compassion, empathy or understanding for what it is like to be without health insurance, or the means to earn enough to live on. I was disappointed that there was no talk about gun control. I was disappointed at the subtle, and not so subtle racism and sexism.

    Although I wasn’t disappointed in my opinions, I was disappointed that I allowed my buttons to be pushed. How do I, who longs for silence, solitude and simplicity, want to respond as democracy plays itself out in the next fifteen months? For a start, and perhaps a finish, I don’t want to make cynical, rancorous, rude, or negative comments about a candidate. How about taking the log out of my own eye, and then, if I can’t speak politely, lovingly, and positively, keeping silent.

Peace and quiet and the fog~

12/2/2013

I love the peace and quiet and the fog here at the cottage his morning as I sit here, feeling the pain of so many. A friend's son took his life; another friend's son is in a mental institution so he won't, a young mother I know has died of cancer, leaving a husband and their five year old daughter; a friends infant granddaughter is experience medical complications; and then there are all the issues of poverty, war, the earth. What to do? It’s hard to put this into words, but I feel that my job/calling is to hold (in prayer) the pain for these people and situations.

Mysteriously, all of this is pain is lifting me somewhere else. Closer to God? (I’m not certain if that’s the way to frame it, but it’s the best I can do at the moment.) With this prayer call I’m shifting from a mental ‘I’m sorry’ to a pain, ache, an experience of the heart. Prayer is no longer something I do mentally as much as something I feel compassionately. The sadness is intense, settled in deep in my being, not in my head. Yesterday I had a fear that it would overwhelm me toward depression; today it is settling in as a given for me by God. It’s very personal. Yesterday I wanted to share it with someone, some spiritual director or spiritual friend; today I’m fine sharing it with God (and on this blog).

Praying for the Fruit of the Spirit~

11/30/2013

Tomorrow I return to the cottage after the Thanksgiving holiday week with my family. I’m grateful for all the time we spent together and now I’m grateful for time alone. I’m continually amazed at how the busyness of life draws me away from prayer, and yet, how my faith is sustained by this non-prayer time. If I didn’t have community, how would I stay grateful? How would I know of people to visit and pray for? Where would I find strength to strive for the fruit of the spirit, which Paul tells us is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? (Gal. 5:22-23).

My pattern is to be alone at the cottage praying for the fruit to enter deep within me, and then, to go out in the world to practice. I falter all the time but thankfully Christianity is a faith of hope. God forgives me again and again, offering me the trust to forgive myself.

So back and forth I go, cottage to home, home to cottage, finding the fruit, losing it, and finding it again. I believe that cottage time, this extended time alone, tips the balance toward the good. Jesus went off alone to pray, and we must do the same. I go to the cottage but I also find other times and places in the midst of community. You see, the cottage is a metaphor for that time away with God. I pray that you can find yours.

God is not a baseball fan~

10/15/2013

These days everyone in Boston is pretty excited about the Red Sox. Fair weather fan that I am, I am intermittently into it, too; if they win, I read the next day’s paper. So you can imagine that with Big Papi’s grand slam, I had a looong cup of coffee yesterday morning.

But you know, I haven’t been praying for the outcome that I want. In fact, that never occurred to me until I started writing this. You see, growing up a Brooklyn Dodger fan, when October came around, I just knew that God was a Yankee fan. But I stopped believing that kind of thing, not because the Dodgers went to LA and became another team altogether, but because I got older. My understanding of God matured, became more nuanced, deepened. It happened to me and it happens to you. It will continue with me, it will continue with you. God is still speaking,’ (with a comma).

We know that God isn’t a baseball fan, not even close. God doesn’t even know about baseball. God is on another plane, in a different category. In some mysterious way, more mysterious than any spectacular hitter or pitcher, God can give us peace, no matter what team we’re rooting for. I can pray that for all the teams and fans. Peace has no limits.

Socrates and 'The Three Sieves'

8/9/2013

The story of Socrates and ‘The Three Sieves’ is posted all over the internet, source unknown.

Read through a Christian lens, it feels like a parable Jesus that could have told. Read the story: it speaks for itself. The challenge is to perform the simple ‘Three Sieves Test’ in our daily lives.

Once upon a time in ancient Greece, one of the acquaintances of the great philosopher Socrates came up to him and said: “Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students?”

“Hold on a moment,” Socrates replied. “Before you tell me, I would like to perform a simple test. It is called the ‘Three Sieves Test.’ ”

“The ‘Three Sieves Test?’ ”

“Yes. Before you say a word about my student, take a moment to reflect carefully on what you wish to say by pouring your words through three special sieves.”

“The first sieve is the Sieve of Truth. Are you absolutely sure, without any doubt, that what you are about to tell me is true?”

“Well, no, I’m not. Actually I heard it recently and…”

“Alright,” interrupted Socrates. “So you don’t really know whether it is true or not. Then let us try the second sieve: the Sieve of Goodness. Are you going to tell me something good about my student?”

“Well…no,” said his acquaintance. “On the contrary…”

“So you want to tell me something bad about him,” questioned Socrates, “even though you are not certain if it is true or not?”

“Err…”

“You may still pass the test though,” said the Socrates, “because there is a third sieve: the Sieve of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?”

“No. Not so much.” said the man resignedly.

Finishing the lesson, Socrates said: “Well, then, if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor useful, why bother telling me at all?”

Deep peace to you~

6/10/2013

Deep peace of the running waves to you

Deep peace of the flowing air to you

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you

Deep peace of the shining stars to you

Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you