OPENING PRAYER
I was glad when they said unto me, “We will go into the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1
THE REFRAIN
I regard you as precious. You are honored and I love you. Isaiah 43:4 NIV
THE WORD OF GOD/A READING
It wasn’t until she reached the shore
that she realized
she was meant for water.
She no longer yearned
to linger on the lawn
where she had been rejected.
She had reached her end,
and it was there she learned to see,
this was not the end at all.
This was the beginning.
And it would be here,
as the waves rushed in,
she would hear
the sea calling.
She is starting again.
She is coming out to sea to be
a soul
set free
from who she was back then.
And she will go forth in deeper waters,
with hope as the anchor for her soul,
reminding her that it was never other people
that made her feel truly whole,
and all along,
she was called to more,
a glorious life beyond the shore.
-Morgan Harper Nichols, All Along You Were Blooming
THE REFRAIN
I regard you as precious. You are honored and I love you. Isaiah 43:4 NIV
PRAYER
Lord, make me a channel of Thy Peace,
That where there is hatred I may bring love,
That where there is wrong I may bring the spirit of forgiveness,
That where there is discord I may bring harmony,
That where there is error I may bring truth,
That where there is doubt I may bring faith,
That where there is despair I may bring hope,
That where there are shadows I may bring light,
That where there is sadness I may bring joy.
- St. Francis of Assisi
CONCLUSION
The Early Evening Collect (BCP, p 120)
Lord Jesus, stay with us, for evening is at hand and the day is past; be our companion in the way, kindle our hearts, and awaken hope, that we may know you as you are revealed in Scripture and the breaking of bread. Grant this for the sake of your love. Amen.