Wind in the Chimes: Prayer as responding to God with or without words
O wonder of wonders! when I think of the union of my soul with you, O God! You make my soul flow out of herself in joyful ecstasy, for nothing but you can content her. A spring of divine love surges over my soul, sweeping her out of herself into you, O God, her original source.
Wind in the Chimes: We remember those whose graves are marked and those whose passing is commemorated in our hearts
Sacrifices remembered with grateful hearts
Jesus, Prince of Peace, we remember before you with grateful hearts the men and women of our country who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties we now enjoy and especially we remember with gratitude those men and women who have laid down their lives in the service of our country.
Grant—to those whose graves are marked in hallowed grounds and to those whose passing is commemorated in our hearts—your mercy and the light of your presence.
And give, O Lord, to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will. As you know us and love us, hear our prayer.
Adapted from the Book of Common Prayer: Thanksgiving for Heroic Service (839); Collect for the Nation (258)
Wind in the Chimes: Letting our collective prayer interrogate and inspire us.
The Collect for the Sixth Sunday of Easter
O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Book of Common Prayer, 225
A few questions from our prayer
I invite you to read through this prayer and then use these prompts as you ponder, contemplate, or journal. Please let the beauty and power of our common prayer be nourishment and refreshment along the Way.
O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding:
What evidence do you have that this is true, a trustworthy statement? From your life experiences, name some of those who have trusted this statement and share that trust with you.
Pour into our hearts such love towards you, …
“Pour into our hearts…” How many ways could God (who is love, 1 John 4:8) do this pouring? How many ways has love towards God filled your heart?
that we, loving you in all things and above all things,
Describe the challenges of living like this.
may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire;
What “promises” (from God) do you most cherish? Most desire to be fulfilled? What promises arouse the most curiosity in you? Why do you suppose our prayer uses a plural (promises) form?
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
As disciples of Christ, as believers, we trust that “Christian prayer is [a] response to God the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit.” from The Book of Common Prayer, p. 836
A Pattern for Prayer by John D. Witvliet posted on Religion Online. The author believes the study of ancient liturgical materials facilitates special insight. He discusses at length the understanding which lies in the structures and patterns of early collects and similar prayers, for preparing such prayers challenges us to draw on nearly the whole range of theological themes and motifs.
About Wind in the Chimes
Wind in the Chimes (renaming and reintroduction of Wind Chimes, 7/21/20)
Wind in the Chimes: A thought on loving one another, even in physical distress or infirmity
1 John 4:7–8 (NRSV)
7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.
If I cannot work or rise from my chair or my bed, love remains to me; I can pray.
—George Congreve SSJE, 1835–1918 (Woodgate, 1956), in Alan Wilkinson and Christopher Cocksworth, eds., An Anglican Companion: Words from the Heart of Faith (London: SPCK; Church House Publishing, 2001), 89.
About Wind in the Chimes
Wind in the Chimes (renaming and reintroduction of Wind Chimes, 7/21/20)
Is there a poem you most need as you step further into the new year? Is there a poem written on your heart—suddenly there when you most need it?
It’s that time of the year: the time when I need to carry my favorite poem in my pocket and read it frequently. I do this to inoculate myself against the fantasies that come up about now. Not Christmas fantasies of sugar plums dancing in my head—New Year’s fantasies.
As a new year approaches I begin to imagine that I will finally grab the reins of my life and get things under control. […]
I don’t actually have to put the poem in my pocket, for I carry it within me, recalling its images whenever I need them
Parker J. Palmer posted this to his Facebook Page a few days ago. It’s message is timeless.
Let us (use Comments) know if you have trouble viewing this. Let us know your response to “The Sun,” a poem with “sharp edges” in the words of Parker Palmer.
Hear what the Spirit is saying 