We need:
• to step away from the turmoil of the world.
• to be quiet.
• hope.
• to feel real joy.
• to be seen and loved.
• to remember who and whose we are.
• to confess our weaknesses and mistakes.
• to forgive and to be forgiven.
• to pray for the things that cloud our minds and break our hearts.
• to discover and express our deepest gratitude.
• community; to touch, to share; to give and receive.
• to sing and move our bodies.
• to practice our sacred rituals within a real respect for humanity’s diverse
• a religious life.
• to anoint one another with the peace of Christ, a peace the world cannot give,
• not an easy peace, not an insignificant peace, not a half-hearted peace.
• to be stripped of all that keeps us from coming to the common table with
• compassion for ourselves and others.
• to feel safe to tell the truth in love.
• to play.
• to celebrate small victories in our efforts to make the world a better place.
• to expect God/Christ/Spirit to be present and powerful.
• to leave room for surprise and be willing to be vulnerable.
We do NOT need:
• to think we know when those times will be in any given worship.
• to be bombarded with words as we are in culture.

The Rev. Joan Dennehy, retired Pastor and active artist, Seattle, Washington