We invite you all to send in your prayers, write them, draw them, mould them, shape them and email them to us at minister@gungahlinuniting.org

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We will collate them and create something each week made up of the prayers of our community.

I Thought: A Prayer

by Keree Louise Casey

I thought I would try something different today.
you know – be strong and not let the world get me down.
I’ll stand my ground and not get pushed about.

I thought I would try something different today.
you know what I mean – find my voice and name the issue.
I’ll sing my way through the day rather than remain silent.

I thought I would try something different today.
you know – change my sense of powerlessness into power.
I’ll believe in myself, be kind to me and I will love me.

I thought I would try something different today.
you know what I mean – I’ll take the risk to trust.
Trust myself, trust the process, and trust God.

I thought I would try something different today.
you know – take a deep breath, and let my heart feel.
I’ll reach out and touch the face of God.

God of the known and unknown, the seen and unseen.
we are always in your presence
in our waking, and in our sleeping
in our playing, and in our working
in our despair, and in our hope
in our pain and in our joy.
Nothing escapes your attention.
Hear the cries of the powerless and offer them hope
Give them strength to continue the journey of life
Open the eyes of the powerful
so that they see the injustice and pain they precipitate
Invite us all to share the possibilities of life
Possibilities of inclusion, mutuality,
reciprocity, respect, safety and love.
The whole of humanity waits expectantly,
whether we know it or not.

From Spill The Beans Issue 34

I’m not sure if they’ll recognise me.
In the garden this morning
Mary thought I was someone else.
At first she didn’t recognise my voice
but when she stopped crying and looked at me
I said her name and she realised who I was.

I think she wanted to touch me,
to hold onto me
to make sure that I was not a product of her imagination
or a ghost.

I’m not sure what this resurrection body looks like
or how it would feel to someone else.
It’s new to me.
It’s a new kind of life.
It’s obviously going to be new to my friends as well.

I know that they’ve locked the doors
of where they are meeting.
They are still afraid of the Jews,
still stunned by what happened to me,
still afraid of what might happen to them.

Sealed tombs or locked doors
don’t seem to be a problem for this new body
but if I suddenly appear in the room
they’re going to be even more afraid.
I need to convince them that it’s me
and that they don’t need to fear me.
Maybe if I show them my wounds
that will help convince them.
If I somehow breathe the gift of this new life into them,
it will help them grasp what is going on.

(Pause)

It worked.
They were so happy to see me.
They are beginning to realise
that this new life is about them as well.
One problem though,
Thomas wasn’t with them tonight.
It’ll be really hard for him
when they talk about seeing me.
He’ll know he’s missed out
and he’ll want to see me for himself,
and I don’t blame him,
this new life isn’t easy to understand.

(Pause)

It was better tonight.
Thomas was there,
and the others were still caught up
in the wonder of this past week.
I held out my hands to Thomas
so that he could see what the others had already seen
and he believed at once
that it was really me.

I said something to Thomas
which I hope will help other people
to know who I am
and what really happened to me.

I told him and the others
that people would come after them
who would also be my friends,
and I would bless them,
because they had never had the opportunity to meet me
in a human body
and yet they too would love me,
they too would be my friends.