Morning Prayer

Our morning prayer service is an opportunity to carve out space for contemplation and stillness so that it becomes a spiritual practice. Through November 22, in the lead up to the Thanksgiving holiday, we will be reflecting on what Diana Butler Bass calls “the subversive practice of giving thanks.” We’ll consider how gratitude is expressed through both action and emotion, how it functions both personally and communally, and how a fuller vision of gratitude might help us grow in well-being and live compassionately together.

We offer you a warm welcome, and as is our practice, we remember that the land on which we meet is, was, and always will be native land. We acknowledge those indigenous tribes to Oklahoma: the Wichitas, Caddos, Plains Apaches, and the Quapaws, as the original custodians of the land in this place. We grieve the violence done to native language, culture, and personhood, and seek to honor the sovereignty and dignity of native peoples.

Glenda Stansbury

Let us begin the day with this time of consideration, holy listening, supported silence, song, and prayer. We invite you to settle into your seat, let your shoulders drop, and take a deep breath. Remember: your whole self is welcome here.

Diana Butler Bass reminds us that gratitude begins with noticing—opening our senses to the subtle, quiet gifts of life that surround us every moment. And so, we invite you to be present in this moment. Settle into your seat, let your shoulders drop, and take a deep breath. Remember: your whole self is welcome here.

Today we consider

• In what ways has an unexpected moment of beauty surprised you recently?
• What is something in your everyday life that you have stopped noticing or appreciating?
• What might change if we approached each day with the expectation that there is something to receive, rather than something to accomplish?


We Praise You, O God, Hymn 420
New Century Hymnal

One: As we open our hearts, and ground ourselves in gratitude, we remind ourselves of the words of the psalmist, who wrote, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Holy One, help us to receive this day as a gift, not simply as another collection of tasks and responsibilities.

Whatever this day might hold, Holy One, let us begin it with joy.

All: We pause to notice the simple gifts that sustain and enrich our daily living—nourishment, shelter, rest, and breath as well as laughter, pleasure, and beauty. For the gifts we sometimes overlook, we give thanks.

One: We know we were not created to be alone, but are made for community—to both give and receive care and support.

All: We give thanks for the companions who encourage us, challenge us, and walk beside us and for the neighbors whose labor sustains our communities--those who care for the vulnerable, tend the earth, teach our children, and work for the well-being of others. We give thanks for the connections that make us whole. 

One: Holy Friend, we trust you with our joy and our sorrow, and so even amidst our thanks, we also lift up those who are grieving, lonely, frightened, or overwhelmed. We say aloud names and places that may mean something only to us, trusting the gathered community to help us, for we are not meant to carry everything alone. . .

[Please say those names and places aloud so that we can hold them close with you.]

One: You have heard those names spoken aloud and those spoken only in our hearts. To those names we add members of this community: George & Jeanette, Dennis, Meg, Carolyn, the Graham family, Kester and Bev, Susan, Michael, Terry, and Daniel as well as Meg’s mom Elizabeth, Caitlyn’s dad, and for Joe’s dad. May they know that they are held in love, and may we become instruments of that love. We lift up our siblings in war-torn places, including Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan, Ukraine, and Iran; and we pray for the strength and wisdom to do the things that make for peace.

All: May our gratitude overflow into action, that we may work for a world where abundance is shared, where every person is treated with dignity and compassion, and where justice and peace prevail. Amen.

Come, O Thankful People, Come, Hymn 421
New Century Hymnal

Rev. Sheridan Irick

Rev. Sheridan Irick

This morning we will practice helping one another notice the gifts that surround us. Up at the front, we have post-it notes and writing utensils. You’ll be invited up to write down an ordinary gift for which you are grateful—how light it is in the morning this time of year, a warm dinner at the end of the day, running water.

You’ll return to your seat, and then after a moment, you’ll be invited back up to chose someone else’s post-it—something you forget to be grateful for that you’d like to practice noticing this week. Take it home with you, and put it somewhere you’ll see it.

If you are joining us online, we invite you to write down your own gratitude reminder and place it where you’ll see it or if you live with someone else, you might trade with them.

As you go out into the remainder of the day, may you carry the still, small voice of the Divine within you. May your hearts be filled with peace, your hands moved by compassion, and your steps guided by love. Go in peace. Amen.