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31 May 2020
Bishop Gutierrez - a message on 31 May 2020
31May2020 ~ Compline on Pentecost Sunday at St. Mary's - Cathedral Road Philadelphia
31May2020 Morning Prayer Pentecost at St. Mary's Episcopal Church - Cathedral Road - The Rev. Peter Carey
be still
For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love
For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith
But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.
Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought:
So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.
Whisper of running streams, and winter lightning.
The wild thyme unseen and the wild strawberry,
The laughter in the garden, echoed ecstasy
Not lost, but requiring, pointing to the agony
Of death and birth.
A message from the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida
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30 May 2020
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. From Dean Randy Hollerith: Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. Christian Cooper. George Floyd.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. From Dean Randy Hollerith:
Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. Christian Cooper. George Floyd.
We must say the names of our African American brothers and sisters who, because of the color of their skin, are subjected to suspicion, harassment and even death. We must say their names because their names are known to God.
Whether on the streets of suburban Georgia, a Louisville bedroom, the wooded pathways of Central Park or a sidewalk in downtown Minneapolis, we must confront the ugliness of racism whenever it robs an innocent person of life or dignity. We cannot, and we must not, turn away.
Those of us in white America need to take a long, hard look in the mirror. We need to honestly acknowledge the privileges afforded us based on the color of our skin -- not out of guilt, but out of responsibility. We must see the casual bigotry that dulls our sense of injustice. We cannot ignore the centuries of systematic oppression that keeps our African American sisters and brothers literally pinned to the ground.
I take for granted that I can walk down the street free of suspicion or fear; such a simple luxury is unknown to millions of Americans. Together, we must own the anxiety a family of color feels when they have to coach their children on how to survive an encounter with law enforcement. And while violence is never the answer, the flames in Minneapolis reflect the disenchantment and hopelessness that burns in the hearts of those who suffer because of their race.
Our obligation to truth demands a confession that too many people make too many decisions, large and small, based on the color of another’s skin rather than the content of their character. God’s justice compels us to move toward something better than where we are and who we have become.
I pray that when we look in the mirror we do not like what we see. I pray that our conscience is stirred to say “Enough.” I pray we are challenged to change and moved to act. We need to make others’ pain our own, for we cannot change something we refuse to acknowledge.
It is not enough to feel bad. It is insufficient to leave the change to others. We are long past that point, and may God grant us the courage to realize it and act.
Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. Christian Cooper. George Floyd. We must never stop saying their names because God never stops loving them, and in God’s mercy, God never stops loving us.
Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart and especially the hearts of the people of this land, that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
From Bishop Gutierrez's Blog: "I Can't Breathe"
I CAN'T BREATHE
From Bishop Gutierrez: "I Can't Breathe"
I CAN'T BREATHE
Lead me
my God, I put my trust in you: *
let me not be humiliated,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
2 Let none who look to you be put to shame; *
let the treacherous be disappointed in their schemes.
3 Show me your ways, O LORD, *
and teach me your paths.
4 Lead me in your truth and teach me, *
for you are the God of my salvation;
in you have I trusted all the day long.
5 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and love, *
for they are from everlasting.
6 Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions; *
remember me according to your love
and for the sake of your goodness, O LORD.
7 Gracious and upright are you, O LORD; *
therefore you teach sinners in your way.
8 You guide the humble in doing right *
and teach your way to the lowly.
9 All the paths, O LORD, are love and faithfulness *
to those who keep your covenant and your testimonies.
10 For your Name’s sake, O LORD, *
forgive my sin, for it is great.
11 Who are they who fear the LORD? *
the LORD will teach them the way that they should choose.
12 They shall dwell in prosperity, *
and their offspring shall inherit the land.
13 The LORD is a friend to the God-fearing *
and will show them the holy covenant.
14 My eyes are ever looking to the LORD; *
who shall pluck my feet out of the net.
for I am left alone and in misery.
16 The sorrows of my heart have increased; *
bring me out of my troubles.
17 Look upon my adversity and misery *
and forgive me all my sin.
18 Look upon my enemies, for they are many, *
and they bear a violent hatred against me.
19 Protect my life and deliver me: *
let me not be put to shame, for I have trusted in you.
20 Let integrity and righteousness preserve me; *
for my hope has been in you.
21 Deliver Israel, O God, *
out of all their troubles.
30May2020~ Noonday Prayer ~ St. Mary's - Cathedral Road - The Rev. Peter Carey
29 May 2020
Wait upon the Lord
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