The other day, a friend shared a song with me, The Keep Going Song by the Bengsons (find it on youtube!) I found it quite moving so thought I would share it with you all. It is silly and lovely, but at its heart, it’s really a prayer, which it what I found myself reflecting on this week.
From start to finish, our Easter service was such a delight. The power of resurrection was definitely present. There were so many beautiful moments, I feel almost guilty for lifting up one in particular. It was a moment that caught me off guard. Someone else on the worship crew commented on it as well. It was when we prayed the Lord’s Prayer in unison. I was caught off guard by hearing so many voices speaking at once. It was beautiful to hear the body of Christ praying together.
A little later this month, I’m going to retreat to an old farmhouse turned spiritual retreat center up in Hampshire, Illinois. One of the books I’m taking with me is In the Sanctuary of Women by Jan Richardson. It’s been sitting on my desk for a while, but it caught my eye as the contours of my retreat have come into focus. I picked it up and was immediately captivated by Jan’s opening words on prayer. I appreciated her expansive understanding of prayer and look forward to the companionship of her wisdom on my retreat.
I thought I would share her reflection with you here and invite you to pray with your body this coming week. As you move and eat; as you garden and grow; as you wake and sleep, feel the prayers running through your blood and living in your breath.
There are prayers inscribed on our bones, prayers we carry in our marrow, prayers that run through our blood. There are prayers we carry with ancestral memory, prayers passed down from generation to generation, prayers that spiral in us like DNA. There are prayers that we carry in the most hidden parts of ourselves, prayers we have never breathed aloud, prayers we can barely acknowledge. There are prayers that have taken form in the world, prayers that have made their way into letters and diaries and books, prayers that have taken the shape of stitches and poetry and paintings, prayers that have bodied forth as compassion, as justice, as mercy, as grace. There are prayers of blessing and of lament, prayers we pour out for others, prayers we offer for our own selves. There are prayers whispered, wailed, shouted, groaned; prayers sun and laughed and wept and dreamed. There are prayers of stillness and of silence, prayers in the breath and in the belly, prayers in the beating heart and in the space between the beats.
In Love,
Pastor Annette