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The Reverend Dr. Katie Snipes Lancaster

Clouded, cloudy, ungraspable God,
make manifest your presence today.
Your spirit woven through life and relationship.
Your ineffability unfolding at family gatherings,
meals shared, laughter rising to the rafters.
Your wisdom interlaced in every conversation,
every decision, every creative endeavor,
when our own spirit is open to you.

Be alive within us.
Give us joy.
Open our eyes to see
the simple relationship between spirit and flesh,
between that which lifts our hearts,
and that which feeds our very bodies:
help us to see that “bread crumbs scattered
for the birds become song” (Laura Grace Weldon).

Perch, too, in parched places,
spirit of the living God,
in our most impenetrable sorrow,
when tears become our daily bread.

Be with those whose bodies have become struggle,
whose lives have been turned upside down.
Be with those who watch on,
caregivers, spouses, parents, siblings,
friends, doctors, nurses,
who let every fiber of their being
become part of that lived struggle
for breath and heartbeat.

And in the halls of power,
where history is written and rewritten
before our very eyes,
let your spirit of transformation
nurture a still more generous,
still more just,
still more gentle way.
We trust you, O God.
We need you, O Christ.
We long for you, Holy Spirit.

Turn us now to this table.
Accompany us, O Christ.
Today, transform us and these familiar things
—bread and cup—
in the same way you continually
transform the world around us.

Bless bread and cup,
wheat and grape,
farmer and harvest,
seed and sower.

So that in sharing these simple elements,
we might taste and see your goodness,
and glimpse what it is to be
in communion with you and with one another.
Through Christ,
in Christ,
with Christ,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honor is yours,
most holy God, now and forever.

And hear us as we pray together the prayer Jesus teaches us…Our Father…Amen.