Sunday 21 April 2019

Lent Reflections Week 6: Sanctuary

I am blessed to have found my sanctuary in Chorlton Unitarians – the building and the people. We read this responsive blessing, based on the words of Sandra Fees, at our anniversary service last year.

We bless this space and each other. May this truly be a sanctuary for all of us, for those who have passed, who are already here and those who have yet to arrive, a place where we embrace and celebrate diversity in all its forms. May open-hearted hospitality be our passion and custom, and may we cherish this building as a place where each has the opportunity to be heard, understood and accepted. May we invite full participation in religious life so that no one is left out of this beloved community to which we dedicate ourselves.

We bless this sanctuary as a place of peace and love.

We bless this space and each other. May this truly be a sanctuary that sparks the imagination and sparkles with beauty. May this be a place of self-expression for the unfolding of possibilities and potentials. Here may the creative gifts of music, dance, art, poetry, story-telling, conversation, thinking, teaching and leadership be free flowing, nourishing our minds, hearts, and spirits. May this space serve as a canvas for future creativity.

We bless this sanctuary as a place of peace and love.

We bless this space and each other. May this truly be a sanctuary that inspires us to live out our faith by serving the cause of love and justice in the world. May our hearts be made kind and our spirits emboldened to act. May the fire of our commitment burn boldly, because we know that all beings long as we do for laughter, nurture, sustenance, rest and care.

We bless this sanctuary as a place of peace and love.

We bless this space and each other. May this truly be a sanctuary that radiates the warmth of relationship. May it be a place that nurtures and sustains human kinship, offering shelter and comfort, and creating bonds of affection and care. May it reach out into the larger community and world. May we be woven ever more artfully and lovingly into the interconnected web of life of which we are all a part.

We bless this sanctuary as a place of peace and love. Amen.


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