On the second Sunday after Christmas, in a small inner city church, an elderly woman and a young man brought up the end of the Communion line. The young man was having difficulty walking. It was clear he bore much neurological impairment, his facial expressions revealing a differently-abled person. After receiving the Body of Christ, he turned to go back to his seat. This took him directly in front of the Church’s manger scene. As he passed it, he extended his shaky hand toward the statues of Mary, Joseph and Jesus and smiled. 

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A Moment for Grace 

A Prayer for Refugees 

 

God of our Wandering Ancestors, 

 

Long have we known 

That your heart is with the refugee:

That you were born into time 

In a family of refugees 

Fleeing violence in their homeland, 

Who then gathered up their hungry child

And fled into alien country. 

 

Their cry, your cry, resounds through the ages: 

 “Will you let me in?” 

 

Give us hearts that break open 

When our brothers and sisters turn to us 

with that same cry. 

Then surely all these things will follow: 

Ears will no longer turn deaf to their voices. 

Eyes will see a moment for grace instead of a threat. 

Tongues will not be silenced but will instead advocate. 

And hands will reach out— 

working for peace in their homeland, 

working for justice in the lands where they seek safe haven. 

 

Lord, protect all refugees in their travels. 

May they find a friend in me 

And so make me worthy 

Of the refuge I have found in you. 

 

Amen 

 

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Here is a new year possibility. Creating Sabbath Space in Our Lives is a complete program that has been recommended and offers numerous possibilities for personal and spiritual enrichment, for individual or small groups.