We, whose journeys are always beginning
We, whose mission always awaits us
We, whose visions are bent on loving,
We gather together here.
We gather as a community drawn together
out of common need,
each toting our own carpetbag of treasures and dreams.
We gather together seeking meaning,
yearning to understand life in all its dimensions-
as it challenges and expands,
as it burdens
as it consoles and heals.
We gather together with questions-
the kinds of questions that
provoke us to the path of action.
We gather with hope,
the kind of hope that pulses on through uncertainty.
We gather with tenderness,
the kind of tenderness that can only be born from knowing
human capabilities as well as human imperfections.
We gather wanting certainty, and having none,
but we are wakeful to possibilities
as we seek discernment and gentle judgment.
We gather, then, unbounded-but close.
[And this reminds us that we are in good company today.]
