Oh, Skybala!

Opening Prayer

Let us begin our liturgy with a prayer.
Our responses will be highlighted in yellow.

Life gives us things we did not make.
Places we did not build.
Ground we did not plant.
People we did not create.

And yet, somehow,
we begin to call them ours.

When we forget the difference
between what is entrusted to us
and what belongs to us,
remind us.

When we hold too tightly
to what we have been given,
teach us to open our hands.

When the things we have worked for
become the measure of what we believe we deserve,
remind us that some of the greatest gifts
are the ones we could never earn.

Help us to see the ordinary places around us
with new eyes:
the homes we inhabit,
the work we do,
the people who share our lives,
and the small things we often overlook.

Give us gratitude for what came before us,
courage to care for what is ours to tend,
and wisdom to know when it is time to let go.

May we leave this place remembering
that we are not owners of this world,
but its caretakers,
its neighbors,
its temporary residents.

And may we receive what is given to us
with open hands,
tend it with love,
and release it with grace.

In the name of God, our Giver,
Jesus Christ, our Teacher,
and the Holy Spirit, our Keeper

Amen

(Kit Kingman)

Benediction

Let us close with a benediction

Go now with open hands.

Receive what has been given.
Care for what has been entrusted.
Release what is no longer yours to hold.

And wherever you go,
may you discover
that the ordinary places of your life
have been sacred all along

In the name of God, our Giver,
Jesus Christ, our Teacher,
and the Holy Spirit, our Keeper

Amen

(Kit Kingman)