Author: Deborah

Incarceration by Sandra Miller

Deborah

The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

July 19, 2026

Please pray with me: Holy One in three, may the love in my heart for all your creation speak to those who hear me. May we remember the words of this season’s reflection: that you are not a distant judge nor sadist, but a God who weeps. You suffer for us and with us. May we be open to your transforming spirit. Amen

Dear Seekers, I stand before you again in a fairly short time. I stand today having heard a word in Matthew 13:1-9,18-23 from last week that shook me, and was followed a day later by a private email that fed me.…

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Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address offered by members of REJMT and Earth and Spirit

Deborah

The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Image of the Holy Trinity as three angels who look like Asian, African, and Indigenous American women
Kelly Latimore, “Trinity” used by permission of the artist

July 12, 2026

Members of the Racial and Ethnic Justice Ministry Team and the Earth and Spirit Mission Group recited the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address: Greetings to the Natural World. They read from the book found at https://syracuseculturalworkers.com/products/book-thanksgiving-address, with illustrations by Kahionhes, Mohawk Nation Turtle Clan. Members of the Haudenosaunee, also known as the Six Nations or Iroquois, speak these words before and after all ceremonial and governmental gatherings. The belief is that the world must not be taken for granted, and that communicating thankfulness aligns the minds and hearts of the people with Nature.…

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2026 Summer Liturgy: Finding Grace and Hope

Deborah

GATHERING

REFLECTION

Finding Grace and Hope

REFLECTION

Around us, life bursts with miracles—a glass of water, a ray of sunshine, a leaf, a caterpillar, a flower, laughter, raindrops. If you live in awareness, it is easy to see miracles everywhere. Each human being is a multiplicity of miracles. Eyes that see thousands of colors, shapes, and forms; ears that hear a bee flying or a thunderclap; a brain that ponders a speck of dust as easily as the entire cosmos; a heart that beats in rhythm with the heartbeat of all beings.                                

Thich Nhat Hanh, Essential Writings, p.

…

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2026 Summer Lectionary: Finding Grace and Hope

Deborah

July 19 through September 6, 2026

REFLECTION

Around us, life bursts with miracles—a glass of water, a ray of sunshine, a leaf, a caterpillar, a flower, laughter, raindrops. If you live in awareness, it is easy to see miracles everywhere. Each human being is a multiplicity of miracles. Eyes that see thousands of colors, shapes, and forms; ears that hear a bee flying or a thunderclap; a brain that ponders a speck of dust as easily as the entire cosmos; a heart that beats in rhythm with the heartbeat of all beings.                                

Thich Nhat Hanh, Essential Writings, p.…

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God is With Us At Our Semiquincentennial by Dave Lloyd

Deborah

The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Image of the Holy Trinity as three angels who look like Asian, African, and Indigenous American women
Kelly Latimore, “Trinity” used by permission of the artist

July 5, 2026

Did you know that there have been two organizations with overall responsibility for planning and conducting the commemoration of America’s 250 years of independence? The older one is the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, established by Congress in 2016 to plan and orchestrate the commemoration through “America 250,” [show “America 250” hat] a bipartisan group that worked with the federal agencies, especially the Department of the Interior, which has authority over our National Parks, Monuments, and Historic Sites, and with state and local governments, civic groups, and the Smithsonian Institution.…

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