A few months ago I was invited to attend a meeting of our local literary club. It was a special night with women who were mostly twenty to forty years my senior. God had some special messages for me that night. One was in the form of the opening prayer called The Club Collect. Originally written in 1904, this prayer is timeless in its message. Even more meaningful was joining the women in reciting the prayer in unison.
KEEP US, O GOD, from pettiness, let us
be large in thought, in word, in deed.LET US be done with fault finding and
and leave off self-seeking.MAY WE put away all pretense and
meet each other face to face, without self-pity
and without prejudice.MAY WE be never hasty in judgment
and always generous.LET US take time for all things; make us
to grow calm, serene, gentle.TEACH US to put into action our better
impulses, straightforward and unafraid.GRANT that we may realize it is the little
things that create differences, that in the big
things of life we are at one.AND MAY WE strive to touch and to
know the great common, human heart of us all;
and, O Lord God, let us forget not to be kind.– Mary Stewart
May this be our prayer as we gather together in homes, at bible studies, for social events, or online.
In hope,
Shelli
About Shelli Bourque