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BURNING BUSH FOREST CHURCH
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Rewilding our Souls

A blessing for May

5/1/2022

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Blessed be the sun's warming power
energizing all that exists.

Blessed be the joyous flowers raising
their beautiful faces to the sun.

Blessed be the the nesting birds
singing in each morning.

Blessed be the vernal ponds
nurseries of new life.

Blessed be my place within
this beloved community,
giving and receiving
the gifts of life.

​- Wendy Janzen

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Winter Prayer & Blessing

2/4/2022

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God, our constant companion and guide, 
here in this place of stark beauty, 
make your sacred presence felt among us. 
Open our senses and our 
full awareness to your mystery, 
and help us to listen to the seeds 
buried in the earth, to the interplay 
between water and ice, 
to the cold wind in the bare branches, 
to the stillness of the trees, 
to the brilliance of the sky, 
to prayers without words. 
Amen.

May God bless the season of winter 
around us and within us. 
May we go, knowing God's 
presence in the midst of life’s challenges,
God's love in the stillness, and
God's hope in the promise of
new life waiting for spring.
Amen.

​- Wendy Janzen
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November Blessing

11/1/2021

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​May November be a time
to lay to rest that which
no longer brings life.
May the cool days invite
you out to wander
and pay attention.
May you embrace the
mysteries of life and
find the blessings of
God everywhere.
May the laments of the
Earth touch your heart and
transform your living.
May your soul recognize
kinship with all that exists.
May your prayers for the
Earth be heard.

- Wendy Janzen
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Autumn Equinox Blessing

9/22/2021

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Blessed are you, autumn,
season of unavoidable endings.
You show us how letting go
can be a glorious, joyful practice
with your spectacular colours.
You model how to hold 
paradoxes with grace -
the balance of living and dying,
relinquishing and receiving,
gathering and sharing.
You know that death is not
and ending, but a passage,
a transformation into new life.
May we learn these lessons well:
to celebrated with abandon
to practice reverence 
to surrender completely
to embrace tenderly
to love without regret.
​
- Wendy Janzen
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In Praise of Trees

8/16/2021

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Trees are amazing neighbours! They provide us with oxygen, sequester carbon, have a moderating affect on the temperature, reduce erosion, prevent water runoff, provide shade, are habitat for many other species, and some even provide us with fruit and nuts. 

Trees, just like all of creation, can offer healing and can be a window into the nature of God. Trees are so critical to life on earth; they are also a potential place for divine encounter

Here are some reflection questions you can use to spend contemplative time with a tree. Go for a walk and find a particular tree or forested area that feels inviting to you. 

Consider how this tree or this part of the forest might be a sacred text where the Holy One can be revealed to you today...

Or, reflect on what gives you a sense of grounding or rootedness... 

Or, perhaps you feel you need to make a confession for humanity’s destruction of ancient trees and forests, and seek forgiveness...

Or, simply breathe and reflect on a sense of sacred reciprocity - giving and receiving so that all might flourish and thrive...

Blessing
May you live a life rooted and grounded
in God’s presence.

May you stand tall and strong,
Bending with grace and trust in life’s storms.
May you give and receive freely,
Holding on to nothing for long,
So that all life might flourish.
May you hold space for those 
Around you, bearing witness to
The joy and pain of life. 
Amen.

- Wendy Janzen

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A Garden Blessing

5/20/2021

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God of Spring,
of roots and growth,
of vibrancy and veriditas:
Bless this time of planting.
As we dig our fingers into 
rich soil, wiggling and 
delighting in the damp
warm, earth, we remember
that we are earthlings.

Bless our connection
with the the land,
with the water that 
supports all life, 
with these seeds we 
bury beneath the surface
trusting that they will
germinate and grow
and nourish our bodies.

Bless the fertility of the earth,
the micronutrients, 
the compost, 
the earthworms, and
the pollinators.

Bless our intentions to be 
good gardeners: 
may we give and receive,
work and wait, 
with humility.

And bless these seeds:
help us to hold them
with reverence and to
see in them the promise
of sustenance and life.
Amen.

- Wendy Janzen

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Valentine Blessing

2/12/2021

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Blessed be red tailed hawk 
and clear blue sky.
Blessed be the glowing yellow branches
of weeping willow.
Blessed be brilliant white snow
and deep shadows.
Blessed be wind and sun,
flowing river, 
and frozen soil.
Blessed be the tilt of the globe,
the orbit of earth,
and the expansive cosmos.
Blessed be the life cycle,
seeds, decay,
birth, death, 
and all the moments in between.
Blessed be God, 
Mother of all,
Lover of all. 
Blessed be our love
for life and all that is alive, 
for our world, our watershed,
our particular place, 
and all those with whom we share it.

- Wendy Janzen
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Summer Solstice Prayer Walk

6/20/2020

 
Self-Guided Summer Solstice Prayer Walk
June 2020

Find a place to walk in nature, preferably in the evening when you can enjoy the long evening on this longest day of the year. Read through the full document before you go, so you have an idea of the flow. (You may want to bring a water bottle with you.)

Begin by grounding yourself: take a few deep breaths, release any tension, shake out your body, draw yourself into awareness of your surroundings; feel the earth beneath your feet, and the Divine Presence all around and within you. 

Before you start to walk, read this opening invitation.

Opening Invitation
Listen to Earth leaning closer to the sun.
to the heat breathing through gardens,
Calling plants to fruition,
Whispering fulfillment to the flowers.
Listen to the growing circle of life. 

Listen to the green sanctuary of the trees,
To young birds testing out their wings.
To bare feet and laughter, 
To Mother Earth bringing food to the table,
Listen to songs of leisure and renewal.

Listen to the summer of your soul,
To the dance of life within you,
To creativity that yearns for expression,
To the fire that burns in your spirit.
Listen to the passion of summer.

Listen to the poetry of summer, 
to the wisdom of the earth,
to the presence of God
As you walk and pray.

(adapted from a blessing by Macrina Wiederkehr)

Head out on your walk, prayerfully sauntering at a relaxed pace, aware of what you see, hear, smell, and feel. If you come upon a place that expresses brokenness in any way, stop for a prayer of confession. Pray your own confession, or use the prayer provided.


Prayer of Confession
Source of all Being, we give you thanks for our watershed, for the Grand River (or Nith River, or whichever watershed you are in), and for all of life that calls this place home--
We think of Heron and Cardinal, Beaver and Raccoon, Smallmouth Bass and Pike, Bullfrog and Turtle. We are grateful for diversity and abundance, and pray that we might be good neighbours among our community of creation. 
God, we confess that we take our natural surroundings for granted, and that for too long we have been neglectful in our disregard for our ecosystem, not thinking about the costs and consequences of our actions. Move us beyond complacency to a place of compassion and action for our environment and all who live in our watershed. Amen.


As you continue our walk, hold in prayer whatever concerns you are carrying with you, be they personal or environmental; prayers for people or for species, or for the earth itself.

If you are walking by a body of water, take a moment when you are ready to participate in a symbolic action. If you are not near water, simply choose a place to pour some water from your water bottle onto a plant or the roots of a tree.

Symbolic Action
At the water’s edge, kneel by the water, cup some water, and pour it back into the river/lake/pond, offering your prayers of concern into the body of water, knowing that God holds our prayers, and holds us, and that we are part of something much bigger than ourselves.

Continue your walk with a sense of gratitude, and when you finish your walk, offer this closing blessing.

Blessing
Blessed are you, Creator of all,
Blessed are you summer,
season of long days,
bare feet, beauty, and fruitfulness.

Blessed are you, people who walk in the light,
Blessed are you, Earth who sustains us,
Blessed are you, God of the seasons.
Amen.


​- Wendy Janzen

Vernal Blessing

3/20/2020

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Vernal Blessing - in a time of pandemic

As winter gives over to spring
On this vernal equinox day
May we all find balance between
Light and dark,
Rest and activity,
Body and spirit.

In this time of great unknowing
May we trust the earth’s
Wisdom.
In this time of scarcity
May we experience
Abundance.
In this time of distancing
May we trust in God’s
Presence.

May we awaken,
Like bulbs and buds,
To this new reality
And rise to the occasion.
May each green
Shoot pushing out 
Through the brown leaves
Be a beacon of hope
For such a time as this.

- Wendy Janzen
​
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Epiphany Blessing

1/6/2019

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​A blessing for Epiphany ~
This journey is not over,
this journey toward the light.
But walk on, setting foot before foot
and keep your eyes open to the light:
Light that dances with darkness
Light that shimmers in all that has life
Light that fills your heart with hope
when you need it most.
May the Light bless you
and keep you,
May the Light shine upon your face
and be gracious to you,
May the Light of Life 
dwell within you and 
grant you peace,
this day and every day.

- Wendy Janzen, 2019
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    Author

    Reflections, poetry, prayers, and resources  written by Wendy Janzen unless otherwise noted.
    ​
    This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

    If you are an established church or institution, please consider making a donation when using these resources in addition to attribution. Thanks!

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