Prayer for Easter Sunday 2021

I awaken from sleep
to a day of celebration.
In the pre-dawn 
birds are singing 
and so is my spirit.
Buds are swelling,
and so is my heart.
Roots are deepening,
and so is my faith.
Flowers are blossoming,
And so is my joy.
The sun is rising,
and so is my hope.

Wild Christ, alive
among us, on this
resurrection day
may we follow the lead
of all creation in praise
and celebration.
May we, too, trust
in the promise of new life.
May we, too, live
each day fully, 
our lives a testament
to your Presence 
shining in the world.

Amen.

- Wendy Janzen

Prayer for the Sixth Sunday of Lent

This is a day of conflicting emotions, 
God of passion and life.
We have come to a bend in the river,
a turning point in the narrative,
a juxtaposition of celebration
and impending sorrow. 

We too feel the strangeness
of life sometimes weighed 
down with the stresses of 
pandemic life, yet dotted
with joy and hope.
We pray for moments 
of relief, for times of
pleasure in life even 
in the face of challenge. 

Like a river in spring,
that sometimes overflows
her banks, flooding the
surrounding lowlands,
may love and joy overflow
into the low places 
in our lives. May we
delight in your never
ceasing goodness, 
bubbling and dancing
like water flowing
over rocks and obstacles. 

Pull us deeper into your 
current of life,
a river that is wide
with mercy and justice,
a river that carries
the full range of emotion,
a river that ebbs and flows
but never ceases.
Amen.
​
​- Wendy Janzen

Prayer for the Fifth Sunday of Lent

Mothering God, 
who created Earth 
and formed 
rhythms and seasons 
and cycles:
I celebrate the 
coming of spring
once again. 

As the warming sun 
melts frozen earth into
mud and snowdrops bloom,
emerald moss invites me
to lay down my head 
and listen to earth’s heartbeat.
Give me pause here, 
God of mystery, 
to stop and ponder 
what lies beneath. 

Do not let me turn away
from examining the unseen
places deep within. What
secrets are hidden there?
What wisdom have you 
planted, what seeds of 
transformation are just waiting 
for the right conditions? 

Make of me fertile soil
where spring’s eternal 
lessons of regeneration
might take root and grow:
death is not the end
of the story, but rather
the place of new beginnings.

Amen.

- Wendy Janzen

Today would have been our May worship gathering were it not for COVID-19. As we are not able to gather in person, I offer you this spiritual practice to do out in nature - weather it is your back yard, a park, or a wilder natural area. Sensio Divina is a sacred way of sensing the Divine in nature. Below are some detailed instructions, but basically you can simply enter prayerfully into the practice with an open heart and intention to engage with God's presence wherever or however you experience it in nature. 

Sensio Divina

Preparation: Take a few moments to centre yourself by taking a few deep breaths. Cross a threshold of some sort - intentionally step over a stick or a bridge or between two trees to symbolize entering into a more enchanted and alive relationship with creation, with God, with your soul.

Wander: Allow yourself to be drawn to something (the river, the sun, a rock, the breeze?) or someone (a sparrow, a turtle, a bug, a tree?) that seems to be calling you. Don’t question or second guess. Just respond by opening your heart and your imagination and offering your full presence. Release agenda and expectations.

Listen: Don’t overthink. Wonder. Be fully attentive, and listen with an open heart. Use all your senses. Notice little things. Smell. Touch. Observe.

Share: Engage in a conversation together. Share your dreams or despair, and ask of theirs. This is a new language for you, so words sometimes don’t work. Sketch, or meditate, listening deeply, allowing images and emotions to arise. Write a poem perhaps, or sing a song. What insight comes up from this encounter that speaks to you and invites you into a larger story?

Gratitude: Offer some acknowledgement of honor and gratitude - a prayer, a bow, a smile, a touch... 

Return: Cross over the threshold again, carrying this experience with you.

- Adapted from various sources, including Victoria Loorz, Seminary of the Wild.

O Great Love,
Divine Presence,
We rejoice in
Our Mother Earth, 
Who births us,
Nurtures us,
Sustains us,
And collects us
Back into her bosom
When our life
Is done.
Forgive us for our
Greediness, our 
Selfishness, our
Short-sightedness, our
Messiness.
For we have made a
Mess beyond measure.
Let the energy of
The sunrise,
The mystery of
A butterfly,
The beauty of
Spring flowers,
The fragility of 
Endangered species,
The toxicity of
Polluted waterways,
The barrenness of
Scorched earth
Bring us to our knees.
And there, on
Our knees,
May we be humbled
To see the earth
With new eyes.
May we be humbled
To see ourselves
As humus.
May we be humbled
To recognize we
Are but part of a 
Intricate web of creation,
A sacred reciprocity
Of belonging.
Break open 
Our hearts
To love as you love.
Amen.
​
~ Wendy Janzen

As we continue in this time of physical distancing and are unable to gather together for worship, here is a self-guided sunrise service you can do on Easter morning, or any other morning! 

In Advance
Check the internet as to the time of sunrise in your particular location. Locally (Waterloo Region/Wilmot Township), sunrise on Easter morning is at 6:45 a.m. Each day after that it rises approximately one minute earlier. If you want to start in the darkness and hear the birds sing their dawn chorus (if you are outdoors, or if you have a window open) you probably want to start about 30 minutes before the time of the sunrise. 

Have either a print out or an e-copy of this self-guided service. You may want to have a candle or small flashlight for a bit of light to read by. You also may wish to have a journal or art supplies for the responding time if you choose the indoor options. 


Grounding
Find yourself a comfortable east-facing location, either outdoors or indoors at a window where you have a view of the eastern horizon.

Breathe. Take time to feel your body waking up to a new day. Feel the temperature of the cool night air on your skin. Observe the quality of the pre-dawn twilight. Listen to the stillness around you, and if you are outside, to the birds welcoming the day. 

Pray: Divine Presence, Midwife of Spring: awaken us to your presence within and around us this morning. Heighten our awareness to notice you with all our senses. May we open ourselves to the mystery of this new day and be reminded that each day is a day of resurrection. Amen. 


Reading 
Rise Early, by Macrina Wiederkehr

Rise early when morning darkness still enwraps the trees.
Walk into the darkest forest with only your attentive heart.
Gaze toward the east, take a deep breath, and wait.

After a short while you will see God
Carrying a lantern through the forest,
Bits of light bobbing up and down,
In and out, higher and higher,
The light climbs, spilling over
Into the spaces between the leaves
And on into the world beyond the forest.
Than the beautiful darkness hands you over to the light.
It slips away reverently into the bark of the tree trunks,
Into the black earth,
Into all those other countries that wait for its return.

Lift your face to the daystar now.
Experience the coming of dawn.
Bathed in morning light, pray that the lantern of your life
Move gently this day into all those places
Where light is needed.


Reflecting
Watch and wait in silence for the sun to rise, for the beautiful darkness to hand you over to the light. Morning is a call to our own resurrection, and so reflect on what needs to rise in you today, or this season.


At Sunrise
Once the sun has risen, stand up, do a full body stretch with your arms reaching up to the sky and then bow to the rising sun. From a standing position, read these texts:

Matthew 18:1-6
After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord , descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it...the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here: for he has been raised, as he said.”

Psalm 90:14
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love;
So that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.


Responding
Indoor options: 

• Stretch - feel into your body as you do some morning stretches. Give thanks for how your body is waking up to this new day, and practising a resurrection from the night’s sleep.
• Draw/paint the sunrise - get your creative juices flowing and record your artistic interpretation of this morning’s sunrise. 
• Write poetry
• Journal - write on the question from the reflection time: What needs to rise in you today? 

Outdoor options:

• Stretch (see above)
• Go for a walk and allow yourself to see this new day with new eyes. Walk slowly and meditatively, or energetically and joyfully. Allow the Spirit to direct you!
• Take photos of the new day, or of new life/signs of spring. 

Blessing (adapted from Joyce Rupp)
May your heart be opened wide to receive
The eternal energy of the Dawning Sun.
May the Creator’s transforming glow 
shine through every inner fiber of your body
Until you are transparent with
The power of God’s enlightening beauty.
And may the lantern of your life move 
Joyfully this day into all those places
Where light is most needed.
Amen.

​- Wendy Janzen

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
​

A poem for Easter Sunday

Up from the ash,
where once fire raged
leaving scorched black earth,
rise magenta-topped stems,
lithe and delicate,
bowing in the wind
then standing tall again, laughing
in the face of death.

Fireweed saviour,
you pave the way,
flourishing on disturbed earth,
bringing life again where once
death reigned.
A miracle of grace
riding on silky-haired seeds
carried by the wind
to landscapes in need of
salvation.

Easter Jesus,
you germinate seeds of
new life in the burned and
baren places in our world,
and in the brokenness of our lives,
growing beauty, hope, and love
on delicate stems rising
up from the ash.

​Wendy Janzen, 2019