The CT Women hosted a retreat for Women Clergy in the CT Conference at Mt. Carmel Congregational Church in Hamden, CT.  The theme of the gathering was “Companions on the Journey”.  It was a time of great fellowship and connection. We shared our stories and the stories of women who formed us.  We offered prayers.  We had wonderful food. We reflected upon a story about the perils of giving oneself away.  Rev. Kari Nicewander of Immanuel UCC (Hartford) led us in a moving communion service that lifted up the contributions, sacrifices, and spirits of women from around the globe.
It was quite a special day.

As the retreat facilitator, I would like to offer the prayers that were composed that day as a gift to all:

Holy Most Wonderful Compassionate God,
     Thank you for all those who have helped shape us—and all our blessings.
     We need help in preaching and living the gospel to bring to light that which is covertly and blatantly evil.  We ask for courage to speak the truth in love.
     We pray for healing; physical, emotionally, mental, spiritual for all our congregations and communities.
     We pray for equality and compassion especially for refugees, immigrants, and those who do not seem to care.                                    
In Jesus’ name, Amen

 

Robust and Loving God – Strange and Strong
     We thank you for the women who have made us who we are, the women we are becoming, and the women who will come after us.
     We ask you to teach us how to help teachers to have hope—to do what we can,
teach us to move forward, not backward.
     We pray for wisdom—for ourselves, and for our world leaders, for good priorities in using dollars and resources to do all the good we can.
     We pray for common sense—for peace, justice, understanding.
     We pray for everybody we know and we don’t know and to serve you as best we can.                                                                  
In Jesus’ name, Amen 
 
Creator God,
     We are here through the joy, tears, and toil of others--those who came here with little but hope but whose strength continues now in us.
     We are grateful for freedom, to be open, our love for others, for the women whose names we can’t remember.
     We pray for unity among our churches, our nation, and our world.

In Jesus’ name, Amen

 
     We pray to the God who cannot be named, our divine source and creator, and healer of all.
     We pray for the world that God’s presence is known and followed, that peace within nations and between nations will be sought, and that the earth is known as God’s kingdom.
     We pray for our country and for the American people that is a blended people.  We pray to find the path forward and to be sustained for the long haul before us.
     We ask you, O God, that people will begin to see God again and that the Holy Spirit will ignite people with divine love, and enthusiastic energy and purpose.
In Jesus’ name, Amen