Monday, August 9, 2010

August 1, 2010 "THAT OTHER HALF"

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Our most glorious and loving God, we lift our voices in prayer, to offer, first our thanks and praise. In these first moments of prayerful connection we remember to rejoice in your love and persistent patience with your creation. Our thoughts are full of our appointment calendars; our i-phones, cell phones messages, i-pods, and facebook pages are crammed full with messages and information. Sometimes if feels like we are being turned on a spit basted, prodded, inundated, stimulated, percolated, and saturated hourly. But, here, gracious Lord, we can embrace moments of peaceful communion being reminded, as we contemplate your word, what is truly important. Let us be those who cull from every encounter and every conversation, new insight into what it means to be a Christian. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
OFFERTORY THOUGHT
My Father always said: “It’s important to see how the other half lives.” I knew the point he was making. Not everyone in the world possesses what we possess and realizing that might make me a better person. For those of us who see ourselves in the middle between the rich and the poor, it’s not about halves, it more like 3rd’s; the third that is fiscally above me and the third that is fiscally below me. But it can’t really be 3rd’s either, because 80% of the world’s population lives on less than $10 per day. I guess that puts all of us in the other 20%.

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