Dear Friends,

 We hope that you are safe and well.

 Our hearts are with the people of Ukraine. We also remember the people of Russia, some of whom are in tears at the behavior of their own government.

Today's Meditation presents a song for peace: "This is My Song" music by Jan Sibelius and words by Lloyd Stone sung by The Choir of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The inspiration for this comes from Sharon Dickinson.

We invite you to join us as we commit ourselves to working tirelessly to end systemic and structural racism in our society, in the church, in healthcare, in the workplace--wherever it shows up so that everyone may come to have more abundant life. May this meditation nourish our contemplative-active hearts and sustain all of us in action.

In the spirit of our philosophy of co-creating community and our awareness that the Spirit speaks through each of us, we invite you to share your meditations with us as well. We truly believe that it is God's economy of abundance: when we share our blessings, our thoughts, our feelings, we are all made richer.

We hope and pray that you find peace, healing, hope and the infusion of joy in your life!

With our love and care,

Ron and Jean

Meditation 606: This is My Song by Jan Sibelius and Lloyd Stone--a prayer for peace

https://youtu.be/4ySdhCtnUWg

This Is My Song

Text: Lloyd Stone

Tune: Finlandia by Jean Sibelius

This is my song, O God of all the nations,

a song of peace for lands afar and mine.

This is my home, the country where my heart is; here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine; but other hearts in other lands are beating with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean, and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine; but other lands have sunlight too, and clover, and skies are ev’rywhere as blue as mine. O hear my song, thou God of all the nations, a song of peace for their land and for mine.

This is my song, O God of all the nations, A song of peace for lands afar and mine. This is my home, the country where my heart is, Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine. O hear my song, O God of all the nations, A song of peace for their land and for mine.

Our Lady of Kyev