A Summer Prayer

Recently, a good friend of mine, Rev. Dr. Ken Carter, added another title to his name - Bishop. So now I guess it's Bp. Dr. Ken Carter. He's still Ken to me. Some of you may have heard him preach at last summer's Pleasant Grove Camp Meeting. Ken has a blog. I read it often, and last week one entry caught my interest. I found in his simple "a summer prayer" a profound and touching closure to summer and entrance into a new season. As we fill the schools with children and return to the routine of fall, I share it with you here.

a summer prayer

O God of every time and season
we give thanks for rhythms of work and rest
for places apart that mark our years
for the eternal return of ocean waves
for the defiant posture of mountains
for the hiddenness of favorite coves
for pilgrimages made and then homecomings.

O God, in this season we are grateful
for sanity regained
for blessings discovered
for those who return to us
and for those who leave.

Teach us, God of wonder and creation
that your presence is woven into
the comings and goings of our lives
and having fled to our own lonely places
let us return, with Jesus
to live and work
to heal and pray
to worship and love.

Amen.

(published in Alive Now, July/August, 2000)