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Spreading Love & Hope...
Welcome to today's devotion created for your use at home during these days of physical social isolation and virtual social connection. We connect as Church through telephone & technology, so important during this time of Coronavirus. May this devotion and the links provided help you stay connected to God and the wider community.
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If you have items to share -- news, a prayer, song, Bible verse, reflection, photo -- please send it by email (just click on the blue envelope-icon) so we can share them. Thanks to Leslie for the music suggestions.
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Blessings & peace, Ana & Tod
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Music
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Be transported to a place of tranquility
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listening to 'Meadow Birds,' a peaceful instrumental piece by Tim Janis
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Send in your favourite music links to share.
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It connects people, in ways no other medium can. It pulls heartstrings;
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it acts as medicine.'
— Macklemore
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Contemplation
by Richard Rohr (adapted)
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'One does not become enlightened
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by imagining figures of light
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but by making the darkness conscious.'
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In a lifetime spent with seekers of enlightenment, I have never heard anyone speak in hushed tones about the value of 'endarkenment'. What a compelling word.
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What are we learning about ourselves, each other, and even God through these times? What are we only now coming 'to know' through this time of
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A sign at the Bishop's Mill, Salisbury
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Click on the blue button above to read all the Lectionary Readings designated for this week of Lent.
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Today's Prayers
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Join Christians around the world praying daily at 12:00 noon, making each day a World Day of Prayer.
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Prayer for these times
Archbishop Michael Jackson
Dublin & Glendalough
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Almighty and All–loving God,
we pray to you, through Christ the Healer, for those who suffer from the Coronavirus Covid–19 nearby and across the world.
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We pray, too, for all who reach out to those who mourn each person who has died as a result of contracting the virus.
Give wisdom to policymakers, skill to healthcare professionals and researchers, comfort to everyone in distress and a sense of calm to us all in these days of uncertainty and distress.
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This we ask in the name of Jesus
who shows compassion to the outcast,
acceptance to the rejected and love to those to whom no love is shown. Amen.
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A Psalm a day: Psalm 6
'...the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.'
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One of the wonderful things about faith for me is knowing that however bad it gets, God is with me. How ever great my sobs or deep my feelings, God hears and accompanies me.
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I've heard about people loosing their faith when times get tough, asking where God is, feeling that God has abandoned them. For me, that's when I sense God's proximity, even embrace, most profoundly. I feel the reassurance that I am not alone, that Jesus weeps with me, as he did with the family of Lazarus, and that God is as solid as a rock upon which I can lean.
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When do you feel firmly grounded in God's 'steadfast love' (verse 4)? When has your faith wavered?
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Be gracious to us, Eternal One, for we are facing a powerful foe. Heal us, for we sometimes shake with terror. Renew our trust in you and grant us your peace. (adapted from verse 2)
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In case you missed it...
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Yesterdays' Daily Home Devotions
Missed a Daily Devotion? Find it here.
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Virtual Zoom Worship
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in the midst of the congregation
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Psalm 22:22 and Hebrews 2:12
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'It was good to see so many faces.'
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'It felt like a true community.'
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'It felt as if we were together.'
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'And we didn’t even have to find a parking space!'
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What a wonderful experience, to gather as a congregation to praise God. Who would have thought that an on-line worship service could bring us into 'true community'? It was a blessed gathering of spirit. The technology (called Zoom) created a powerful worship-in-the-round experience, with everyone sitting comfortably in the front row/pew! True spiritual unity and equilibrium. We're already looking forward to next Sunday!
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Progressive Voices Magazine is full of thoughtful articles, poems and theological reflections for the thinking Christian. It is the regular publication of the Progressive Christian Network of Great Britain. Click on the button above to read the complete March edition. Look for the poem by Ana Gobledale (page 23).
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Subscribe to Daily Home Devotions
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To receive this Daily Home Devotion in your inbox, please click on this www icon and subscribe on the Salisbury United Reformed Church website.
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Contact us by email and visit (and join) Salisbury United Reformed Church on Facebook and our website.
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