Rev. Diane Rollert, November 18, 2018

The street lights shine
as the sun rises over city spires,
the promise of the sun’s warmth
reflected in the remaining snow.

The world keeps turning;
the beautiful and the decaying intertwine,
peace and war live side by side.

The word is still spoken,
of hope,
of a return to human decency.

We can speak of love,
but we know the frustration
we can harbour in our hearts.

We can speak of common ground,
but we know the differences
that can divide us.

We dream of a universal kinship,
of all of us, the entire planet,
waking up one day to sing in harmony.

It’s a dream that we know
has an infinitely small chance
of being realized in our lifetimes.

But what greyness would descend
without the world’s dreamers.

So for now,
we continue working toward peace,
we continue reminding ourselves
to nourish love and not anger,
we encourage each other

to stay strong on the journey,
and we move toward honesty
in the stories we share.

We let our faith lead us
toward the stranger,
toward each other,
and away from fear.

We do more than speak,
we reach out
in forgiveness for our imperfections
and in love for our humanity,
and the divinity that dwells within us,
with the eternal love that guides us
toward our better nature,
toward our deeper kinship.

Amen.