Sunday, July 5th, 2026
Our Morning Prayer service is an opportunity for contemplation, stillness, and spiritual grounding. Through August 2, we will be inspired by Barbara Brown Taylor’s An Altar in the World. Each week, we'll practice finding the sacred in our everyday lives, living with purpose, paying attention, and experiencing awe.
We offer you a warm welcome, and as is our practice, we remember that the land on which we meet is, was, and always will be native land. We acknowledge those indigenous tribes to Oklahoma: the Wichitas, Caddos, Plains Apaches, and the Quapaws, as the original custodians of the land in this place. We grieve the violence done to native language, culture, and personhood, and seek to honor the sovereignty and dignity of native peoples.
We offer you a warm welcome, and as is our practice, we remember that the land on which we meet is, was, and always will be native land. We acknowledge those indigenous tribes to Oklahoma: the Wichitas, Caddos, Plains Apaches, and the Quapaws, as the original custodians of the land in this place. We grieve the violence done to native language, culture, and personhood, and seek to honor the sovereignty and dignity of native peoples.
Gathering Music
Glenda Stansbury
Here We Open Our Hearts
Let us begin the day with this time of consideration, holy listening, supported silence, song, and prayer. We invite you to settle into your seat, let your shoulders drop, and take a deep breath. Remember: your whole self is welcome here.
Today we consider how to better pay attention in a world full of so many distractions–an act that Barbara Brown Taylor calls reverence–and we ask:
Today we consider how to better pay attention in a world full of so many distractions–an act that Barbara Brown Taylor calls reverence–and we ask:
- What is right in front of you that you usually ignore? What would happen if you gave this object, task, person, your full attention?
- Are there parts of your life, relationships, or surroundings that you missing because you are moving too fast to see them?
- What seemingly mundane activity do you engage in that feels prayerful, grounding, or holy to you?
Stillness
In this moment, we invite you into silent prayer, meditation, and further contemplation of the considerations.
Hymn
In Solitude, Hymn 521 (verses 1 & 5)
All: In solitude, in solitude, I come to God in prayer. In silence and simplicity, my spirit blossoms there.
With psalms and hymns and songs of praise before my God I'll come, till death itself is past and gone, and I arrive at home.
One: Amen
New Century Hymnal
All: In solitude, in solitude, I come to God in prayer. In silence and simplicity, my spirit blossoms there.
With psalms and hymns and songs of praise before my God I'll come, till death itself is past and gone, and I arrive at home.
One: Amen
New Century Hymnal
Pastoral Prayer
Rev. Dr. Lori Walke
Prayers of the People
One: Holy One, you tell us, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
All: We pray for the poor, the hungry, and the forgotten. Help us as we work to make a world in which all have enough and none are left behind.
One: Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
All: Be with those whose hearts are filled with grief. Give us the strength to bear with them the burden of sorrow, bring healing and wholeness to those who are sick, and offer hope to those in despair.
One: Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
All: Challenge the power of the corrupt and arrogant and raise up leaders who walk with humility and act with gentleness. Forgive our greed, teach us to stand with the oppressed and marginalized, and teach us to share this fragile earth with reverence.
One: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
All: Hear all who cry out against injustice and oppression. Grant us the courage to work against prejudice, poverty, and discrimination until all your children are filled and respected.
One: Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
All: We pray for an end to bitterness, retaliation, and hard hearts. Help us to break cycles of division in our own lives, choosing accountability, restoration, and grace instead.
One: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
All: We lift up areas torn apart by war, division, and violence. Make us active instruments of reconciliation, courageous enough to break down walls and build up communities. This we pray, in the name of the One who called us blessed and called us forth to bless the world around us. Amen.
All: We pray for the poor, the hungry, and the forgotten. Help us as we work to make a world in which all have enough and none are left behind.
One: Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
All: Be with those whose hearts are filled with grief. Give us the strength to bear with them the burden of sorrow, bring healing and wholeness to those who are sick, and offer hope to those in despair.
One: Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
All: Challenge the power of the corrupt and arrogant and raise up leaders who walk with humility and act with gentleness. Forgive our greed, teach us to stand with the oppressed and marginalized, and teach us to share this fragile earth with reverence.
One: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
All: Hear all who cry out against injustice and oppression. Grant us the courage to work against prejudice, poverty, and discrimination until all your children are filled and respected.
One: Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
All: We pray for an end to bitterness, retaliation, and hard hearts. Help us to break cycles of division in our own lives, choosing accountability, restoration, and grace instead.
One: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
All: We lift up areas torn apart by war, division, and violence. Make us active instruments of reconciliation, courageous enough to break down walls and build up communities. This we pray, in the name of the One who called us blessed and called us forth to bless the world around us. Amen.
Call and Response
One: You can do this hard thing. You can do this hard thing.
It's not easy I know, but I believe that it's so. You can do this hard thing.
All: You can do this hard thing. You can do this hard thing.
It's not easy I know, but I believe that it's so. You can do this hard thing.
All: You can do this hard thing. You can do this hard thing.
It's not easy I know, but I believe that it's so. You can do this hard thing.
It's not easy I know, but I believe that it's so. You can do this hard thing.
All: You can do this hard thing. You can do this hard thing.
It's not easy I know, but I believe that it's so. You can do this hard thing.
All: You can do this hard thing. You can do this hard thing.
It's not easy I know, but I believe that it's so. You can do this hard thing.
Meditation
Rev. Dr. Lori Walke
Meditation Response
To practice paying attention, we invite you to come forward and borrow a “hazelnut.” They aren’t actual hazelnuts, but the hazelnut was only a symbol anyway. If you are joining us online, you can find a hazelnut of your own: it could be a marble, a paperweight, a balled-up sheet of paper, etc.
When everyone has an object and makes it back to their pew, we'll meditate together.
When everyone has an object and makes it back to their pew, we'll meditate together.
Benediction
As you go out into the remainder of the day, may you carry the still, small voice of the Divine within you. May your hearts be filled with peace, your hands moved by compassion, and your steps guided by love. Go in peace. Amen.