August 31st moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer on International Overdose Awareness Day. Please join us for a Vigil of Memory & Hope this evening @6:30 PM online. Blessings, Aaron https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0qfuqvpj0rGtXNreFlXlBbRyMOulbpUk6L

Sunday, August 30, 2020

August 30 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer on the anniversary of Thurgood Marshall’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, August 30, 1967. Blessings, Aaron

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

Saturday, August 29, 2020

August 29 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer. RIP Chadwick Boseman. Blessings, Aaron

https://hellopoetry.com/tag/wakanda/

Friday, August 28, 2020

August 28 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer on the Islamic Day of Remembrance – Ashura. Blessings, Aaron

https://allpoetry.com/poems/about/ashura

Thursday, August 27, 2020

August 27 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer for all of those in path of Hurricane Laura. Blessings, Aaron

https://www.poemhunter.com/poems/hurricane/page-1/4494409/

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

August 26, 2020 moment of mediation, reflection, and prayer on National Dog Day! Blessings, Aaron

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50826/the-dogs-at-live-oak-beach-santa-cruz

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

August 25, 2020 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer. On the anniversary of “The Great Moon Hoax.”

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

Monday, August 24, 2020

August 24 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer. “At noon on August 24, 79 A.D., this pleasure and prosperity came to an end when the peak of Mount Vesuvius exploded, propelling a 10-mile mushroom cloud of ash and pumice into the stratosphere. For the next 12 hours, volcanic ash and a hail of pumice stones up to 3 inches in diameter showered Pompeii, forcing the city’s occupants to flee in terror. Some 2,000 people stayed in Pompeii, holed up in cellars or stone structures, hoping to wait out the eruption.:
https://hellopoetry.com/poem/1051231/vesusvius/
https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/13/91/79/9b/view-of-sorrento-and.jpg
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

Sunday, August 23, 2020

August 23 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer. A Belated Happy Ganesh Chaturthi! Blessings, Aaron
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/events/ganesh-chaturthi-2019-history-importance-and-rituals-of-vinayaka-chavithi/articleshow/70877033.cms

Saturday, August 22, 2020

August 22 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer. On the Hindu Festival of Onam.

Blessings, Aaron
https://www.booksie.com/518799-my-onam-with-maveli-and-vamanan

Friday, August 21, 2020

August 21 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer on National Senior Citizen’s Day. Blessings, Aaron

Thursday, August 20, 2020

August 20 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer on Hijra, Islamic New Year. Blessings, Aaron

Hijra by Haya Alyan
Sleepwalkers, uterus dust, you heard the gunfireand folded into clay. We begged our bodies foralchemy, death into new lungs, we fed breadto the jinn. The clouds followed us, a scrapof summer moon as gazelles made a meal of ash.We became seamstresses, mapping departureinto our eyelids. Allah’s calligraphy stitchedour vertebra. We wrote their unsaid nameson parchment, buried them in boxes, gave birthto our daughters in caves. When our breasts weptmilk for months, we drank it ourselves (Originally published in Colorado Review)

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

August 19 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer. Remember, your power is not in your size but in your stride. Blessings, Aaron

https://poets.org/poem/alice-paul

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

August 18 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer. Blessings Aaron

A New Prayer (by Barbara Collignon)

We invoke the One we call upon
in time of deep despair.
We seek the One who’d answer us,
respond to earnest prayer.
From this Source of Life we ask
strength to meet an awesome task,
courage in the face of fear,
greater faith to persevere.
But we must answer our own prayer.
we must rise to tend and care.
We must give and we must strive
to comfort, cure, embrace, revive.
So we unite to conquer fear,
our homes protect,
our hearts to cheer.
We pray for health.
We pray for love
but seek not answers from above.
May we be the answer
to another’s prayer.
Let us reach out and let us care.

https://www.interfaithconference.org/our-interfaith-prayers-during-covid-19

Monday, August 17, 2020

August 17 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer on the 51 Anniversary of the close of the Woodstock Music Festival. We could all use a little help from our friends these days. Blessings, Aaron

https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/woodstock

Sunday, August 16, 2020

August 16 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer on National Tell a Joke Day. Blessings, Aaron

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/558305685027434545/

Saturday, August 15, 2020

August 15 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer on Chant at the Moon Day. Blessings, Aaron

https://nationaltoday.com/chant-at-the-moon-day/

Friday, August 14, 2020

August 14 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer during the Buddhist Festival of Obon. Blessings, Aaron

https://allpoetry.com/poem/4462475-Obon-Festival–July–1921-gold-by-marlene47

Thursday, August 13, 2020

August 13 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer on International Lefthanders Day. Much love to my wife Kristen Payson and my brother Marc R. Payson!

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

August 12 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer on World Elephant Day. Classic Robert Fulghum from his book “Maybe, Maybe Not”.

http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/August/world-elephant-day.htm

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Maybe_Maybe_Not/2Zcu31a3EcgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=robert+fulghum+%22An+acquaintance+arranged+for+us+to+visit+a+forest+reserve%22&pg=PA108&printsec=frontcover

Tuesday, August 11, 2020

August 11 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer on National Son and Daughter Day. Blessings, Aaron

Monday, August 10, 2020

August 10 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer. August, a poem by Rogan. Blessings, Aaron

Sunday, August 9, 2020

August 9 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer on National Women’s Day. Blessings, Aaron

Saturday, August 8, 2020

August 8 moment of reflection, meditation, and prayer, on National Cat Day. Blessings, Aaron

https://allpoetry.com/She-sights-a-Birdshe-chuckles

Friday, August 7, 2020

August 7 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer on National Lighthouse Day. Remember, it’s your call. Aaron

Thursday, August 6, 2020

August 6 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer. In honor of those in Beruit. Blessings, Aaron

In Our Hearts (Adapted by Rev. Aaron Payson)

Compassionate Spirit, we pray for those who have been devastated by recent disasters. We remember those who have lost their lives so suddenly. We hold in our hearts the families forever changed by grief and loss. Bring them consolation and comfort. Surround them with our prayer for strength. Bless those who have survived and heal their memories of trauma and devastation. May they have the courage to face the long road of rebuilding ahead.

We ask your blessing on all those who have lost their homes, their livelihoods, their security, and their hope. Bless the work of relief agencies and those proving emergency assistance. May their work be guided by the grace and strength that comes from You alone.

Help us to respond with generosity in prayer, in assistance, in aid to the best of our abilities. Keep our hearts focused on the needs of those affected, even after the crisis is over. We ask this in the name of all that is Holy.(Author Unknown. Adapted from prayer listed on https://www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/online-resources/prayer-index/prayers-in-times-of-crisis/in-times-of-natural-disaster.php)

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

August 5 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer in honor of National “Work Like a Dog Day”. Blessings, Aaron

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

August 4 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer in honor of National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!

Monday, August 3, 2020

August 3 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer on National Watermelon Day!

https://allpoetry.com/poem/14643575-Watermelon–Citrullus-Lanatus–Day–by-Dennis-Spilchuk

Sunday, August 2, 2020

August 2 moment of meditation, reflection, and prayer in honor of National Friendship Day. Blessings, Rev. Aaron

Saturday, August 1, 2020

August 1 moment of reflection, meditation, and prayer. Thanks to Sheri Linn for introducing us to this last Sunday. Aaron

Please CLICK HERE to see the June 2020 Moments of Meditation

Please CLICK HERE to see the May 2020 Moments of Meditation

Please CLICK HERE to see the April 2020 Moments of Meditation

Please CLICK HERE to see the March 2020 Moments of Meditation

The post August 2020 Moments of Meditation From UUCW first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

Monday, June 8, 2020

June 8 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer on International Oceans Day. Aaron

https://www.youtube.com/embed/rhH7RyRGXO8

Sunday, June 7, 2020

June 7 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. On National Animal Rights Day may we also experience “the emerging joy of our animal kin…” Aaron

Please Click Here.

Saturday, June 6, 2020

June 6 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. I reread Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time last night. I hope you read it too. Aaron

“I know what the world has done to my brother and how narrowly he has survived it. And I know, which is much worse, and this is the crime of which I accuse my country and my countrymen, and for which neither I nor time nor history will ever forgive them, that they have destroyed and are destroying hundreds of thousands of lives and do not know it and do not want to know it. One can be, indeed one must strive to become, tough and philosophical concerning destruction and death, for this is what most of mankind has been best at since we have heard of man. (But remember: most of mankind is not all of mankind.) But it is not permissible that the authors of devastation should also be innocent. It is the innocence which constitutes the crime.”

James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time

Friday, June 5, 2020

June 5 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer on World Environment Day. Blessings, Aaron

Please Click Here.

Thursday, June 4, 2020

June 4 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. For those who are raw. Aaron

Please Click Here.

Wednesday, June 3, 2020

June 3 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. An Ode to Bicycles by Pablo Neruda on National Bicycle Day. Aaron

Please Click Here.

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

June 2 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. On National Gun Violence Day. Aaron

Please Click Here.

Monday, June 1, 2020

June 1 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. On National Olive Day, may you plant so that your decedents may eat. Aaron

Please Click Here.

Please CLICK HERE to see the May 2020 Moments of Meditation

Please CLICK HERE to see the April 2020 Moments of Meditation

Please CLICK HERE to see the March 2020 Moments of Meditation

The post June 2020 Moments of Meditation From UUCW first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

June 1 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. On National Gun Violence Day. Aaron

Please Click Here.

Monday, June 1, 2020

June 1 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. On National Olive Day, may you plant so that your decedents may eat. Aaron

Please Click Here.

Sunday, May 31, 2020

May 31 moment of moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. May no one take away your breath. Aaron

https://www.youtube.com/embed/9NPMSvvfs5Q

Saturday, May 30, 2020

May 30 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. “A riot is the language of the unheard.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

Please Click Here.

Friday, May 29, 2020

May 29 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. Let us hurry to find the road. Aaron

Please Click Here.

Thursday, May 28, 2020

May 28 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. In celebration of Shavuot. Aaron

Please Click Here.

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

May 27 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. In memory of George Floyd and all those who continue the the fight for justice. Aaron

Please Click Here.

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

May 26 moment of meditation , reflection and prayer. For all the gardeners out there! Aaron

Please Click Here.

Monday, May 25, 2020 – Memorial Day

May 25 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. May we keep faith with those who have gone before on this Memorial Day. Aaron

Please Click Here.

Sunday, May 24, 2020

May 24 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. Happy National Brother’s Day Marc R. Payson! Aaron

‘BROTHERS’ BY ANDREW FORSTER
Saddled with you for the afternoon, me and Paul
ambled across the threadbare field to the bus stop,
talking over Sheffield Wednesday’s chances in the Cup
while you skipped beside us in your ridiculous tank-top,
spouting six-year-old views on Rotherham United.
Suddenly you froze, said you hadn’t any bus fare.
I sighed, said you should go and ask Mum
and while you windmilled home I looked at Paul.
His smile, like mine, said I was nine and he was ten
and we must stroll the town, doing what grown-ups do.

As a bus crested the hill we chased Olympic Gold.
Looking back I saw you spring towards the gate,
your hand holding out what must have been a coin.
I ran on, unable to close the distance I’d set in motion.

Saturday, May 23, 2020

May 23 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. May birdsong bring relief to your longing. Aaron

Friday, May 22, 2020

May 22 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. In honor of National Maritime Day. Aaron

Thursday, May 21, 2020

May 21 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer on National Emergency Medical Services Day. Blessings, Aaron

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

May 20 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer on National Be A Millionaire Day. Aaron

Please Click Here.

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

May 19 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. I pray that we all become prisoners of hope. Aaron

Monday, May 18, 2020

May 18 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer in honor of National No Dirty Dishes Day! Blessings, Aaron

Sunday, May 17, 2020

May 17 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. What feeds and strengths your promise this day? Aaron

Saturday, May 16, 2020

May 16 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. What miracle are you watching for? Aaron

Please Click Here.

Friday, May 15, 2020

May 15 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. Imagine, dream, hope. Blessings, Aaron

Please Click Here.

Thursday, May 14, 2020

May 14 moment of reflection and fun. Happy National Chicken Dance Day! Aaron

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

May 13 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. What will you tell your bees? Aaron

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

May 12 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. Happy National Limerick Day. Aaron

Let’s hope for the flattening of the curve
It’s bound to happen, need to keep our nerve
The timing is critical
Must think logistical
Think positive, shop smart, CONSERVE

By Jack Ellison

Monday, May 11, 2020

May 11 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. Spring is a time to feel a host of thoughts. Aaron

Lines Written in Early Spring By William Wordworth

I heard a thousand blended notes, While in a grove I sate reclined, In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it grieved my heart to think
What man has made of man.

Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And ’tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.

The birds around me hopped and played,
Their thoughts I cannot measure:—
But the least motion which they made
It seemed a thrill of pleasure.

The budding twigs spread out their fan,
To catch the breezy air;
And I must think, do all I can,
That there was pleasure there.

If this belief from heaven be sent,
If such be Nature’s holy plan,
Have I not reason to lament
What man has made of man?

Sunday, May 10, 2020

May 10 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. For all those who mother. Aaron

Blessing for Mother from John O’Donohue – To Bless the Space Between Us

Mother,
Your voice learning to soothe
Your new child
Was the first home-sound
We hear before we could see.

Your young eyes
Gazing on us
Was the first mirror
Where we glimpsed
What to be seen
Could mean.

Mother,
Your nearness tilled the air,
An umbilical garden for the seeds
Of thought that stirred in our infant hearts.

You nurtured and fostered this space
To root all our quietly gathering intensity
That could grow nowhere else.

Mother,
Formed from the depths beneath your heart,
You know us from the inside out.
No deeds or seas or others
Could ever erase.

Saturday, May 9, 2020

May 9 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. For all the healthcare workers. Aaron

FOR A NURSE by John O’Donohue

Your mind knows the world of illness, The fright that invades a person Arriving in out of the world, Distraught and grieved by illness. How it can strip a life of its joy, Dim the light of the heart Put shock in the eyes. You see worlds breaking At the onset of illness: Families at bedsides distraught That their mother’s name has come up In the secret lottery of misfortune That had always chosen someone else. You watch their helpless love That would exchange places with her. The veil of skin opened, The search through the body’s night To remove tissue, war-torn with cancer. Young lives that should be out in the sun Enjoying life with wild hearts, Come in here lamed by accident And the lucky ones who leave, Already old and in captive posture. The elderly, who should be prepared, But are frightened and unsure. You understand no one Can learn beforehand An elegant or easy way to die. In this fragile frontier-place, your kindness Becomes a light that consoles the brokenhearted, Awakens within desperate storms That oasis of serenity that calls The spirit to rise from beneath the weight of pain, To create a new space in the person’s mind Where they gain distance from their suffering And begin to see the invitation To integrate and transform it. May you embrace the beauty in what you do And how you stand like a secret angel Between the bleak despair of illness And the unquenchable light of spirit That can turn the darkest destiny towards dawn. May you never doubt the gifts you bring; Rather, learn from these frontiers Wisdom for your own heart. May you come to inherit The blessings of your kindness And never be without care and love When winter enters your own life.

Friday, May 8, 2020

May 8 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. May you be touched by an angel today. Aaron

Please click here.

Thursday, May 7, 2020

May 7 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. On Our National Day of Prayer. Aaron

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

May 6 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. In honor of nurses and all healthcare workers on National Nurses Day. Aaron

Please click here.

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

May 5 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. For our teachers on National Teachers Day. Aaron

Please click here.

Monday, May 4, 2020

Please click here.

Sunday, May 3, 2020

May 3 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. May you to slumber well from your spiritedly duties. Aaron

A fairy slumbers on the cupboard shelf As the glass moon fades in the morning light. Her spiritly nightly duties done A well-earned rest at last she’s won. (AR Payson 2020)

Saturday, May 2, 2020

May 2 moment of meditation, reflection and prayer. Awake the purple of the year! Aaron

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44304/ode-on-the-spring

Friday, May 1, 2020

The post May 2020 Moments of Meditation From UUCW first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.