I pray before every faculty meeting here at my college. In this prayer, I seek to name the needs of my community. The rhythm of the academic world is unusual–a blazing fast pace throughout the year, with some halting, long breaks in between. Here, about two months into our first semester, we are already growing weary and looking forward to our first fall break. So this was my prayer for our community:
Creator God,
As the days darken and the excitement of a new year wears off, we begin to stockpile our needs and feel the weight of our work. Here we find ourselves praying / desiring / asking for more time, more resources, fewer obstacles, less stress.
Into this spiritually-constricting place of scarcity, remind us, Holy God, that we are enough, that we have enough, that there is enough…for each.
So let us not hoard, or protect, or scavenge for more. But let us live generously with each other and generatively with this community – so all might know the abundance of our collective harvest.
Amen.
Teri McDowell Ott 