Pastoral Prayer of Purpose

Out of the depths, O Spirit of Life,

We lift our hearts and voices,

Not always with clarity, not always with ease,

But with the yearning that lives in all of us…

To be seen.

To be heard.

To be remembered.

 

Out of the pain, we cry:

Who will make space for our living,

And for our dying?

Who will witness our joy without envy,

Our sorrow without fear,

Our becoming with love?

 

Out of the years, we cry:

Will it matter that we lived?

Will the small kindnesses, the hidden courage, the late-night tenderness

be remembered by anyone at all?

 

O Presence beyond naming,

More than those who watch for the morning,

Our souls await something deeper,

Not comfort only,

But calling.

Not escape,

But purpose.

 

Breathe into us the truth,

That the purpose of life is not to be happy,

But to be useful,

To be honourable,

To be compassionate,

To have it make some difference

That we have lived

And lived well.

 

Let our living become a prayer.

Let our work be love made visible.

Let our burdens become offerings.

And let our joy overflow into service.

 

In our waiting, give us courage.

In our doubts, give us light.

And when we rise each morning,

Let it be with this quiet knowing:

That we carry within us the flame of the Good Shepherd,

The voice that guides, the hand that heals, the heart that walks beside another.

 

May our lives remember what the world forgets:

That we are here not to consume, but to contribute.

Not to be lifted above others,

But to lift with others.

 

So may we walk with reverence and fire.

And may those who come after us

Find the world just a little more whole

Because we have passed this way.

Amen.