Streams of Mercy
- jacksonspringspc
- Sep 5, 2022
- 2 min read
This Labor Day 2022 is a day of reflection for me. In the first half of my life I was a teacher in public schools. I taught mostly in the early elementary years, a very exciting time of exponential growth, interest and excitement in learning. I saw teaching as my “calling” in that season of my life, and am remembered as a caring and creative educator who loved and accepted each child and encouraged each one to discover, develop and share their gifts to make the world a better place. The second half of my life has been devoted to pastoral ministry in the Presbyterian Church (USA). I felt myself “called” out of one season of life into another, and am grateful I found courage to take that step mid-life.
I’ve always treasured Frederick Buechner’s words about vocation: “Vocation comes from the Latin vocare, to call, and means the work one is called to by God. There are all different kinds of voices calling you to all different kinds of work, and the problem is to find out which is the voice of God … The kind of work God usually calls us to is the kind of work that we need most to do and that the world most needs to have done. The place God calls us to is the place where our deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.”
A meeting of “our deep gladness” and the “world’s deep hunger” - only God would have such a plan.
A Prayer for Labor Day
The fullness of blessing comes down from you
To you our prayers of blessing rise up.
In your kindness protect these, your servants,
Who stand before you devout and faithful,
bearing the tools of their trade,
offering the work of their hands,
lifting up their minds and their hearts.
Grant that their hard work may contribute
to the perfecting of your creation and
provide them a decent life for themselves and their families.
Help them to be fruitful in their labor, and to strive always to build a better society and a more just and peace-filled world. May their work always praise and glorify your holy name. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Happy Labor Day!
Elizabeth
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