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A liturgy for surrender. It began so very long ago, even in that Garden of Shalom. It was when that crafty serpent walked in from the chaos place outside. Even then, we began looking at our hands and yours, being trained to see and to take, to judge what is good. Not trusting the Voice that had separated light and dark, to now rightly separate good and evil. So today, Yahweh, Rabbi, Spirit hovering over the chaos waters of my life; I look down at the things that I hold in my hands. And with a deep breath of trust and relief… I entrust them into your hands of wisdom. I look down at my team, these relationships I’ve been given to steward, And I acknowledge they’re best kept in your hands. I look down at the students I adore, also those I’m tempted to dismiss or distance myself from, And I acknowledge they’re best kept in your hands. I look down at my language studies, often inspiring yet often disheartening, And I acknowledge they’re best kept in your hands. I look down at my finances, whether my budget be red or green, And I acknowledge they’re best kept in your hands. I look down at my work responsibilities - my teaching, leading, and all else assigned me, And I acknowledge they’re best kept in your hands. I look down at the relationships I’ve had to move far away from, beloved family and friends, And I acknowledge they’re best kept in your hands. I look down at the yeses and the noes of this week, day, and hour, And I acknowledge they’re best kept in your hands. I look down at the thoughts uniquely on my heart today, And I acknowledge they’re best kept in your hands. So today, Yahweh, Rabbi, Spirit hovering over the chaos waters of my life; I look down at the things that I hold in my hands. And with a deep breath of trust and relief… I entrust them into your hands of wisdom. Amen Tristan R, May 2026

A liturgy for living in a foreign land. Father, help me to walk humbly with You. Help me to be curious instead of critical. Help me not to compare, but to appreciate the differences before me. Help me to look beyond the surface and to see others through Your eyes. Father, open my eyes to the beauty of where You’ve placed me. Open my eyes to see how this culture reflects parts of Your character. Open my eyes to see those who are vulnerable, on the outside, and might even feel like a stranger in their own land. Open my eyes to see the opportunities You’ve placed before me to love those who are different from me. Father, keep me near to You. Keep my hands open, holding expectations loosely. Keep my heart humble, willing to yield control of the situation. Keep my mind fixed on You, not on myself. Father, guide me in how I spend my time. Guide me in how I choose to use my words. Guide me in being willing to be uncomfortable. Guide me in learning how to live in a foreign land. And Father, remind me that no matter where I am, I am a pilgrim Longing for my true and lasting home with You. Amen Callie M, Spring 2026

A liturgy for non-traditional seasons. To the Guider of my steps, the Overseer of my comings and goings, Thank You for placing me in the middle of this community. Thank You for this non-traditional work that You have given me. As I go through my day, wandering back and forth in and out of the community around me, It is easy to feel isolated and alone, like an outsider everywhere I go even in my own classroom. I miss the traditional role that I used to have, the familiar scripts and the unspoken understanding, of my place and my role in society. Remind me, when everything feels unfamiliar and I feel like I don’t belong, that You left Your vocation, Your place of belonging, to walk among people You did not belong with, and to undertake the most untraditional of roles. As I wander back and forth, delicately balanced between communities, seeking to understand and be understood by those around me, help me see Your footprints in the steps laid out for me. Remind me of Your wanderings and Your weary laboring, as You traversed a world where You did not belong, finding no place to lay Your head. Would You remind me of the path You walked, in and out of our humanity, back and forth between divine and incarnate, In the midst of it, never overlooking the ones You sought. Thank You for modeling non-traditional in the best way possible, seeing your role as a blessing and never a burden. You used Your role, dancing on the fringes of society, to bless and call out those who were also on the fringes, dangling on the edge of exclusion. And You called them to be Your students. Help me to take joy in my role of walking the fringes, and use it to seek and find the lost, finding my students among the overlooked, and choosing to see with Your eyes, those You are seeking. Amen Evan D, Spring 2026

A liturgy for learners with a weary heart. O Patient and Gracious Father, When I look around this classroom you have entrusted to me,  I see faces full of excitement, fatigue, interest, boredom, curiosity, and indifference.  These reactions seep through my broken, dusty defenses,  and I feel an immediate temptation to catalogue. To slowly strip these image-bearers of their Creator’s designs and  unwittingly remake them according to my own understanding: valued for their alacrity, devalued for their apathy.  Father, I confess that my eyes are not your eyes,  my thoughts are not your thoughts. My heart goes against, rather than after, Your own.  Maker of Heaven and Earth,  help me remember that you love the heart of rocky soil no less than its fertile neighbor.  In the same way that you would more readily and mercifully take up a chisel than a stone,  grant me the grace to meet my students’ disinterest with curiosity.  May my questions affirm their dignity and the unique story that You Yourself are writing.  In the same way that you welcome the sheep without a shepherd, grant me wisdom to guide and encourage the lost, discouraged, and aimless student.  May my advice be intentional and selfless,  culturally aware and yet full of the hope only One who has known life beyond the grave could offer.  In the same way that you span the distance between east and west,  grant me the strength to meet each student where they are.  May I never withhold patience for the bored,  comfort for the weary,  and zeal for the apathetic.  Like springs of water bursting from the desert rocks of Meribah,  may the joy of learning and a humble awe of this magnificent world You have made  gust forth from every soul I see in this classroom.  Wherever they go beyond these walls, I trust You are with them. You can use every unwanted major, future challenge, job, and learning opportunity to more precisely chisel what my feeble hands began.  I am your ready vessel. Use me to inspire, motivate, and encourage these students—the guests you have welcomed into my life.  I trust You because I have seen You bring life from death in my very soul.  Wonderful Counselor,  Good Shepherd,  and Hope of all hope,  I ask because the outcome depends on You alone. Amen

A liturgy for how our unity speaks to Your reality. Father  This simple greeting points to our belonging in a Family  Every family has its quirky characters  In this new land where I live I often think those who gather as Family here are the quirky ones  But maybe it’s me   Father  I used to be so comfortable gathering with Family in my passport country  Was it just a club? A place where I knew all the unspoken rules? I don’t know the rules here And in my stumbling through unfamiliar rhythms of standing and sitting and speaking  I’m forced to consider that this Family is more than a club  In this Family we belong , no matter our color or language or clothing  because we all call you Father   Father  Back home, I didn’t use to understand the reasons others gave for why they didn’t go  Until now   The timing is too early.  If it were just a little later, I could be on time  There’s no one my age  I don’t understand everything the speaker shares  The style of the message is different, and if I’m honest, I think the style I like is better  The songs are unfamiliar  I feel awkward and out of place  Is this a safe place for my kids?  I miss the ways we celebrate holidays in my home country  Father  You knew all this  And yet your statements still stand One body, many members, we cannot discount a single one  Do not give up meeting together  All things hold together in the radiant Son  No longer strangers to one another, but fellow household members together  The one anothers don’t come with a passport label  Father  I want to be involved in and committed to this Body in this place  I know I need the encouragement of meeting together  And I need courage to return Sunday after Sunday   Cultivate in me a commitment to finding a way to make it work for my family  Help me discover the joy of gathering together  Humble me to learn from the Shepherds of Your flock here  Grant me a way to use my gifts to bless Your Body  Our unity speaks to Your reality Amen

A liturgy for dwelling together in unity. Behold, how good & pleasant it is  when brothers & sisters dwell together in unity. Surely, from an eternity before this was penned by our brother David,  You, Father, considered my team.  You chose us & called us out from our nations,  in accordance with Your foreknowledge of our willing obedience.  You led each of us by the hand to our new homes & places of calling.  Indeed, You Yourself marked out our appointed times  & the very boundaries of our cities.  You brought us together for Your good work  & by Your good nature.  So, why, O Good Shepherd, is unity so hard?  Why are my brothers & sisters, chosen by You,  One of the greatest difficulties of staying?  Together, we span decades, regions, thoughts, preferences, & ideologies,  & through these we clash like rams on a mountainside.  Is this even hate that tries to rouse itself within my heart?  Forgive me, O my Strength & my Song, for You tell us to keep on  Loving one another as brothers & sisters, & to be compassionate & humble.  You bring my heart to a place of pasture that I might recall -  We love because You first loved us while we were still in darkness.  You bring my mind to a place of still waters that I might recount -  Every trial has brought to my heart perseverance & a bloom of great love.  You bring my soul to a place of refreshing that I might realise -  It is in You we find oneness & it is in that oneness that  We may be brought to complete unity.  It is in this unity, as You speak over my team, that the world may know  Your life-giving story.  Help me, Father, to remember them as I kneel before You.  Teach me, O True Vine, to be sacrificial & to serve according to the example  You set for us.  For in this there is great blessing - not only for myself, nor for my team,  But for all the world.  We did not choose each other, yet now we have the privilege to.  In this, there is victory & great rejoicing.  אָמֵן Amen

A liturgy for help in the darkness. Helper,  Be with me as I walk through the darkness around me In these places where spirits are feared and yet honored Where hope is lacking and strongholds abound Where I so often feel the physical presence of the enemy lurking nearby Where temples house idols Beckoning worshippers to come, Seek blessings and make merit.  Where spirit houses reside among each home And offerings to them stand stale and rotting. This endless cycle of hopeless striving To please an idol that neither sees nor hears To appease spirits that will never relent Is heartbreaking.  Helper,  Be the light that illuminates my path As I go to battle behind enemy lines. Be my shield of faith  As I walk through the valleys of darkness. Be my sword of truth To battle the lies of the Deceiver  Who seeks to discourage me To make me believe that My presence here makes no difference.  Even though I often cannot see it You are present and working behind the scenes.  Even when the weight of brokenness feels paralyzing And the grasp of evil on society seems relentless.  You are not distant nor indifferent.  Remind me that you care more deeply for your dear ones Than I ever could  And you are pursuing them  Unceasingly.  Even though these battles often stir me to confusion And at times, I wallow in my own helplessness. Helper, remind me that  That you are the true help we all need That even what I offer flows from your grace for me. Help me to live in the freedom of your provision And to embrace my own dependence on you So that I might demonstrate the sufficiency of your help for me In this dry and weary land Where you have lead me to labor In the strength you provide.  Helper,  Thank you for walking with me For guiding me past the enemies snares For leading me into preordained circumstances For never leaving or forsaking me.  Indeed you dwell with me among this dark oppression You are an ever present help in trouble My only source of enduring hope.  Helper,  Please make yourself known to those around me As I continue on my journey in this foreign land As I interact with friends and neighbors, students and strangers May the light and freedom and hope that come from you Be felt, experienced, and desired anew  By those whose spirits are crushed and wandering in darkness  So that your power may break forth here And your will may become their delight And this land may be transformed and filled with Light.  Amen.

A liturgy for persistence in petitioning. O Helper,  my heart feels heavy with longing today.  I carry names I cannot say aloud,  faces I have seen only in glimpses,  souls I have not yet met but ache for all the same. There is sorrow that they do not know You– A slow, quiet ache in the places where joy and hope wish to rise.  And beneath the sorrow, I see love– a reflection, perhaps, of Your own.  So I come to You, Helper of the weary and the waiting.  You who gives strength to the faint You who never grow tired of pursuing.  Help me not grow tired, either. You lead and guide us through the wilderness– the wilderness of unknown grounds and unfamiliar words.  Yet You do not leave us to walk alone. You guide us by the One who dwells within,  and through the Helper, we are led from the Word You have spoken to the ‘so be it’ You have promised. Let me not grow weary in doing good, even when I cannot see the fruit,  even when my petitions feel unanswered. For at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. My hands feel small,  and my words are often insufficient.  But You are faithful even when I am faithless Let me remember that I am not alone in this longing.  I am surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses,  and by You who dwells within So lead me to the Word,  the Pioneer and Perfecter. O Giver of Gifts,  Help me to pursue with love Awaken me to where they are,  to listen as much as I speak,  to trust that You are already at work. May You shine in the hearts Of those not yet walking in Your Light. Let something Good bloom within them:  A question. A dream. A moment of wonder.  Make a way, even when none seems possible.  For this is Your work,  And it’s my joy to see You move in hearts.  Even now, may hope not disappoint me– because Your love has been poured out into my heart through the Comforter, who has been given to me. You are the One who walks beside me in the waiting.  You are sowing seeds I cannot yet see.  Let me go forward in trust, in love, and in light with persistence. Amen

A liturgy for grieving from far away. I have lost many friends and family in 10 years of global service.  Some moved from this life to the next with haste, while others suffered intensely. Most passed at old age, some young, and others in between.  Each loss leaves its mark on me.  For some, I try to make it home to say goodbye, and for others, it’s not an option to say goodbye in person.  For those I am close to, yet not immediate family, it’s hard to justify the time and expense to journey back.  Father, I long to hold and hug those who are left behind.  Gathering around a table with dusty old photo books that bring laughter and tears and stories that don’t end, would bring an unexplained comfort.  Instead, I search for ways to find comfort from miles and miles away.  I strive to come up with creative means to remember and honor that our lives intersected on earth for a while.  I watch the memorial at 2am to be virtually present,  and I feel alone and connected at the same time.  I see the back of heads that I recognize; I tell stories to people who have never met my loved one, and they are attentive and kind; I journal about the impact that they have had on my life; I send and receive electronic condolences that lighten the load. And still, it is hard for me to believe they are really gone until I can physically see the spaces that they occupied in life and breath.  Their eyes pop up in pictures from last summer and look vibrant and real.  I remind myself of the empty reality.  I remember the last time we were together and relish it.  In this season of grief, pressing into You, the Eternal One, strengthens me for the labors I endure each day.  For those who have believed in their hearts and confessed with their mouths that you are Lord, there is a sweet comfort from You that I will see my loved ones again.  For those whose eternities were not so clearly defined, I beg for peace and mercy and am reminded why I do the work I  do sharing Your love to the world.  My labors are not in vain, you remind me.  I am planting seeds with light and love, and You will bring increase.  In my sorrow, You gather my tears, comfort my heart, and transform my character.  There is agony in my suffering, yet joy in the reality that You are truly near the broken hearted, which feels paradoxical.  May their absence give me a greater sense of Your presence during this difficult time. When I cross the ocean next, I will hug each one tighter, listen more closely, and love more intentionally. For those who You allow to witness my grief, thank You for the empathy that surpasses their experience.  I am grateful for those whose presence has brought Your peace to me in the loneliness of grief.  Amen

A liturgy for peace in the storms. When the sky grew dark and the winds whipped up the sea, You stretched Your arms from sleep to scepter, commanding: “Peace! Be still!” Now, as did your followers then, we cry for rescue,  for us,  for them.  When the mountains quake and the earth trembles, keeping time with fast-beating hearts and quickened breath; when the gaping mouth of the deep seems to beckon: “Peace! Be still!” When past trauma -  from physical, emotional,  or situational abuse,  from lockdowns and lockouts -  threatens the present with clouds of hurt and sorrow: “Peace! Be still!” When jobs are scarce, costs rising, and circumstances stifling; when fears for the future drive joy from the present: “Peace! Be Still!” When homework piles on homework, task on task, duty on duty; when schedules are crammed and sleep is elusive; the pressure an unrelenting vortex: “Peace! Be still!” As the wind and the waves obeyed, so may situations and circumstances, places and people, hearts, minds, and souls.  “Peace! Be still!” Amen

A liturgy for joining in school events. Servant King , I thank You for every opportunity You provide for me to share in Your life by serving others. As I prepare to participate in this school event, would You refine my perspective to view it as an opportunity to serve my neighbor as You Yourself came to serve.  Purify my motives, O Holy One , that my right hand would not even boast to my left.  Give me patience, O Eternal Days , in the midst of uncommunicated details, unclear expectations, and unrelenting responsibilities.  Give me words to speak, O Living Word , that I might ask questions and engage in conversations that impart grace, and help turn Your beloved, pinnacle creation back to their Creator.  Help me communicate clearly in my listener’s second language, Almighty Mediator , that they might feel included, honored, and loved. May this moment of language exchange be a redemptive balm, and a taste of the glories to come before Your throne.  Give me ears to hear, One Who Bends to the Lowly , as I listen to speeches and presentations. Help me give meaningful praise and constructive feedback that build up and yet show no partiality.  Make me fair and kind, O Righteous Judge , as I adjudicate. Protect me from confusing grace with indiscriminate and inordinate compassion; from confusing high standards with prideful condescension. Help me be a healer in an environment of criticism, and a bearer of steadfast righteousness in a world of moral ambiguity.  Lead me to those whom You would have me bless with Your presence today, Immanuel . I thank You for this good work that You have prepared for me, that I might walk in it and thus display Your masterpiece and workmanship.  With Your blessing, may all who see this good work glorify our Father  in heaven.  Amen

A liturgy for cultivating compassion at work. As I walk past them in the halls; As I wave to them as they drive by; As we meet up for coffee or a meal; As I wait in line together to pick up our kids from school or to order lunch in the cafeteria; As I see them at their desks; As they visit me at mine; Whether they have the highest influence or the least; Whether their feelings toward me are full of warmth or stone cold; Whether they find joy in being at work or feel the crushing weight of cultural pressures we cannot comprehend;  Whether the dance of working together cross-culturally feel smooth or complex - perhaps even painful; May I see  them the way that You, the One Who Sees, experiences them.  May I notice  their tired eyes behind the polite smile and, for just a moment, feel the weight of their burdens.  May I seek  to learn about their families, their hopes and dreams, and their deepest questions.  May I not forget  the names of their children or their plans for their next vacation - so that I may ask and show deep care.  May I respond  with patience instead of pride when misunderstandings creep in and tensions rise.  May I glimpse  the child inside them, the one they have pushed down to meet societal standards.  May I feel  the fullness of love and care that You do, even in difficult conversations where we must give and receive a “no”.  May I honor  them not just as co-workers but as faithful friends.  Finally, may I remember that we do not work for bread alone, but for Love, and as if we are doing all things unto You. May every interaction with my co-workers be a deep reflection of that truth.  Amen