Poem by Reverend Rebecca M. Bryan

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I pray because it makes me a better person,
more in touch with true self.

I pray because it opens the path
to connect with compassion
and feel the love within me.

I pray because
in connecting with that compassion and love,
I am better able
to withstand discomfort, inside and outside me
without lashing out
and creating more pain.

I pray and meditate because
when I touch that internal place of calm,
I walk more grounded
and less reactive
than when I live from fear
and only in my head.

I pray because
I mean it
when I say I care
about you
and your welfare.
Your safety matters to me.

I meditate because
I have to find the peace within me
to be an agent of peace
and to work for the peace I believe in.

I am an agent for peace
when I find and stay connected
to the peace
within me.

When I live only in fear
I spread fear.

I know there are people
who have no choice
but to live in a life filled with terror
and fear.

So, whatever peace
I can access within me
and pass on
is a vital part of what I offer this warring world.

When I act with courage,
and stay true to my commitment,
to be an agent for love and peace,
I see solutions I didn’t see before.

No
my prayers are not
in place of action.
They lead me to a place within me from which I want to act.

I don’t believe in a God who causes war
or a God who takes sides.

I believe in a God
that is an energy of goodness,
that is real,
and that we have the power to choose
to inform our daily actions.
Actions based on compassion, strength, and peace.

From this place
we can
rely on each other.

We need each other,
and the strength
of the collective,
to make peace a reality—
not for some but for all.

This I pray every day.

Amen.