The Prayer of Invocation I delivered at the State Capitol Assembly Jan 14, 2014

Prayer of Invocation

Wisconsin State Capitol

January 14, 2014

Almighty one, Architect of creation,

    you who are known by so many names and forms

    to so many different people

       through the epochs of evolution and civilization,

   your creation is larger than human imagination;

     we are so small in the universe,

     and yet still you are mindful of us –

         in that we find [joy?] and amazement,

           that you are present in us, and with us;

           we who you made from the dust of this planet

           and then gathered to be your people,

             gathered under your loving arms 
               to be your body for one another.

You are mindful of us, and you hear our cries,

   and so we pray to you this afternoon, Holder of Life,

    to be mindful of this body as it gathers this day

      to be about the business of the people of Wisconsin,

      making decisions on behalf of the people they represent;

  we pray to you as this body gathers in solemn duty to clear the path

    for the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness 
          for all citizens, for all life,

          the land and waters of this beautiful state

           you have entrusted to them, and all of us, for safekeeping.

In hope, we pray 
    to ask for health, wisdom, and compassion for this body;

   and we pray for the health, wisdom, and compassion

      for each of these members.

   It is an awesome and sacred and often thankless task

       we ask of these men and women,

       with long and many days away from their families,

       to so often suffer the slings and arrows

          cast by their peers and pundits and polis,

       with the daunting knowledge that they will never please everyone.

    Grace them with the balm of your unconditional love

      in the face of the very conditional appreciation of their constituents;

    The wounds made by our stinging words,

       bind with your word of limitless hope.

    Bless their families and their homes 
      to be loving and nurturing refuges

        where they can shake off the dust of capitol conflict 

        and re-center themselves [and something else...].

     Tend their spirits to meet the challenges set before them

        with the courage of their convictions,

        integrity to their station and vision,

        trusting in their own creativity and resourcefulness

           which you have endowed them with;

       tended also with the courage to change when needed;

         and with compassionate hearts willing to be broken

            by the suffering of their people,

         and spirits of preference for human need

            over partisan, political, or personal creed.

I pray for these servants, Compassionate One,

    in thanks for their service,

     and ask that their hearts be buoyed by joy in service,

      and that as they are about their sacred duty

        to the people and ecology of Wisconsin,

        that they remain mindful of the least, 
            as you are mindful of the least,

        to remember the poor, our children,

           our brothers and sisters who live on the streets,

           who do not have [affordable or any] healthcare,

           who are mentally ill, who labor,

           our veterans who have been left behind,

           our elderly and our first nations citizens,
           [our LGBT brothers and sisters],

           and those who are caught in human trafficking.

    May they always be attentive to the cries of the suffering

      who so often go unheard,

        [as you are attentive to our cries].

May the work done here today, and all days, be blessings,

    and may these servants be always gentle with one another,

    generous in kindness and trust,

      in unity of purpose to the health and welfare 
        of this beautiful home

        that we all call Wisconsin.

Amen.