Dear friends,
This week I was happy to get my books unpacked and organized on their shelves. It was a satisfying task toward 
feeling more settled in, and having the relief of being able to access books when I need them. I also felt the unexpected joy of handling each book – bringing reminders of the pleasures and wisdom inside each one – like running into an old friend. It offered a sense of time travel, too – each book carrying memories of the time period when I got it, why I got it or who gave it to me, what I learned and could still learn from it, and the appreciation of the person who wrote it – whether contemporary, from thousands of years ago, or anything in between.
During this task, I came across a prayer in a book called Every Moment Holy that speaks to the journey we’re embarking on here. An important part of the interim process is reflecting on where St. Paul’s has been, where it is now, and where it could be going. Our discernment prayers arise out of our faith that God can help us see what we may not yet see, the amazing possibilities that God is always revealing. “See, I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth; do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”Isaiah 43:19
I hope you find something in this prayer that nourishes you, brings joy, or sparks your holy imagination.
Rev. Patricia Rose
“For Desiring the Knowledge and Illumination of God”
A Mozarabic Prayer from Prayers Ancient and Modern (1900)
O God,
in whom is the well of living waters,
O God,
in whose light we see light,
Increase in us the brightness
of your knowledge, illuminating
the path to your flowing fountain –
there impart to our thirsting souls
the water of life, and restore
in our darkened minds
the light from heaven.