 Good evening, we gathered this evening, not people who are afraid, not because we are a people without hope. We gather this evening because we are a people of power. We are a people of hope. We are a people of promise. We gather this evening because we understand that there is power in prayer. We gather this evening because we understand that the prayers of God's people shall avail much. We gather this evening because we understand to be in community is fortifying. It is where we gain our strength. It is where we are renewed and is where we will say no. We gather this evening because we serve a God who can, who shall and who will do above all we ask or imagine. Beloved, my name is Reverend Dr. Audrey Price and I serve as the Executive Minister for Strategic Operations in the Southern New England Conference. And I share with you this word from our holy guidance, which is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, Psalm 28. To you, Lord, I call, you are my rock. Do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I would be like those who go down to the pit. Hear my cry for your mercy as I call to you for help. As I lift my hands toward the most holy place, do not drag me away with the wicked. With those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbors, but harbor malice in their hearts. Repay them for their deeds and for their evil work. Repay them for what their hands have done and bring back on them what they deserve. Because they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord and for God's hands and what God has done. Please be to God, for God has heard my cry, our cry for mercy. Beloved, the Lord is our strength and our shield. Our heart trusts in God and God helps us. God's word says that my heart leaps for joy and with my song I praise God. The Lord is the strength of God's people, a fortress of salvation for the anointed one. Save your people, O God. Bless your inheritance. Be our shepherd and carry us forever. It is in God's word that we rest. It is in God's arms that we are held. It is in God's power that we stand strong. Praise and peace to you, siblings in Christ. I am Reverend Liz Garrigan-Byerleave, the new area conference minister for the North Central region, which covers Central Association in Massachusetts and Wyndham Association in Connecticut. We gather this night in the light of Christ. I saw some of you post in the chat that you have already lit your Christ candle. If you at home have one near you, please grab it. If you've already put it away after the holidays, fear not. For the light of Christ shines and nothing can extinguish it. Come light of lights. Come to our divided nation. Come light of lights. We light this candle for lives lost last night and all the lives lost in the pandemics of this year. We light this light for the people who call Washington D.C. home. Come light of lights. We light this candle for our public servants. Come light of lights. We light this candle for all communities who have been targeted and traumatized continually. Come light of lights. We light this candle for the perpetrators. Come light of lights. We light this candle for our battered hopes and dreams. Come light of lights. We light this candle for our anxious and weary spirits. Come light of lights. We light this candle for our frightened children and our bewildered elders. Come light of lights. We light this candle for ourselves. Come light of lights. Come light of lights into our hearts. Come wisdom of spirits into our lives. Come holy one now and meet us in this time and place. Amen. Amen. Friends, I'd like to invite you to hold up your right hand and place it gently across your heart so that we can express a covenant with God as I pray. Let us pray. Dear God, storm clouds are hovering over America and we are experiencing thunder and lightning, bolts of lightning that shock the consciousness and spirit of our world. The clouds are soaked with tears of our ancestors whose spirits beg us to make the changes that they fought and died for us to experience. There is an invisible wrath that has declared war on our hopes, our faith, and our call to love one another, to love our neighbors as ourselves. It is more lethal than a viral pandemic and yet you call us to pray without ceasing. And so today we pray, merciful God, whose love is unconditional. We pray, oh God, that you would deliver us from evil. You would deliver us from hatred. Deliver us from fear, especially fear of one another. Deliver us, oh God, from injustices. Deliver us, oh God. We pray that you would shower us with your blessings. Give us everlasting peace. Listen us for the days ahead. Inspire us with your justice and with your healing and with your praise so that all that we do and all that we say and all that we are are for your glory. In our Savior's name we pray. Amen. Amen. Good evening, friend. So glad to be gathered with you together again one more time. I'm going to offer you just a little reflection song that hopefully draws you into a place that will walk you through the next day and hopefully the next few days and months as we see what's happening in the world around us. I step into the flow and then I let go. I open my mind, my heart and my soul. Oh, I surrender. I open my mind, my heart and my soul. I step into the flow and then I let go. I open my mind, my heart and my soul. Oh, I surrender. I open my mind, my heart and my soul. Oh, I surrender. I open my mind, my heart and my soul. Creator God, right now we are stepping into the flow. We're stepping into the flow of so many things happening around us that are outside of our control. We're stepping into the flow of news media reports and politicians of God and so many things moving again in a way that we can't manage right now in this moment or in this day. But God, there's a part of us that has enough awareness and humility that we want to let go. We want to let go and open our mind, open our heart and open our soul to what you want to do in us. How you want to transform us, how you want to renew us, how you want to strengthen us, how you want to stretch us. Stretch us, God, that we might surrender to you. Stretch us, God, that we might remain open to what you want to do in and on this earth in each and every one of us. Stretch us, God, that we might see neighbor like we've never seen before. Stretch us, God, that we might love like we've never loved before. Stretch us, God, that we might have hope that not only fills each and every one of our hearts, but fills the heart of every one we encounter. Oh, God, we surrender. We surrender to what you are doing even in this moment. We surrender, oh, God, that we know you're moving even if we may not understand every one of your steps. We surrender, God, because we know you are holding us. We surrender, God, because without you, we do not know the way forward. We surrender, God, because we trust that even in this moment of some confusion and doubt and worry, you are fashioning a plan for us, a plan for renewal, a plan for communion, a plan for community. As we step into this flow and we let go, we trust your speaking to us. We trust your caring for our brothers and our sisters and our siblings all over the world, those within our communion and those who are without, those who are doubtful that we are moving in this country in the right direction and those who are excited about what is to come, those who are afraid that they cannot walk out of their door and make it home safely, and those who do not even have an awareness that that's happening in the world around us for their sibling. Open us, God, open us, God, open us, God, that we may hear you like never before. We step into the flow and then we let go. We open our minds, our hearts and our souls. Oh, we surrender, we open our minds, our hearts and our souls, amen. Please join me in prayer. Oh, holy one, in this season of epiphany, when your love in Christ Jesus was made manifest to the world, we are mindful of the joy that that great gift brought to the world, but also mindful of the pain that came with that gift. We know that while many rejoiced at the presence of Jesus Christ, others did not, and that some who did not rejoice were so threatened by what was before them that they reacted with violence and anger, with hatred and with destruction, and much evil was done to the innocent. We come to you today in a time in our nation and truly in our world where there is much division, where hatred finds it easy to find its voice, and be heard, and where anger builds upon anger and seeks an object to relieve pain that might very well be within itself. We know that this is part of the human condition, but we know even more that it is a part of the human condition that you have come to redeem all of us from. So in this time, as our ancestors in body and our ancestors in faith did, when they had nowhere to turn but to you, we also turn to you, and we pray for our neighbors, we pray for those who have suffered centuries, century upon century of injustice and oppression, racism and violence and war and degradation. We pray for those who are without hope or don't know where to turn, and we pray for those who are genuinely earnestly seeking to follow you but are having a hard time finding the way to go or finding community in which they can find support and refuge, and we pray too for those who perpetrate violence that you will heal their hearts and that you will help your people, those who seek to follow you to be your presence in the world so that we can make a powerful witness in favor of the love and life that you have given us and work so earnestly to redeem. Bring us together as your people, regardless of all the ways we may differ and may our differences be brought together and be a source of strength for your people and for the world. Bring justice and may we be bringers of justice, bring healing and may we be bringers of healing, bring love, may we be bringers of love, bring comfort, may we be bringers of comfort and bring joy that we may be bringers of joy, joy we find in you and joy we find in one another and in ourselves. All this we pray in the name of Jesus Christ whose love is made manifest with the power of the Holy Spirit to you one God now and forever. And friends and companions in Christ, we wish to invite you now to lift your voice and share your prayers. We invite you to do that in the chat and I will read them out on behalf of the whole. We remind you to make sure that you have your settings set that you're sharing it with all the panelists so we can all see it. What prayers do you wish to add and amplify this night? For the homeless and the unhoused, for our country, God in your mercy, for those who have been misled with misinformation, God in your mercy, for courage to be compassion, for courage and compassion to be the light, God in your mercy, for the ill and the weary, God in your mercy, for those with food insecurities, God in your mercy, for a peaceful transition of power, God in your mercy, for our leaders, whoever they are, God in your mercy, for courageous leaders and for those who need courage, God in your mercy, for resilience, for democracy, God in your mercy, for those who are struggling in these difficult times, God in your mercy. For our pastors and our ministers, God in your mercy, for healing of hardness of heart in our world and in ourselves, God in your mercy, for all who are afraid and don't know where to turn in this time, God in your mercy, for the healing of creation, God in your mercy, for the women and children who live with abuse and feel overwhelmed and trapped, may they find God's strength, God in your mercy, for residents of DC who feel shaken down in their own hometown, God in your mercy, for our first responders, God in your mercy, for all who are struggling with loneliness in these days of COVID, God in your mercy, for hope, healing and unity, God in your mercy, for all who battle addiction, God in your mercy, for all those feeling overwhelmed and confused in this moment, God in your mercy, that our churches who have never taken a stand against white supremacy or racism, that they will feel the call of Christ and the courage to step out of their resistance and privilege, God in your mercy, for new leaders and renewed leaders in this moment, God in your mercy, for those who are alone and isolated for pastors trying to make sense of this for their congregations, God in your mercy, for our healthcare workers, for those who are grieving, for families torn apart by political differences amplified, God in your mercy, and gratitude for those with prophetic imagination to lead us, for racial equity, for new ways to connect with others and to show our love, God in your mercy, for those struggling with illness, for our children, for those who have lost their way, lead them back to you, oh God, in your mercy, for congregations tenderly ministering to those who hold diverse political ideas, for those who are unseen, unloved, ignored, God in your mercy, for the LGBTQ plus community, for this pandemic to end, for those who do not know how to pray, God in your mercy, for the families of the deceased and those who were injured in yesterday's violence, for resolve, resilience and resourcefulness, God in your mercy, for those who work for change that they may find strength and renewal in you, creator God, in your mercy, for our fear-filled children, for those seeking to build bridges of understanding, for all political leaders on both sides of the aisle, God in your mercy, for those struggling with anger and depression, for the un- or underemployed and for those who have lost purpose, God in your mercy, for those who have no one to pray for them, for the marginalized who long for justice and equality, God in your mercy, for all those struggling with mental issues, for those who are incarcerated, God in your mercy, for our longing for hope, God in your mercy, light of lights, come to our divided nation with your steadfast love and reform and transform our division. Light of lights, come to the lives lost last night and throughout these pandemics with your hope and grant them and us new life. Light of lights, come to the people of DC and with your comfort, grant them a sense of security. Come light of lights to your public servants with your strength, buoy them for their commitment to the common good. Come light of lights to those who have been traumatized and marginalized, come and heal them and restore them to wholeness. Come light of lights to the perpetrators. Come with your refining fire and redeem them. Come light of lights to our anxious and weary hearts. Come your companionship and renew us. Come light of lights to our battered hopes and dreams and with your grace rekindle our imaginations. Come light of lights, come to our frightened children and our bewildered elders and with your peace, grant them assurance. Come light of lights, come to us. Each and every one of us gathered this night and each and every one that we bring within us and our hearts and with your mercy, nurse our spirits and guide our steps into your paths of righteousness. Come light of lights, wisdom of wisdom. Amen. My siblings in Christ, beloved community. While the crucifixion and Good Friday is a part of our story, we are a resurrected and an Easter Sunday people. While we have seen some dark days, I am encouraged and I know because I know the end of the story. Hope and promise, joy and peace is who we are and what we claim and what we hold on to. So I lift this scripture for you before I pray. I return to something that has held me and reminded me of me being a person of resurrection. Romans eight, ask us the question tonight. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? And then I believe last night, there were people who dare to say that it is written for your sake, we are being killed all day long and we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered. But they didn't recognize that we are resurrected people and that we stand up today and say no in all things we are more than conquerors through Christ who loves us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor insurrection, nor resistance, nor writers, nor height, nor death, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that's in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let us pray. My God, we thank you for being a resurrected people. God, we thank you for the promise that you would never leave or nor forsake us. God, we thank you for there is nothing here on earth that can separate us from your love. God, we thank you that the battle is not ours but it is yours and God, we thank you for we know that the battle has already been won. God, we thank you that even though weeping may endure for a night but God joy does come in the morning. And not only does joy come in the morning but new mercies are afresh within us and for us. And so God, we rise up now in power and in strength knowing God that we cannot be held down. We of your people cannot be denied. Your love cannot be overcome with hate. Your light cannot be quenched with darkness. Your joy cannot be quenched with sorrow. So God, we derrily already say thank you for what you have done, for what you will do for the way that you have made. So now God, we drop down any burden, any anxiety, any fear that seeks to try to get us to believe that we are not victorious, that we cannot overcome this moment, that we are not a people or joy and of hope. God, we are the leaders of your light. We are the carriers of your word. We are the visionaries, we are the luminaries. God be before us. God be with us. God strengthen us. God, we thank you. Cause we know now with you all things are possible and we are prepared to do above all that one has even imagined. So we are now saying hallelujah for the victory is ours and Jesus' name we pray, amen. I pray that you have been blessed in this gathering tonight. I pray that your soul has been lifted. Reverend Dr. Price, you just took us to church and I think we are all leaving the more blessed and the more renewed. I just wanna thank everyone who's been a part of this and end with me with the prayer that I will put in the chat one more time. It's from St. Ignatius, the Susape prayer. And it's in the chat and just take a moment and say the words with me wherever you are. Take, Lord, receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my entire will. All I have and call my own. You have given all to me to you, Lord. I return it, everything is yours. Do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace. That is enough for me. Amen. Amen. Beloved, be well.