These are the words that we use at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Gwinnett four times a year in our Service of Compassionate Presence. You might want to draw up a small bowl of water and have a hand towel nearby, and read these words aloud. At the end, for the nine waves dip your hands in for each of the blessings.
Water embodies the great ocean of who we are.
Water surrounds us as we are formed in our mothers’ wombs.
Water is a part of everything that we eat to grow and nourish out bodies.
Water makes up most of what we call our bodies.
Water forms in our eyes when we feel deep feelings and often when we try to express them.
Water falls on the earth and nourishes it and us and all sentient beings.
Water is a giver of life, a sustainer, and a destroyer. We go to it daily to wash away that which no longer serves our living..
And so today, we come to water, we call on water, we make use of water to help us sanctify this space for our sacred work, to help us feel deeply into our hearts, to help us join together as one community, to express our deepest feelings, to nourish our lives, as they are, today. Let us continue to ask Water’s help in creating a safe and supportive container for this circle of beautiful souls that we are. We do not know what is held in the hearts and minds of those gathered here this morning. But we can imagine some of the very human hurts and wounds that may be present among us.
A small wave for those among us who hold grief.
A small wave for those who hold uncertainty.
A small wave for those who hold shame.
A small wave for those who hold pain.
A small wave for those who hold sorrow.
A small wave for those who hold fear.
A small wave for those who hold illness.
A small wave for those who hold fatigue.
A small wave for those who hold dis-ease that is unspoken or unnamed.
Nine waves of grace upon us all, waves from the source of life.
Bob Patrick
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