“O God of life, this night, darken not to me Your light.
O God of life, this night, close not Your gladness to my sight.
Keep Your people, Lord, in the arms of Your embrace.
Shelter them under Your wings.
Be their light in darkness.
Be their light in distress.
Be their calm in anxiety.
Be strength in their weakness.
Be their comfort in pain.
Be their song in the night.
In peace I will lie down, for it is You, O Lord, You alone who makes me to rest secure.”
~ Ita’s Compline, 4th century
Frost comes early to this corner of the world; most folks with gardens feel fortunate if they are able to keep things going much into September without a hard frost. When I have my wits about me, by the first week in October I’m putting the garden “to bed” for the winter. It’s a favorite way to spend a crisp sunny morning—stalks and roots pulled, the last of the ready compost turned into the soil, and a thick layer of shredded leaves on top if it all.
There are chapters in my life where, at least in hindsight, I see I’m like the garden in the fall, before it’s covered with a thick layer of snow. Quiet and gray. Waiting. Active sure, but the activity is all below the surface, out of sight. Waiting. Preparing to walk the Path. The waiting is palatable. It’s dark and I rest in the arms of my Teacher, secure.
Requests
O God of life, this night, close not Your gladness to my sight.
Keep Your people, Lord, in the arms of Your embrace.
Shelter them under Your wings.
Be their light in darkness.
Be their light in distress.
Be their calm in anxiety.
Be strength in their weakness.
Be their comfort in pain.
Be their song in the night.
In peace I will lie down, for it is You, O Lord, You alone who makes me to rest secure.”
~ Ita’s Compline, 4th century
Frost comes early to this corner of the world; most folks with gardens feel fortunate if they are able to keep things going much into September without a hard frost. When I have my wits about me, by the first week in October I’m putting the garden “to bed” for the winter. It’s a favorite way to spend a crisp sunny morning—stalks and roots pulled, the last of the ready compost turned into the soil, and a thick layer of shredded leaves on top if it all.
There are chapters in my life where, at least in hindsight, I see I’m like the garden in the fall, before it’s covered with a thick layer of snow. Quiet and gray. Waiting. Active sure, but the activity is all below the surface, out of sight. Waiting. Preparing to walk the Path. The waiting is palatable. It’s dark and I rest in the arms of my Teacher, secure.
Requests
- Pray for all the Kenyan secondary school students who are currently sitting for their Form IV exam.
- Pray for the Lugulu Hospital Board as it meets November 11.
- Give thanks for the volunteers who are currently serving among FUM’s ministries in Kenya, including Hannah, Stephanie, Jan, and Konrad. Pray for those who are preparing to travel in Christian service in the coming weeks.
- Praise God for the way He touches so many people with a desire to work alongside Friends from different cultures.
- The husband of Nellie Malloy, from Jamaica, passed away on Saturday. The services will be November 12. He will be buried at Cascade. Nelly is a member of the FUM General Board and USFWI.
- It’s with deep sorrow to break the sad news of the demise of Priscilla Makhino, who passed October 31 at Moi Referral Hospital in Eldoret. Priscilla was the founder and official member of Msamaria Mwema project of Elgon East Yearly Meeting. She was a prime mover and an advocate of gender reform (women’s empowerment) within the Quaker Church in Kenya as a whole, but above all, a mother in-law to Oliver Kisaka. Let us remember to hold the family in prayer.
- Pray for our friends who are undergoing cancer treatment, for those grieving the loss of loved ones, and for travel mercies for those going near or far. Praises for new life, the changing seasons, and the ability to see God in all things.
- Pray with CPT for the Algonquins of Barriere Lake, who are being denied their rights under a resource-sharing agreement signed by the Canadian and Quebec governments. They may be pushed into a costly legal battle to get their rights recognized.
