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LREDA and UUMA Colleagues may use this video for worship, etc. free of charge. Please be sure to use my correct pronouns – they/them – when giving attribution. Click here to support my work.

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“This I Know” – A Blessing for the Ministries of the Rev. Misha Dawn Sanders and Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Written by HP Rivers (they/them), 2022

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I have known everything – 
That Pluto is a planet,
That the world is safe,
That time is gentle
And kind –
That all is well.
I have been wrong
More than I have been 
Right, but
This, I know
Is true:

Whoever you are,
Wherever you come from,
Whatever you believe – 
Somewhere
There is a table
With a seat saved
Especially for you.

And there,
Hope is served.

Great Love of
Many Names,
I may not feel
Especially qualified
To be the one heaping
Hope into hungry hearts –
But here we are

And what I know
Is I have had enough
Hope
Pressed into my palm,
Like a lucky stone,
To make me believe
There’s a reason
To keep going –

At least, on

Most days.

Godde,
Let me be a peddler of hope,
A connoisseur of joy,
Sommelier of silver linings

And on the days
I don’t believe
A goddamn word that I say,
Let me remember in my bones, that 
It is my time
To be served,
And let me drink deeply
From the rivers of hope
That fill my cup – 

This I know, 
My cup will never go empty,
My tablemates will not allow it – 
And soon, I will again
Fill theirs.

This I know:
We will never thirst
When we are
Together, and 
Hope has plenty of hiding spots – 

But she is always near.

Beloved,
May we always keep seeking
Always keep striving
Always remember
We have a seat of honor
At the table
Where Hope is
Served.

Blessed Be