Prayer for Welcome

By revjudegeiger

Spirit of Life, God of Many Names, Mother of Welcome,

Instill in us a sense of curiosity for the new,

for the stranger,

for what difference may come our way.

Open our hearts to diversity,

so that our comfort and our loves

may fall upon the whole expression of our varied humanity.

May the spirit of newness so too lift up our vision,

so that we come with open eyes and open mind,

to those who are familiar to us;

to the sameness we face every day,

in work or in school.

Teach us not to box in the people that we share our every-days with.

May we allow the well-know friend to grow and to change,

and may we be welcome, when the time comes, to shirk off our old coats,

and put on new ways and manners and habits and passions.

We are every growing, ever changing, ever learning souls.

If Love is the spirit of this house,

may it guide our minds to more open places when we have fallen for the trap

of knowing how things are, or must be – simply because that’s how they were.

In every new moment, we are gifted with the opportunity to welcome the new,

to welcome the stranger.

Sometime that new stranger is not a person, or a place, but the next moment.

May we be worthy hosts.