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https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d7ab9b88ffd73d5f605226852b474774.pdf
ba1288a3b4fe922a64fdf81b36903e67
PDF Text
Text
Rotary Prayer
Richard A. Rhem
Rotary Club
Spring Lake, Michigan
July 28, 2008
Prepared text of the prayer
O God, Infinite Mystery of our lives,
called by many names
as the human family bows in awe and wonder
before the beauty and terror of creation,
the miracle of the human being,
and the possibilities of human community –
We seek your Spirit’s grace upon us
as we celebrate the fifty years
of this local Rotary Club and
that global community of which it is a part.
Memories flash through our minds
as we reflect back over five decades
of good friendships, camaraderie, and
significant service to this community and beyond.
We give thanks for that history
into which we have moved to claim our place
and keep the vision alive –
a noble vision of
fostering world understanding, goodwill and peace;
supporting the improvement of health and education;
joining the movements to alleviate poverty and human suffering;
working for the building of world community.
Grace us with your presence, O God,
as we celebrate,
even as we remember those
whose service has ended,
whose presence we miss,
whose labor is complete.
Bless those who have taken the torch of leadership
to bring the Spring Lake Club to
new dimensions of dedicated service.
© Grand Valley State University
�Rotary Prayer
Richard A. Rhem
And bless us all gathered at table
with abundant food and drink
for which we give thanks.
Amen
© Grand Valley State University
Page 2
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Richard A. Rhem Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Clergy--Michigan
Reformed Church in America
Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.)
Religion
Interfaith worship
Sermons
Sound Recordings
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Rhem, Richard A.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Kaufman Interfaith Institute
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Sound
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
KII-01
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1981-2014
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
audio/mp3
text/pdf
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Event
50-year celebration
Location
The location of the interview
Spring Lake Rotary Club
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
RA-1-20080728
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Title
A name given to the resource
Rotary Prayer
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Richard A. Rhem
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Description
An account of the resource
Prayer created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 28, 2008 entitled "Rotary Prayer", on the occasion of 50-year celebration, at Spring Lake Rotary Club. Tags: Rotary, prayer, 2008.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2008-07-28
2008
Prayer
Rotary
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0bfd7a47cd7327de5d45d7858afbe97c.pdf
b697ce142129478a0e84b01defcf54a9
PDF Text
Text
Prayer for Picnic Gathering
At Pottawattomie Park
Richard A. Rhem
July 23, 2008
Prepared text of prayer
Let us be in the spirit of prayer.
Eternal Spirit, in these moments we would be attentive –
attentive to that recognition
that there is so much more to life than meets the eye.
In this information saturated world
there is more than all the pieces of information
we pick up in a day or a week.
We value knowledge;
yet there is more than knowledge –
There is –
the intuitive sense
that life is more than a tale
told by an idiot full of sound and fury –
There is –
the wisdom of the heart
that moves us
beneath the surface of life,
beyond mere happenings and events
to the creative center of being from whence
stream Nature’s prodigal profusion
of emerging structures and of life,
of consciousness and awareness,
so much more than simply the overload of data.
There is –
meaning
which we discover and create –
the Grace that affirms and frees us…
the Love that frees us from self preoccupation
and self absorption…
the Care that bonds us in community.
Let us be mindful
of the grace of life that has come to us,
for this place of natural beauty
© Grand Valley State University
�Picnic Prayer
Richard A. Rhem
let us be grateful…
O God, receive our thanksgiving –
for leisure time
in which to relax, to enjoy
sun and surf and sand and solitude;
for family reunions
that bring back memories of childhood and youth,
of grandparents and cousins and uncles and aunts;
for a sense of roots and rootedness,
places to revisit and times to remember;
for the interruptions
of our well-laid plans that have led
to experiences we would not have dared to dream;
and for the detours
along life’s way that have led us into byways of beauty
we would never have known;
for hope
that rises in the wake of every setback
giving us courage to go on
in the confidence that there is always something more;
for that strange peace
that no storm can shake, no raging billow wash away,
a peace that passes all human understanding;
for the grace of life and all good gifts,
we are truly grateful.
Let us be mindful of our world –
Our world is smoldering;
fires burn in streets;
anger seethes in the cauldron of human hearts,
disaffected, alienated, disillusioned.
What pain drives to anarchy,
dissipating youthful idealism and hope?
Before the world’s chaos, pain and anguish,
Give us the wisdom
to be silent before we speak;
to identify with and immerse ourselves
before we offer remedies
too easy, too facile, too self-serving.
Give us insight and sensitivity
to discern
© Grand Valley State University
Page 2
�Picnic Prayer
Richard A. Rhem
that ominous thunder of the shaking of the foundations;
to recognize
the recurrent corruptions of power
that we see all around us.
Enable us to see beneath the skin of the world
its heaving passion,
its loveliness and its horror –
a world
that is a ridiculous mixture of good and evil,
of beautiful tenderness
and unspeakable brutality;
a world
where flowers bloom on manure heaps,
and deadly cancer grows on a beautiful, young body;
a world
under the dominion of death,
natural, yet often so unexpected, so violent, so absurd!
O God,
This is the real world, the only world we have
with its dreams of Eden
and its portents of Armageddon.
Renew our vision, give us courage,
restore hope, heal our world with us,
who are the highly favored,
leading the way to peace, justice and compassion,
to realize the vision of the one we follow,
Jesus, our Lord –
O Lord, hear our prayer.
© Grand Valley State University
Page 3
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Richard A. Rhem Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Clergy--Michigan
Reformed Church in America
Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.)
Religion
Interfaith worship
Sermons
Sound Recordings
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Rhem, Richard A.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Kaufman Interfaith Institute
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Sound
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
KII-01
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1981-2014
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
audio/mp3
text/pdf
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Event
Sunday Potluck Picnic
Location
The location of the interview
Pottawattomie Park
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
RA-1-20080723
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Title
A name given to the resource
Picnic Prayer
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Richard A. Rhem
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Description
An account of the resource
Prayer created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 23, 2008 entitled "Picnic Prayer", on the occasion of Sunday Potluck Picnic, at Pottawattomie Park . Tags: 2008, prayer.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2008-07-23
2008
Prayer