WELCOME TO CHAPEL

Sunday, July 6
I’m headed to Montana next week and I’m going to find this chapel. I’m pretty sure I’ve passed it a few times. It’s on the way to Yellowstone.

A short call to presence:

Freedom is the strength to walk your own path, the clarity to speak your truth, and the grace to honor others. It lives in courage, compassion, and the daily choice to live with authenticity on the sacred journey of the soul.

Eva Cassidy had one of the most stunningly perfect singing voices ever. She died young, in 1996, at 33. Such a loss.

Prayers today go to travelers. Go safe, have fun, get home in one piece.
Congrats to Sam and Mišel who got engaged on Thursday!
Love to our elderly neighbors, navigating life with challenges and limitations.
To friends dealing with cancer or any other disease or diagnosis.

For all who are on the path of discernment, trying to figure life out.
To anyone living in fear.

Prayers of hope for better days for all of us unsure about what is to come.
Gratitude to Mother Earth for the abundance of garden season: lettuce, berries, radishes, herbs, flowers. Every day a new surprise.
For our canine and feline companions and everyone who rescues a discarded animal.

For patience, fortitude and grace.
Much love to all.

Source of light, steady our hearts as we move into a new week. We hope to feel the peace of acceptance and the fury of rejection in the face of injustice. Inspire us to act, fill us with grace and lead us, endlessly, home. Amen.

Benediction
We close today knowing that true freedom resides within.
It is the power to shape your life with intention

Please choose to use that power
to generate delight, satisfaction, and change within yourself and the world. Amen.

Thank you to those who have supported the creation of Chapel. If you wish you can do so @MAnn-OBrien (Venmo). Have a beautiful day and take good care of each other. xomo

Saturday, June 28

Welcome to a tiny chapel at Middleton Place in Summerville, South Carolina. Built as a springhouse, the second floor was converted into a small chapel for the slaves living on the plantation in 1850.

Center yourself this morning with one of my all-time favorites: Peace Piece by Bill Evans.

Spirit of Life, Source of all love and light,
We pray for peace.
Not only the absence of war, but the presence of justice.
Not only calm in our minds, but healing in our communities.

May peace fill the hearts of leaders and the homes of the displaced.
May peace take root in places torn by violence, and in lives shaped by fear.

Let us be peace in our speaking, gentleness in our actions, and steadiness in our courage.
May we remember that we are one human family, and that no one is free until all are free.
May our lives be sanctuaries of peace.
Amen. Blessed be. Let it be so.

Prayers today for all those in the conditions of war. Children, elders. Prayers that wisdom will prevail.
Prayers for anyone worried about anything.
People traveling.
Peace of mind for those who are anxious.
Prayers for kids who are hungry or neglected in the summertime.
Prayers of gratitude for all we have. May we use it wisely.

Prayers for whatever you are carrying in your heart.

Peace fill your heart.
Peace guide your steps.
Carry it with you, share it freely.
Be peace. Amen.

Thanks for joining Chapel today. And thanks for supporting Chapel: Venmo @MAnn-OBrien
xo, mo

Saturday, June 14

Imagine sitting in this sweet little chapel on the tiny island of Mustique. Fresh air and sunshine, bamboo construction. Simple, simple, simple.

Today I’m combining our opening blessing and music by sharing this gorgeous version of Schubert’s Im Abendrot, D.799m, with translation.

Oh how beautiful is your world,
when she shines with golden beams.
When your gaze descends and paints the dust
with a shimmering glow.
Could I complain?
Could I be apprehensive?
Could I lose faith in you
and in myself?
No, I will carry in my breast
Your heavens
for all time.
And this heart
before it breaks down
shall drink in the glow
and light.

Prayers this week for
friends in treatment for cancer and other physical and emotional challenges.
Anyone traveling these summer days.
Those living in isolation and anyone missing someone who is no longer here.

Gratitude as we move toward the summer solstice.
Thanks for friends who are helpful.
Blessings for those getting married this summer.
Gratitude for the beautiful world around us. Take time to notice the butterflies, the ripening strawberries and the fireflies.

Benediction:
Enjoy the warmth of summer.
Let the sun remind you of our shared energy,
and find joy in the simple, sacred moments.
Go in peace, and bring peace with you. Amen.

Thank you for joining Chapel. We are creating a community of spiritual seekers, online and in the world. Soul Circles and other events can be found HERE. Thank you for your generosity as we build and expand. Donations gratefully accepted via Venmo @MAnn-OBrien. 🙏

Saturday, June 7

Today’s Chapel is brought to you by another of my favorite chapels: this one on Mt. Mansfield in Stowe, Vermont. There’s something about mountains and chapels! I used to volunteer here, and we could ski up to this gorgeous stone building, take skis or snowboard off, go inside and have a short, sweet service, then get back on the slopes. I absolutely love this place.

A Blessing for Your Innate Gifts

May the gifts that live quietly within you
be met with kindness and brought into the light.
May your hands remember what they were made to shape,
your voice recall the wisdom it carries,
and your heart trust the strength it has always held.

Be patient with your unfolding,
brave in your becoming,
and generous with the gifts that are yours alone to give.

And may you know, in a timing that is yours alone,
how deeply you are needed by this world.

Amen.

New to us and beloved around here: Berlioz, house jazz, described as if Matisse made music. Something Will Happen …. something will be learned.

Ruminations today on living the life of a holy fool and accumulating embodied wisdom along the way.

Prayers for …
the wildfires to end. Wars to end. Children to be safe.
For our elderly parents and other relatives, may they know they matter.
For young people confused about their future.
Anyone with a difficult diagnosis, anyone facing surgery and recovery.

Prayers for the joyful summer gatherings: weddings where love reigns true, graduations and backyard bbqs.
For children who will be hungry this summer because they are not in school. For parents kids and jobs.
For travelers, be safe …

May the prayers we offer, spoken or silent,
travel gently on the breath of Spirit.
May they find their way to those in need,
bringing comfort, strength, and peace.
May love be the thread that carries them,
and grace the answer that returns. Amen.

A Benediction for a Summer Day

As a summer day fades to evening, and the light grows golden,
feel peace settle gently around you.
Let the hush of dusk quiet your thoughts,
and the flicker of fireflies remind you
that even the smallest light can brighten the dark. Amen.

Soak in the sweetness of the full Strawberry Moon this week! 🍓🌕

Have a beautiful week. xomo
Thank you for contributing to Chapel.

Saturday, May 31

This is one of my favorite chapels on the planet. It sits at the base of what used to be called Squaw Valley in California. It was built in 1959 as a non-denominational place of worship for athletes and visitors attending the 1960 Winter Olympic Games. The chapel is known for its innovative hyperbolic-paraboloid roof design, which resembles a Pringles potato chip and is very good at carrying heavy snow loads. It’s really cool place, be sure and visit it if you’re ever in the Lake Tahoe area.

A Blessing For This Gorgeous World

We gather today as people who live in a world that is alive

with rivers that move, trees that stand,

soil that holds history, and wind that carries change.

We come from different places, but here we meet.

Let this time be shaped by attentiveness:

to the land around us,

to the people beside us,

and to whatever is unfolding within.

As the earth turns and the seasons shift,

may we find our place, rooted, steady, and willing to grow.

Welcome.

Close your eyes and feel this one …

Prayers for …

Kids who are graduating, anyone who is sick or worried about someone who is sick. Anyone facing a diagnosis or recovering from surgery.
We send prayers to our planet for resilience and to our pets for their bottomless well of love.
For the healing of brokenness in our lives.
For strength and courage for all those trying to break an addiction.
We pray to know when and how to show up.
We pray that we can be humble enough to receive help when it’s our time.

{Name your own}
For the people and situations we hold in our hearts,
may the light of the Creator reach them.
May love find a way.
May hope take root.
May we trust that even at a distance, our prayers matter. Amen.

A brief reflection on the habits we make and break and our connectivity to the natural world.

A benediction
Whatever it is you are trying to achieve today …
You are not alone.
Peace to your mind, courage to your heart, and light on the path ahead. Amen.

Have a beautiful week everyone. xo, mo

Saturday, May 24

The first time I laid eyes on this wooden chapel in the woods in Germany, designed by architect John Pawson, I could barely breathe. Obviously it’s too narrow to fit a group of people, but there’s something about it that touches my soul. I dream of building a space like this, made from natural materials, nestled in the woods, where we can be quiet together. Settle into our human condition and see what there is to learn. In the meantime, in this liminal space, when I have left church life and am working on some important projects, we’ll gather here each week. Welcome friends!

A Blessing for What Is

May you meet each moment as it comes,

without needing it to be anything other than what it is.

The easy ones, may you savor them.

The hard ones, breathe through them.

May you feel the quiet presence of the Creator,

walking beside you, in the ordinary and the unexpected.

May you find peace not by controlling the world,

but by making space for it as it is:

messy, beautiful, unfinished.

And may you be kind to yourself

as you make your way.

So may it be.

The wonderful band called Darlingside, a group of guys who went to Williams College together, sing this gorgeous song, The God of Loss.
They’re playing at Café Lena in Saratoga on August 9.

Prayers for …
everyone traveling, for anyone facing medical issues, scary diagnoses. Prayers for all those trying to solve big problems.
Prayers of gratitude for everyone who shows up in our lives, willing to help. Prayers for clarity in knowing where we are needed.
Prayers for peace in the world. Always, for peace.
{Add your own}

For the people and situations we hold in our hearts,
may the light of the Creator reach them.
May love find a way.
May hope take root.
May we trust that even at a distance, our prayers matter. Amen.

A brief message on the power we have to control our responses to life circumstances and why Creator needs us to work on this.

In closing, know that you are held in infinite love. Know that your life has purpose and meaning. Find something to delight yourself today. And please take good care of each other. xo, mo

Please consider volunteering for the Bart Adaptive Sports program this summer. The commitment is minimal. We are doing biking and hiking on Tuesdays and Fridays, with morning and afternoon sessions at the Manchester Rec Park. Sign up to volunteer HERE.

A Chapel donation is greatly appreciated - Venmo @MAnn-OBrien. Thank you!