We have been shattered into pieces
divisive patter has demeaned us
Let’s commit to redeem peace around us.
In this room
In this city,
Let our faith bloom in the gritty places
Among all creeds and races.
Let our Rotary service
shine to all who observe us.
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For free use within Rotary. Please give acknowledge Shawn Bird of Shuswap Rotary as the author when you present the invocation. Please also leave a message for her in the comments so others know where and when this invocation has been used.
At this difficult season
When opinions impale reason
May we not divide
but warmly abide
within a strong fellowship
built on relationships
of respectful courtesy
as we serve our community.
May we rise as *votary
to the service of Rotary.
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*vocabulary- a ‘votary’ is a devoted adherent.
For free use within Rotary. Please credit Shawn Bird of Shuswap Rotary, District 5060 with authorship when you present the invocation at your club, and please leave a comment below so Rotarians know when and where it’s been used. Thank you.
In times of fear and panic,
Let us be a force of calm.
Let those who are trembling,
find us safe to lean upon.
May we be the voice of reason.
May we comfort the oppressed.
May we show our compassion
to those who’re most distressed.
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Free for use in Rotary Clubs. Please credit Shawn Bird of Shuswap Rotary (5060 BC Canada) when you use it, and leave a note in the comments below so folks know where it’s been used. Thanks.
A Rotary Invocation poem:
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Service happens in laughter and friendship.
Service happens in quiet conviction.
Service happens with firm intention.
Service happens in growing kinship
to all humanity in attention.
to Service Above Self.
A poem created as part of my grad school Poetic Diversity Project:
Where I grew up
all the faces were variations of my own
Snow White, Cinderella,
assorted Prince Charmings
interchangeable
My experiences with other cultures were
Princess Tiger Lily, Little Black Sambo,
Emperor’s Nightingale.
But somehow I knew the world was bigger
and I wanted to wrap my tongue
around other languages
entwine new vowels
between rhythmic syllables and
see inside minds that
offered something
more.
Offered something
more.
Offered something
not better
not worse
just different
Because different is worth noticing
because different means to the same end
speak to a journey with different views
a different beauty
a different way
of being human,
offers something
more.
Small voices
fill the sky with
red and white laughter
and waving maple leaves.
Most ferns unfold their fronds
beneath the trees in shady glades.
Along the winding roads
in the Olympic peninsula
ferns view a new perspective,
rooting into the moss
that wraps and drapes the trees.
Instead of remaining on forest floor the fern explore
the sights and sounds high above ground
the wind blown coast
the ocean salt.
Some ferns take advantage of a willing host
to see more of the world.
Their lives may be shorter
and less spread out,
but their perspective is expansive
without a doubt.
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I was astounded to see what I’d call a Boston fern growing all along the roads, from the mossy trunks of all sorts of trees between Forks and Port Angeles* in Washington State. Huge ones were beneath the trees on the shady side of the road, but on the west side of the road, where the moss was thickest on the trees, the same ferns were growing from out of the moss all the way up the trunks. I didn’t see huge established ferns, just single fronds unfurled on the trees, but dozens on each tree. It kind of reminded me of being an exchange student, taking root in a new location, and seeing the world from a different view. 🙂
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*This is the road that Edward Cullen takes at ridiculous speeds in his Volvo in the Twilight books. Personally, I don’t think even someone with supernatural powers should be driving faster than 60 miles/hr on that road! 😉
Duplicate post (also on rotaryinvocations.wordpress.com) Tonight my little Rotary Club held our annual auction. With the support of very generous guests, we raised over $37,000 for our projects. We are a small but very active club. Two of our members regularly travel to Africa to a school where we sponsor 200 school lunches, some members sponsor tuition, and we help them with other projects, like a computer lab, and a water tower. One of our members takes a dental team to the mountains of Ecuador. We donate funds to vaccinate 20 children against polio every week. Closer to home we have many community projects. Here is the non-sectarian invocation that I presented tonight:
Margaret Mead said,
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Let us be thankful for the small group of committed people who, with your help tonight, are changing the world
one lunch,
One polio vaccination
One dental filling
One community project at a time.
Let us be thankful for the opportunity to gather together for a good meal with good friends.
Let us be thankful.
http://www.polioeradication.org/Dataandmonitoring/Poliothisweek.aspx
Wow. From a thousand cases a DAY when Rotary started the campaign to eradicate polio back in 1985 to only 134 cases so far in ALL of 2012!!
Yay Rotary and partners! We’re THIS CLOSE to ending polio!
Skies bluer than sapphires
Sun glowing, turned the world into High Definition.
Birds calling, trilling, chirping, clicking, singing
Swooping, sailing on a sky sea
Warm breeze a caress,
blowing sultry scents into nostrils.
Barbeque sauce tangoing on the tongue.
With friends, in fellowship,
we celebrate service above ourselves.
There is a lot to be thankful for in June.
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June is Rotary Fellowships month. Fellowships are Rotarians who share a passion, like chess, travel, puzzles, etc.
Shawn L. Bird 