The Diocese recently hired a new Canon for Lay and Clergy Formation, the Rev. Tanya Wallace, who will have a dual role. She will help shepherd the people who have been nominated for Holy Orders through the ordination process. And she will also support the spiritual formation of everyone in the Diocese − helping all of us to go deeper in our lives of faith.
Canon Wallace will officially begin her call in January, but she recently met with some of the folks who will be ordained. She offered them a blessing drawn from a lovely prayer from John O’Donahue’s To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings. I think it is a wonderful prayer for us all − enjoy!
May the Angels in their beauty bless you.
May they turn toward you streams of blessing.
May the Angel of Awakening stir your heart
To come alive to the eternal within you,
To all the invitations that quietly surround you.
May the Angel of Healing turn your wounds
Into sources of refreshment.
May the Angel of Compassion open your eyes
To the unseen suffering around you.
May the Angel of Justice disturb you
To take the side of the poor and the wronged.
May the Angel of Encouragement confirm you
In worth and self-respect,
That you may live with the dignity
That presides in your soul.
May all the Angels be your sheltering
And joyful guardians. Today and forever.
Amen.
