Barb Coulter | May 5, 2026 

Your Vestry takes turns offering a prayer to open and close each meeting. It was my turn last month, and I offer this
meditation I based on my favorite collect in the Book of Common Prayer. I invite you to read and reflect slowly through each phrase.

“O Lord, support us all the day long, until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed and the fever of life is over and our work is done. Then in your mercy grant us a safe lodging and a holy rest, and peace at the last. Amen” (BCP 833).

O LORD, SUPPORT US ALL THE DAY LONG…

Do we sense this, is it in our conscious flow? Do we wake up each morning and think “okay, God’s got my back today”? Does it help us feel confident as we go about our day? Do we realize the constancy of this support or does it only occur to us when we need it?

UNTIL THE SHADOWS LENGTHEN AND THE EVENING COMES…

I love the evening hymn “The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, is Ended” and I wonder if we appreciate having been given another day. Each one seems to fly by, so is evening when we wind down, relax, contemplate, maybe review the day–or do we just collapse into bed?

AND THE BUSY WORLD IS HUSHED…

What is it to be hushed? It’s different than being shushed; is it to be calm or peaceful? Most of us live at a pretty fast pace; busy, busy, busy; our world can seem to be in a whirlwind. Do we ever settle? How does God put the brakes on us?

AND THE FEVER OF LIFE IS OVER…

We’ve all experienced a fever and know the body aches and other discomforts. We just want it over with so we can get going again. Is the fever of life similar, is it also when there are aches or distress or confusion? Jesus cured Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever and she was healed and set off on
a mission. When our various sorts of fevers end and we are healed, what missions do we set off to do?

AND OUR WORK IS DONE…

What is our work? Is it something put upon us and perhaps laborious or do we seek that which we can enjoy and do happily? Do we understand what work we’re to do and how to prepare for it? How do we know when our work is finished, or is it ever done?

THEN IN YOUR MERCY…

I like to think of God’s mercy as a mulligan. For you non-golfers, it’s a do-over. If you have a bad drive on the golf course, a mulligan lets you try again to do better. Is mercy perhaps God’s mulligan to us, putting whatever went wrong behind us and letting us move on?

GRANT US A SAFE LODGING…

Safe might also imply security, and not just lodging in our homes, but wherever we find ourselves to be, where we feel protected, or watched over. What are some things we wish to be safe from, and where are our safe lodges or places?

AND A HOLY REST…

What makes rest holy? It needn’t be simply getting a good night’s sleep. Perhaps it’s a time set apart from labor to focus on our spiritual well-being, or to even just slow down and take a deep breath. There is a beautiful choral piece titled “O rest in the Lord”’. Do we allow ourselves time to do
that? 

AND PEACE AT THE LAST… 

It often refers to our death, and we say “oh, that we all might have this”, but it can also suggest a state of tranquility or comfort, perhaps a letting go so that there’s a conclusion to some difficulty or struggle we’ve found ourselves in. What are some things we could let go of that might bring us peace?

Wishing us all peace and blessings,

Barb Coulter