By THE REV. MARY GLOVER

 Let us pray to our Creator:

Every day, but on this day especially, we ask your blessing on all fathers:

For those whose hair is curly, buzzed, blonde, red, black or brown

For those whose hair has greyed, thinned out, or even disappeared

For those standing tall as a tree and those barely taller than me

For those who could joke and giggle and laugh out loud

And for those too serious or stern to think our “knock-knock” jokes funny

For those who banished the monsters under the bed and in the closet

  before wishing us “sweet dreams” with a kiss on the forehead

And for those whose own shouts were too loud, too scary, and too often

For those who could pitch a baseball, play hoops, or just hide-n-seek

And for those who worked too long, skipped meals at home, forgot our birthdays

For those whose wisdom was strong and kind and lasting, grounded in love

And for those who had given up, lost drive and hope,

  and lost sight that just being there might be more than enough

For those who died young and those who have grown old before our eyes

For those we can talk to today and for those we greet only in memory

For all the fathers, who passed on to us your divine gift of life.

May we remember them – with forgiveness when needed,

with compassion always, and with the mystery of love that runs in and through our being.

May your blessing, O God, surround us all, especially the fathers,

and draw us together, with common purpose and passion, into one family,

One beloved community.

Amen.

The Rev. Mary Glover is rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church