Fifth Sunday of Lent – Cycle B
WAITING
March 17, 2024
We Pray for Others Mike
Opening Song Marie
It Is Well with My Soul
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmo4qG26_iU – stop at 2 minutes
Wisdom Bowl Mike
Opening Prayer Mike
May the ears of our hearts be open this day as we listen for gentle guidance and wisdom in the form of words and melodies. May we be aware of the value of waiting and may we commit to being patient with ourselves and with each other. Amen
First Reading Geri
A reading from the Writings of Teilhard de Chardin
Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything
to reach the end without delay.
We like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something
unknown, something new.
And yet it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through
some stages of instability—
and that it may take a very long time. . . .
Accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.
These are the inspired words of Teilhard de Chardin, a Jesuit theologian and paleontologist. In 1926 he was expelled from France for his liberal teaching, and assigned as pastor to a small church in China. There he discovered the Peking man!
Second Reading Kathy
A reading from the Writings of Howard Thurman
There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will, all of your life, spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls.
These are the inspired words of Howard Thurman, Martin Luther King’s spiritual director.
Gospel Spot Peter
Words of Wisdom about Lent from Pope Francis
Fast from hurting words . . . . and say kind words.
Fast from sadness . . . . and be filled with gratitude.
Fast from anger . . . . and be filled with patience.
Fast from pessimism . . . . and be filled with hope.
Fast from worries . . . . and have trust.
Fast from complaints . . . . and contemplate simplicity.
Fast from pressures . . . . and be prayerful.
Fast from bitterness . . . . and fill your hearts with joy.
Fast from selfishness . . . . and be compassionate to others.
Fast from grudges . . . . and be reconciled.
Fast from words . . . . and be silent so you can listen.
Homily Mike
Prayer of the People Tom and Joanne
We pray that we may reflect the presence of quiet persistence as we actively wait for goodness to unfold.
After each petition our response will be “As one, we pray!”
That all houses of worship may help to lead all people to the unfolding mystery of peace and justice that is channeled through love and mercy toward one another…we respond,
For the impact of our witness on political decisions both domestically and internationally, especially on issues of peace and justice… we respond,
For our country especially in places where there is internal strife, for those circumstances where it is difficult to admit mistakes, ask forgiveness or forgive one another; and for those who work to heal those divisions… we respond,
For the serenity that comes when we realize that the universe is unfolding as it should and for the gladness that fills our hearts and for the grace to reflect that joy to others … we respond,
For those who are reluctant to change; and for those who have been too wounded to grant forgiveness, especially within our families… we respond,
For the desire to heal any divisiveness within this country and global community; and for those among us who are sick, dying, grieving or in any kind of need… we respond,
For our sisters and brothers in Sophia, for our sister parish in Rochester, for all those involved with Pathways to Prosperity, and for our sisters and brothers in Voice of the Faithful, FCM, and RAMP, may they know of our love and care for them. May they continue to do good as they follow the Way of Jesus…we pray…
For what else shall we pray? Allow 4 petitions.
We pray with confidence that these petitions and those unspoken concerns and needs deep within each of us will be heard and answered with loving compassion. Amen.
Sign of Peace Mike
Blessing of Bread and Wine Linda S
We are grateful – for this bread,
Which earth has given and human hands have formed.
This bread nourishes our spirit.
We are grateful – for this wine,
Fruit of the vine and work of human hands.
It is our spiritual drink.
Eucharistic Prayer Mike and Margie
P: We acknowledge that the Divine is beyond all imagining. We give thanks for the gift of reflective awareness that allows us to recognize this presence in our universe.
Voice: Everything we have, everything we see, everything we do, everyone we love, and everyone who loves us reveals this sustaining presence. We are grateful that this presence brings energy to life and all that exists.
P: We recognize that the Divine expresses itself in human life and that – through us – it can sing and dance, speak and write, love and create. In this, we never cease to hope, and for this, we are always filled with praise and thanksgiving.
Voice: This season of Lent invites us to be more and more open to the Divine’s call as we reflect on the life and mission of Jesus.
P: We acknowledge that the Divine is the Source of our health and wholeness, healer of body, mind and spirit; in this Eucharist, we bring the darkness of our world, and the pain and suffering of all people.
Voice: We seek to be healed and made whole; we seek to be reconciled and united; we seek peace in our hearts and in our world.
P: May our hearts be awakened to the empowering grace of the abundant Spirit, the same Spirit in Jesus.
Voice: We recognize all is holy. As we celebrate our commitment to Jesus, we acknowledge these holy gifts of bread and wine, which provide energy for life, to nourish and sustain us in our time of need.
P: As we gather once more around bread and wine, we recall Jesus sharing bread and wine with his friends shortly before he died. He invited them to eat and drink as a sign of their readiness to keep his memory alive and to give their all for what he believed and taught.
Voice: We recall the blessings and love from ages past, and we celebrate anew the gift of life, which we share among us at this Eucharistic feast.
P: May the Spirit of life and wholeness, who transforms the gifts we present, transform us, too, that we may be refreshed in our inner being and be empowered to bring mercy, love and healing to those whose lives we touch.
Voice: The bread we break and the cup we share are symbols of our world of abundance where all are invited to partake of the fullness of life.
P: But that life is often impeded by greed and selfishness, and by the exploitation of people.
Voice: In union with all peoples, living and dead, may we strive to create a world where suffering and pain are diminished, where justice and peace are restored, and where all people can live in health and wholeness, united in acclaiming the Spirit of life, whose abundance is offered to each and to all, until the Kindom arrives in the fullness of time.
P: We pray, inviting the Spirit of Life, Love and Goodness to move freely in our words and actions. To this, we give our Amen!
Prayer of Jesus
The Lord’s Prayer in Irish Marie
Breaking of the Bread Alice or Colleen
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus. Make us one now. Make us one now.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus. Make us one now. Make us one now.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus. Make us one now. Make us one now.
Presider: We gather together this morning and every Sunday to remember Jesus and his teachings. We come to be nourished spiritually, so we eat and drink bread and wine in his memory.
Our sharing in this meal is a sign of our willingness to follow Jesus.
When sharing the bread, say: “This is and you are the bread of life.”
Presider: With great joy, we state. We are followers of Jesus.
When sharing the cup, say: “The cup of the Covenant”
Communion Song Marie
Being in Communion by Jan Novotka
Being in communion, we are one.
Being in communion, being one.
Closing Prayer Mike
In this Lenten season, may we be more patient than usual with waiting. May we move beyond wishes to transform others. May we focus our attention on personal renewal which is so easy to resist. May we become more alert and accepting of the reality that the only person we can set about changing is ourselves. Amen.
Closing Song Marie
A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke
Announcements
Second Sunday of Lent
2nd Sunday Lent Cycle B – Last Sunday in Black History Month February 25, 2024
Theme: Light in Transformation
We pray for those individuals in need (Please be brief) Mike
Introduction Maryann
Today is the 2nd Sunday in Lent, Cycle C, where the Catholic Church does the reading of the Transfiguration, and the last Sunday of Black History month. Today’s liturgy has a reading and a prayer taken from the book Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems and Meditations for Staying Human by Cole Arthur Riley. She is also the author of the book This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us. The reading and prayer are from the book’s section on Lent.
Gathering Song Bill
HOLDING UP THE LIGHT by Doyle burbank-williams
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz-Ry1GzYHM)
with the slide show you put together a while ago which can be found here (https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1epZWfcBUh-GHMNTxtj399uCt2ehCLiO_TnZm2060wWI/edit?usp=sharing
or here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iP6IrP9jUs2s3HNpdGaFcPPRnAS-gC-N/view?usp=drive_link)
Wisdom Bowl Maryann
Opening Prayer Mike
May it be revealed to us where the Divine is dwelling in those places in our lives where we forgot to be welcoming.
May we be taken to the places where we are moving toward change and deeper relationship with the Divine in all people
May we believe in the possibility of resurrecting what has been hidden in our path to growth
May we shake free whatever keeps us from accepting the invitation to be transformed
May our faith be strengthened, our hope cultivated, and our love widened
May we be drawn into the stillness essential for an alive and open awareness of the Divine Presence
May we be kept mindful of the large world one in urgent need of our compassion and dedicated care
May we be a healing presence for those who suffer and those for whom we have promised to pray
Restoring Awareness from Prayer Seeds Joyce Rupp pg 15 (adapted)
1st Reading Peter
Called to be Transfigured
A reflection given by Karen Murphy to the Sophia community on 03/08/2020, adapted.
Today is the Transfiguration: And up on that mountain Scripture tells us “before their eyes, Jesus was transfigured — his face becoming as dazzling as the sun and his clothes as radiant as light.”
Let’s look at that word “transfigured,” which is the word used in all English translations. It’s from the 13th century, so not a word we use in everyday language. But when we look at the Greek of that verse in Matthew, we find that the word is metamorphosis. Now here’s word we can breakdown. The idea of metamorphosis is a big one in Ignatian spirituality, and what it means is that not only does something appear to be different, but in fact, structurally, cellularly, it is different. That a transformation has occurred that is so profound that the organism is literally a different being.
When Jesus was “transfigured” before their eyes, it wasn’t just that on that day he looked different to them, it was that a lifetime of work and service to God’s people changed him, changed his humanity so that there was no darkness in him to be seen. He was made new, in and through and by his life.
I think this is good news for us. What if, what if, the Transfiguration was never about Jesus? What if the Transfiguration, which is a moment of pause that takes place between healing and preaching and teaching and kindness and generosity and compassion – what if that moment of metamorphosis is inevitable in anyone who lives this path the best they can? What if any of us who choose the path of light and righteousness and service become transfigured before others? That our work of teaching, healing, serving changes us ontologically, and literally transforms how we are perceived by others – as being dazzling like the sun. In their presence we perceive only light, and we hear the message, “this is my beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.”
Jesus’ work precipitated his transfiguration. When he was “transfigured” on that seventh day, is it possible that his transfiguration, his ontological change in that moment was not to enable him to do the work of love, but a result of having been doing the work of love the previous six days? The previous 33 years?
And if this is possible, then we can all have great hope that we can also be transfigured, undergo our own metamorphosis to become new women and men in the life we have in following Christ to love, serve, and help others; to stand for justice and live with compassion. The Transfiguration wasn’t about Jesus, or I should say, just about Jesus. It’s about the potential in all of us to move toward that moment of grace in which our lives are so aligned with God’s intent and purpose of love, that others, looking at us, will only see spirits that dazzle like the sun.
Inspired Words
2nd Reading Louise M
Could you wander for forty years if it meant freedom? If you listen, you can still hear them groaning — they who were rescued, only to find that freedom is never so easily won. That liberation is a path marked by uncertainty and thirst and grief over all that was lost in the revolution. In Exodus, we are faced with a God of slow rescue. When the struggle of the wilderness became apparent, even the Israelites themselves began to pine for the bondage of Pharaoh. How fierce the grip of certainty — to know with clarity what is to come, however terrible and lonesome that fate might be.
Perhaps God knew that part of liberation is confronting anything you might hunger for more than it. Will you cry out longing for the chains that once held you? The wilderness is uncharted, and humans are prone to willful amnesia. We’d rather forget and return to bondage than remember and wade in the unknown. We grow numb.
Assata Shakur wrote, “People get used to anything. The less you think about your oppression, the more your tolerance for it grows …. But to become free, you have to be acutely aware of being a slave.” And the freer one gets, the more their hunger for liberation loudens. All the false appetites that spoke over this chief desire begin to quiet.
How does your hunger sound? What are the whispers of desire that drive you?
For forty days leading to the remembrance of the death of Christ, we commit to remembering our chains. We make our home in the wilderness – in the liminal spaces where liberation has begun but sorrow and hunger remain. In this season, we choose
solidarity with all who are suffering — the displaced, the abused, the oppressed and neglected.
Many of us have been trained to believe Lent is about solidarity with Christ alone. But Christ’s forty days in the desert mirror the forty years the Israelites journeyed in the wilderness after being rescued from slavery. The two journeys remind us that the wilderness can be both solitary and communal. That it can defy both the systems and powers of the exterior world, and the despair of one’s interior world. And that these were two physical desert journeys speaks to a necessarily embodied liberation.
As we move in solidarity, we remind ourselves presence is not solidarity. Knowledge is not solidarity. Solidarity is the kind of unity that costs us something. And we choose a form for our fasting that is not about the self, but about those who are most vulnerable. And for those who are suffering and in need, we must grab hold of a charity to self and take a posture of receiving. Lent shifts the scales of the cosmos back toward a balance of provision and justice. In Lent, there are those of us who will position our souls toward sacrifice, and some who will rightfully receive what has been kept from them. Every role holy and necessary for the healing of all.
So, despite prevalent teachings, the question of this sacred season is not, “What food are you giving up for Lent?” It is, “What practice of solidarity with the suffering are you choosing?” Or, “What needs do you need met this Lent?” We honor the complexity of hunger and desire, and we find ourselves liberated into a season not rooted in scarcity, but in justice, healing, and the welfare of those who have long awaited their portion.
Inspired Words
from the book Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems and Meditations for Staying Human by Cole Arthur Riley
Psalm Maryann
Who Lights the Stars
music/lyrics by Michael Singer, arranged ,produced and performed by Kathy Zavada video edited by James Mylenek Sr.
https://youtu.be/5jF_YWsM4SI stop at 4:00
Who lights the stars at night?
Who shines the sun?
To this one I give my life
Till my days are done.
to this one i give my heart
till we merge as one.
Who lights the stars at night?
Who shines the sun?
Who lights the stars?
Who shines the sun?
Who beats my heart?
Who is this one?
3rd Reading Colleen
The word change normally refers to new beginnings. But transformation, the mystery we’re examining, more often happens not when something new begins but when something old falls apart. The pain of something old falling apart–chaos–invites the soul to listen at a deeper level. It invites and sometimes forces the soul to go to a new place because the old place is falling apart. Otherwise, most of us would never go to new places. The mystics use many words to describe this chaos: fire, darkness, death, emptiness, abandonment, trial, the Evil One. Whatever it is, it does not feel good and it does not feel like God. You will do anything to keep the old thing from falling apart. This is when you need patience, guidance, and the freedom to let go instead of tightening your controls and certitudes.
Transformation usually includes a disconcerting reorientation. Change can either help people to find a new meaning, or it can cause people to close down and turn bitter. The difference is determined by the quality of your inner life, what we call your “spirituality.” Change of itself just happens; but spiritual transformation must become an actual process of letting go, living in the confusing dark space for a while, and allowing yourself to be spit up on a new and unexpected shore. You can see why Jonah in the belly of the whale is such an important symbol for many Jews and Christians.
In the moments of insecurity and crisis, “shoulds” and “oughts” don’t really help; they just increase the shame, guilt, pressure, and likelihood of backsliding. It’s the deep yeses that carry you through. Focusing on something you absolutely believe in, that you’re committed to, will help you wait it out. Love wins over guilt any day. It is sad that we settle for the short-run effectiveness of shaming people instead of the long-term life benefits of grace-filled transformation. But we are a culture of progress and efficiency, impatient with gradual growth. God’s way of restoring things interiorly is much more patient–and finally more effective. God lets Jonah run in the wrong direction, but finds a long, painful, circuitous path to get him back where he needs to be–and almost entirely in spite of himself! Looking in this rear-view mirror fills you with gratitude for God’s work in your life.
Inspired words
Richard Rohr’s Meditation: Change as a Catalyst for Transformation. 6/30/2016
Homily Mike
Prayer of the People Tom & Joanne Kyritz
Our response will be: May Divine Light Shine Through Us.
Transfiguration itself refers to a change in form or appearance, and the root, transfigure, simply means “to transform into something more beautiful or elevated,” so transfiguration is a specific form of transformation. This Lent, may we transform ourselves into more spiritual, or more spiritually aware, followers of Jesus’ message. And we respond: May Divine Light Shine Through Us
May we as a society recognize the inequities and injustices that come from our lifestyle. May society be transformed so that it respects all human life, all plant and animal life and the earth, our home. And we respond: May Divine Light Shine Through Us
Transformation usually includes a disconcerting reorientation. When something old falls apart, may we recognize the Divine’s presence. And we respond: May Divine Light Shine Through Us
Sister Joan Chittister says, “Transformation in any of us calls the rest of us to transformation. Change changes everybody. Relationships shift. Expectations alter. Insight deepens. We begin to see as we have never seen before.” And we respond: May Divine Light Shine Through Us
Lent is not about self-mortification or denial; it is a time to enter the desert, which means the willingness to reexplore those attachments that derail our soul’s growth, driving us through life without awareness of our true motivations. And we respond: May Divine Light Shine Through Us
For our sisters and brothers in Sophia, in our sister parish in Rochester, all those involved with Pathways to Prosperity and our sisters and brothers in FCM, Voice of the Faithful and RAMP, may they know of our love and care for them. May they continue to do good as they follow the Way of Jesus. And we respond: May Divine Light Shine Through Us
For what else shall we pray? Allow 4 petitions.
It is long past time for us to let the LIGHT transfigure us. May we not be afraid. For it is fear itself which destroys life. May Divine LIGHT shine forth in, with, through, and beyond us, so that each of us might be transfigured into the fullness of all that we are created to be. We pray this and all prayer in the name of Jesus.
Amen
Sharing of Peace Mike
Prayer over the Bread and Wine Linda S
We are grateful – for this bread,
Which earth has given and human hands have formed.
This bread nourishes our spirit.
We are grateful – for this wine,
Fruit of the vine and work of human hands.
It is our spiritual drink.
Eucharistic Prayer for Black History Month Mike & Geri Moran
| P. We gather today mindful of the quest for freedom that cries out in the heart and soul of every woman and man. A quest that is fierce with resolve and will not end until freedom is won for all. | Voice: From the time of Moses, people enslaved others for profit and gain.
When Israel was in Egypt’s land, the Israelites were oppressed so hard they could not stand. Let my people go! |
| P: Four hundred years ago, on the shores of the new-found land which became America, people were once again enslaved for profit and gain. Let my people go! | Voice: On the backs of these women and men this country was built. Let my people go! No consideration, no justice, no mercy for them. Let my people go! |
| P: A war began that tore a country apart. The Emancipation Proclamation brought a degree of freedom but injustice and greed still persisted. Let my people go! | Voice: New ways of indignities and injustices were invented: Jim Crow, Whites Only, Segregation and Red Lining. Let my people go! |
| P: And yet, in spite of all this, women and men of color have produced so many beautiful and meaningful creations. We thank:
Dr. Shirley Jackson for fiber-optic cable, Lewis Latimer for carbon filament (inner light bulb), Marie Van Brittan Brown for closed-circuit television security, Otis Boykin for the pacemaker, Lonnie Johnson for the Super Soaker and thermoelectric energy converters, Charles Drew for the blood bank, Marian Croak for Voice over IP, Lisa Gelobter for animated Gifs on the web, Philip Emeagwali – a drop out, for the world’s fastest computer, Jesse Wilkins, Jr, for the math behind gamma radiation, Garrett Morgan for the gas mask and the traffic signal, Mary and Mildred Davidson for women’s feminine products and the walker and Appreciating these contributions as just a few among many, we pray recognizing the worth of all, and being grateful to learn what was never deemed important enough to include in our educational experiences. |
Voice: We pray, recognizing our true worth, and our understanding of what it means to be human. No longer unworthy exiles, we are people with a glorious cosmic history, with great responsibility, and a noble destiny. Along with everything else in the universe, we are on a journey beyond our imagining. |
| P: We remember Jesus.
He challenged us to confront any influence within us, any social, family, religious or cultural influence, that prevents us from recognizing the power within us and within all people – the power of love; a power that could join all people as one in their common dream of a better humanity. |
Voice: So we take this bread, as Jesus took bread, and give thanks for the wonder of the Divine in, and with us, and we eat, committing ourselves to love as Jesus loved, wholeheartedly, generously, and compassionately, so that people will see expressed in us what we have seen expressed in Jesus. |
| P: We take this wine, and we remember Jesus drinking wine with his friends. We drink, giving our “Yes” to being on earth the heart of the Holy One. | Voice: Our prayer is that Justice Rolls down like water. We have a Dream. That one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all women and men are created equal.” |
| P: We have a dream that people of color will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. | Voice: We have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight. |
| P: This is our hope. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood and sisterhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. | Voice: From every mountainside, let freedom ring! |
| P: To wherever the Spirit of Life and Love may lead us we give our, Amen. |
Prayer of Jesus (Please pray along) Sue B
Radiant One: you shine within us, outside us —
even darkness shines—when we remember.
Focus your light within us, make it useful:
as the rays of a beacon show the way.
Create your reign of unity now
through our fiery hearts and willing hands.
Let all wills move together in your vortex,
as stars and planets swirl through the sky.
Give us the food we need to grow through each day,
through each illumination of life’s needs.
Forgive our hidden past, the secret shames,
as we constantly forgive what others hide.
Help us not forget our Source,
yet free us from not being in the Present.
Out of you the astonishing fire, the birthing glory,
returning light and sound to the cosmos.
Truly—power to these statements—
may they be the ground from which all my actions grow:
Sealed in trust and faith.
From Giving Thanks With the Aramaic Jesus by Tom Leonhardt. Copyright 2002. (English Translation) page xvii
Prior to the Breaking of the Bread Mike
Breaking of the Bread Alice or Colleen
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus. Make us One Now.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus. Make us One Now.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus. Make us One Now.
Communion Mike
Presider: “…happy are we to share in this meal”
All: Our sharing in this meal is a sign of our gratitude and commitment to be one with Jesus.
When sharing the bread: “This is, and you are, the bread of life”
Presider: With great joy, we state.
All: We are followers of Jesus.
When sharing the cup: “The cup of the Covenant”
Communion Song Bill
Beautiful Instrumental Hymns, Peaceful Music, “A Hint of Spring Morning Sunrise” by Tim Janis
Closing Prayer Mike
We confess that we, as individuals and nations, have engaged in self-protection and delusion. Let this be a season when we reclaim the practice of telling the truth about our histories, that we would no longer shield ourselves and others from the harm we have caused by coddling our guilt and insecurity. Let our love be made of unapologetic truth-telling.
Let those of us who have been gaslit find our stories centered and affirmed in this season. May we be guided toward spaces that have grown weary of delusions, desiring to see the world for what it is, in all its complexities, beauties, tragedies, and oppression and as we cultivate honest communities, let our healing and liberation rise to meet us. Amen
Sending Forth Song Maryann
This Little Light of Mine by ODETTA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2kDsqGeoLU up to 3:40
This little light of mine
I’m going to let it shine
Oh, this little light of mine
I’m going to let it shine
Hallelujah
This little light of mine
I’m going to let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine
Ev’ry where I go
I’m going to let it shine
Oh, ev’ry where I go
I’m going to let it shine
Hallelujah
Ev’ry where I go
I’m going to let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine
All in my room
I’m going to let it shine
Oh, all in my room
I’m going to let it shine
Hallelujah
All in my room
I’m going to let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine
This little light of mine
I’m going to let it shine
Oh, this little light of mine
I’m going to let it shine
Hallelujah
This little light of mine
I’m going to let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine
Announcements
First Sunday of Lent and Black History Month 2024
1st Sunday of Lent and Black History Month; – February 18, 2024
Theme: Metanoia, Leadership, Giving up Blinding Perspectives
We pray for those individuals in need (please be brief) Mike
Gathering Song Mike
https://youtu.be/4gmTxc2wGTI?t=1
Civil Rights Music Video “We Shall overcome” by Peter Seeger
Wisdom Bowl Maryann
Opening Prayer Mike
As we reflect on the resilience of the Black community during Black History Month, we seek guidance. May we have the insight to understand the challenges faced, and the strength to appreciate the resilience displayed. May this liturgy lead to greater empathy and unity. Amen.
From Prayers for Life website (adapted)
Reading 1 Linda Schaller
A reading of the Gospel in the tradition of Mark (Mk 1:12-1)
The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert,
and he remained in the desert for forty days,
tempted by Satan.
He was among wild beasts,
and the angels ministered to him.
After John had been arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
“This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Inspired Words
Psalm Mike
https://youtu.be/Ir6gJCEJGUc?t=2
Sweet Honey in the Rock performs, “Give Love”
Reading 2 Colleen Walsh White
By Krieg Published On: January 29, 2024
In about three weeks, spring will have arrived in areas of the US, the Super Bowl will be a game of the past, folks will be recovering from Mardi Gras, and some people will have ashes on their foreheads to mark the first day of a season called Lent. We can pretty much guess that the ashes symbolize mortality- ashes to ashes-, but Lent, what’s that about?
According to the gospels, when Jesus was baptized by John, he heard a voice come out of heaven affirming his mission from God, and he left John the Baptist and went into the wilderness for forty days and nights, where “the angels ministered to him” and where the devil tempted him.
Although fundamentalists will accept all this at face value, the story is symbolic but not historical. When Jesus left John after being baptized by him, he set off on his mission accompanied by some friends who were also former disciples of John, and he or they no doubt reflected upon their move. Having decided on a course of itinerant action he travelled about teaching and preaching God’s love and justice, and those who heard and followed were captivated by Jesus’ charisma. They got to see who he was. One of the key ingredients in their encounter with him was that he was not egocentric, he did not insist on his own way, he had no box into which he tried to force reality. A story -that of the temptation in the wilderness- came to be describing how he continually refused the temptation to impose his will on others,- no matter how pure. Think of what the devil throws at him. “You’re hungry. Command these stones to become bread. You want the world to see God’s power. Throw yourself off a high place so that God can save you. You want all the world to do God’s will. Make them! …and bow down to me.”
What do these temptations represent? They embody the inclination to make the world as I want it to be. When Jesus encountered people he listened, he understood, he led along a path they could follow. He did not command or impose or insist that others lived according to his prescription. His charismatic self showed others what they could be and invited them to become what at heart they already were. And so his followers created a story to show that side of Jesus, a story about how he refused the temptation to impose his perception on others, instead inviting them to see reality in a new and non-egocentric way.
That’s what Lent is all about. Historically, the essence of the season is self-denial, based on the idea that Jesus was denied earthly comforts while in the desert, and therefore so should we. What we understand now is that what Jesus denied himself was the egocentricity that seems to develop as life moves along, accompanied by the invitation to follow him in denying that egocentricity in our own lives. Lent is not about giving up chocolate. It’s about uncovering the blindness in our perception and being open to what others have to share with us. The irony is that when we give up our narrow and blinding perspective, a whole new world is opened to us and life becomes expansive and joyful.
This is not an exercise for Christians only. The Buddha also knew. Life is suffering, he said, and the cause of suffering is desire. When we desire, consciously or unconsciously, to have the world be according to our self- contained perception, we suffer, because reality refuses to be confined and distorted according to our ego, and we feel that refusal. The message from Jesus and the Buddha is clear: leave your cave, walk into the light, experience life anew. Whether we be Christian or Buddhist, agnostic or atheist, Lent is a good time to renew our unfolding process.
Inspired words
Homily Mike
Prayers of the People Teri Corso
We search for meaning, understanding and purpose in this wider world, as we do so, we make these desires known.
After each statement there will be a meditative silence (pause 5 seconds)
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism in all houses of worship….
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism at every level of government…
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism in our healthcare industry…
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism at every level of education…
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism in our judiciary…
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism in our law enforcement agencies…
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism in our prison system…
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism in every branch of our military…
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism at every level of sport…
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism in business…
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism in the wage gap…
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism in the wealth gap…
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism in theater….
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism in the music industry….
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism in the entertainment industry…
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism in the renting of apartments and houses….
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism in the buying and selling of homes…
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism in our pharmaceutical industry….
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism in the media….
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism in hiring practices….
For our sisters and brothers in Sophia, in our sister parish in Rochester, for all those involved with Pathways to Prosperity, and for our sisters and brothers in Voice of the Faithful, FCM, and RAMP, may they know of our love and care for them. May they continue to do good as they follow the Way of Jesus…
Let us pray for an end to systemic racism in those areas not mentioned here and you may say aloud….
As we search to find who we are in this world and to find our meaning and purpose, we are secure in the knowledge that there are many people like us who share our dreams and goals to form a better humanity to bring peace, harmony and justice. Amen.
Sharing Peace Mike
Prayer over the Bread Margie McFadden
We are grateful – for this bread,
Which earth has given and human hands have formed.
This bread nourishes our spirit.
Prayer over the Wine
We are grateful – for this wine,
Fruit of the vine and work of human hands.
It is our spiritual drink.
Eucharistic Prayer for Black History Month Mike & Kathy Schiro
| P: We gather today mindful of the quest for freedom that cries out in the heart and soul of every woman and man. A quest that is fierce with resolve and will not end until freedom is won for all. | Voice: From the time of Moses, people enslaved others for profit and gain.
When Israel was in Egypt’s land, the Israelites were oppressed so hard they could not stand. Let my people go!
|
| P: Four hundred years ago, on the shores of the new-found land which became America, people were once again enslaved for profit and gain. Let my people go!
|
Voice: On the backs of these women and men this country was built. Let my people go! No consideration, no justice, no mercy for them. Let my people go! |
| P: A war began that tore a country apart. The Emancipation Proclamation brought a degree of freedom but injustice and greed still persisted. Let my people go! | Voice: New ways of indignities and injustices were invented: Jim Crow, Whites Only, Segregation and Red Lining. Let my people go!
|
| P: And yet, in spite of all this, women and men of color have produced so many beautiful and meaningful creations. We thank Dr. Shirley Jackson for fiber-optic cable, Lewis Latimer for carbon filament (inner light bulb), Marie Van Brittan Brown for closed-circuit television security, Otis Boykin for the pacemaker, Lonnie Johnson for the Super Soaker and thermoelectric energy converters, Charles Drew for the blood bank, Marian Croak for Voice over Internet Protocol, Lisa Gelobter for animated Gifs on the web, Philip Emeagwali – a drop out, for the world’s fastest computer, Jesse Wilkins, Jr, for the math behind gamma radiation, Garrett Morgan for the gas mask and the traffic signal, and Mary and Mildred Davidson for women’s feminine products and the walker, and Onesimus & Cotton Mather for the method that would eventually become vaccinations against infectious diseases. Appreciating these contributions as just a few among many, we pray recognizing the worth of all, and being grateful to learn what was never deemed important enough to include in our educational experiences. | Voice: We pray, recognizing our true worth, and our understanding of what it means to be human. No longer unworthy exiles, we are people with a glorious cosmic history, with great responsibility, and a noble destiny. Along with everything else in the universe, we are on a journey beyond our imagining. |
| P: We remember Jesus.
He challenged us to confront any influence within us, any social, family, religious or cultural influence, that prevents us from recognizing the power within us and within all people – the power of love; a power that could join all people as one in their common dream of a better humanity. |
Voice: So we take this bread, as Jesus took bread, and give thanks for the wonder of the Divine in, and with us, and we eat, committing ourselves to love as Jesus loved, wholeheartedly, generously, and compassionately, so that people will see expressed in us what we have seen expressed in Jesus. |
| P: We take this wine, and we remember Jesus drinking wine with his friends. We drink, giving our “Yes” to being on earth the heart of the Holy One. | Voice: Our prayer is that Justice Rolls down like water. We have a Dream. That one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all women and men are created equal.” |
| P: We have a dream that people of color will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
|
Voice: We have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight.
|
| P: This is our hope. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood and sisterhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
|
Voice: From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
|
| P: To wherever the Spirit of Life and Love may lead us we give our, Amen. |
Prayer of Jesus (Please pray along) Geri Moran
The Lord’s Prayer – from the original Aramaic
O Breathing Life, your Name shines everywhere!
Release a space to plant your Presence here.
Envision your “I Can” now.
Embody your desire in every light and form.
Grow through us this moment’s bread and wisdom.
Untie the knots of failure binding us,
as we release the strands we hold of others’ faults.
Help us not forget our Source,
Yet free us from not being in the Present.
From you arises every Vision, Power and Song
from gathering to gathering.
Amen!
May our future actions grow from here!
© 1995 – Neil Douglas-Klotz – Desert Wisdom
Breaking of the Bread Alice or Colleen
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
Communion Mike
Presider: “…happy are we to share in this meal”
All: Our sharing in this meal is a sign of our gratitude and commitment to be one with Jesus.
When sharing the bread: “This is, and you are, the bread of life”
Presider: With great joy, we state.
All: We are followers of Jesus.
When sharing the cup: “The cup of the Covenant”
Communion Song Mike
https://youtu.be/QOA_BazyGPA?list=PLjHHRw_6jXXnzc7qx2Gi8wfKLzMJpwcm0&t=4
Duke Ellington: Single Petal of a Rose
Mike will advance a slideshow of Black Inventors.
Closing Prayer Mike
In our efforts to dismantle racism, we understand that we struggle not merely against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities – those institutions and systems that keep racism alive by perpetuating the lie that some members of the family are inferior and others superior.
May we have a new mind and heart that will enable us to see sisters and brothers in the faces of those divided by racial categories.
May we have the grace and strength to rid ourselves of racial stereotypes that oppress some of us while providing entitlements to others.
May we create houses of worship and a nation that embraces the hopes and fears of oppressed people of color where we live, as well as those around the world.
May we heal the human family, and make us one with the Divine and all people. Amen.Pax Christi (adapted)
Sending Forth Song Mike
Sweet Honey In The Rock – Ella’s Song
Announcements
Celebrating Sister Thea Bowman
Be Courageous and Speak Truth to Power
February 11, 2024
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/aGpolr1PRUAehtS79pWZkw2Vcl4xTr0RbZOHzA5TqYHz9eoBSNpMH8uamef5sLY_.5sZe7vkqC_23KDps?startTime=1707663609000
We Pray for Others Mike
Introduction
Sister Thea Bowman and Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes 5/3/87
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBrNlQ6fJkM
START THE VIDEO AT 40 SECONDS IN [13 minutes]
Wisdom Bowl Margie
Opening Prayer Mike
Sister Thea Bowman was filled with an ardent love for all people, a love expressed through her indomitable spirit, deep and abiding faith, dedicated teaching, exuberant singing, and unwavering witnessing of the joy of the Gospel.
May her prophetic witness continue to inspire us to share the Good News with those whom we encounter, most especially the poor, oppressed, and marginalized. May Sister Thea’s life and legacy compel us to walk together and to pray together.
May we be filled with Sister Thea’s grace and perseverance. For in turbulent times of racial injustice, she sought equity, peace, and reconciliation. In times of intolerance and ignorance, she brought wisdom, awareness, unity, and charity. In times of pain, sickness, and suffering, she taught us how to live fully until our time on this earth is over. Amen.
Adapted from the prayer for her canonization
https://www.sistertheabowman.com/prayer/
First Reading Spot Two voices alternate reading the quotes.
Judy and Dave
Words of Inspiration from Thea Bowman
Slideshow of Quotes – Marie will advance the slides
- God is present in everything. In the universe, in creation, in me, and all that happens to me, in my brothers and sisters, in the church – everywhere.
- Remember who you are and whose you are.
- I try to make sense of life. I try to keep myself open to people and to laughter, and to love, and to have faith.
- I know that God is using me in ways beyond my comprehension.
- I think the difference between me and some people is that I’m content to do my little bit. Sometimes people think they have to do big things in order to make change. But if each one would light a candle, we’d have a tremendous light.
- God has given me the grace to see some of the seeds that I have sown bear good fruit, and I am so grateful.
- I find that when I am involved in the business of life, when I’m working with people, particularly children, I feel better. A kind of strength and energy comes with that.
- I know that suffering gives us new perspectives and helps us to clarify our real value. I know that suffering has helped me to clarify my relationships. . . Perhaps suffering stops us in our tracks and forces us to confront what is real within ourselves and in our environment.
- Part of my approach to my illness has been to say I want to choose life, I want to keep going, I want to live fully until I die.
Gospel Spot Marie
Thea Bowman – What Does It Mean to Be Black and Catholic?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6pBrBOawII&list=RDTT5Yv97zF-Q&start_radio=1 [4.26 minutes]
Homily Bill Stevens
Prayer of the People Joanne and Tom Kyritz
We lift up our prayers in confidence knowing that we stand united with Sister Thea Bowman.
Our response will be: Let justice flow like a river.
For the citizens and leaders of the global community, may they enact policies that uphold the dignity and equality of all people, that ensure a sustainable and equitable distribution of our resources to advance the common good, we pray: Let justice flow like a river.
For an end to systemic racism: that we may reform and rebuild all our institutions – policing, education, healthcare, housing, politics, and economics – with justice and love as our guide. And for reconciliation and reparation for centuries of violence and oppression against People of Color, we pray: Let justice flow like a river.
For us gathered today: that we may honestly seek to understand ourselves and others, as well as the ways we benefit from privilege and power, that we may be allies who confront bias and prejudice in ourselves and one another, we pray: Let justice flow like a river.
For those marginalized, especially young women of color: that they may be emboldened by the witness of Sister Thea Bowman to embrace their wholeness, to lift up their voices, and to claim their rightful place in our midst, as they seek to respond to the Spirit within guiding them, we pray: Let justice flow like a river.
For our sisters and brothers in Sophia, in our sister parish in Rochester, for all those involved with Pathways to Prosperity, and for our sisters and brothers in Voice of the Faithful, FCM, and RAMP, may they know of our love and care for them. May they continue to do good as they follow the Way of Jesus…we pray…
For what else shall we pray? Allow 4 petitions.
We pray with confidence that these petitions and those unspoken concerns and needs deep within each of us will be heard and answered with loving compassion. Amen.
Adapted from Future Church’s Witnessing for Racial Justice Prayer Service in
The Sister Thea Bowman Resource Packet, page 40
Sign of Peace Mike
Prayer over the Bread and the Wine Linda Schaller
We are grateful – for this bread,
Which earth has given and human hands have formed.
This bread nourishes our spirit.
We are grateful – for this wine,
Fruit of the vine and work of human hands.
It is our spiritual drink.
Eucharistic Prayer for Black History Month (modified)Mike & Tom Schaller
Presider: We gather today mindful of the quest for freedom that cries out in the heart and soul of every woman and man. A quest that is fierce with resolve and will not end until freedom is won for all.
Voice: From the time of Moses, people enslaved others for profit and gain.
When Israel was in Egypt’s land, the Israelites were oppressed so hard they could not stand. Let my people go!
P: Four hundred years ago, on the shores of the new-found land which became America, people were once again enslaved for profit and gain. Let my people go!
Voice: On the backs of these women and men this country was built. Let my people go! No consideration, no justice, no mercy for them. Let my people go!
P: A war began that tore a country apart. The Emancipation Proclamation brought a degree of freedom but injustice and greed still persisted. Let my people go!
Voice: New ways of indignities and injustices were invented: Jim Crow, Whites Only, Segregation and Red Lining. Let my people go!
P: And yet, in spite of all this, women and men of color have produced so many beautiful and meaningful creations. We thank Dr. Shirley Jackson for fiber-optic cable, Lewis Latimer for carbon filament (inner light bulb), Marie Van Brittan Brown for closed-circuit television security, Otis Boykin for the pacemaker, Lonnie Johnson for the Super Soaker and thermoelectric energy converters, Charles Drew for the blood bank, Marian Croak for Voice over Internet Protocol, Lisa Gelobter for animated Gifs on the web, Philip Emeagwali – a drop out, for the world’s fastest computer, Jesse Wilkins, Jr, for the math behind gamma radiation, Garrett Morgan for the gas mask and the traffic signal. Mary and Mildred Davidson for women’s feminine products and the walker. Onesimus and Cotton Mather for the method that would eventually become vaccinations against infectious diseases. Appreciating these contributions as just a few among many, we pray recognizing the worth of all, and being grateful to learn what was never deemed important enough to include in our educational experiences.
Voice: We remember Jesus. He challenged us to confront any influence within us, any social, family, religious or cultural influence, that prevents us from recognizing the power within us and within all people – the power of love; a power that could join all people as one in their common dream of a better humanity.
P: So we take this bread, as Jesus took bread, and give thanks for the wonder of the Divine in, and with us, and we eat, committing ourselves to love as Jesus loved, wholeheartedly, generously, and compassionately, so that people will see expressed in us what we have seen expressed in Jesus.
Voice: We take this wine, and we remember Jesus drinking wine with his friends. We drink, giving our “Yes” to being on earth the heart of the Divine.
P: Our prayer is that Justice Rolls down like water. We have a Dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all women and men are created equal.”
Voice: We have a dream that people of color will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
P: We have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight.
Voice: This is our hope. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood and sisterhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
P: From every mountainside, let freedom ring! Amen.
By Michael Corso
Prayer of Jesus Spot Florence Noctor
An Act of Commitment to Racial Justice
We stand in the shadow of the prophets crying out for justice and peace. We are called to be a people of reconciliation, serving a country in need. Courageous women and men have taken the risk of standing up and speaking out for the least and the lowest. This work involves risking ourselves for the sake of love and moving beyond ourselves in order to serve one another. We are all called to the work and ministry of social justice and reconciliation.
The response to each question will be I will.
Will you proclaim the good news of reconciliation in both word and deed? I will.
Will you acknowledge and address the prejudices that keep you from loving all persons? I will.
Will you strive to see Jesus in all persons, and value those with whom you disagree? I will.
Will you seek to mend what is broken by greed and inequities? I will.
Will you strive to speak words that liberate, heal and break the bonds of silence about racism throughout our country? I will.
Will you work toward dismantling the abuse of power? I will.
May we be empowered to continue the work of reconciliation. May we have the courage to overcome our fears and embody love for all. May we have the grace to grow in self-awareness of our white privilege and may we use our personal integrity to work for racial justice and equity in our neighborhoods and throughout our country. Amen.
Inspired by the Act of Commitment to Racial Justice in
Liturgical Resources for Black History Month
Breaking of the Bread Alice or Colleen
In the breaking of the bread, we knew you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
Presider: We gather together this morning and every Sunday to remember Jesus and his teachings. We come to be nourished spiritually, so we eat and drink bread and wine in his memory.
Our sharing in this meal is a sign of our willingness to follow Jesus.
When sharing the bread, say: “This is and you are the bread of life.”
Once everyone has the bread.
Presider: With great joy, we state.
We are followers of Jesus.
When sharing the cup, say: “The cup of the Covenant”
Communion Song Margie slides and music
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child – sung by Thea Bowman on the CD Songs of My People – The Complete Collection – Disk 1 #3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT5Yv97zF-Q [3.17 minutes]
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child,
A long way from home,
Margie: start to lower the sound here and stop at 1.23.
a long way from my home.
Closing Prayer Mike
Our closing prayer is from the conclusion of Sister Thea Bowman’s address to the Catholic bishops in June 1989 at Seton Hall University where she spoke to them as a sister having a “heart to heart” conversation with her brothers.
May her hope become our prayer.
Today we’re called to walk together in new ways and to celebrate who we are and whose we aren’t.
If we walk and talk and work and play together and stand together in Jesus’ name – we will be who we say we are – truly followers of Jesus and we shall overcome – overcome the poverty – overcome the loneliness – overcome the alienation – and build together a holy city, a new Jerusalem, a city set apart where they’ll know that we are here because we love one another. Amen.
Adapted from Future Church’s Witnessing for Racial Justice Prayer Service in
The Sister Thea Bowman Resource Packet, pages 40-41
First Sunday of Black History Month 2024
1st Sunday of Black History Month; 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time – February 4, 2024
Theme: Accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope
We pray for those individuals in need (please mute yourself) Mike
Opening Song Margie
Ebony and Ivory by Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_IeYjqL8GU
Introduction Margie
As we begin Black History Month, we think about the song Ebony and Ivory, sung by Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney in 1982. What a beautiful image – the black and white keys of the piano truly exist in “harmony.” It seems like it should be so simple. Yet, here we are over 40 years later and we wonder if things have improved. We can certainly feel disappointed by the pace of change … sometimes a little forward, but then always backwards as well.
With our theme this morning, “Accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope,” taken from a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we will look at reasons for hope in race relationships. And in all honesty, this started out with a “pollyannaish” desire & need for good news.
But our readings and prayers, all written by people of color, point to a hope that is far from flowers and rainbows. This hope is difficult, hard-won, and comes from a place deep inside of human beings who have experienced great hardship and struggle. May their determination to go on, move forward, and never stop hoping, teach and inspire us as we do all that we can to live as antiracist allies.
Wisdom Bowl Margie
Opening Prayer Mike
Today’s opening prayer is modified from “Lord, Lord, Open Unto Me,” by Howard Thurman from “Meditations of the Heart”.
I open myself and share …light for darkness
I open myself and share … courage for fear
I open myself and share … hope for despair
I open myself and share … peace for turmoil
I open myself and share … joy for sorrow
I open myself and share … strength for weakness
I open myself and share … wisdom for confusion
I open myself and share … forgiveness for sins
I open myself and share … tenderness for toughness
I open myself and share … love for hates
I open myself, recognizing the Divine within
…and my connection to the whole human family.
We learn to live, when we learn to give
each other what we need to survive, together alive.
May it be so.
Reading 1 Margie
Hope Is a Woman Who Has Lost Her Fear by Alice Walker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhMn3G0Kdvc
Inspired words
Reading 2 Sue
MLK and the Limitless Legacy of Hope
modified from an article by James Peterson 1/12/2024
https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/mlk-limitless-legacy-of-hope/
Hope is infinite. In one of his writings from shortly before his death, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. advised us that “we must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” This is King-as-Preacher, ministering to the congregation of humanity, delivering a salve for what ailed us then and, of course, what ails us now.
These days, the disappointments feel infinite. How then, can we talk about hope in this moment and in this time of critical crises at home and abroad?
This is where the power of infinite hope kicks in. King’s words about finite disappointment and infinite hope compel us to take his directive as a whole. These words are a bifurcated rhetorical model, one through which we can wrestle with disappointment — accept disappointments at some point — but … and the “but” in the aforementioned King quote is doing yeoman’s work here. That acceptance is inextricably linked to an infinite reservoir of hope available to all of us.
Hope is not a commodity. It is the essence of the optimistic energy accessible to us in our times of need. Hope is at the ready to motivate us through and beyond the mundane disappointments that too often threaten to overwhelm us. We will not be overwhelmed.
Our hope that things can get better — that things will be better — is embarrassing sometimes. Many people feel hopeful and don’t always (or ever) want to show it. And still others would rather center on the disappointments, ad infinitum. It is so much easier to talk about everything that’s wrong with the world than it is to do something about it. This is why the MAGA mentality is so compelling to a certain segment of the American electorate. The acronym — Make America Great Again — represents a statement of faux hope that America might return to a mythological greatness that Dr. King dedicated his life to deconstructing. The MAGA slogan represents those who truck almost exclusively in grievance culture, a hopeless political enterprise designed to feed off of pain, anger, and racial resentment. The truth is that America wasn’t ever that great for a whole lot of Americans through much of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.
In Dr. King’s “Other America” speech he said, “[t]here are two Americas. One America is beautiful … But there is another America. This other America has a daily ugliness about it that transforms the buoyancy of hope into the fatigue of despair. In this other America, thousands and thousands of people … walk the streets in search for jobs that do not exist. In this other America, millions of people are forced to live in vermin-filled, distressing housing conditions …” This is King-as-Professor. But like a preacher, he makes it plain: “The most critical problem in the other America is the economic problem.” This is true even today. As of late last year, 66.6 percent of the total wealth in America was owned and controlled by 10 percent of the richest families and corporations in this country.
In “A Proper Sense of Priorities,” a speech that King delivered less than two months before he was assassinated, his critical assessment of America was on full display. “I need not go into a long discussion about the [Vietnam] war and its damaging effects. We all know.” he said to an audience of thousands in 1968. This is King-as-Prophet. “We live in a nation that is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today. And any nation that spends almost $80 billion of its annual budget for defense channeled through the Pentagon and hands out a pittance here and there for social uplift, is moving towards its own spiritual doom …. We’ve played havoc with the destiny of the world … Somewhere we must make it clear that we are concerned about the survival of the world …”
King-as-Prophet is probably the King we will continue to hear less and less of, but we should not confuse this deliberate cover-up with the enduring truth of Dr. King’s critique of this nation. Late last year, President Joe Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act into law. This act allocates $816.7 billion for the defense budget. The United States spends more on defense than any other nation in the world. Meanwhile, 12 percent of our fellow Americans live in poverty; we boast the largest prison population in the world; have the highest infant and maternal mortality rate among developed countries — especially among Black Americans; and one in five children here go hungry. The criticisms of America brought by King-as-Prophet continue to ring true. Our priorities are hopelessly out of alignment with our humanity.
Most people will likely associate Rev. King’s sense of hope with his most widely-quoted (and truncated/edited) “I Have A Dream” speech. Far fewer will reference King’s much less popular “Unfulfilled Hopes” speech, a sermon that predates King’s hopeful “I Have a Dream” message by nearly a decade.
In “Unfulfilled Hopes” King says, “We discover in our lives, soon or later, that all pain is never relieved. We discover, soon or later, that all hopes are never realized. We come to the point of seeing that no matter how long we pray for them sometimes, and no matter how long we cry out for a solution to our problems, no matter how much we desire it, we don’t get the answer.”
This is King-as-Preacher, again. He connects with the congregation of humanity through a transparent analysis of our “shattered dreams.” But he won’t allow the hopelessness of his message to outstrip the power of hope itself. Later in the sermon, Minister King points to the concept of the “dynamic will,” a concept he borrows from Deep River, by the great and influential theologian Howard Thurman. In his sermon, King defines the dynamic will as existing in “the individual who stands up in his circumstances and stands up amid the problem, faces the fact that his hopes are unfulfilled. And then he says, “I have one thing left. Life has beaten it down; it has broken away from me many things, sometimes my physical body. But at least it has left me with a will, and I will assert this, and I refuse to be stopped.”
The vast valley of difference between “I Have a Dream” and “Unfulfilled Hopes/Shattered Dreams” is a critical chasm across which we are all called to continuously revisit Dr. King’s rhetorical mastery and the many ways that his thinking about this world (and the next) evolves through his work, and evidences itself in his words over time. The power of this critical exegesis of King’s work is that it directly confronts the naivete of any sanitized versions of King’s legacy in perpetuity. King’s vision for infinite hope was not naïve; it was cultivated in the cauldron of conflicting conceptualizations of hope — hope unfulfilled and hope infinite.
Understanding King in these complicated ways should give all of us hope. His is a limitless legacy of hope bestowed upon us in ways that challenge us to embody all of its infinite potential. But —and here I hope my “but” can do the work of King’s, “but” – hope in both its infinite and unfulfilled meanings, ultimately requires us to act.
Inspired words
Psalm Margie
Those Who Dream by The Many
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHlDSdYfBmM
Reading 3 Kathy
Opinion: ‘Origin’ brilliantly exposes America’s caste system. Here’s how we tear it down modified from an opinion by Keith Magee, CNN January 20, 2024
I know it will take a long time to deconstruct race. However, there are reasons for optimism. Among Black Americans, attitudes to race are evolving. Although most Black adults in the US still see their racial identity as being important or extremely important to how they think about themselves, young Black Americans are less likely than their older peers to say this. I suspect this trend will continue, as identity becomes an increasingly complex mix of factors, including ancestry, economic status, faith and sexuality.
At the same time, the racial makeup of the US is changing. According to the 2020 census data the proportion of people who identify as non-Hispanic White is in decline. The good news is, most Americans don’t actually think this matters — the majority of adults (including, significantly, 62% of White people) now see this demographic change as being neither good nor bad for society. So maybe, as we begin to redefine and expand the intersecting communities to which we feel we belong, rather than the castes to which we are assigned, race is gradually losing its hold over us.
I hope DuVernay’s powerful movie will inspire everyone who sees it to defy racism. I would urge you to go and watch “Origin,” then walk out of that movie theater determined to make a connection with someone who is not considered to be of what society could consider to be your caste. Listen to their stories, learn about their aspirations, look for the things you have in common.
If we each do that on a regular basis, we will eventually sweep away the rotten social structures that have divided us for far too long. Together, we can fix up this country, just as Wilkerson fixes up her old house in the movie, by building new foundations based on true equality, empathy and love.
It’s never too late. Every single one of us has skin in the game, for, as Wilkerson points out, the caste system diminishes us all, wherever we may sit in its fabricated hierarchy.
Inspired words
Homily Mike
Shared Homily All
Prayers of the People Linda K & Maryann
Linda K: Litany for Those Not Ready for Healing by Dr. Yolanda Pierce
Let us not rush to the language of healing, before understanding the fullness of the injury and the depth of the wound.
Let us not rush to offer a bandaid, when the gaping wound requires surgery and complete reconstruction.
Let us not offer false equivalencies, thereby diminishing the particular pain being felt in a particular circumstance in a particular historical moment.
Let us not speak of reconciliation without speaking of reparations and restoration, or how we can repair the breach and how we can restore the loss.
Let us not rush past the loss of this mother’s child, this father’s child…someone’s beloved son.
Let us not value property over people; let us not protect material objects while human lives hang in the balance.
Let us not value a false peace over a righteous justice.
Let us not be afraid to sit with the ugliness, the messiness, and the pain that is life in community together.
Let us not offer clichés to the grieving, those whose hearts are being torn asunder.
Instead…
Let us mourn Black and brown men and women, those killed extrajudicially every 28 hours.
Let us lament the loss of a teenager, dead at the hands of a police officer who described him as a demon.
Let us weep at a criminal justice system, which is neither blind nor just.
Let us call for the mourning men and the wailing women, those willing to rend their garments of privilege and ease, and sit in the ashes of this nation’s original sin.
Let us be silent when we don’t know what to say.
Let us be humble and listen to the pain, rage, and grief pouring from the lips of our neighbors and friends.
Let us decrease, so that our brothers and sisters who live on the underside of history may increase.
Let us listen to the shattering glass and let us smell the purifying fires, for it is the language of the unheard.
Let us pray with our eyes open and our feet firmly planted on the ground.
And as we turn to our own community and the whole world…
For our sisters and brothers in Sophia, in our sister parish in Rochester and for all those involved with Pathways to Prosperity, Voice of the Faithful, RAMP, and FCM… may they continue to allow hope to power their works of justice, we pray. (Allow prayerful silence)
For what else shall we pray? Allow 4 petitions, followed by prayerful silences.
May we allow ourselves to feel the pain and hurt, and have the humility to see our complicity in injustice. May we rouse ourselves from our indifference. May we speak out and not remain silent. May we dream fierce dreams. May we learn to accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. Amen.
Sharing Peace Mike
Prayer over the Bread Janet
We are grateful – for this bread,
Which earth has given and human hands have formed.
This bread nourishes our spirit.
Prayer over the Wine
We are grateful – for this wine,
Fruit of the vine and work of human hands.
It is our spiritual drink.
Eucharistic Prayer for Black History Month Mike & Peter
Presider: We gather today mindful of the quest for freedom that cries out in the heart and soul of every woman and man. A quest that is fierce with resolve and will not end until freedom is won for all.
Voice: From the time of Moses, people enslaved others for profit and gain.
When Israel was in Egypt’s land, the Israelites were oppressed so hard they could not stand. Let my people go!
P: Four hundred years ago, on the shores of the new-found land which became America, people were once again enslaved for profit and gain. Let my people go!
Voice: On the backs of these women and men this country was built. Let my people go! No consideration, no justice, no mercy for them. Let my people go!
P: A war began that tore a country apart. The Emancipation Proclamation brought a degree of freedom but injustice and greed still persisted. Let my people go!
Voice: New ways of indignities and injustices were invented: Jim Crow, Whites Only, Segregation and Red Lining. Let my people go!
P: And yet, in spite of all this, women and men of color have produced so many beautiful and meaningful creations. We thank Dr. Shirley Jackson for fiber-optic cable, Lewis Latimer for carbon filament (inner light bulb), Marie Van Brittan Brown for closed-circuit television security, Otis Boykin for the pacemaker, Lonnie Johnson for the Super Soaker and thermoelectric energy converters, Charles Drew for the blood bank, Marian Croak for Voice over Internet Protocol, Lisa Gelobter for animated Gifs on the web, Philip Emeagwali – a drop out, for the world’s fastest computer, Jesse Wilkins, Jr, for the math behind gamma radiation, Garrett Morgan for the gas mask and the traffic signal, and Mary and Mildred Davidson for women’s feminine products and the walker, and Onesimus & Cotton Mather for the method that would eventually become vaccinations against infectious diseases. Appreciating these contributions as just a few among many, we pray recognizing the worth of all, and being grateful to learn what was never deemed important enough to include in our educational experiences.
Voice: We pray, recognizing our true worth, and our understanding of what it means to be human. No longer unworthy exiles, we are people with a glorious cosmic history, with great responsibility, and a noble destiny. Along with everything else in the universe, we are on a journey beyond our imagining.
P: We remember Jesus. He challenged us to confront any influence within us, any social, family, religious or cultural influence, that prevents us from recognizing the power within us and within all people – the power of love;
a power that could join all people as one in their common dream of a better humanity.
Voice: So we take this bread, as Jesus took bread, and give thanks for the wonder of the Divine in, and with us, and we eat, committing ourselves to love as Jesus loved, wholeheartedly, generously, and compassionately, so that people will see expressed in us what we have seen expressed in Jesus.
P: We take this wine, and we remember Jesus drinking wine with his friends. We drink, giving our “Yes” to being on earth the heart of the Holy One.
Voice: Our prayer is that Justice Rolls down like water. We have a Dream. That one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all women and men are created equal.”
P: We have a dream that people of color will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
Voice: We have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight.
P: This is our hope. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood and sisterhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
Voice: From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
P: To wherever the Spirit of Life and Love may lead us we give our, Amen.
Prayer of Jesus (Please pray along) Colleen
Our Prayer of Jesus this morning invites us to see the words and dreams of Jesus expressed in the poetry of Langston Hughes:
I dream a world where man
No other man will scorn,
Where love will bless the earth
And peace its paths adorn
I dream a world where all
Will know sweet freedom’s way,
Where greed no longer saps the soul
Nor avarice blights our day.
A world I dream where black or white,
Whatever race you be,
Will share the bounties of the earth
And every man is free,
Where wretchedness will hang its head
And joy, like a pearl,
Attends the needs of all mankind-
Of such I dream, my world!
Amen.
Breaking of the Bread Alice or Colleen
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
Communion Mike
Presider: “…happy are we to share in this meal”
All: Our sharing in this meal is a sign of our gratitude and commitment to be one with Jesus.
When sharing the bread: “This is, and you are, the bread of life”
Presider: With great joy, we state.
All: We are followers of Jesus.
When sharing the cup: “The cup of the Covenant”
Communion Song Margie
Lift Every Voice and Sing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EkR826TuJU
Closing Prayer Mike
“Seeds grow in the dark
Hope’s born in the dark
Dreams start in the dark
So don’t give up
Don’t give up, Don’t give up”
These words from “Those Who Dream” by The Many, remind us not to give up even when things seem dark. Despite disappointments, we can believe. Like Jesus, our guide and teacher, as well as many throughout history, may we hold on to infinite hope! Amen.
Closing Song Margie
Let Justice Rain by the Many
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RORyLr9y2Y0
Announcements
Resources
I Dream a World by Langston Hughes
“Langson Hughes, the first Black American to earn his living solely from his writing and public lectures, lived his life as a poet, social activist, novelist, playwright and columnist. He is a renowned leader of the Harlem Renaissance.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-H7cAQK1qo
A Culture Where We All Belong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQm9Gmz8yE0
MLK AND THE LIMITLESS LEGACY OF HOPE BY JAMES PETERSON
Full article: https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/mlk-limitless-legacy-of-hope/
Today’s closing prayer is by Howard Thurman from “Meditations of the Heart”.
Thurman was born in 1899 and raised in the segregated South. He is recognized as one of the great spiritual leaders of the 20th century renowned for his reflections on humanity and our relationship with God. Thurman was a prolific author (writing at least 20 books); perhaps the most famous is “Jesus and the Disinherited” (1949), which deeply influenced Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. Thurman was the first black person to be a tenured Dean at a PWI (predominantly white institution) Boston University. He cofounded the first interracially pastored, intercultural church in the United States.
Lord, Lord, Open Unto Me
Open unto me, light for my darkness
Open unto me, courage for my fear
Open unto me, hope for my despair
Open unto me, peace for my turmoil
Open unto me, joy for my sorrow
Open unto me, strength for my weakness
Open unto me, wisdom for my confusion
Open unto me, forgiveness for my sins
Open unto me, tenderness for my toughness
Open unto me, love for my hates
Open unto me, Thy Self for myself
Lord, Lord, open unto me!
Martin Luther King, Jr. on ‘Infinite Hope’
- 2 MIN READ
Today’s challenges should never stop us from imagining a better tomorrow.
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke these words in a Washington, D.C., address in February 1968, just two months before he was assassinated in Memphis. They echo across the decades and endure as one of the most positive messages of the great civil rights leader’s legacy—that the challenges that weigh us down today should never dissuade us from imagining a better, more just, and more love-filled future.
I was taught—and I believe—that no feeling can last forever. Disappointment, sadness, embarrassment, excitement, relaxation, joy—not one of those emotional states, for better or worse, can be sustained indefinitely.
But could hope be the single exception to that rule? Dr. King thought so, and the impact of that belief continues to reverberate, even a half century after his death.
In his personal and public life, he endured many disappointments. Dr. King encouraged that we “accept” those challenges even as we hold onto the hope that makes his message so relevant. A disappointment or setback can put any of us in danger of giving up on our goals, hopes and dreams, whether for ourselves or for the world. Accepting that setback is simply part of the road toward what he famously called “the promised land” frees us to process our failures in a larger context of progress, connection and above all, hope.
So is hope in fact “infinite?” The poet Emily Dickinson said as much in her famous verse:
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all
Ebony and Ivory by Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_IeYjqL8GU
Lyrics
Ebony and ivory live together in perfect harmony
Side by side on my piano keyboard, oh Lord, why don’t we?
We all know that people are the same wherever you go
There is good and bad in ev’ryone
We learn to live, when we learn to give
Each other what we need to survive, together alive
Ebony and ivory live together in perfect harmony
Side by side on my piano keyboard, oh Lord why don’t we?
Ebony, ivory, living in perfect harmony
Ebony, ivory, ooh
We all know that people are the same wherever you go
There is good and bad in ev’ryone
We learn to live, when we learn to give
Each other what we need to survive, together alive
Ebony and ivory live together in perfect harmony
Side by side on my piano keyboard, oh Lord why don’t we?
Side by side on my piano keyboard, oh Lord, why don’t we
Ebony, ivory, living in perfect harmony
Ghat GPT on
You
tell me reasons for hope in race relationships in the US
ChatGPT
ChatGPT
While challenges persist, there are several reasons for hope in race relationships in the U.S.:
- Increased Awareness: There is a growing awareness of racial issues and systemic inequalities. Conversations about racism have become more mainstream, leading to increased understanding and empathy.
- Youth Activism: Young people are actively engaging in social justice movements, advocating for equality, and challenging discriminatory practices. Their energy and commitment can contribute to positive change over time.
- Policy Reforms: There is an ongoing push for policy reforms to address systemic racism. Efforts to reform criminal justice, voting rights, and other areas aim to create a more equitable society.
- Representation: Increasing representation of diverse voices in media, politics, and various sectors is helping to break stereotypes and promote a more inclusive narrative.
- Interconnected Movements: The intersectionality of various social justice movements (racial, gender, LGBTQ+, etc.) is fostering solidarity and collective efforts toward a more just and inclusive society.
- Education and Awareness: Educational institutions and organizations are implementing programs to educate people about the history of racism and its impacts. This knowledge can contribute to a more informed and empathetic society.
- Community Engagement: Many communities are actively working towards building bridges and fostering understanding between different racial and ethnic groups. Grassroots efforts can have a significant impact on improving relationships.
- Technology and Social Media: Social media platforms provide a space for marginalized voices to be heard and for information to be disseminated rapidly. This can lead to greater awareness and mobilization for positive change.
- Corporate Initiatives: Some companies are taking steps to address racial inequalities within their organizations and in the broader community. Corporate initiatives can influence societal norms and practices.
- Legal Advocacy: Legal organizations and advocates are working to challenge discriminatory laws and practices, leading to legal victories that promote justice and equality.
While progress may be slow and challenges remain, these factors provide reasons to be hopeful for positive developments in race relationships in the U.S.
MLK Speech
We as a people have long dreamed of freedom, but we are still confined to an oppressive prison of segregation and discrimination.25 Must we respond to this disappointed hope with bitterness and cynicism? Certainly not, for this will only distort and poison our personality. Must we conclude that the existence of segregation is a part of the will of God, and thereby resign ourselves to the fate of oppression. Of course not, for such a course would be blasphemy, because it attributes to God something that should be attributed to the devil. Moreover, to accept passively an unjust system is to cooperate with that system; thereby the oppressed become as evil as the oppressor. Our most fruitful course of action will be to stand up with a courageous determination, moving on non-violently amid obstacles and setbacks, facing disappointments and yet clinging to the hope. It will be this determination and final refusal to be stopped that will eventually open the door of fulfillment. While still in the prison of segregation we must ask, “How can I turn this liability into an asset?” It is possible that, recognizing the necessity of suffering, we can make of it a virtue. To suffer in a righteous cause is to grow to our humanity’s full stature.26 If only to save ourselves from bitterness, we need the vision to see the ordeals of this generation as the opportunity to transfigure ourselves and American society. Moreover, through our suffering in this oppressive prison and our non-violent struggle to get out of it, we may give the kind of spiritual dynamic to western civilization that it so desperately needs to survive.
Of course some of us will die having not received the promise of freedom. But we must continue to move on. On the one hand we must accept the finite disappointment, but in spite of this we must maintain the infinite hope. This is the only way that we will be able to live without the fatigue of bitterness and the drain of resentment.
Movie Review: Ava DuVernay’s ‘Origin’ is a powerful, artful, interpretation of ‘Caste’
BY LINDSEY BAHR Updated 9:26 AM EST, January 17, 2024
Alternate Theme: Everything is harder for people of color
Black Mamas Matter Alliance – Advancing Black Maternal Health, Rights & Justice
Hold for later
I Belong Here – what we tell young women
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc-7CrtdnKs
Holy Family 2023 – All Families are Holy
Holy Family Liturgy 12/31/2023
We pray for others
Opening Song Mike
Christmas Heart
Slide Show
©1996 Rouse House Music, ASCAP. All rights reserved. www.earthmama.org
Wisdom Bowl Maryann or Margie
Opening Prayer Mike
(from Upper Room Adapted)
Let us remember the greater part of the life of Jesus was led in humility and respectfulness to Mary and Joseph. He came to enlighten our world by sharing his teaching and example. We now have a more encompassing view of our tumultuous everchanging world. Let us hope and pray with hands linked in unity, with voices lifted in joyful noise and with works of dedication. May we have wisdom to make the best choices for this global family. Amen.
First Reading Linda Kaul
The implications of Christmas
Christmas is the celebration of small things, particular things, barely noticeable things. It is Jesus in a manger—an animal byre—the child who will grow into the voice of God that is heard around the world.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the magnificence of Jesus and so miss the simplicity of Jesus, the normalcy of Jesus, the invisibility of the Jesus who lives almost totally unseen, unheralded, for the first 30 years of his life. Just like us.
The implications of that reality, especially at a time like Christmas with all the gifts and glitter, all the great Christmas icons and triumphant hymns—cue trumpet, hit flashing lights, turn spotlight on angels—turn real life upside down. There weren’t any trumpets, the night was quiet and dark as pitch, no heavenly choir sang. It was a moment of crisis, of abandonment, of loss, of total dependence for this little family. They knew too much of what the families of the world know yet, in fact.
This was a refugee family. They were homeless. In a highly communal society their survival depended on the hospitality and support of strangers. That’s the real story. Where has it been for so long?
Maybe we’ve never wanted to face the implications of this birth, its social status, its neediness. Maybe it has been so well-masked that we have never realized the demands it makes on us. It has implications for now, for the world we’re in where we ourselves are turning refugees away so we can make “America first.” First in wealth. First in power. First in prominence. First in isolation from the racial reality of the rest of the world—from the pain of all of it.
Isn’t it time to grow beyond the fairy tale spirituality and face our own part in the drama? Aren’t we the missing people in the Christmas frieze, the people absent from the beggar’s birth, the real deciders of what this birth will bring? At least in our own time. Now.
Isn’t it time to realize that this birth is meant to change us all? To make us the bringers of a Merry Christmas to others.
—from The Monastic Way by Joan Chittister, Dec. 2018
INSPIRED Words.
Second Reading Sue Bove
Human Family by Maya Angelou
I note the obvious differences
in the human family.
Some of us are serious,
some thrive on comedy.
Some declare their lives are lived
as true profundity,
and others claim they really live
the real reality.
The variety of our skin tones
can confuse, bemuse, delight,
brown and pink and beige and purple,
tan and blue and white.
I’ve sailed upon the seven seas
and stopped in every land,
I’ve seen the wonders of the world
not yet one common man.
I know ten thousand women
called Jane and Mary Jane,
but I’ve not seen any two
who really were the same.
Mirror twins are different
although their features jibe,
and lovers think quite different thoughts
while lying side by side.
We love and lose in China,
we weep on England’s moors,
and laugh and moan in Guinea,
and thrive on Spanish shores.
We seek success in Finland,
are born and die in Maine.
In minor ways we differ,
in major we’re the same.
I note the obvious differences
between each sort and type,
but we are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
Inspired Words
“Psalm” Marie
We Are Unity.. edited by Bhanu..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THv65eAWf78%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank
Gospel Colleen Walsh-White
A reading from the Gospel in the Tradition of Matthew.
After the scholars were gone, God’s angel showed up again in Joseph’s dream and commanded, “Get up. Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Stay until further notice. Herod is on the hunt for this child, and wants to kill him.”
Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother under cover of darkness. They were out of town and well on their way by daylight.
They lived in Egypt until Herod’s death. This Egyptian exile fulfilled what Hosea had preached: “I called my son out of Egypt.”
Herod, when he realized that the scholars had tricked him, flew into a rage. He commanded the murder of every little boy two years old and under who lived in Bethlehem and its surrounding hills. (He determined that age from information he’d gotten from the scholars.)
Later, when Herod died, God’s angel appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt:
“Up, take the child and his mother and return to Israel. All those out to murder the child are dead.”
Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother, and reentered Israel.
When he heard, though, that Archelaus had succeeded his father, Herod, as king in Judea, he was afraid to go there. But then Joseph was directed in a dream to go to the hills of Galilee.
On arrival, he settled in the village of Nazareth. This move was a fulfillment of the prophetic words, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
Inspired Words.
Homily Mike
Prayer of the People Margie McFadden
(Slowly): We gather today, painfully aware for the need of mercy in our country and in our world.
AFTER each petition there will be a prayerful silence: (allow 5 seconds)
That we dwell on the simplicity of Jesus, the normalcy of Jesus, the invisibility of the Jesus who lives almost totally unseen, unheralded, for the first 30 years of his life. Just like us…we pray,
For all Holy Families in moments moment of crisis, of abandonment, of loss, of total dependence… we pray,
For all refugee families. They are homeless. Whose very survival depends on the hospitality and support of strangers. …we pray,
For non-traditional families especially those in the LGBTQ community, that all may come to not only accept but to welcome and love them…we pray,
For the implications the refugee story of Jesus, Mary and Joseph has on our present-day world… we pray,
For the sick of our community, for those to whom we have promised our prayers, for those who struggle with mental health or addiction, for courage to reach out and ask for help… we pray,
For all who have died, especially those who died violently… we pray,
For our sisters and brothers in Sophia, in our sister parish in Rochester, for all those involved with Pathways to Prosperity, Voice of the Faithful, RAMP and FCM, may they know of our love and care for them. May they continue to do good as they follow the Way of Jesus, we pray,
For what else shall we pray? Allow 4 petitions.
May the Spirit of Jesus live in us, that a new world can take shape in us and keep growing. May we grow beyond the fairy tale spirituality and face our own part in the drama that now unfolds. May we be resolved to be agents of mercy in all out comings and goings. And we pray this and all prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Sharing of Peace Mike
Prayer over the Bread and the Wine Linda Schaller
We are grateful – for this bread,
Which earth has given and human hands have formed.
This bread nourishes our spirit.
We are grateful – for this wine,
Fruit of the vine and work of human hands.
It is our spiritual drink.
Eucharistic Prayer Mike & Grace Collins
Eucharistic Prayer Michael Morwood: Prayers For Progressive Christians
(Please pray the part of the voice at home)
Presider: We come together at this special time,
moved by a light within us
and within all people,
a light embedded in every baby,
in every child,
in every woman and in every man,
a light that burns and shines brightly
a light that is the precious gift of love.
Voice: We believe that this light,
this love within
has a dimension beyond our words and images.
It is the light of the Great Mystery
that grounds and sustains
everything that exists.
P: It is the light we name
God
Love
Creator
Infinite Spirit
Breath of God.
Voice: The light burning within us
burns in galaxies and stars
in everything that exists,
in everything around us,
in everything within us.
P: Like Jesus we give human expression to this light,
in our love,
in our compassion,
in our co-operation,
in our deepest hopes and desires
for a world of good will,
peace,
and respect for the earth.
Voice: We rejoice in the birth of Jesus.
We rejoice that today
we are able to see and believe
that his birth,
his story,
is the story of every human baby,
that the light that burned inside him is burning inside each of us.
P: We rejoice that he is more like us
that we ever imagined.
Voice: Like each of us
he grew in wisdom as he aged.
He questioned,
he searched for meaning,
he shaped his convictions,
he experienced love
and came to know love’s connectedness
with the reality he called God.
P: Standing firmly in his own religious tradition
he preached good news
to people dreaming
of a better humanity,
dreaming of reaching out to one another
in the truth that binds us all.
Voice: We rejoice that his teaching
sets us free from
imagining a punishing God
and thinking we are distant
from the Ultimate Light
that grounds our very existence.
P: We rejoice that Jesus led people
to discover the sacred in the ordinary:
in the crowd,
in the lowly,
in the everyday life,
in human yearnings to be better people,
in being neighbor to one another.
Voice: We rejoice that his teaching
set us free to believe
that we give human expression
to the Light and Love
underpinning all that exists
and giving meaning to who we are.
P: Our Christmas prayer
is that we may recognize
and actively acknowledge
the presence of the sacred
in places we are reluctant to look.
Voice: We are thankful for Jesus’ courage
in the face of opposition
and powerful influences
wanting to silence him.
P: We remember the night before he died
when he shared a meal with his friends.
He gave thanks
for all the blessings in his life
and shared the bread with his friends,
asking them to gather in memory of him
to keep his dream alive.
Voice: We break bread
as Jesus broke bread,
mindful of the call
to love generously and faithfully,
whatever the cost.
P: We eat this bread,
giving our “Amen”
to living in love,
as Jesus lived in love.
Voice: We take wine,
mindful of our responsibility to be bearers of forgiveness, tolerance,
and understanding.
P: We drink,
committing ourselves
to allow the spirit of generosity
that moved so boldly in Jesus
to move in our lives.
Voice: To this commitment
we give our “Amen”
and offer it as our Christmas gift
to our family and friends
our colleagues and our neighbors.
Prayer of Jesus Geri Moran
(Please pray at home)
O Divine Birther of all that is – from the smallest particle to the vastness of
the cosmos, you are present. Holy are your infinite names chanted, sung or whispered.
Abba, Beloved, Divine Breath, Great Mystery, Sophia
May we walk in peace, speak with tenderness, touch with compassion and love unconditionally. With gratitude for the abundance we’ve been given, may we always share with any who hunger or are in need. May we be filled with humility and regret for the times we did not reflect your love. May we always offer forgiveness to those whose words or actions have caused us pain. May we understand our individual purpose and seek to fulfill it without distraction.
We pray what we believe and believe what we pray. Amen.
By Colleen Walsh White 2020
Breaking of the Bread Alice or Colleen
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
Presider: “…happy are we to share in this meal”
All: Our sharing in this meal is a sign of our gratitude and commitment to be one with Jesus.
When sharing the bread: “This is, and you are, the bread of life”
Presider: With great joy, we state.
All: We are followers of Jesus.
When sharing the cup: “The cup of the Covenant”
Communion Meditation Song Mike
With Slide Show
Closing Prayer Mike
(from Upper Room Adapted)
Jesus signaled a new consciousness, a new way of looking at the Divine, self and others. We are this holy family, this kin-dom here and now. May we be mindful that our spirit impacts each and every person we meet. As we are blessed, let us be a blessing.
Closing Song Marie
We Are Family Sister Sledge
https://youtu.be/oMVe_HcyP9Y?t=1
Christmas 2023
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/P_iUSegu8Ao2rMP78K4hxiKuVofhFYO-nmb8bxpYnG4LAQdkhMjd7AKcW8Zucg7N.HuGEUNl3KsJD9TH0?startTime=1703430033000
Christmas Liturgy 12/24/2023
We pray for others
Opening Song Mike
Quaker Christmas Medley
by Carol Bemmels and Ross Flanagan
It’s winter and light is alive on the earth
Wake up! It’s Christmas morning
Starlight and firelight and sunlight give birth
Wake up! The Christ-child’s a-borning
CHORUS
He’s man and He’s woman, He’s old and He’s young
He’s Buddhist and Christian and Jew
She’s wealthy, She’s poor, She’s black and She’s white
And, oh yes, the Christ-child is you
Sisters and brothers, whatever your sleep
Wake up! It’s Christmas morning
Bring with you dreams for the daylight to keep
Wake up! the Christ-child’s a-borning
REPEAT CHORUS
Jesus was good and He lived long ago
Wake up! It’s Christmas morning
You are good, too, and are living now, so
Wake up! the Christ-child’s a-borning
REPEA
©1980 Rouse House Music, ASCAP. All rights reserved.
www.earthmama.org
Wisdom Bowl Maryann or Margie
Opening Prayer Mike
A brief look at the news shouts out that there are many dark places in our world.
Darkness through mindless violence
Darkness through frustration and horror
Darkness through grief and distress
Darkness through pain and disease
Darkness deep in the souls of those we love…
We pray that
into these dark places
into those unnamed dark places
into the darkness of fear and loneliness
radiance may be poured out
light may be showered down
pure brilliance may be broken through
until the darkness is disspelled
and our hearts find peace
and the light of hope
can shine forth again
fresh and new with this new day
we pray,
Amen
~ written by Julie Rennick and posted on RevGalBlogPals. https://revgalblogpals.org/2018/03/05/monday-prayer-175/(adaped)
First Reading Peter
Let there be light.
Let there be light in dire situations
Let there be light in difficult circumstances
Let there be light in seemingly endless problems
Let there be light in fierce storms
Let there be light in trials and tribulations
Let there be light in imposing obstacles
Let there be light where there is acute stress
Let there be light where there is darkness
Let there be light where there is sickness.
Let there be light in troubled relationships
Let there be light in troubled marriages
Let there be light in major disagreements
Let there be light in major disappointments
Let there be light where there are differences in opinions
Let there be light where there are major arguments.
Let there be light in troubled institutions
Let there be light in troubled governments
Let there be light in troubled churches
Let there be light in troubled families
Let there be light where there is gloom
Let there be light where there is doom
Let there be light where there is pain
Let there be light where there is strain
Let there be light
Let there be light
Let there be light in the name of Jesus.
Inspired Words
Second Reading Teri
Jesus came to shine the ultimate light. Those who follow him will also be called children of the light. Being imitators of Jesus, doing as He did, is what we are called to do. We are to reflect the light of the Son, as the moon reflects the light in the night. It is true that “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” ~ John 1:5
Inspired Words
“Psalm” Marie
https://youtu.be/hEaVhVDPA3A?t=1
Let Your Light Shine In Us Kathy Sherman from Love Cannot be Silenced
L E T YOUR L I G H T SHINE I N US
(from Expressions of a Love…)
Let your light shine in us.
Let your light shine in us.
Let your light shine in us
and we will be Light for the world.
We will be one and
the KIN-dom will come.
Let your heart beat in us.
Let your heart beat in us.
Let your heart beat in us
and we will be love for the world.
We will be one and
the KIN-dom will come.
Let your joy sing in us.
Let your joy sing in us.
Let your joy sing in us
and we will be hope for the world.
We will be one and
the KIN-dom will come.
Let your peace live in us.
Let your peace Uve in us.
Let your peace live in us
and we will be ONE for the world.
We will be one and
the KIN-dom will come.
Third Reading Judy and Kathy
Christmas Then and Now by Joyce Rupp
Then
Into the chasm of emptiness came the Fullness of Life.
Into the endless searching came the Attentive Listener.
Into the constant struggle came the Tireless Peace Giver.
Into the deep despair came the Heart of Hope.
Into the desolation came the Divine Consolation.
Into the woundedness came the Gentle Healer.
Into the void of joy came the Source of Happiness.
Into the bewilderment came the Spirit of Clarity.
Into the ache of heart came the Compassionate One.
Into the worried fretting came the Trustworthy Presence.
Into the search for meaning came the Wise Teacher.
Into the gulf of grief came the Loving Embrace.
Into the bleak darkness came the Light of the World.
Now
We are the ones birthing this Love into life.
We are the greeting of hospitality for the lonely.
We are the source of comfort for the sorrowing.
We are the rock of courage for the weakened.
We are the bearer of hope for the despondent.
We are the gift of acceptance for the rejected.
We are the voice of justice for the powerless.
We are the touch of healing for the wounded.
We are the sound of joy for the disheartened.
We are the home of welcome for the lost one.
We are the conveyer of trust for the self-doubter.
We are the calm dwelling for the anxiety-ridden.
We are the resting place for the worn and weary.
We are the Light of the World. Christ lives in us.
By Joyce Rupp, Prayer Seeds, page 8.
Inspired Words
Homily Mike
Prayer of the People Mary and Rob
The Season for Miracles
(Reflection and Prayer Litany)
Voice One: If we were to list the miracles of Christmas
we’d probably talk about virgin births
angels, perhaps
and stars that light the sky
but perhaps there’s another miracle:
one of Mary saying ‘yes’ when the Divine prompted her to believe
and Joseph saying ‘yes’ when the Divine prompted him to trust.
They had to change everything about their lives
and the birth of the child wasn’t possible until they did.
What does it mean for you to say ‘yes’ to this story?
to believe that it might be possible
for the darkness to be transformed to light
and for peace to come in the world?
Those who know the darkest of the world
know the fragility of light;
we hold our breath as the candles flicker
we know they don’t always last.
the birth of Jesus doesn’t make everything right
but it shows us that the only way the darkness can be beaten
is to say ‘yes’ to the birth of light.
In the silence, we pray for those we love and miss today
and we pray for a broken world…
[Pause]
Voice Two: This is the season for miracles
and we pray for one today.
Where there is sorrow,
we pray for grace to light the darkness.
Where is despair,
we pray for hope to light the darkness.
Where there is hatred,
we pray for forgiveness to light the darkness.
Where there is war,
we pray for love to light the darkness.
Where there is confusion,
we pray for peace to light the darkness.
Where there is injustice,
we pray for courage to light the darkness.
Where there is fear
we pray for joy to light the darkness.
Voice One: To the following prayers, we offer a prayerful silence.
For our sisters and brothers in Sophia, in our sister parish in Rochester, for all those involved with Pathways to Prosperity and for our sisters and brothers in Voice of the Faithful, RAMP and FCM, may they know of our love and care for them. May they continue to do good as they follow the Way of Jesus… we respond,
For what else shall we pray? Allow 4 petitions.
It is the season for miracles
and we pray for one today:
Come, may the light of Jesus come into our world.
Amen.
— written by Cheryl Lawrie, on her blog [hold this space] http://holdthisspace.org.au/ (adapted)
Sharing of Peace Mike
Prayer over the Bread and the Wine Colleen Walsh-White
We are grateful – for this bread,
Which earth has given and human hands have formed.
This bread nourishes our spirit.
We are grateful – for this wine,
Fruit of the vine and work of human hands.
It is our spiritual drink.
Eucharistic Prayer Mike & Bill
Eucharistic Prayer Michael Morwood: Prayers For Progressive Christians
(Please pray the part of the voice at home)
Presider: We come together at this special time,
moved by a light within us
and within all people,
a light embedded in every baby,
in every child,
in every woman and in every man,
a light that burns and shines brightly
a light that is the precious gift of love.
Voice: We believe that this light,
this love within
has a dimension beyond our words and images.
It is the light of the Great Mystery
that grounds and sustains
everything that exists.
P: It is the light we name
God
Love
Creator
Infinite Spirit
Breath of God.
Voice: The light burning within us
burns in galaxies and stars
in everything that exists,
in everything around us,
in everything within us.
P: Like Jesus we give human expression to this light,
in our love,
in our compassion,
in our co-operation,
in our deepest hopes and desires
for a world of good will,
peace,
and respect for the earth.
Voice: We rejoice in the birth of Jesus.
We rejoice that today
we are able to see and believe
that his birth,
his story,
is the story of every human baby,
that the light that burned inside him is burning inside each of us.
P: We rejoice that he is more like us
that we ever imagined.
Voice: Like each of us
he grew in wisdom as he aged.
He questioned,
he searched for meaning,
he shaped his convictions,
he experienced love
and came to know love’s connectedness
with the reality he called God.
Voice: Standing firmly in his own religious tradition
he preached good news
to people dreaming
of a better humanity,
dreaming of reaching out to one another
in the truth that binds us all.
P: We rejoice that his teaching
sets us free from
imagining a punishing God
and thinking we are distant
from the Ultimate Light
that grounds our very existence.
Voice: We rejoice that Jesus led people
to discover the sacred in the ordinary:
in the crowd,
in the lowly,
in the everyday life,
in human yearnings to be better people,
in being neighbor to one another.
P: We rejoice that his teaching
set us free to believe
that we give human expression
to the Light and Love
underpinning all that exists
and giving meaning to who we are.
Voice: Our Christmas prayer
is that we may recognize
and actively acknowledge
the presence of the sacred
in places we are reluctant to look.
P: We are thankful for Jesus’ courage
in the face of opposition
and powerful influences
wanting to silence him.
Voice: We remember the night before he died
when he shared a meal with his friends.
He gave thanks
for all the blessings in his life
and shared the bread with his friends,
asking them to gather in memory of him
to keep his dream alive.
P: We break bread
as Jesus broke bread,
mindful of the call
to love generously and faithfully,
whatever the cost.
Voice: We eat this bread,
giving our “Amen”
to living in love,
as Jesus lived in love.
P: We take wine,
mindful of our responsibility to be bearers of forgiveness, tolerance,
and understanding.
Voice: We drink,
committing ourselves
to allow the spirit of generosity
that moved so boldly in Jesus
to move in our lives.
P: To this commitment
we give our “Amen”
and offer it as our Christmas gift
to our family and friends
our colleagues and our neighbors.
Prayer of Jesus Janet
(Please pray at home)
O Divine Birther of all that is – from the smallest particle to the vastness of
the cosmos, you are present. Holy are your infinite names chanted, sung or whispered.
Abba, Beloved, Divine Breath, Great Mystery, Sophia
May we walk in peace, speak with tenderness, touch with compassion and love unconditionally. With gratitude for the abundance we’ve been given, may we always share with any who hunger or are in need. May we be filled with humility and regret for the times we did not reflect your love. May we always offer forgiveness to those whose words or actions have caused us pain. May we understand our individual purpose and seek to fulfill it without distraction.
We pray what we believe and believe what we pray. Amen.
By Colleen Walsh White 2020
Breaking of the Bread Alice or Colleen
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
Presider: “…happy are we to share in this meal”
All: Our sharing in this meal is a sign of our gratitude and commitment to be one with Jesus.
When sharing the bread: “This is, and you are, the bread of life”
Presider: With great joy, we state.
All: We are followers of Jesus.
When sharing the cup: “The cup of the Covenant”
Communion Meditation Song Marie
When A Child Is Born – Johnny Mathis (From Home For Christmas)
Closing Prayer Mike
Seeking Light
In this season of waiting, of longing,
of looking We are seeking light
In our own lives
We are seeking light
In our neighborhoods
We are seeking light
In our families
We are seeking light
In our work
We are seeking light
In Grace
We are seeking light
In our nation
We are seeking light
In our world
We are seeking light
Seek and you shall find
Knock and the door will be opened
Ask and it will be given to you
Jesus is our light
May we have eyes to see his way
And ears to hear what he says across the centuries
So that we can make his dream, his mission and ministry come into our world today.
Amen~ from the website of Grace Church in Ealing, London. http://www.freshworship.org/(adapted)
A Christmas Blessing Maryann Crilly
- May there be harmony in all your relationships. May sharp words, envious thoughts, and hostile feelings be dissolved.
- May you give and receive love generously. May this love echo in your heart like the joy of church bells on a clear December day.
- May each person who comes into your life be greeted as another Christ. May the honor given the Babe of Bethlehem be that which you extend to every guest who enters your presence.
- May the hope of this sacred season settle in your soul. May it be a foundation of courage for you when times of distress occupy your inner land.
- May the wonder and awe that fills the eyes of children be awakened within you. May it lead you to renewed awareness and appreciation of whatever you too easily take for granted.
- May the bonds of love for one another be strengthened however you gather with family and friends at this time of festivity and connection.
- May you daily open the gift of your life and be grateful for the hidden treasures it contains.
- May the coming year be one of good health for you. May you have energy and vitality. May you care well for your body, mind, and spirit.
- May you keep your eye on the Star within you and trust this Luminescent Presence to guide and direct you each day.
- May you go often to the Bethlehem of your heart and visit the One who offers you peace. May you bring this peace into our world.
By Joyce Rupp, Out of the Ordinary, page 52.
Closing Song Marie
https://youtu.be/R0qAYq1GVec?t=3
Bruce Springsteen with the Sessions Band – This Little Light of Mine (Live In Dublin)
1st Sunday of Advent
HOPE The First Sunday of Advent
November 26, 2023
We Pray for Others (Please be brief) Mike
Advent Wreath Linda Schaller
As we begin our Advent pilgrimage, we seek strength to claim hope as we light one candle.
In a world bent on violence and destruction,
the call to hope is not a blessing of denial
but rather a call to resistance.
Hope is seeing clearly without shrinking.
Hope is seeing the blossom while knowing the thorn.
Hope is seeing the fiery ashes and awaiting the phoenix.
On this first Sunday of Advent, we seek hope.
Opening Song
Evergreen by Jan Novotka on Ever Ancient Ever New Mike
May the wreath of the evergreen give you strength.
May the fragrance of the pine bestow peace.
May the cedar and spruce, the redwood and fir,
encircle you with Life, Everlasting Life.
May the wreath of the evergreen give you strength.
May the fragrance of the pine bestow peace.
May the branches so green, hopeful and sure,
encircle you with Life, Everlasting Life.
Opening Prayer Mike
A Season of Hopeful Growth
Advent is a season of hopeful growth,
a time when we can bring to the Holy One
what is wounded in us
and ask for restoration.
It is a good time to pause and ask:
What is there in my life that needs healing?
Has any part of my life gone lame?
Has my enthusiasm waned?
My trust in others broken?
My energy to do good depleted?
Have I been blind to things
that need tending in my spirit?
Today: I ask for restoration.
By Joyce Rupp
in Anchors for the Soul for December 8 – adapted
First Reading: Hope Disguises by Jan Richardson Teri
So many things disguise themselves as hope. So much crosses our threshold, promising change or relief from present circumstances,
that sometimes it becomes difficult to tell the difference between a reasonable hope and a misguided delusion. . . .
Hope becomes easier to recognize when we learn that it rarely comes from outside us. More often, it comes from within, emerging from the place where our deepest longings meet our willingness to make them real. In that place, hope sheds its disguises, moving with grace and freedom to point us beyond our delusions toward the landscape of possibility.
By Jan Richardson in Night Visions, pages 64-65
Psalm Spot Geri
We see the signs
but cannot always
divine their meanings.
You call us to move forward
not always knowing
whether what we grasp
in our hands
will prove to be
a seed of hope
or a thorn in our flesh.
Train our fingers,
that what brings life
we may with persistence hold,
and that which wastes
our souls
we may with grace release.
By Jan Richardson in Night Visions, page 65
Second Reading Mike
Hope Transforms by Jan Phillips
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fER_tFRXZWA&t=28s
Homily Mike
Prayer of the People Margie and Kathy Schiro
The Gift of Hope
We yearn for a glimmer of assurance on this long journey that is beyond our imagining. May we be filled with a vast storehouse of renewed dreams, hopes, and peacefulness.
The gift of hope, we give thanks! You are in my memory, but I need to be reminded often of the yearning of the people of history. May the stories of how our ancestors hung on to the promise of hope, how they stole hope from tiny glimmers of the Divine, be passed on from age to age. May we hear the loud, crying voices of the prophets who proclaimed that a new age would dawn.
The gift of hope, we give thanks! May hope enter into this heart of mine, which often loses itself in self, missing the message of encouragement because I am so entangled in the web of my own whirl of life. May I not lose sight of the power of hope’s presence or the truth of hope’s consolation.
The gift of hope, we give thanks! May hope be in the lives of all those I hold dear, the ones whose lives are marked with pain, struggle, and deep anxiety, those whose lives bear ongoing heartaches, those whose difficulties threaten to overwhelm them with helplessness and despair. May they acknowledge the gift with a deep belief about never-ending faithfulness and companionship.
The gift of hope, we give thanks! We acknowledge that every human heart cries out for love, for a sign of the presence of the Divine, for a taste of happiness. May hope calm the restless and gentle the ache of the human journey.
The gift of hope, we give thanks! May we enter into this Advent season with the grace of joy and laughter. We can fill faces with smiles of delight and voices with sounds of pleasure. This gift is deep within us. We are all replenished with the joyful blessings that only peace can bring.
The gift of hope, we give thanks! You are the Morning Star in our midst, the Light that can never go out, the Beacon of Hope guiding our way. We recognize this gift makes our lives a home, where everlasting goodness resonates with assuring love and vigorous hope.
Adapted from Joyce Rupp, Out of the Ordinary, page 24
Sharing of Peace Mike
Names of Remembrance Mike
When the names of Remembrance ends, Prayer over the Bread will begin.
Prayer over the Bread Colleen
We are grateful – for this bread,
Which earth has given and human hands have formed.
This bread nourishes our spirit.
Prayer over the Wine Janet
We are grateful – for this wine,
Fruit of the vine and work of human hands.
It is our spiritual drink.
Eucharist Prayer for Advent by Michael Morwood Mike and Sue B
Presider: We gather, mindful of the longings,
the hopes and the bonds we share with people throughout human history who longed for a better world and who were prepared to work for it.
Voice: We gather, aware that each of us has been anointed in baptism
to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted,
to comfort those who mourn, to replace discouragement with hope,
to see possibility in ruined and deserted places.
Presider: We gather as bearers of good news, each in our own way capable of bringing hope to the world around us.
Voice: We open ourselves to be receptive, to be productive,
to bear fruit that will endure and will benefit all those whose lives we touch.
We give thanks for men and women throughout the centuries
who took a stand for justice, who refused to be cowered by powerful people, who remained hopeful in times of darkness,
who inspire us to work for a better humanity.
Presider: We gather around the story of Jesus
a man faithful to the voices of Jewish prophets and prophetesses
who called people to listen and to respond to the urgings deep within them, to work together for a more compassionate, just and peaceful society.
We hear Jesus’ words today challenging us:
“Whoever has ears to listen should pay attention.”
Voice: We are mindful of how he listened,
how he responded to the desires embedded within him,
how he set himself to help men and women
to believe in themselves and to establish a better world.
Presider: Like Jesus we seek to respond to the desires deep within us,
to our hope for a more just and peaceful world.
Voice: We ritualize our response by sharing the bread and wine here before us. We eat and drink today aware that in doing so
we are committing ourselves to giving fruitful expression to the “voice”, the “desire”, embedded in Jesus, a “voice”, a “desire”, embedded in us and in all people.
Presider: So we take this bread, as Jesus took bread,
and give thanks for the wonder of the Divine in and with us,
and we eat, committing ourselves to love as Jesus loved,
so that people will see expressed in us what we have seen expressed in Jesus.
Voice: We take this wine, and we remember Jesus drinking wine with his friends. We drink, giving our “Yes” to being on earth the heart of the Holy One.
Presider: To wherever the Spirit of Life and Love may lead us, we give our Amen.
Prayer of Jesus Bill Stevens
O Divine Birther of all that is – from the smallest particle to the vastness of the cosmos, you are present. Holy are your infinite names chanted, sung or whispered.
Abba, Beloved, Divine Breath, Great Mystery, Sophia
May we walk in peace, speak with tenderness, touch with compassion and love unconditionally. With gratitude for the abundance we’ve been given, may we always share with any who hunger or are in need. May we be filled with humility and regret for the times we did not reflect your love. May we always offer forgiveness to those whose words or actions have caused us pain. May we understand our individual purpose and seek to fulfill it without distraction.
We pray what we believe and believe what we pray. Amen.
By Colleen Walsh White 2020
Breaking of the Bread Alice or Colleen
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
Communion Mike
Presider: “…happy are we to share in this meal”
All: Our sharing in this meal is a sign of our gratitude and commitment to be one with Jesus.
When sharing the bread: “This is, and you are, the bread of life”
Presider: With great joy, we state.
All: We are followers of Jesus.
When sharing the cup: “The cup of the Covenant”
Communion Meditation – Mike
https://youtu.be/JV8m9PSVOBA?t=3
Closing Prayer/Blessing Mike
May the stars of Divine Love and Light shine through you this Advent season.
Let the Star of Hope blaze through discouragement, doubt, and disgruntledness.
Let the Star of Remembrance glitter in thoughts of good people and good deeds.
Let the Star of Satisfaction shine through your expectations, wants, and desires.
Let the Star of Understanding beam acceptance to those with whom you have difficulty.
Let the Star of Laughter sparkle in your eyes and in your smile.
Let the Star of Kindness radiate through what you think, feel, and do today and every day.
By Joyce Rupp, Out of the Ordinary, page 13
Closing Song Mike
Hold on to Hope by Kathy Sherman on Bits of Light and Grace CD
https://youtu.be/7SoSx3DQG1A?t=3
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
31st Sunday Jesus and Hypocrites
We pray for others (please mute yourself) Sue
Opening Song Margie
Come As You Are
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLQsfto8LyE
Wisdom Bowl Margie
Introduction Margie
We should remind ourselves of the timing of today’s Gospel, following Jesus’s sharing of the two most important commandments, loving the Divine and loving our neighbor.
In that light, this morning’s theme, “Jesus versus hypocrites” is a little unsettling. We don’t think about Jesus as ‘against’ anyone. Jesus is all about non-judgement, acceptance, love. And yet, in today’s Gospel Jesus has some very harsh words about the actions of the Scribes and Pharisees. We can almost even hear the song, “Alas for You” from Godspell as this Gospel is read. Jesus is strongly warning his followers not to be hypocrites. He is telling leaders how not to act.
Thinking of times in Jesus’s life when he was angry, it seems to inevitably be when people are involved in those same kinds of actions. It’s when they are hypocrites – getting between others and the Divine, with laws, with rules, with judgment. Jesus is not happy with the way hypocrites put guilt and burdens on others WHILE AT THE SAME TIME holding themselves up as blameless and untouchable. They try to convince others that they are above the law.
But our opening song reminds us that we don’t need to come perfectly. It is when we come as we are, not when we build ourselves up in front of others or worse, when we try to hide from ourselves behind perfect images, that we are open to Jesus.
Opening Prayer Sue
In our exploration of Jesus and his relationship with hypocrites, may we be moved to be more honest with ourselves and with our actions. May we recognize that Jesus wants us to come as we are, so that we find the Divine in the cracks, and allow the Divine Spirit to be at work in each of us.
In this time of conflict and crisis, we pray that the leaders in our world may be more honest with themselves and others. May they look at themselves with clarity, renounce performative and divisive actions and be open to the healing power of the Divine in their interactions and leadership.
We pray this and all prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Gospel Joan
Matthew 23:1-12
Now Jesus turned to address his disciples, along with the crowd that had gathered with them. “The religion scholars and Pharisees are competent teachers in God’s Law. You won’t go wrong in following their teachings on Moses. But be careful about following them. They talk a good line, but they don’t live it. They don’t take it into their hearts and live it out in their behavior. It’s all spit and polish veneer.
Instead of giving you God’s Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads, and wouldn’t think of lifting a finger to help. Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, preening in the radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary degrees, and getting called ‘Doctor’ and ‘Reverend.’
Don’t let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates.”
Inspired words
Reading Peter
By Richard Rohr
The way Jesus tried to change people was by loving and healing them, accusing only their accusers. Why did we not notice that? His harshest words of judgment were reserved for those who perpetuated systems of inequality and oppression and who, through religion itself, thought they were sinless and untouchable. Jesus did not so much love people once they changed, but he loved people so that they could change.
Inspired words
Psalm Geri
Love’s Incarnation by John C. Robinson, Ph.D., D.Min.
In the mystical consciousness of divinity,
love saturates my being,
spreading through
and beyond me.
As sound vibration spreads
from one tuning fork to another,
this love vibrates in others,
even those too crusted over to feel it.
In this consciousness,
I serve love’s incarnation.
Reading Rob
modified from Rev. Dawn Hutchings
We’ve all had days when the burdens of life have weighed us down and we’ve all had those horrible days when it seemed easier to heap burdens upon others because the best we could muster was some kind of hypocrisy that enslaved a sister or a brother. And we’ve all had those days when we have been set free to be the people we’re intended to be and we can’t help but sing the Divine’s praise. If Jesus’s message was ordinary, you could either relate to being a hypocrite who places burdens on others or someone who needs to be, or has been healed. Depending on the kind of day we are having, we could identify ourselves as either burdened or blessed.
But Jesus’s story is not just an ordinary story. [In following Jesus] each of us is called to be Jesus to one another. Which means that in addition to identifying ourselves with the ones who are healed and the ones who are hypocrites, we are also called to identify ourselves with Jesus…for we are called to be healers. We are called to set one another free! We are called to lift one another’s burdens! We are called to lift the burdens of injustice, disease, sadness, poverty, and even the burdens of death. Like Jesus, we are called to challenge the religious practices and beliefs of our day that are insensitive to peoples’ suffering.
We believe the Divine wants us to stand tall and look one another in the eyes: set one another free, call one another to account, and rejoice in the Beloved’s steadfast abundant grace. So do not let your burdens weigh you down. Do not let rules and regulations and law turn you into self-righteous hypocrites. Rise up! Rise up, look around and in the faces of your sisters and brothers see the face of the Divine and let them see the face of the Divine that is in you.
Inspired words
Homily Starter/Shared Homily Margie
Prayer of the People Colleen
Tonglen meditation is the Buddhist spiritual practice of “giving and taking.” In Tonglen practice, we visualize taking in the pain of others with every in-breath, and sending out what will benefit them on the out-breath. It is a practice to open and awaken our compassion, especially for those towards whom we might not feel especially compassionate.
In our practice this morning we will concentrate on leaders, both religious and secular. We will move from those who seem to be doing their best against overwhelming odds to those who don’t seem to have a care for anyone beyond themselves. You may want to keep a specific leader or group of leaders in mind as you breathe in the negative. And then from the depths of your compassion picture love that they so desperately need being breathed out to them in many forms.
First quiet your mind, and feel your breath,
Moving in and moving out…
Moving in and moving out…
Now,
Breathe in confusion…breathe out clarity
Breathe in indecision…breathe out resolve
Breathe in discouragement…breathe out inspiration
Breathe in doubt …breathe out trust
Breathe in exhaustion…breathe out energy
Breathe in fear…breathe out courage
Breathe in surrender…breathe out hope
Breathe in denial…breathe out confirmation
Breathe in blame…breathe out forgiveness
Breathe in blindness…breathe out vision
Breathe in self-righteousness…breathe out understanding
Breathe in rejection…breath out acceptance
Breathe in self-centeredness…breathe out altruism
Breathe in tribalism…breathe in inclusion
Breathe in indifference….breathe out caring
Breathe in ego, breathe out oneness
Breathe in deceit…breathe out truth
Breathe in anger…breathe out peace
Breathe in selfishness…breathe out caring
Breathe in grudge holding…breathe out benevolence
Breathe in grasping…breathe out release
Breathe in controlling…breathe out compromising
Breathe in greed…breathe out generosity
Breathe in hypocrisy…breathe out fairness
Breathe in inhumanity…breathe out experiencing the Divine in all around us
Amen.
Sharing of Peace Sue
Prayer over the Bread Judy
We are grateful – for this bread,
Which earth has given and human hands have formed.
This bread nourishes our spirit.
Prayer over the Wine Mike
We are grateful – for this wine,
Fruit of the vine and work of human hands.
It is our spiritual drink.
Eucharistic Prayer Sue & Maryann
(Please pray Voice part in your home)
In Time of Tragedy adapted from Michael Morwood, in Praying a New Story pp100-102
| P: We look to the life and death of Jesus for strength and hope
in this time of so many tragedies. With the conviction of Jesus we believe that whatever the pain, whatever the loss, the Divine is here in the midst of suffering, the Divine is not distant, the Divine is not a manipulator, the Divine is Life-Giver. |
Voice: We remember
how life tested Jesus’ conviction, when in suffering, in failure, in loneliness, in powerlessness, in darkness, in pain, and in disappointment he never abandoned his belief in the Divine’s presence in him. |
| P: Jesus,
like so many people before and after him, showed the depth of the human spirit in its capacity to love, to trust, and to hope. |
Voice: Jesus invites us
to name this spirit as the spirit of the Divine at work in our lives. Jesus reveals to us our connectedness with the Ground and Source of all life, in our loving, our trusting, and our hoping. |
| P: Whenever we take bread,
as Jesus took bread on the night before he died, we remember the Divine-within-us in all the ups and downs of life and we commit ourselves, as Jesus committed himself, to love and trust and hope whatever the circumstances of life. |
Voice: When we drink wine
in memory of Jesus in times of tragedy or loss, we recall his faithfulness when life tested him and we draw hope and courage from him, and from all people who allow the Spirit of Love to be stronger than despair, cynicism, and isolation. |
| P: (Pause)
Today we hold in our hearts the tragedy of so many war-ravaged countries, especially Israel & Palestine, Ukraine & Russia. May we have the faith of Jesus that brings: Sanctuary for those who are fleeing Safety for those who are staying Peace for those who are fighting Comfort for those whose hearts are breaking And hope for those who see no future. |
Voice: We hold on to that hope and the belief that today’s leaders can work openly and honestly for a better world.
And we give thanks for communities and friends who support and sustain us in difficult times, helping to keep that hope and belief alive. We are mindful of the power of the Divine and allow it to be at work in each of us. Amen. |
Prayer of Jesus Janet
(Please pray along)
“Let the rain come and wash away the ancient grudges, the bitter hatreds held and nurtured over generations. Let the rain wash away the memory of the hurt, the neglect. Then let the sun come out and fill the sky with rainbows. Let the warmth of the sun heal us wherever we are broken. Let it burn away the fog so that we can see each other clearly. So that we can see beyond labels, beyond accents, gender or skin color. Let the warmth and brightness of the sun melt our selfishness. So that we can share the joys and feel the sorrows of our neighbors. And let the light of the sun be so strong that we will see all people as our neighbors. Let the earth, nourished by rain, bring forth flowers to surround us with beauty. And let the mountains teach our hearts to reach upward to heaven.” by Rabbi Harold Kushner
Breaking of the Bread Alice or Colleen
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
Communion Sue
Presider: “…happy are we to share in this meal”
All: Our sharing in this meal is a sign of our gratitude and commitment to be one with Jesus.
When sharing the bread: “This is, and you are, the bread of life”
Presider: With great joy, we state.
All: We are followers of Jesus.
When sharing the cup: “The cup of the Covenant”
Communion Song Margie
Come As You Are
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0cbQS55RTM
Come as you are, that’s how I want you.
Come as you are, feel quite at home.
Close to my heart, loved and forgiven,
Come as you are, why stand alone?
No need to fear, love has no limits.
No need to fear, love never ends.
Don’t run away, shamed, and disheartened,
Rest in my love, trust me again.
I came to call sinners, not just the virtuous,
I came to bring peace, not to condemn.
Each time you fail to live by my promise,
Why do you think I’d love you the less?
Come as you are, that’s how I love you.
Come as you are, trust me again.
Nothing can change the love that I bear you,
All will be well, come as you are.
Closing Prayer Intro Sue
In our readings, Dawn Hutchings reminded us that Jesus wants us to identify with him. He calls us to be healers. And as Richard Rohr said, “Jesus did not so much love people once they changed, but he loved people so that they could change.”
Jesus wants us to be like him, to love people so that they can change. It’s not an easy task, even Jesus struggled at times. It is one that requires us to allow the Divine Spirit to truly be at work in us. And so we are reminded in our Closing Prayer:
Closing Prayer Kathy
by L. R. Knost
Do not be dismayed by the brokenness
of the world. All things break. And all things
can be mended. Not with time,
as they say, but with intention. So go.
Love intentionally, extravagantly,
unconditionally. The broken world waits
in darkness for the light that is you.
Closing Song Margie
Go Light Your World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUTWR4vVIjU&t=15s
Announcements
Link to Pride Liturgy
Easter Vigil Liturgy April 8, 2023
Welcome Mike
Presider: Before we begin liturgy, please have a candle, an instrument to light it, and a glass of water near you.
Presider:
Tonight, we have spiritual work to do, and we have to do it together. We will tell the cosmic story, and we will create our own resurrection story. To be a storyteller is to be in touch with a liberating process, for stories catalyze the creative imagination to dream alternative ways to do things. To create is to participate in the Creator’s own work and imagination that gives shape to the universe. We will tell the story and imagine the story and, hopefully, come to know more deeply that we are that story. Our very bonds come from stardust, our lives from the energy of the universe.
Presider:
In the beginning, the Mystery, God, alone, surrounded by infinite darkness, emptiness, Silence.
Pause in Silence
Wisdom Bowl Margie
Reader 1 Margie
And out of God came,
“Let there be light.”
And God’s word invited the silence into the creation of sound:
Opened the darkness into the image of light;
Stirred the infinite density of emptiness
Into a blaze of energy so full and rich
that the whole Universe burst forth…
Creating Space…all that ever was
And Time…all that is
And Matter…all that ever will be
From the first quarks and electrons to the songs we sing this night.
Reader 2 Geri
And God gave order and relationship to the glistening, pulsing chaos
Of the expanding new World:
Four fundamental forces to color and flavor the quarks;
To poise them in the nuclei of atoms;
To harmonize the swirling and churning of galaxies
About to give birth to the stars.
Light, in the form of trillions of newborn photons,
And heat, a billion degrees, immeasurable,
And energy, pure potential, yet without form.
…This was God’s creation, 14 billion years ago…
Light out of darkness…the first day.
ACTION: People light a candle at home while a photo of an Easter Fire is displayed
Song: Mike has an image to show and he will play the song
Sacred Fire by Jan Novotka on Melodies of the Universe 2.31 minutes
Sacred Fire, burning before me;
burning within me; deep in my soul!
Sacred Fire, transforming Fire,
recreate me, Make me whole.
Melodies of the Universe CD ©1994 by Jan Novotka’s Music LLC (ASCAP). All rights reserved.
Opening Prayer Mike
Augustine prayed these words, “Our hearts are restless until they
rest in you”. Augustine’s desire for oneness with the Divine has
been echoed by all of creation. We now know that we are one with the Divine. In that presence, we continually evolve into something new. This evolving means that there must be an ongoing process of end, destruction and new creation. This is the story of Easter. It is the story of letting go of the past; a story that is ever changing and ever new. We pray that we may purge ourselves of limiting beliefs, that we may transcend into something new.
May we experience oneness this time with all that is.
May we radiate love, act in peace and stand for justice.
May we always remember that we come from the Divine.
May we always remember that we are carriers of Divine life in all our comings and goings – even in every breath we breathe.
May we always remember where we come from and where we are going. Amen!
Creation Story
Video: Where Do We Go from Here? Jan Phillips Mike
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu-rYCQEmbM / 13 minutes
Reading Margaret Gering
A meditation from Richard Rohr
Seeing from a pair of glasses beyond our own is what I call “participative seeing.” This is the new self that can say with Paul, “I live no longer, not ‘I’ but it is Christ now living in me” (Galatians 2:20). In the truest sense, I am that which I am seeking. This primal communion immediately communicates a spaciousness, a joy, and a quiet contentment. It is not anxious, because the essential gap between me and the world has already been overcome. I am at home and do not need to prove myself to anybody, nor do I need to be “right,” nor do you have to agree with me.
In the words of Thomas Merton:
True Christianity is growth in the life of the Spirit, a deepening of the new life, a continuous rebirth, in which the exterior and superficial life of the ego-self is discarded like an old snake skin and the mysterious, invisible self of the Spirit becomes more present and more active. The true Christian rebirth is a renewed transformation, a “Passover” in which [a person] is progressively liberated from selfishness and not only grows in love but in some sense “becomes love.” The perfection of the new birth is reached where there is no more selfishness, there is only love. In the language of the mystics, there is no more ego-self, there is only Christ; self no longer acts, only the Spirit acts in pure love. The perfect illumination is, then, the illumination of Love shining by itself. To become completely transparent and allow Love to shine by itself is the maturity of the “New Man (Woman).”
When you live in this state of love, at that level of communion where you let the Life get in and let the Life flow out of you to others, you are experiencing pure transformation. This is what it would mean to be totally in Christ.
Inspired Words
Gospel Acclamation Slide show ITunes Mike
Halle, Halle by Marty Haugen from the Apage – The Stories and the Feast CD / 1.29 minutes [in memory of Jeanne Nicholls]
Halle, halle, hallelujah! Halle, halle, hallelujah!
Halle, halle, hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! X 2 times
Halle, halle, hallelujah! Halle, halle, hallelujah!
Halle, halle, hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! X 3 times
Gospel Mike
You Shall Be My Witnesses by Miriam Therese Winter on Woman Song / 3 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh7nMx4ozPg
Refrain
You shall be my witnesses through all the earth, telling of all you have heard and received, for I arose and am with you and you have believed.
Women at the tomb, weeping for the dead:
He is not here, he has risen as he said.
They ran to tell those who were in authority.
The men dismissed the news as idle fantasy. Refrain
Magdalene at the tomb: Whom do you seek?
Her eyes were opened when she heard him speak.
His love for every woman shown upon his face.
The hopes of every age were held in their embrace. Refrain
Women, leave your tombs. Roll the stones aside.
Do not despair, though so many dreams have died.
Do not be fearful of the vision that you see.
Believe in miracles again. Believe in me. Refrain
Homily Mike
Renewal of Beliefs by Michael Morwood Mike & Peter
P: In Nature we see superb aspects of transformation: in supernovas exploding and in their dying giving birth to new possibilities: in the sun giving of itself that we might have life; in seeds “dying” to produce new life. We know that several times in the history of this planet more species than existing were extinguished. There has been death, destruction, apparent annihilation, and then “resurrection” producing abundant life. Life is somehow stronger than death. Life finds a way.
Voice: Death for Jesus was, as it will be for us, a dying into the Divine: a transformation into a way of existence for which we have no images and no clear idea of how it may happen.
P: Our understanding of Jesus’ resurrection must be freed from dualistic images in which Scripture and traditional Christian teaching have presented it. The Divine does not reside somewhere else, in a place called “heaven” that is above us somewhere. In fact, there is no up or down any more when we consider our planet’s place in the universe.
Voice: Death for us will not be a journey to some other place where the Divine is located; there will not be a judgment as to whether we “get into” an elsewhere place.
Voice: We proclaim and celebrate Easter because it links Jesus with all life, with transformation, and with the possibility of life beyond our imagining. Easter offers meaning and hope to all people. We give thanks and rejoice that Jesus so clearly and courageously linked our loving and our dying with living on in the Divine. We rejoice that Jesus lives on, as we all will, in the Divine. Amen!
Blessing of Water Mike
Water Blessing by Earth Mama on Blessings of the Universe CD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40UEIMdcMkI
I say a prayer for the water
O, bless the water
As it Graces in and out of me
And it Blesses in and out of everything.
O, bless the water.
Bless, bless the water. X 2
Joyce Johnson Rouse ©2007 Rouse House Music (ASCAP)
Drinking of Water Mike
Please take a drink of the blessed water and allow it to wash you anew and refresh you on the inside.
Prayer of the People Kathy S voice one Teri Second Voice
ARISE IN ME
When we come face to face with the challenge of self-giving, when we are asked to go the extra mile, to take the risk of reaching out to another, to offer forgiveness to the heart that rejects us…
Second Voice: Arise in us with the energy of Divine love.
When our world seems bleak, when we walk with sadness written on our soul, when we have days during which everything goes wrong…
Second Voice: Arise in us with the energy of Divine joy.
When anxiety and concern take over our spirit, when restlessness or boredom holds sway over us, when our world cries out in distress and turmoil…
Second Voice: Arise in us with the energy of Divine peace.
On those days when we hurry too much, during those times when our anger flares because our pet agendas aren’t met, when we stop giving people our acceptance and understanding…
Second Voice: Arise in us with the energy of Divine kindness.
As we face the shadow of our inner world or peer into the darkness of our outer world, as we struggle to believe in our own gifts and blessings…
Second Voice: Arise in us with the energy of Divine goodness.
In those difficult times when fear threatens to drown our trust in you, during those experiences of growth when we are tempted to doubt all the ways we have known you…
Second Voice: Arise in us with the energy of Divine trust.
As we walk on the edges of life and death, as we struggle with the disciplines of spiritual growth, as we yearn to be faithful amid the many changes of inner and outer growth…
Second Voice: Arise in us with the energy of Divine guidance.
Our hearts are stirred by the Divine. The Divine in us gets us going. Because of this, we do not give up. May we always open our minds and our hearts to experience energizing, transforming radiance. May we always be open to the promptings of the Divine moving freely in our lives. May we trust the powerful presence of the Divine within us at every moment of our lives. Amen.
Sharing of Peace Mike
Eucharistic Prayer Mike & Margaret F
P: We marvel at our cosmic story and all that reveals the Divine Presence: the vast expanse of interstellar space, galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses, and this our home, the fragile planet earth.
Voice: From the primal elements came forth the human race, blessed with memory, reason, and skill. We are indeed the stewards of creation.
P: As we recall the great events that gave us new life, the image of Jesus is brought to perfection within each of us.
Voice: We acknowledge that the Divine has woven the fabric of the universe. All creation has been invited to robe itself in the love poured out from the source of never-ending abundance.
P: We honor the ones who have revealed the Divine ways to us until now we can recognize them for ourselves. We are grateful for the courage and fidelity of all those sent to prepare a path for us to follow – the holy women and men of every age and culture.
Voice: We proclaim and celebrate Easter because it links Jesus with all life, with transformation, and with the possibility of life beyond our imagining.
P: We especially are grateful for Jesus who came to us as bread for our journey. He is the Way. Whenever we celebrate this meal we recommit ourselves to follow his example. In this, we seek new opportunities to be the followers of Jesus in all our interactions and relationships. It is in Jesus that God revealed the love that is the human family.
Voice: We give thanks for the spirit of life and love among us.
We are grateful that the Spirit sets us free to discover the Divine’s presence within us and in our world. We recognize the Spirit is with us now for all is holy.
P: As we gather once more around bread and wine
we recall Jesus sharing bread and wine
with his friends shortly before he died.
He invited them to eat and drink
as a sign of their readiness to keep his memory alive
to give their all for what he believed and taught.
(Pause for reflection)
Voice: And so, as we take our place in this moment on the stage of human history, we share this bread as our pledge of openness to the Spirit in our midst and in acknowledgment of our eternal connectedness with the Spirit of Life.
P: We share this wine mindful of a relationship of love and trust between ourselves and the Spirit of Life, believing, as Jesus believed, that beyond pain and darkness and death, life in the Spirit continues in ways beyond our imagining.
Voice: May we recognize the reality of Jesus present among us. May we take courage and find power to exult in our great mystery as people on a journey. May we live gently and gratefully upon this planet and upon the pathway you have chosen for us.
P: Easter offers meaning and hope to all people. We pray for all who are sick, may wholeness and healing be theirs. We pray for those who have died. May they be in peace.
Voice: We pray that the Spirit come upon our church and political leaders, so that they might act in truth. May they make the necessary changes to become peacemakers, to transform the church, and to protect the world. May they be moved to bring justice to all.
P: May the life and teaching of Jesus motivate us in all that we do, so that we may be living signs of his living and loving.
We pray, inviting the Spirit of Life, Love and Goodness to move freely in our words and actions. To this, we give our Amen!
Prayer of Jesus Linda S
O Divine Birther of all that is – from the smallest particle to the vastness of the cosmos, you are present. Holy are your infinite names chanted, sung or whispered.
Abba, Beloved, Divine Breath, Great Mystery, Sophia
May we walk in peace, speak with tenderness, touch with compassion, and love unconditionally. With gratitude for the abundance we’ve been given, may we always share with any who hunger or are in need. May we be filled with humility and regret for the times we did not reflect your love. May we always offer forgiveness to those whose words or actions have caused us pain. May we understand our individual purpose and seek to fulfill it without distraction.
We pray what we believe and believe what we pray. Amen.
By Colleen Walsh White 2020
Breaking of the Bread Alice or Colleen
In the breaking of the bread, we knew you, brother Jesus. Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus. Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus. Alleluia.
Presider: “…happy are we to share in this meal”
All: Our sharing in this meal is a sign of our willingness to follow Jesus.
When sharing the bread: “This is, and you are, the bread of life”
Presider: With great joy, we state.
All: We are followers of Jesus.
When sharing the cup: “The cup of the Covenant”
Communion Song ITunes Slide Show Mike
Shimmering Presence by Jan Novotka on Awakening Consciousness / 5.29 minutes
There is a still, vibrant energy, shimmering in all things,
shimmering in all beings, shimmering everywhere.
Behold it and you’ll be transformed, for it is the Presence of the Holy.
Behold it and you’ll be transformed, for it is the Presence of the Holy.
©2006 by Jan Novotka’s Music LLC (ASCAP). All rights reserved.
Closing Prayer Colleen
The Sharing by Edwina Gately
We told our stories— that’s all. We sat and listened to each other and heard the journeys of each soul. We sat in silence entering each one’s pain and sharing each one’s joy. We heard love’s longing and the lonely reachings-out for love and affirmation. We heard of dreams shattered. And visions fled. Of hopes and laughter turned stale and dark. We felt the pain of isolation and the bitterness of death.
But in each brave and lonely story God’s gentle life broke through and we heard music in the darkness and smelled flowers in the void.
We felt the budding of creation in the searchings of each soul and discerned the beauty of God’s hand in each muddy, twisted path.
And His voice sang in each story. His life sprang from each death. Our sharing became one story of a simple lonely search for life and hope and oneness in a world which sobs for love. And we knew that in our sharing, God’s voice, with mighty breath, was saying “Love each other and take each other’s hand.”
For you are one though many and in each of you I live.
So listen to my story and share my pain and death.
Oh, listen to my story and rise and live with me.
Sending Forth Song
All You Works of God Marty Haugen Tales of Wonder 1990
https://youtu.be/7nO37XvBugY?t=1
Good Friday 2023
Opening Song Margie
May the Greatest Love by Kathy Sherrman on All Is One / 3 minutes
Maryann created a movie
Handout needs song’s words.
May the Greatest Love the world has ever known,
Seize you, inspire,
Set your heart on fire
And dare you to be bold with wisdom to be told.
May the neighborhood of our sacred universe, be carried and treasured,
Embraced inside of you
That all may be one;
For a future yet to come.
This we ask, this we pray as we bless you this day.
Chant verse: Renew in us our passionate quest for the One who is the purpose of our living.
Introduction Mike
Presider:
Many people are still inclined to say, “But Jesus would not know what it is like to carry my pain or to have my doubts. He was Divine.” However, as we reflect more deeply on the human Jesus, we begin to see a man who knew the longings and the pains of the human heart. In Jesus, the man, we have someone who can empathize with us, who can companion us in difficult times. This prayerful Good Friday reflection emphasizes Jesus’ human experience of living in faith. This is the Jesus his followers must know better if they are to turn to him in time of pain, struggle, and darkness. This is the Jesus his followers must believe in as they carry forward his mission into their lives and “become the compassion of God in the world.”
Reflection 1 Peter
I remember a man who dreamed
of what might be:
that people would be set free from religious
ideas and images that degraded them;
that people would believe that through their
everyday acts of human kindness,
they are intimately connected with the sacred;
that people would be empowered by his words and actions.
Short pause
I remember a man driven by his dreams.
Reflection 2 Geri
I remember a man who had his moments of breakthrough
when it must have seemed, his dream was being realized;
times when people really listened and responded;
times when men and women were prepared to walk with him
and support him;
times when he spoke better and more convincingly than other times.
Short pause
I remember a man enthused by his successes.
Reflection 3 Bill
I remember a man who learned about the cruel death of his cousin.
He got into a boat,
seeking a lonely place where he could be with his friends,
to absorb the shock, to grieve quietly, to calm feelings
of powerlessness, of frustration and of fear for his own future.
I wonder what he prayed about that night?
I wonder what helped him leave that lonely place
and go forward to confront life
rather than retreat into isolation and safety?
Short pause
I remember a man driven by his convictions.
Reflection 4 Geri
I remember a man who found quiet places
to pray and to think about things;
a man who had to live by faith;
a man who had to search for answers;
a man who had to think about which path to follow;
a man who looked to his friends for support and understanding.
Short pause
I remember someone very much like me.
Reflection 5 Linda
I remember a man whose dream was shattered,
who broke down and cried over what could have been;
who knew the pain of failure and powerlessness;
who knew what it was like to feel broken and terribly alone.
Short pause
I remember someone human like all of us.
Reflection 6 Geri
I remember a man who knew he was going to die;
who gathered with his friends,
knowing it was for the last time;
who spoke to them about what he really believed;
who wanted them to remember him
and to keep his dream alive.
Short pause
I remember a testament to love.
Reflection 7 Kathy
I remember a man crucified.
He was a failure,
abandoned by his male friends,
taunted, despised,
enduring a shameful and agonizing death,
no consoling or heartfelt presence of the Divine to help him.
Short pause
I remember a man whose faith in all he believed was tested to the limits.
Reflection 8 Margaret
I remember a man who forgave,
not just once, but over and over;
a man who embodied
the generosity and limitless
outpouring of the Source of all life;
a man whose life and death
point us to another dimension
of what it means to be human.
No power on earth, nothing
could move this man from what he believed.
Short pause
I remember a man who inspires me by the way he lived and died.
Reflection 9 Colleen
I remember a man of extraordinary religious insight,
a man utterly convinced of the connection between human love
and the Source of All;
a man determined to give people personal authority
in their relationship with the Divine they believed in;
a man who wanted to set people free
from fear of the Unknown,
a man who set his heart on breaking down
barriers between people.
Short pause
I remember a man who sets me free.
Pause
Presider: Mike
As we remember Jesus and the faith in which he faced adversity and death, let us recognize that the very same life-giving spirit that moved in his life, moves in our lives, too. Jesus’ death is in vain if we believe that a Divine-Spirit moved in him, and in him alone, making him fundamentally different from the rest of us. That is not what Jesus wanted people to believe. He earnestly wanted every one of us to grasp the “good news” of the power and depth of the spirit within. Let us take time to deepen our awareness of this truth.
As you listen to the next song, and watch the slides, reflect on the ways people live as Jesus lived, willing to give everything even if it meant suffering.
Song Margie
HOW WE LOVE by Beth Nielsen Chapman
Life has taught me this, every day is new
And if anything is true, all that matters
When we’re through is how we love
Faced with what we lack
Some things fall apart
But from the ashes new dreams start
All that matters to the heart
is how we love
How we love, how we love.
From the smallest act of kindness
in a word, a smile, a touch
In spite of our mistakes
Chances come again, if we lose or if we win
All that matters in the end, is how we love
How we love, How we love,
I will not forget your kindness
When I needed so much, sometimes we forget
Trying to be so strong, in this world of right and wrong
All that matter when we’re gone, all that mattered all along
All we have that carries on, is how we love.
First Sharing Mike
Briefly share your experience of someone who, in the past twelve months, showed extraordinary love or courage in facing their life situation.
Second Sharing
Briefly share a personal experience of your own during the past twelve months, of drawing upon a power, a presence within you to face a difficult situation.
Prayers of the People Sue
We reflect on the life of Jesus as we pray for those who are in pain and struggling.
Our response will be a reflective silence.
For all religious leaders that they may help people understand that they are intimately connected with the sacred; and that they are empowered, we pray,
For politicians, that there may be moments of breakthrough where they will act for the good of people and not just lobbyists of the rich, we pray,
For us, that when confronted with doubt and conflict, we may go forward to confront life rather than retreat into isolation and safety, we pray,
For everyone, as we and they think about which path to follow; may we always look to our friends for support and understanding, we pray,
For everyone, that we know it is acceptable to know the pain of failure and powerlessness; and that we are not alone when we feel broken and lost, we pray,
For all people, that in our living and loving we may keep the dream of Jesus alive, we pray,
For all of us, that we may be generous in our forgiveness as we model the life of Jesus. May we connect to the Source of all life as Jesus connected to the Source of all life, we pray
For all people, that we may become utterly convinced of the connection between human love and the Source of All, we pray,
We pray that the Spirit of Jesus may come alive in us. May we like Jesus, give people personal authority in their relationship with the Divine they believe in; may we set people free from fear of the Unknown, may we set our hearts on breaking down barriers between people. We pray this and all prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Song Margie
May We Become the Compassion of God in the World
by Kathy Sherman, Love Cannot Be Silenced
Prayer Mike & Bill
P: We give thanks for the ways in which the life, the teaching and the death of Jesus have set us free.
Voice: We open ourselves to the influence
of the same spirit of Life and Love that moved so clearly in his life.
We want his convictions and his dreams to live on in us.
P: We give thanks for the men and women,
friends, family and strangers, who, like Jesus,
have inspired us with their courage and their fidelity,
and have led us to believe in a power, a presence within us all.
Voice: We give thanks for “surprised by the Spirit” moments
in our own lives, times when we knew without any doubt,
that there is more to us than meets the eye.
We give thanks for family and friends who,
like Jesus, gave clear human expression
to the energizing spirit that drives the universe,
through their love, their care and their encouragement.
P: We break bread today remembering Jesus,
who died for what he believed.
He died trusting in the power and the loving presence
of the Divine of his Jewish faith;
in spite of the darkness and loneliness, failure,
abandonment, torment, and pain,
he believed and trusted.
Voice: We break this bread mindful of faith
that sees beyond what the eye can see;
faith that endures, faith that inspires
Jesus’ faith, our faith.
P: We eat this bread and give our Amen to sharing the faith of Jesus.
To being the compassion of God in the World.
We are mindful of love’s call to be faithful, to endure, to bond,
to see possibilities and the hopes of new life
to be generous and forgiving whatever the cost.
Prayer of Jesus Ann C
O Cosmic householder,
Source of our wisdom, protector and provider,
Embracing all that dwells in the Heavens,
Naming for all holiness and justice,
In the Companionship of Empowerment,
Spread throughout the entire Creation,
As willed by Holy Wisdom.
In justice may all be sustained by daily food.
And relieved of the burden of crippling debts.
Lead us not into collusion with any type of violence.
And deliver us from all forms of violent oppression.
For yours is the empowering desire to radiate on earth
The non-violent justice of enduring hope.
Amen.
by Diarmuid O’Murchu
Breaking of the Bread Alice or Colleen
In the breaking of the bread, we knew you, brother Jesus.
Make us One now.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus.
Make us One now.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus.
Make us One now.
Presider: “…happy are we to share in this meal”
All: Our sharing in this meal is a sign of our willingness to follow Jesus.
When sharing the bread: “This is, and you are, the bread of life”
Presider: With great joy, we state.
All: We are followers of Jesus.
Communion Meditation with music playing Margie
A Reflection for Ash Wednesday – Blessing in the Chaos from Mercy Center, CT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU55ByJQtlY
Poem Kathy
Chaos
To all that is chaotic
in you,
let there come silence.
Let there be
a calming
of the clamoring,
a stilling
of the voices that
have laid their claim
on you,
that have made
their home in you,
that go with you
even to
the holy places
but will not
let you rest,
will not let you
hear your life
with wholeness
or feel the grace
that fashioned you.
Let what distracts you
cease.
Let what divides you
cease.
Let there come an end
to what diminishes
and demeans,
and let depart
all that keeps you
in its cage.
Let there be
an opening
into the quiet
that lies beneath
the chaos,
where you find
the peace
you did not think possible
and see what shimmers
within the storm.
By Jan Richardson from paintedprayerbook.com
Closing Prayer Mike
We give thanks for Jesus who “leads us in our faith”.
We give thanks that he knew the longings and pains of our hearts.
Like Jesus, may we listen to the voices whispering to us
calling us to follow close
lest we leave ourselves behind,
calling us to walk into evening shadows one more time.
Like Jesus, may we live
beyond the fears that close us in
and have the courage to walk
past horizons that we know.
We pray that we will grow strong in the faith
in which Jesus faced life and death.
We pray that he will be a close companion for us in life and in death.
Amen.
Closing Song Margie
Prelude by John Michael Talbott
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsM5v2yC5hE
(All leave in silence)
Holy Thursday 2023
Welcome Mike
Before we begin liturgy, please have a sanitizing wipe or clean cloth near you.
We Pray for the Needs of Others Mike
Introduction Maryann
The Easter Triduum for Christians is the greatest feast in the liturgical year. It consists of three holy days that celebrate Jesus’ Passion, Death, and Resurrection. The Triduum begins on Holy Thursday. The climax of these days is the Easter Vigil held on Saturday evening beginning after nightfall.
The theme for our Triduum is that we are one, one universe, one cosmos, one earth community. There is a synchronicity in the universe. Nature reveals this to us: birds flying in flight patterns, pods of sea creatures swimming together, pendulums swinging in rhythm. Yet in the hubbub of the day, we lose sight of this reality. Death and destruction happen beyond our understanding and ability to resolve them. How then are we called?
We come to this Triduum with many questions and concerns, in light of the War in Ukraine and wars all over the world, in light of Trump’s indictment, in light of how climate change is causing disruption of homes and lives, as well as personal challenges in our own lives. We join together to deepen our awareness of that kernel of gold in the heart of love that is within each of us and all of us together. We seek to find the Heart of Love for our fellow human beings and for all creation as Jesus did. Together, we are willing to enter the chaos, wildness, unpredictability and suffering, without losing hope, believing that the kernel of gold at the center will sound forth an Easter Alleluia.
Let us take a moment and consciously join hearts with each other as we celebrate this Holy Thursday. We hold in our prayer this evening our Jewish sisters and brothers, as they celebrate Passover. In the spirit of peace, we pray especially for all people in harm’s way. [Adapted from Mercy Center, CT 2020]
Opening Song Bill
At This Table by Idina Menzel and Jonas Myrin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVWmbXqCcjg (start at 1:15)
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1BlYg8qP2h7ZHXxFphsOB-FGXpXjXW_Z-hDMP8FDpsH8/edit#slide=id.p2
Opening Prayer Mike
As we gather tonight we gather to remember. We gather to remember Jesus. We remember all he stood for. We remember his stories. We remember his actions of healing, of restoring of reconciling. We remember his faith. We remember his commitment. We remember his lessons of love, service and humility.
As we remember, we pray. We pray that through our celebration this night, we will strengthen our commitment to Jesus. We pray that we will stand for what he stood for. We pray that we will be his stories. We pray that we will act as he did; that we will be healers, restorers and reconcilers. We pray that we will have the faith of Jesus. We pray that in this time of great need we will preach by word and deed his lessons of love, service and humility. We pray this and all prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Readings
Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 Tom K
God said to Moses and Aaron while still in Egypt, “This month is to be the first month of the year for you. Address the whole community of Israel; tell them that on the tenth of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one lamb to a house. If the family is too small for a lamb, then share it with a close neighbor, depending on the number of persons involved. Be mindful of how much each person will eat. Your lamb must be a healthy male, one year old; you can select from either the sheep or the goats. Keep it penned until the fourteenth day of this month and then slaughter it – the entire community of Israel will do this – at dusk. Then take some of the blood and smear it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which you will eat it. You are to eat the meat, roasted in the fire, that night, along with bread made without yeast, and bitter herbs.
And here is how you are to eat it: Be fully dressed with your sandals on and your stick in your hand. Eat in a hurry; it’s the Passover to God.
I will go through the land of Egypt on this night and strike down every first born in the land of Egypt, whether human or animal, and bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am God. The blood will serve as a sign on the houses where you live. When I see the blood I will pass over you – no disaster will strike you when I strike the land of Egypt.
This will be a memorial day for you, you will celebrate it as a festival to God down through the generations, a fixed festival celebration to be observed always.
Inspired words.
Psalm Maryann
We Partake by Jan Novotka
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1wHRu303oHgrf0bAFcd0EF5_IpYBW7jx_/edit#slide=id.p1
Words on slides
We come to break bread, to feast and to share.
All is gift! All is grace! All is here!
With gratitude and love, we partake.
With gratitude and love, we partake.
We remember all who hunger, all who cry for bread and justice.
As we eat we are mindful of our world.
With gratitude and love, we partake.
With gratitude and love, we partake.
We join hands together, as a sign of our communion.
We are one with each other and all!
With gratitude and love, we partake.
With gratitude and love, we partake.
©2011 by Jan Novotka’s Music LLC (ASCAP). All rights reserved.
Second Reading Margaret F
1 Corinthians 11:23-36
I received from Jesus what I have also handed on to you: Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread and, after giving thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body, the Word from the beginning of time in all of creation, that is for and with you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper, Jesus took the cup, and said, “This cup is the covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do it in remembrance of me.” As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are the Divine to one another. We do this in remembrance of Jesus.
[Translation from Mercy Center, CT 2020 Triduum liturgy]
Gospel Mike
Last Supper by Marty Haugen from That You May Have Life – Musical Stories from the Gospel of John / 5.14 minutes
THE LAST SUPPER (13:1 – 17:26)
Use this image of the washing of the feet while this song is played.
Evangelist: Before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come.
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
During supper, Jesus got up from the table, took off his robe, and tied a towel around himself.
Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of his disciples. Simon Peter said to him:
Peter: Lord, are you going to wash my feet?
Jesus: You do not know what I am doing, but later you will understand.
Peter: You will never wash my feet.
Jesus: Unless you are washed, you have no share in me.
Evangelist: After Jesus had washed their feet, he put on his robe and returned to the table. He said to them:
Jesus: Do you know what I have done to you? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and so I am.
And if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, so should you wash the feet of one another.
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, and believe also in me.
I go to prepare a place for you. I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am, you shall also be.
Thomas: Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?
Jesus: I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me, except through me.
I AM the vine and you are the branches, abide in me as I abide in you and you will bear much fruit, fruit that endures.
A new commandment I give unto you: Love one another, love one another as I have loved you.
Jesus / Choir: (Refrain) There is no greater love than this, to lay down your life for your friends.
There is no greater love, no greater love than this.
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.
Remain in my love, remain in my love just as I remain in my Father. (Refrain)
You are my friends if you do what I say:
No longer servants, no longer servants, for I name you ‘friends.’ (Refrain)
Homily Mike
The Mandatum Washing of the Feet/Hands Joanne K
In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the focus of the Last Supper is on the institution of the Eucharist. But in John, the focus is on Jesus’ washing his disciple’s feet. John makes the point that serving others is at the heart of being a follower of Jesus. On Holy Thursday, we celebrate both traditions because we know that Eucharist and service are essentials for living life as a follower of Jesus.
When we wash our hands these days it is out of a concern for others, reminding us that we are all connected and what we do matters to the community.
As you use a cloth or sanitizing wipe to wash your hands or the hands of someone you live with this Holy Thursday, is there a prayer rising up in your heart? Take a moment to pray for the people across the world and in our own country. Is this not an invitation for us all to work harder for a more just world? What will radical discipleship look like for us as we go forward?
[From Mercy Center, CT 2020 Triduum liturgy]
The Lord Jesus by the Monks of Weston Priory on Listen Bill
[The Lord Jesus on Listen CD from the beginning to 2 minutes.]
The Lord Jesus after eating with his friends, washed their feet and said to them: Do you know what I, your Lord, have done to you? I have given you example, that so you also should do.
Prayers of the People Geri to lead & Kathy for “All”
Table Blessing by Jan Richardson (adapted)
To your table you bid us come. You have set the places, You have poured the wine, and there is always room, you say, for one more.
All: In this home and at this table everyone is welcome. At this table everyone is seen.
And so we come. From the streets and from the alleys in the midst of the chaos of our time, we come.
All: At this table everybody matters. No one falls between.
From the deserts and from the hills, we come.
All: At this table you can say whatever. At this table you can speak your mind.
From the ravages of poverty and from the palaces of privilege, we come.
All: So come as you are. Remember that the door is always open.
Running, limping, carried, we come.
All. The perfect gift that you could bring is your heart. So come, come as you are.
We are bloodied with our wars, we are wearied with our wounds, we carry our dead within us, and we reckon with their ghosts.
All: At this table there will be no judgment. At this table mercy has a seat.
We hold the seeds of healing, we dream of a new creation, we know the things that make for peace, and we struggle to give them wings; yes, we come.
All: At this table we’re all sons and daughters. There’s no place I’d rather be.
And yet, to your table we come.
Hungering for your bread, we come:
Thirsting for your wine, we come:
Singing your song in every language,
Speaking your name in every tongue,
In conflict and in communion,
In discord and in desire, we come,
O Wisdom, we come.
We come as we are, remembering that the door is always open.
[From Mercy Center, CT 2020 Triduum liturgy]
Sharing Peace Mike
Blessing of Bread and Wine
Blessing the Bread, the Cup for Holy Thursday by Jan Richardson Mike
Let us bless the bread
that gives itself to us
with its terrible weight,
its infinite grace.
Let us bless the cup
poured out for us
with a love
that makes us anew.
Let us gather
around these gifts
simply given
and deeply blessed.
And then let us go
bearing the bread,
carrying the cup,
laying the table
within a hungering world.
By Jan Richardson, Circle of Grace, A Book of Blessings, page 133
Eucharistic Prayer Mike & Linda S
P: We bring to this gathering
our desire to know Jesus
as friend and companion,
as someone who experienced
the human search for integrity,
who knew the desire
to be true to himself;
someone who felt, and then followed,
the gentle stirrings
in the depths of his heart and mind;
someone who knew the effort needed
to reach for higher ground.
Voice: We join Jesus in his prayer
as he stood all alone
following his heart
trusting what he felt
wanting to live out his vision
living up to the dream in him.
P: We remember Jesus
being true to everything he preached
coming down from the mountain
walking to Jerusalem
crying over dashed hopes
wondering who would continue his dream
feeling broken-hearted
sharing a final meal with his friends
having to trust his friends.
Voice: He had to trust people like us
because he knew he would not live to see his dream realized.
He trusted us
because he believed in the goodness embedded in every person.
He trusted us
because he knew the longing that stirred in the depths of the human heart.
He trusted us
because he knew his teaching could empower us to be as true to ourselves as he was to himself.
He trusted his friends.
P: We bring to this gathering our treasured friendships
with everyone gathered here and with those who could not be here.
Voice: We give thanks for friends
who have trusted us,
who have set us free
who have stood on the mountain with us,
who have cried with us,
who have shared with us,
who have believed in us
and who have helped us
to follow our hearts.
P: For us, this Holy Thursday ritual is a ritual
of integrity,
of gratitude,
of friendship,
and of trust.
Voice: As we gather once more around bread and wine
we recall Jesus sharing bread and wine
with his friends
shortly before he died.
He invited them to eat and drink
as a sign of their readiness
to keep his memory alive
to give their all
for what he believed and taught.
(Pause)
P: By eating and drinking at this table,
we pledge that we can be depended upon
to be true companions of Jesus and of one another
in our shared dreams for a better world.
Voice: We pray, inviting the Spirit of Life, Love and Goodness to move free in our words and actions. To this, we give our Amen!
Prayer of Jesus Margie
Great divine spirit of love that is at the core of everything
and from which all life flows,
We acknowledge this healing and transforming power.
May the spirit of unconditional love and forgiveness flow through each of us and enable the realm of love to spread throughout the world.
Like the flowers in the fields, may we have the basics we need to live
and may we have the love and commitment to ensure that others have what they need too.
May we have the courage to acknowledge when we have done wrong,
to seek forgiveness from those we have hurt
and to forgive those who have hurt us,
so that we may be reconciled.
We acknowledge the power of self-giving love to transform individual hearts and the world.
We recommit ourselves to the unconditional love of others and the work of justice and peace.
Amen A 21st Century Lord’s Prayer by Roger Courtney adapted
Breaking of the Bread Alice or Colleen
In the breaking of the bread, we knew you, brother Jesus. Make us One now.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus. Make us One now.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus. Make us One now.
Presider: “…happy are we to share in this meal”
All: Our sharing in this meal is a sign of our willingness to follow Jesus.
When sharing the bread: “This is, and you are, the bread of life”
Presider: With great joy, we state.
All: We are followers of Jesus.
When sharing the cup: “The cup of the Covenant”
Communion Song Bill
Being in Communion by Jan Novotka on Anam Cara
slideshow
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ODscbGUgiZwiDzOJ0lcndAIthQVJ37WxPJ4KGsnMe48/edit?usp=sharing
Being in communion; we are one.
Being in communion; being one.
©2008 by Jan Novotka’s Music LLC (ASCAP). All rights reserved.
Vigil of Waiting
[image from Mercy Center] Maryann shows slide
By Jan Richardson, Circle of Grace, page 134
Gethsemane by Mary Oliver Colleen
The grass never sleeps.
Or the roses.
Nor does the lily have a secret eye that shuts until morning.
Jesus said, wait with me. But the disciples slept.
The cricket has such splendid fringe on its feet,
and it sings, have you noticed, with its whole body,
and heaven knows if it ever sleeps.
Jesus said, wait with me. And maybe the stars did, maybe the wind wound itself
into a silver tree, and didn’t move,
maybe the lake far away, where once he walked
as on a blue pavement, lay still and waited, wild awake.
Oh the dear bodies, slumped and eye-shut, that could not
keep that vigil, how they must have wept,
so utterly human, knowing this too
must be a part of the story.
Closing Music Maryann
Earth’s Lament
(all leave in silence while music plays)
Eucharistic Liturgy
1st Sunday of Black History Month; 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time – February 5, 2023
Theme: Rap Music – A New View: Salt & Light
Introduce Dan
We pray for those individuals in need
Gathering Song Margie
Glory by John Legend and Common
Wisdom Bowl Margie
Introduction Margie
As we of the Sophia Community begin our observance of Black History Month, we do so seriously, and with a commitment to being open, learning, supporting, and standing as allies and antiracists. We can say with complete conviction that we can’t even begin to understand the journeys of our black sisters and brothers. We have lived our lives in the comfort and protection of white privilege, and it can be difficult for us to appreciate a culture that differs in so many ways from what we are used to, including beauty, fashion, worship, entertainment, and music, to name a few.
In the spirit of going outside our comfort zones, today’s liturgy will be an exploration of Rap, one of the defining music traditions of modern Black culture. At various times, some of our members have expressed that they just don’t get it or that it makes them very uncomfortable. This is understandable. Rap is very different from what we are used to and it has elements that can be quite controversial, especially to people of “a certain age.” But good rap is also genius, expressing multiple themes with powerful and complex rhythms and rhymes.
Today we’re going to open our eyes (and ears) to think about the Gospel reading of ‘Salt and Light” in a different way. Last week, one of Jan Phillip’s Beatitudes for the 21st Century was “Blessed be the story-tellers, music-makers, and artists of life, for they are the true light of the world.” So, we will recognize and appreciate that rap is a way for artists, especially Black artists, to be salt and light for their communities and beyond. Like salt, rap brings out flavor – in this case, of a culture (that we so often don’t understand). Like light, rap allows that culture to shine!
Opening Prayer acknowledging Black History Month Mike
We appreciate the significance of Black History month and recognize the responsibility that it represents for each of us. As allies, we support the 2023 theme of “Black Resistance.”
We lift up and thank our Black brothers and sisters who have shaped history in ways so often denied and hidden, but actually enormously influential.
We are thankful for the opportunity to learn and reflect particularly at this time, here and now.
We pray that the learning happening in schools, homes, workplaces and spiritual communities will be meaningful and deep-rooted.
We pray for open hearts and minds, and spirits willing to learn and be transformed.
May this month be a time of curiosity and sharing, conversations and celebrations, challenge and encouragement. May we dig deeper, look closer, and think bigger.
May our exploration today help us to understand more fully what Common means in our Opening Song, Glory, when he says that, “The Movement is a rhythm to us,” and that, “Freedom is like religion to us.”
We pray this and all prayers in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Modified from a prayer by All We Can, A Methodist Relief Organization
Gospel Reading Linda S
Salt and Light In the tradition of Matthew
Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will wind up in the garbage.
Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand – shine! Keep an open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father.”
Inspired words
Psalm Margie
Chance The Rapper – The Heart & The Tongue (2021)
Explanation of Rap and Example – Homily Starter Dan
Chance The Rapper – The Heart & The Tongue (2021)
Themes
Politics/Civil Rights
Sports/Athletics
Christianity
Ancient Greece
Body/Mind/Soul
Verse 1
1 2 3 4
| My heart and tongue are fightin‘, my mind is undecided
| It’s not like Trump and Biden, it’s more like something private
| Like when your cousins fight and one of ’em get excited
| You can’t just jump the gun and pick a side and jump inside it
| Remember Pontius Pilate hung a God and justified it
| The truth is slow ’cause someone’s always in a rush to hide it
| The lies is golden ’cause the devil got a touch of Midas
| The soul is brighter ’cause the Holy Ghost is ultraviolet
| The tongue is violent when the spirit starts to hunger–strikin‘
| The thunder lightning makes the heart go under bunkers hiding
| The lungs is silent when it hears the footsteps of the giants
| And then the fingertips they twist up like Po- seidon’s trident
| Remember safety if you ever running from the tight end
| Remember Mookie if they ever come to cut the hydrant
| They cut the heart out with the tongue, they want it undivided
| You better not start, you make a fuss you, end up uninvited
Verse 2
1 2 3 4
| My heart and mind are beefing, I call ’em Rhyme and Reason
| They always going head to head, I’m trying to Siamese ’em
| My father got a special set of skills like Liam Neeson
| He told me faith and squinted eyes can turn the blind Venetian
| I seen the sign, I’m in the den, I’m with the lions sleeping
| I seen the wine, I seen the water turn to bright Tahitian
| The heart is somewhere on Ha- waiian beaches | Tying
pigeons to the Giant Peaches | I want the want the beat to feel like
Diegesis | I’m tired of politicians tryna sell us
diet Jesus | That’s like dialysis was tryna sell us
Diabetes | Act like you was born yester- day and you gon’
die a fetus | The mind’s phil-osophy is old as Thales of Miletus | The mind is quite elitist, that’s why they like
choir preachers | They buy our leaders easi- er than I can
buy a feature | That’s why the genius always end up on the
tightest leashes | That’s how I wrote my whole en- tire thesis |
Close
1 2 3 4
| My heart and flesh are racing, that’s why I get complacent
| That’s why y’all get impatient, y’all don’t get the invitation
| I’m sitting courtside with the nurses during visitation
| Watching the vitals with some popcorn and an- ticipation
Notes:
- Chance has taken a lot of flak throughout his career for rapping/singing about God and his faith. He is outspoken in his willingness to speak about what is important to him, even if it costs him fans/radio play.
Prayers of the People Tom and Joanne
Litany for Those Not Ready for Healing by Dr. Yolanda Pierce
Let us not rush to the language of healing, before understanding the fullness of the injury and the depth of the wound.
Let us not rush to offer a bandaid, when the gaping wound requires surgery and complete reconstruction.
Let us not offer false equivalencies, thereby diminishing the particular pain being felt in a particular circumstance in a particular historical moment.
Let us not speak of reconciliation without speaking of reparations and restoration, or how we can repair the breach and how we can restore the loss.
Let us not rush past the loss of this mother’s child, this father’s child…someone’s beloved son.
Let us not value property over people; let us not protect material objects while human lives hang in the balance.
Let us not value a false peace over a righteous justice.
Let us not be afraid to sit with the ugliness, the messiness, and the pain that is life in community together.
Let us not offer clichés to the grieving, those whose hearts are being torn asunder.
Instead…
Let us mourn Black and brown men and women, those killed extrajudicially every 28 hours.
Let us lament the loss of a teenager, dead at the hands of a police officer who described him as a demon.
Let us weep at a criminal justice system, which is neither blind nor just.
Let us call for the mourning men and the wailing women, those willing to rend their garments of privilege and ease, and sit in the ashes of this nation’s original sin.
Let us be silent when we don’t know what to say.
Let us be humble and listen to the pain, rage, and grief pouring from the lips of our neighbors and friends.
Let us decrease, so that our brothers and sisters who live on the underside of history may increase.
Let us pray with our eyes open and our feet firmly planted on the ground.
Let us listen to the shattering glass and let us smell the purifying fires, for it is the language of the unheard.
God, in your mercy…
Show me my own complicity in injustice. Convict me for my indifference. Forgive me when I have remained silent. Equip me with a zeal for righteousness. Never let me grow accustomed or acclimated to unrighteousness.
Amen.
From Future Church’s Sister Thea Bowman, page 30.
Sharing of Peace
Blessing of Bread and Wine Mike
Response to blessing of both the bread and the wine will be
Voice: Blessed be the Holy One forever.
Eucharistic Prayer for Black History Month Mike & Louise
Presider: We gather today mindful of the quest for freedom that cries out in the heart and soul of every woman and man. A quest that is fierce with resolve and will not end until freedom is won for all.
Voice: From the time of Moses, people enslaved others for profit and gain.
When Israel was in Egypt’s land, the Israelites were oppressed so hard they could not stand. Let my people go!
P: Four hundred years ago, on the shores of the new-found land which became America, people were once again enslaved for profit and gain. Let my people go!
Voice: On the backs of these women and men this country was built. Let my people go! No consideration, no justice, no mercy for them. Let my people go!
P: A war began that tore a country apart. The Emancipation Proclamation brought a degree of freedom but injustice and greed still persisted. Let my people go!
Voice: New ways of indignities and injustices were invented: Jim Crow, Whites Only, Segregation and Red Lining. Let my people go!
P: And yet, in spite of all this, women and men of color have produced so many beautiful and meaningful creations. We thank Dr. Shirley Jackson for fiber-optic cable, Lewis Latimer for carbon filament (inner light bulb), Marie Van Brittan Brown for closed-circuit television security, Otis Boykin for the pacemaker, Lonnie Johnson for the Super Soaker and thermoelectric energy converters, Charles Drew for the blood bank, Marian Croak for VoIP, Lisa Gelobter for animated Gifs on the web, Philip Emeagwali – a drop out, for the world’s fastest computer, Jesse Wilkins, Jr, for the math behind gamma radiation, Garrett Morgan for the gas mask and the traffic signal, and Mary and Mildred Davidson for women’s feminine products and the walker, and Onesimus & Cotton Mather for the method that would eventually become vaccinations against infectious diseases. Appreciating these contributions as just a few among many, we pray recognizing the worth of all, and being grateful to learn what was never deemed important enough to include in our educational experiences.
Voice: We pray, recognizing our true worth, and our understanding of what it means to be human. No longer unworthy exiles, we are people with a glorious cosmic history, with great responsibility, and a noble destiny. Along with everything else in the universe, we are on a journey beyond our imagining.
P: We remember Jesus.
He challenged us to confront any influence within us,
any social, family, religious or cultural influence, that prevents us from recognizing the power within us and within all people – the power of love;
a power that could join all people as one in their common dream of a better humanity.
Voice: So we take this bread, as Jesus took bread, and give thanks for the wonder of the Divine in, and with us, and we eat, committing ourselves to love as Jesus loved, wholeheartedly, generously, and compassionately, so that people will see expressed in us what we have seen expressed in Jesus.
P: We take this wine, and we remember Jesus drinking wine with his friends. We drink, giving our “Yes” to being on earth the heart of the Holy One.
Voice: Our prayer is that Justice Rolls down like water. We have a Dream. That one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all women and men are created equal.”
P: We have a dream that people of color will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
Voice: We have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight.
P: This is our hope. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood and sisterhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
Voice: From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
P: To wherever the Spirit of Life and Love may lead us we give our, Amen.
An Alternative Prayer of Jesus Margie
O God Guide Me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVRJFChcL3I&t=116s
Presider will say a few words
Breaking of the Bread Alice or Colleen
In the breaking of the bread, we knew you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
Presider: We gather together this morning and every Sunday to remember Jesus and his teachings. We come to be nourished spiritually, so we eat and drink bread and wine in his memory.
All: Our sharing in this meal is a sign of our willingness to follow Jesus.
When sharing the bread, say: “This is and you are the bread of life.”
Once everyone has the bread.
Presider: With great joy, we state.
All: We are followers of Jesus.
When sharing the cup, say: “The cup of the Covenant”
Communion Song Margie
Deep River
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QviNqBgArks
Closing Prayer Margie
I Dream a World by Langston Hughes
“Langson Hughes, the first Black American to earn his living solely from his writing and public lectures, lived his life as a poet, social activist, novelist, playwright and columnist. He is a renowned leader of the Harlem Renaissance.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-H7cAQK1qo
I dream a world where man
No other man will scorn,
Where love will bless the earth
And peace its paths adorn
I dream a world where all
Will know sweet freedom’s way,
Where greed no longer saps the soul
Nor avarice blights our day.
A world I dream where black or white,
Whatever race you be,
Will share the bounties of the earth
And every man is free,
Where wretchedness will hang its head
And joy, like a pearl,
Attends the needs of all mankind-
Of such I dream, my world!
Closing Song Margie
Love Reaches Out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvlPa28cVfA
Here is our liturgy for the Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. January 15, 2023
3rd Sunday in January 1/15/23
Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Praying for those in need Mike
Introduction Marie
For today’s liturgy, I have chosen to celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. Later this afternoon, the members of Voice of the Faithful New Jersey will have a memorial service for Gerry Gannon. You may know of Gerry as the co-founder of RAMP or as the husband of Mary Gannon, who sometimes joins us for liturgy, and always listens to the recordings of Sophia’s Sunday liturgies. This morning I want to share with you a part of Gerry’s obituary.
Gerard “Gerry” Gannon went home to God on Christmas afternoon December 25, 2022. It was so fitting because it is the feast when Christians celebrate the Incarnation of Jesus – the father sending his son Jesus in human form to show us how to live here on earth.
Love, Compassion, Inclusivity for all – no prejudice, no exceptions, and service.
Gerry lived this life. His first call to service was as a Roman Catholic Priest at St Ann’s Parish in Brooklyn, NY, the poorest parish in the borough at the time. He marched for Civil Rights with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. over the Pettus Bridge from Selma toward Montgomery on March 9, 1965. Dr. King had requested that religious men and women join their black brothers and sisters for the march. Gerry immediately responded to that call, as he would so many others in the years to come.
Last week the following MLK quote was sent to me – part of a liturgy prepared by a friend. I believe these inspirational words apply to Gerry’s life as much as they apply to Doctor King’s:
“I choose to identify with the underprivileged. I choose to identify with the poor. I choose to give my life for the hungry. I choose to give my life for those who have been left out of the sunlight of opportunity. I choose to live for and with those who find themselves seeing life as a long and desolate corridor with no exit sign. This is the way I’m going. If it means suffering a little bit, I’m going that way. If it means sacrificing, I‘m going that way. If it means dying for them, I’m going that way, because I heard a voice saying, ‘Do something for others.”
Opening Song Marie
Civil Rights Music Video – We Shall Overcome by Pete Seeger
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gmTxc2wGTI
Wisdom Bowl Mike
Opening Prayer Mike
May our time together this morning challenge us to do more than sing and pray. May we be inspired to continue anew to work for social justice, voting rights, and racial equity and equality in our country. May we find new ways to strive to create a country where all children and adults can live together in safe and loving communities.
Amen
“Reading” Marie
March on Washington – 50th Anniversary Tribute https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcMNMOBCTYY
Psalm Spot Marie
Let Justice Flow Like a River by Marty Haugen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHNE3S8rSJg
“Readings” in the Gospel Spot Marie
MLK Legacy: John Lewis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhQJWvyYn_E
MLK Legacy: Ruby Bridges
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKyQV0-z6HE
Homily Mike
Prayer of the People Linda
The response to each petition will be a moment of prayerful silence.
For our Black siblings and their families and communities, who have suffered unimaginable violence in our country. May we stand in solidarity and love with them and have the courage to fight racism and white supremacy wherever it is found, we pray:
For our white siblings, that they may hear and respond faithfully to the voice of Jesus in the Gospels calling us to both personal and communal conversion and transformation. When prophets speak, may we have the courage and humility to listen, we pray:
For the leaders of our nation that they may give voice to justice and compassion in our chaotic, tumultuous, and divided country, we pray:
For those who carry truths that must be spoken, may they be strengthened by the Spirit and the People of God in their prophetic work, we pray:
For those who are rendered voiceless by those in power, that we – and all people of good will – come forth to be their advocates, we pray:
For our sisters and brothers in Sophia, in our sister parish in Rochester, for all those involved with Pathways to Prosperity and for our sisters and brothers in Voice of the Faithful and RAMP, may they know of our love and care for them. May they continue to do good as they follow the Way of Jesus… we pray,
For what else shall we pray? Allow up to 4 petitions. [Pause after each]
For all of us gathered here, that we we may open ourselves to the Spirit who speaks to and through us, we pray:
Let us take the words we have heard today deep into our hearts.
May we find the strength to transform ourselves and our world, so that all may truly live together in justice, peace, and in the fullness of life that has been promised to those who follow Jesus.
Amen
Sharing of Peace Mike
May peace be in your heart, may peace be in your homes, may peace be in our country, may peace be in our world. Let us extend a sign of peace.
Prayer over the Gifts Mike & Peter
Presider: As we offer these gifts of bread and wine in memory of Jesus, we offer ourselves and our energies to live as loving people filled with an ongoing commitment to social justice, especially civil rights and voting rights .
Voice: Blessed be the Holy One forever.
Eucharistic Prayer for Black History Month Mike & Peter
Presider: We gather today mindful of the quest for freedom that cries out in the heart and soul of every woman and man. A quest that is fierce with resolve and will not end until freedom is won for all.
Voice: From the time of Moses, people enslaved others for profit and gain. When Israel was in Egypt’s land, the Israelites were oppressed so hard they could not stand. Let my people go!
P: Four hundred years ago, on the shores of the new-found land which became America, people were once again enslaved for profit and gain. Let my people go!
Voice: On the backs of these women and men this country was built. Let my people go! No consideration, no justice, no mercy for them. Let my people go!
P: A war began that tore a country apart. The Emancipation Proclamation brought a degree of freedom, but injustice and greed still persisted. Let my people go!
Voice: New ways of indignities and injustices were invented: Jim Crow, Whites Only, Segregation and Red Lining. Let my people go!
P: And yet, in spite of all this, women and men of color have produced so many beautiful and meaningful creations. We thank Dr. Shirley Jackson for fiber-optic cable, Lewis Latimer for carbon filament (inner light bulb), Marie Van Brittan Brown for closed-circuit television security, Otis Boykin for the pacemaker, Lonnie Johnson for the Super Soaker and thermoelectric energy converters, Charles Drew for the blood bank, Marian Croak for VoIP, Lisa Gelobter for animated Gifs on the web, Philip Emeagwali – a drop out, for the world’s fastest computer, Jesse Wilkins, Jr, for the math behind gamma radiation, Garrett Morgan for the gas mask and the traffic signal, and Mary and Mildred Davidson for women’s feminine products and the walker. Appreciating these contributions as just a few among many, we pray recognizing the worth of all, and being grateful to learn what was never deemed important enough to include in our educational experiences.
Voice: We pray, recognizing our true worth, and our understanding of what it means to be human. No longer unworthy exiles, we are people with a glorious cosmic history, with great responsibility, and a noble destiny. Along with everything else in the universe, we are on a journey beyond our imagining.
P: We remember Jesus.
He challenged us to confront any influence within us, any social, family, religious or cultural influence, that prevents us from recognizing the power within us and within all people – the power of love;
a power that could join all people as one in their common dream of a better humanity.
Voice: So we take this bread, as Jesus took bread, and give thanks for the wonder of the Divine in, and with us, and we eat, committing ourselves to love as Jesus loved, wholeheartedly, generously, and compassionately, so that people will see expressed in us what we have seen expressed in Jesus.
P: We take this wine, and we remember Jesus drinking wine with his friends. We drink, giving our “Yes” to being on earth the heart of the Holy One.
Voice: Our prayer is that justice rolls down like water. We have a Dream. That one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all women and men are created equal.”
P: We have a dream that people of color will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
Voice: We have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight.
P: This is our hope. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood and sisterhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
Voice: From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
P: To wherever the Spirit of Life and Love may lead us we give our, Amen.
Our Father Marie
Baba Yetu – The Lord’s Prayer by Alex Boyle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nagj4IyXML8
This video is from a First Presidency celebration
of the 40th anniversary of the revelation on the priesthood held
at the Conference Center of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, UT, on Friday, June 1, 2018.
Breaking of the Bread Alice or Colleen
In the breaking of the bread, we knew you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
Presider: We gather together this morning and every Sunday to remember Jesus and his teachings. We come to be nourished spiritually, so we eat and drink bread and wine in his memory.
Our sharing in this meal is a sign of our willingness to follow Jesus.
When sharing the bread, say: “This is and you are the bread of life.”
Once everyone has the bread.
Presider: With great joy, we state.
We are followers of Jesus.
When sharing the cup, say: “The cup of the Covenant”
Communion Song Marie
Wade in the Water – Jazz Vespers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys6Ukk5PwxY
Closing Prayer Mike
Today’s closing prayer is by Howard Thurman from “Meditations of the Heart”.
Thurman was born in 1899 and raised in the segregated South. He is recognized as one of the great spiritual leaders of the 20th century renowned for his reflections on humanity and our relationship with God. Thurman was a prolific author (writing at least 20 books); perhaps the most famous is “Jesus and the Disinherited” (1949), which deeply influenced Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. Thurman was the first black person to be a tenured Dean at a PWI (predominantly white institution) Boston University. He cofounded the first interracially pastored, intercultural church in the United States.
Lord, Lord, Open Unto Me Mike
Adapted to the way we pray at Sophia
May I be filled with light for my darkness
May I be filled with courage for my fear
May I be filled with hope for my despair
May I be filled with peace for my turmoil
May I be filled with joy for my sorrow
May I be filled with strength for my weakness
May I be filled with wisdom for my confusion
May I be filled with forgiveness for my sins
May I be filled with tenderness for my toughness
May I be filled with love for my hates
Amen
Closing Song Marie
Morehouse College – We Shall Overcome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aor6-DkzBJ0
Here is our link to our Pride Liturgy, June 26, 2022
Pride Sunday June 26, 2022 / Jesus Accepted All!
We pray for others please mute yourself
Introduction Peter
June is LGBTQIA Pride Month and most major cities in the United States and throughout the world celebrate a Pride Day. So welcome to our Pride Day Liturgy: Grateful, Proud, and Connected!
This day and this month we recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, asexual, queer people and allies have had on local, national, and international history. Remember the White House, along with other prominent buildings and monuments, lit up in rainbow colors in 2015 in tribute to marriage equality!.
We gather not simply to celebrate the rights and achievements of same-sex loving people, and especially not to capitulate to corporate interests that simply see these rights as a way to expand their markets. We gather to rejoice that LGBTQIA people and allies are working on and bringing together many struggles for justice—especially for immigrants’ rights, against racism, in support of Muslims, to protect the environment, and many more. While we will focus this morning on the same-sex love aspect this day honors, it is also important to be grateful, proud, and connected.
By Diann Neu, Stirring Waters, page 213
Opening Song Mike
“Singing for Our Lives” Holly Near, on Singer in the Storm, ©1990
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=johabhy URIw (2.31 minutes)
We are a gentle, angry people
And we are singing, singing for our lives x 2
We are a land of many colors
And we are singing, singing for our lives x 2
We are gay and straight together
And we are singing, singing for our lives x 2
We are a peaceful loving people
And we are singing, singing for our lives x 2
Humming
Wisdom Bowl Margie
Opening Prayer Mike
Blessed Are the Queer
By HP Rivers
Blessed are the wanderers,
Seeking affirmation.
Blessed are the worshipers,
Praying from closets,
Pulpits, pews, and hardship.
Blessed are the lovers of leaving –
Leaving family and familiarity,
Leaving tables
Where love is not being served.
Blessed are those who stay.
Blessed are those
Who hunger and thirst for justice –
For they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the queer
Disciples of Truth,
Living, breathing, sacred
Reflections of
Divine Love.
First Reading Linda and Kyritz
A Responsive Reading Celebrating LGBT Pride Month
We are grateful for the gift of our lives and the gift of others in our lives.
Each of us is created with dignity and worth.
We are called to love each other and to do nothing to others that we would find hateful to ourselves.
We honor the many ways that people live and love.
We repent for the times when our faith traditions have named lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people unworthy.
Love does not exclude. We are all worthy.
We suffer when LGBT persons are oppressed, excluded and shamed by religious people who overlook the fundamental call to justice in our scriptures.
True justice flourishes when we can live with authenticity and integrity.
May we work to build a community where LGBT people are celebrated as full and equal members, recognizing their many gifts.
We celebrate sexual and gender diversity as a blessing that enriches us all.
© Religious Institute, 2014
Psalm: “I Am with You” by Kathy Sherman on Always with You (3.18 minutes)
Slide Show containing gay, lesbian and trans individuals.
I am with you on the journey, and I will never leave you.
I am with you on the journey, always with you. Repeat two times / interlude / repeats twice
Second Reading Janet
Living with Pride
By Lori Gorgas Hlaban
We light our chalice flame
For those who lived their lives in closets of shame;
For those who furtively visited the bars, where nobody knew your name;
For the Stonewall riot—and the fierce transwomen who fought;
For the plague, which still takes far too many, too young, too soon.
So many gone. So many never lived to see
Out gay kids singing on TV
Out gay people serving in the military
Marriage equality
Families formed by intention
We light our chalice flame for all these,
and for all our siblings of the rainbow,
surviving,
living life out,
in the open,
with Pride.
Inspired Words
A reading from the Gospel in the tradition of Luke Louise
As the time approached when he was to be taken from this world, Jesus firmly resolved to proceed toward Jerusalem,
and sent messengers on ahead.
They entered a Samaritan town
to make preparations for him, but the Samaritans would not welcome Jesus because his destination was Jerusalem.
When the disciples James and John saw this they said,
“Rabbi, do you want us to call down fire from heaven
And destroy them?”
But Jesus turned and reprimanded them. Then they set off for another town.
Inspired Words.
Homily Mike
Prayer of the People Kathy, Colleen, Bill S
Leader 1: Holy One, you have given us a world rich beyond measure in variety and diversity of people. Today we proclaim and celebrate your love for all people, especially those who are LGBTQIA.
Leader 2: We pray for all people who are marginalized for their sexual orientation, their skin color, their gender, their economic or educational poverty, their physical or mental disabilities, or their age.
Leader 3: Response: We proclaim and celebrate the Divine’s love for all people.
Leader 1: We remember those young people who struggle to understand and accept their sexual orientation within families, schools, and communities where diversity is not honored.
Leader 2: We give thanks for all children who are members of gay and lesbian families. May these children never lose sight of the goodness within themselves and their families, even when others fail to honor them.
Leader 3 Response: We proclaim and celebrate the Divine’s love for all people.
Leader 1: We pray for parents, family members, and friends who are unable or unwilling to accept or understand the sexual orientation of their loved ones.
Leader 2: We give thanks for PFLAG, Parents and Friends of Lebsians and Gays, for Lambda Families, for New Ways Ministry, and for the education, advocacy, and support they provide for families and friends.
Leader 3: Response: We proclaim and celebrate the Divine’s love for all people.
Leader 1: We pray for changes in federal, state and municipal ordinances which allow persons to be fired from their jobs, evicted from their homes, and denied access to public services solely on the basis of sexual orientation.
Leader 3: Response: We proclaim and celebrate the Divine’s love for all people.
from Redeemer’s A Simple Matter of Justice Annual Liturgy
Sharing of Peace Mike
Blessing of Bread and Wine Mike
Response to blessing of both the bread and the wine will be
All: Blessed be the Holy One forever.
Eucharistic Prayer Mike & Sue B
Michael Morwood’s Eucharistic Prayer The Gift You Are: Think of Yourself As a Gift of the Universe. From Prayers For Progressive Christians, pages 53-57
P: We gather here conscious of the gift
each one of us is.
We are gifts of the universe
unfolding for billions of years
to produce a wondering and wonderful life-form
with awareness, appreciation, and creativity.
Voice: We are gifts of the universe,
bringing us forth
to sing, to dance
and to be joyful
on its behalf,
on behalf of all of creation.
P: We are gifts of the Great Mystery,
permeating
penetrating
and embracing
everything that exists,
and coming to human expression in us.
We are gifts of human love,
of commitment
of risk
of hope
of trust
of promise
of dreams of what could be.
We are gifts
of all the joy that love can bring,
of dreams come true,
of Divine possibilities.
Voice: We are earthen vessels,
gifted
with the power and impulses
that drive the universe.
P: We are earthen vessels,
charged with the Great Mystery
at work everywhere
in the vastness of the universe.
Voice: We are gifts
to be opened and shared,
called to be co-creators
of an evolving humanity,
enablers of the “kindom of God”.
P: We come to this gathering to affirm our commitment
to expansion, to risk
to possibilities
to the gift we want to be, and can be
for anyone whose lives we touch.
Voice: As we gather once more around bread and wine
we recall Jesus sharing bread and wine
with his friends shortly before he died.
He invited them to eat and drink
as a sign of their readiness to keep his memory alive
to give their all for what he believed and taught.
P: We eat and drink today
signifying our willingness
to see what Jesus wanted us to see,
to hear what he wanted us to hear,
to understand what he wanted us to understand
to expand as he wanted us to expand.
We gather around bread and wine
and the story of Jesus
who lived the gift
of human existence wholeheartedly.
Voice: We eat and drink today
thankful for every person and for every influence
in our lives
that have helped and opened us
to live beyond our fearful inner voices
and have led us to embrace life wholeheartedly.
P: We eat and drink
as a public sign of our readiness
to BE the gifts we are,
open to the Spirit of Life and Love
moving in our hearts and minds.
Voice: To wherever the Spirit of Life and Love
may lead us
we give our, Amen.
Prayer of Jesus ?????
Divine Birther of all that is – from the smallest particle to the vastness of the cosmos, you are present. Holy are your infinite names chanted, sung or whispered.
Abba, Beloved, Divine Breath, Great Mystery, Sophia
May we walk in peace, speak with tenderness, touch with compassion, and love unconditionally. With gratitude for the abundance we’ve been given, may we always share with any who hunger or are in need. May we be filled with humility and regret for the times we did not reflect your love. May we always offer forgiveness to those whose words or actions have caused us pain. May we understand our individual purpose and seek to fulfill it without distraction.
We pray what we believe and believe what we pray. Amen.
By Colleen Walsh White 2020
Breaking of the Bread Alice or Colleen
In the breaking of the bread, we knew you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus, Alleluia.
Communion Mike
Presider: “…happy are we to share in this meal”
All: Our sharing in this meal is a sign of our willingness to follow Jesus.
When sharing the bread: “This is, and you are, the bread of life”
Presider: With great joy, we state.
All: We are followers of Jesus.
When sharing the cup: “The cup of the Covenant”
Song The Pride Festival Alleluia video for the Gospel Acclamation:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ghlPsOx_QvK-Dpj022E-sL1spc3a2j3E
Closing Prayer
We are aware of the vast responsibility which is ours for the common life. In so many ways we have been silent when we should have spoken out. We have withheld the hand when we should have extended it in grace and in companionship. We have been blind to so much because we would not see. There are doors of truth into which we have not entered because of our preoccupation with lesser things and minor goals. In our private lives we have failed to meet the inner demands of our own conscience. We have done violence to the truth that is within us.
On the other side, there have been so many moments of wholeness in which we have participated when we have felt purified, cleansed, and somehow redeemed. We have been surrounded by so much of grace and goodness in which we have shared consciously and deliberately. We have been cognizant of needs that extend beyond our household and friends.
May we be Infused with the Spirit to awaken us from the slumber that keeps us isolated from one another. May we be Guided reaching out to one another as brothers and sisters of the one human family to which we all belong, May we have a living awareness of our interconnection that we may realize in hurting one individual we are inflicting pain on ourselves and the entire human community as well. We pray for peace in the world, for the dignity of every human soul, and for the unity of all Creation.
In the Divine that encompasses all of us and accepts us where we are, we pray. Amen. (Boldface: Howard Thurman, The Centering Moment, p. 24) adapted
Sending Forth
Let us go forth to act with pride.
May we be grateful, proud and connected.
May we not rest until all the stones of injustice have been rolled away.
May we believe out loud!
By Diann Neu, Stirring Waters, page 218.
Closing Song Mike
“Believe Out Loud” by David Lohman from Fling the Church Doors Open Wide
Here are links to our Triduum liturgies.
Here is an example of a recent liturgy for the Fourth Sunday of Lent.
Fourth Sunday of Lent, Cycle C – March 27, 2022
Theme: Reconciliation
We pray for those individuals in need Mike
Gathering Song Mike
Let the Healing Begin Jan Novotka
Wisdom Bowl Margie
Opening Prayer Mike
We pray that the Spirit that calls us to Jesus may continue to open our hearts. We acknowledge here in prayer, our constant connectedness with the Divine, with all human beings, and with all that exists. We acknowledge the pain and hurt that comes when we act as if we were disconnected from the Divine or one another. We acknowledge our responsibility for this disconnectedness and profess our readiness to heal, to mend, and to work for reconciliation. We pray this and all prayer in the name of Jesus.
First Reading Mike
God Rejoices When the Lost Is Found (Luke 15:1-32)
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: (Luke 15:1-3)
A man had two sons, and the younger one said:
“Pop, give me all the money that I’ll get when you’re dead.”
So the father gave half of all that he had to the child,
and the son took the money and ran off to start living wild.
Well, he squandered his money on wine and women and song.
Yes, he squandered his money on wine and women and song,
and he damaged his health by partying all night long.
And when the money was gone, he found his friends were gone, too.
When the money was gone, he found his friends were gone, too;
no more partying songs. The son was singing the blues.
There were no more buddies to play with,
there were no more fish in the sea,
there were no more guys to hang with –
nothing is free.
And the times got so hard, he soon had nothing to eat.
Oh yes, the times got so hard, he soon had nothing to eat;
he was feeding the pigs and living out on the street.
Bereft, broke, beat down, and busted,
so corrupt and callous and crude,
He fed those pigs and lusted after their food, ’til the son said,
“Back at home, I had it good: lots of comfort, lots of food,
lots of love – I wish I could go home again.”
And when the son had thought it through,
he turned to bid the pigs, “Adieu,”
and started home. He finally knew where he belonged.
From far away the father saw the boy,
ran to meet him in his joy, wrapped his arms around him there.
“I’ve sinned against you, Father,” said the son.
“Treat me like the lowest one in your household –
I will serve you there.”
“Fetch my son a robe and ring and shoes;
set a feast and spread the news that my long-lost son is home again.”
O sing rejoicing, for the lost is found;
raise a mighty shout and a joyful sound.
Spread the feast of welcome – let us all sit down,
for this son of mine once lost is found.”
God rejoices when the lost is found,
when the sinners’ footsteps are homeward bound,
when the chains are broken and the walls come down.
God rejoices when the lost is…
“I can’t believe you’d throw a party for this punk,
who spent your hard-earned money on his women, wine, and junk,
and now that he has blown it all he comes to you with all this bunk
and says, ‘Oh, I am sorry. Please forgive me.’
Through all these years, I slaved for you, did everything you asked me to –
you never gave me so much as a goat.
And now my brother gets the fatted calf
as a prize for losing half of all of your possessions.”
“My son, you are always with me, and all I have is yours.
Can’t you understand my joy
when my lost and desperate boy comes home again?
So come in and break the bread, for your brother who was dead is alive,
your brother who was lost has been found.”
So God rejoices when the lost is found,
when the poor and broken are gathered ’round.
Oh, the blest amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
God rejoices when the lost is found.
Song Response Prelude John Michael Talbot The Lord’s Supper/Be Exalted 1979
Second Reading Peter
A Journey Toward Healing
Deep inside San Quentin Patty O’Reilly stands before eight men doing hard time, her shoulders slumped, a man’s gold wedding band hanging from a chain around her neck.
Three of the inmates are sobbing. The others sit motionless on metal chairs, eyes locked on the small, sad woman in front of them.
O’Reilly’s words seep out. A ballet teacher from Sonoma, she has come to San Quentin to share a story — about the killing of a husband and the trauma caused by that loss.
She tells of two daughters left fatherless, of a widow, not yet 40, paralyzed by grief. Weeping now, O’Reilly describes happy futures shredded in an instant by one man’s single, terrible act.
But she also talks of the unlikely journey that has led her through the gates of San Quentin, to face this group of veteran cons. They can’t believe she’s come. But to hear her tell it, O’Reilly really had no choice.
O’Reilly’s unwitting acquaintance with the concept began on a rural Sonoma County road one misty April evening in 2004. With one of the family cars sidelined for repairs, her husband, Danny, had offered to bicycle the 30 miles to work that day.
Curly haired and 5 feet 8, the 43-year-old was a doting father with a knack for storytelling and a passion for playing Twister with his daughters, Erin and Siobhan. He remembered everyone’s name, loved Halloween, played the cello and was famous for his homemade soups.
Setting out for home that April day, Danny O’Reilly was well-equipped for the ride — with flashing safety lights, a bright yellow jacket, a helmet and a headlamp. It wasn’t enough. Rounding a bend on a two-lane road at dusk, he was struck from behind by a pickup truck, his body sent flying 25 feet, over a guardrail and into a patch of weeds. He died instantly.
Late that night, Patty O’Reilly and the girls arrived home to a dark house, Danny was not there. Before long, the sheriff’s deputy had arrived, a priest was on the way and a man who had been driving home from a bar with a blood-alcohol level almost three times the legal limit was under arrest.
In the beginning O’Reilly would simply sit on the floor and cry. For a time, she felt crippled, her walk an awkward shuffle. Sleep was futile, disturbed by visions of Danny’s body and the wheels of a truck.
The garden — so meticulously tended by her husband — became overrun with weeds. After friends and family stopped supplying casseroles, O’Reilly hauled the girls to local delicatessens, too shattered to cook. Her 13th wedding anniversary came and went, another agonizing reminder of the loss.
Meanwhile, William Michael Albertson, 47, pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence. With a former felony conviction on his record, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Case closed.
For a time, O’Reilly hated the man who killed her husband. She wanted the cell door slammed and never reopened. She wanted him to spend every waking moment agonizing over what he had done.
“I hated him,” O’Reilly recalled. “I really thought he was the scum of the earth. Worse than scum.”
Then she saw Albertson at the sentencing hearing. Clearly distraught, he wept throughout. At the end, he stood, apologized and said he hoped that someday he might be forgiven.
O’Reilly read the report on Albertson’s background, prepared for the court. His childhood, she learned, was full of unspeakable abuse. It was easy to see why he might become an alcoholic, she said, to escape a past filled with so much pain.
Finally, she thought about the anger riding around inside of her, day in and day out. She worried that it might corrode her relationship with her young daughters, struggling themselves to find their footing, to make a new life without a father.
She also remembered her faith. “I had to let go of all that negativity,” she said. “I happen to be a Catholic, but whether you’re Christian or Jewish or Muslim, it comes down to the same thing, love and forgiveness.”
“It’s not excusing — he did this thing and he needs to suffer the consequences, because we sure as heck are suffering the consequences. But at some point I just had to acknowledge that he is not a monster.” And so, in her heart, Patty O’Reilly forgave William Albertson.
*Adapted from: https://www.sdrjmp.org/stories/journey-toward-healing/
Written by Jenifer Warren, Times Staff Writer
Homily Mike
Prayer of the People Coleen
Each prayer will be followed by a brief silence.
In the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation, we lift up our prayers.
Our response will be a silent prayer.
For our church and the divisions within; for unity among all religions, we pray:
- For peace and reconciliation among nations, among leaders and among individuals; for a fervent desire to work toward unity and understanding with other cultures and celebrate our diversity, we pray:
- For healing of broken relationships within families; unreconciled losses due to death or alienation; children of divorce and abuse; the sins inherited from our ancestors, we pray:
- For reconciliation with creation, for the abuses we inflict on our planet to meet our earthly desires; for the waste we mindlessly create and discard; for forgiveness for our gluttony, we pray:
- For the pride that keeps us from confessing our sins; for fear that binds us; for reconciliation between those we have hurt and those who have hurt us, we pray:
- In thanksgiving for those who work to protect and mend bodies, minds, spirits and relationships; for peacekeepers in foreign lands, we pray:
- For all who suffer mental and physical illnesses and disabilities; for forgiveness and peace for all who will soon draw their last breath; and for all who have died, we pray:
- For our sisters and brothers in Sophia, in our sister parishes in Rochester and Fort Meyers, for all those involved with Pathways to Prosperity and for our sisters and brothers in Voice of the Faithful and RAMP, may they know of our love and care for them. May they continue to do good as they follow the Way of Jesus… we respond,
For what else shall we pray? Allow 4 petitions.
We pray that we may always be attentive to the Divine’s call. May we always celebrate the joy of forgiveness and reconciliation. Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them from the same table. May our gathering here these many tables bring us reconciliation and peace with one another and all we meet. We ask this and all prayers in the name of Jesus.
Sharing of Peace
Blessing of Bread and Wine
Response to blessing of both the bread and the wine will be
All: Blessed be the Holy One forever.
Eucharistic Liturgy Mike & Joanne
(Please pray Voice part in your home)
P: We acknowledge that the Divine is beyond all imagining, we give thanks for the gift of reflective awareness that allows us to recognize this presence in our universe.
Voice: Everything we have, everything we see, everything we do, everyone we love and everyone who loves us reveals this sustaining presence. We are grateful that this presence brings energy to life and all that exists.
P: We recognize that the Divine expresses itself in human life and that – through us – it can sing and dance, speak and write, love and create. In this, we never cease to hope, and for this, we are always filled with praise and thanksgiving.
Voice: This season of Lent invites us to be more and more open to the Divine’s call as we reflect on the life and mission of Jesus.
P: We acknowledge that the Divine is the Source of our health and wholeness, healer of body, mind and spirit; in this Eucharist, we bring the darkness of our world, and the pain and suffering of all people.
Voice: We seek to be healed and made whole; we seek to be reconciled and united; we seek peace in our hearts and in our world.
P: May our hearts be awakened to the empowering grace of the abundant Spirit, the same Spirit of Jesus.
Voice: We recognize all is holy. As we celebrate our commitment to Jesus, we acknowledge these holy gifts of bread and wine, which provide energy for life, to nourish and sustain us in our time of need.
P: As we gather once more around bread and wine, we recall Jesus sharing bread and wine with his friends shortly before he died. He invited them to eat and drink as a sign of their readiness to keep his memory alive to give their all for what he believed and taught.
Voice: We recall the blessing and love from ages past, and we celebrate anew the gift of life, which we share among us at this Eucharistic feast.
P: May the Spirit of life and wholeness, who transforms the gifts we present, transform us, too, that we may be refreshed in our inner being and be empowered to bring mercy, love and healing to those whose lives we touch.
Voice: The bread we break and the cup we share are symbols of our world of abundance where all are invited to partake of the fullness of life.
P: But that life is often impeded by greed and selfishness, and by the exploitation of people.
Voice: In union with all peoples, living and dead, may we strive to create a world where suffering and pain are diminished, where justice and peace are restored, and where all people can live in health and wholeness, united in acclaiming the Spirit of life, whose abundance is offered to each and to all, ‘til the Kindom arrives in the fullness of time.
P: We pray, inviting the Spirit of Life, Love and Goodness to move free in our words and actions. To this, we give our Amen!
Prayer of Jesus (Please pray along) Bill Stevens
Great divine spirit of love that is at the core of everything
and from which all life flows,
we acknowledge your healing and transforming power.
May the spirit of unconditional love and forgiveness flow through each of us and enable the realm of love to spread throughout the world.
Like the flowers in the fields, ensure that we have the basics we need to live
and give us the love and commitment to ensure that others have what they need too.
Give us the courage to acknowledge when we have done wrong,
to seek forgiveness from those we have hurt
and to forgive those who have hurt us,
so that we may be reconciled.
We acknowledge the power of self-giving love to transform individual hearts and the world.
We recommit ourselves to the unconditional love of others and the work of justice and peace.
Amen
A 21st Century Lord’s Prayer by Roger Courtney
Presider will say a few words
Breaking of the Bread Alice or Colleen
In the breaking of the bread, we knew you, brother Jesus. Make us One Now.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus. Make us One Now.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus. Make us One Now.
Presider: “…happy are we to share in this meal”
All: Our sharing in this meal is a sign of our willingness to follow Jesus.
When sharing the bread: “This is, and you are, the bread of life”
Presider: With great joy, we state.
All: We are followers of Jesus.
When sharing the cup: “The cup of the Covenant”
Communion Song Mike
Lovingkindness by Earth Mama on Loving Kindness CD
Closing Prayer Mike
Prodigal
When we are farthest from ourselves, lost in a strange and foreign world,
Hungry and empty, homeless and poor, weary of wandering, weak and worn,
The Divine, as it were, runs the pathway to our hearts, opening arms that bring new starts.
“Celebrate now, my child is found!” the Divine cries with joy.
When we are tempted to deny this grace to others we despise;
When we cry out: “Unworthy! Unfair! That such a sinner has a share!”
The Divine seeks us in our righteous pride, pleading with us to come inside:
“Celebrate now, my child is found!” The Divine cries with joy.
Hope is the Divine whose welcome brings music, new sandals, robes and rings.
Grace is the table set for the feast, offered to all, from great to least.
Love is forgiving when we stray, Love is affirming when we stay.
“Celebrate now, my child is found!” the Divine cries with joy.
~ Copyright © 1998 by Colleen Kristula. The author gives permission for this hymn to be used in worship, as long as credit is given. (adapted)
Sending Forth Song Mike
Change our Hearts Rory Cooney, Gary Daigle, Theresa Donohoo 2000
https://youtu.be/tBDG_2gSOlQ?t=14
Announcements
Here is an example of a recent liturgy for the Season of Creation.
Eucharistic Liturgy
1st Sunday of Creation Season – September 5, 2021
Theme: The Indwelling Sacred;
We are all part of one living, spiritual being
We pray for those individuals in need
Gathering Song Margie
We Are The Church by Miriam Therese Winter from the album Woman Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXKYOBZIKYo Need slides
Wisdom Bowl Margie
Opening Prayer Mike
This is from the Acts of Love for the Season of Creation powerpoint …maybe modify it for our theology & theme, and use it as both an intro and a prayer?
The Season of Creation is the annual Christian celebration of prayer and action for our common home. Together, the ecumenical family around the world unites to pray and protect God’s creation.
The season starts 1 September, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends 4 October, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology beloved by many Christian denominations.
We hope that this Season of Creation renews our baptismal call to care and sustain this ecological turning so that life may flourish, and all creatures may find their place to flourish in our common home.
Reading
From the Introduction to Spiritual Ecology, The Cry of the Earth
Edited by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
The Earth is in distress and is calling to us, sending us signs of the extremity of its imbalance …and some of us are responding to these signs, hearing this calling, individually and as groups, with ideas and actions – trying to bring our collective attention to our unsustainable lifestyle and the ways it is contributing to ecological devastation, accelerating pollution, species depletion. And yet, sadly, much of this response comes from the same mindset that has caused the imbalance: the belief that we are separate from the world, that it is something “out there”, a problem we need to solve.
The world is not a problem to be solved; it is a living being to which we belong. The world is part of our own self and we are a part of its suffering wholeness. Until we go to the root of our image of separateness, there can be no healing. And the deepest part of our separateness from creation lies in our forgetfulness of its sacred nature, which is also our own sacred nature. When our Western monotheistic culture suppressed the many gods and goddesses of creation, cut down the sacred groves and banished God to heaven, we began a cycle that has left us with a world destitute of the sacred, in a way unthinkable to any indigenous people. The natural world and the people who carry its wisdom know that the created world and all of its many inhabitants are sacred and belong together. Our separation from the natural world may have given us the fruits of technology and science, but it has left us bereft of any instinctual connection of the spiritual dimension of life – the connection between our soul and the soul of the world, the knowing that we are all part of one living, spiritual being.
It is this wholeness that is calling to us now, that needs our response. It needs us to return to our own root and rootedness: our relationship to the sacred wholeness and reverence can we begin the work of healing, of bringing the world back into balance.
Inspired Words
Psalm Margie
The Colors of the Wind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9MvdMqKvpU
Reading
From Sister Miriam MacGillis in Spiritual Ecology, The Cry of the Earth
Edited by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
One of the aspects Thomas Berry is so clear about in his description of Western origin stories – and why it has meant so much to me growing up within those stories – is the sense, conveyed by the book of Genesis, that God’s original intention was a perfect garden, a state of perpetual bliss. This belief held that in the beginning there was no death or suffering, no negative anything and that was the original divine intention. But human experience was certainly not like that. The world was full of suffering and violence…children died, and locusts came in and destroyed the crops…So why were these things happening?
Thomas Berry suggests that this understanding rests on the notion of a divine being who was perfect and transcendent. So people might ask, “How could a divine, perfect, transcendent being create a world that has sorrow, death, suffering, and illness?” The Judeo-Christian answer is that the original world must have been different – must have been perfect, like its Creator- and that “something” happened to it. What we’re experiencing now, a world where children die and locusts come, is abnormal. Normal was the garden, the state of bliss.
And the “something” that happened, in this explanation, is that the original world was changed by the infidelity of the first parents. But just as importantly, the original world was made of matter, so it didn’t participate in the transcendent part of God’s nature. In the Genesis story, even though the world is described as good, God directly breathes a transcendent soul into Adam. This soul – the spirit, the psyche – is a direct infusion of spirit from the transcendent divine Creator. But the rest of the world doesn’t get one. So there’s the origin of the break! Thomas Berry would describe it as a “radical discontinuity of the human from the other-than-human world.”
So, if the divine is not in matter – if it’s transcendent – then how can humans make a meaningful life? How to recreate happiness? How to make a better world? We can see Western Civilization’s answer in how we define progress and development and how it drives us to perfect the “fallen” natural world. We redesign it, reengineer it, and attempt to bring it back closer to our idea of its original state, a state of perfection and perpetual bliss…
As humans we are always hungering for a meaningful wholeness, a fullness that would embrace life as it’s really given – with chaos, destruction, death and sickness and suffering, as much a normal dimension of it as happiness, health, love and joy. Instead, our beliefs have tended to teach us that pain is a punishment and it’s abnormal; or it’s temporary, but that we should get over it because the world is going to end and we’re going to get the perfect world back again. It won’t be earth as it is now. Thomas Berry points to this deep, deep psychic drive within the Western psyche and how it tries to fill a vast empty part of ourselves with meaningless pursuits. Typically the religious meanings we hold are still based on our separation from nature – the pursuit of God is equally separated from nature – and so they do not bring us to truly reverence nature. We don’t go out into our backyard and kneel down before the soil and know that we are in the face of sacred mystery. It’s just dirt to us; it’s opaque. It’s real estate. Whoever has the deed to it owns it.
Inspired words
Homily Mike
Prayer of the People
Response: We are all part of one living, spiritual being
As we join in prayer it is important, now more than ever, to remember that we are all part of one living, spiritual being. Let that be our response to each petition:
Sharing of Peace
Blessing of Bread and Wine
Response to blessing of both the bread and the wine will be
All: Blessed be the Holy One forever.
Eucharistic Liturgy
All Is One. Everything and Everyone is Connected by Michael Morwood, Prayers for Progressive Christians 2018
(Please pray Voice part in your home)
| P: We gather today
conscious of the gift that is ours: the capacity to give voice to all that is. |
Voice: In us,
the power and energy that drives the universe has conscious awareness. In us, the universe can express wonder, appreciation and gratitude. |
| P: We marvel at this privilege that is ours,
to give voice to all that is, to all that has been and to all that will be. |
Voice: We are one
with everything and everyone in the past, in the present, and in the future. |
| P: We are one with whatever sustains and drives the universe, the Great Mystery beyond all names, incomprehensible to our minds, always and everywhere present and active. |
Voice: We are one with billions of galaxies, with exploding stars, with newly forming planets, with life emerging in places and in ways beyond our imagining. |
| P: We pray for life here on earth, a prayer for the mountains, for the rivers, for the forests for the flowers, for the desert for the ocean for the children for the dreamers. |
Voice: We want our prayer
to be one with men and women throughout the ages who have recognized the interconnectedness of all things, women and men of religious faith women and men of no religious faith men and women who gave clear expression to the Universal Spirit sustaining and energizing everything that exists. |
| P: We gather around the voice of Jesus,
a voice of faith of promise, of hope of dreams and possibility of challenge of urgency a voice of no regrets. |
Voice: We give thanks
that his voice and so many like his are voices of inclusion calling us to believe in and to be true to our innate connection with every person and with every thing. |
| P: We are connected with this bread
and with this wine with the crops and the vines with every person who worked to produce and prepare these gifts of the earth for us. |
Voice: We eat and drink today mindful of this connectedness. May our mindfulness carry over into all we do and say in the days and weeks ahead. |
| P: May the mountains
the seas the rivers the woods the flowers the desert the children and the dreamers be better off because we honor our interconnectedness and walk lightly on the earth. |
Voice: To this, we give our Amen! |
Prayer of Jesus (Please pray along)
All: Creator of the Cosmos, Source of Life, Divine Mystery,
You are in nature, all around, you are within me, in my cup of wine and loaf of bread.
Blessed be your names:
Allah, Beloved, Great Spirit, Radiant One, Yahweh, HaShem, Sophia
Your presence has come, your will is done on earth as it is in the cosmos.
May we give each other strength, mercy, tenderness, and joy and forgive each other’s failures, silence, pettiness, and forgetfulness as we ask to be forgiven by those we’ve hurt.
Lead us home to ourselves and each other, to clarity, to oneness and deliver us from the darkness of our ignorance and fear.
So we pray and so we receive. Amen.
Adapted from The Lord’s Prayer in There Are Burning Bushes Everywhere by Jan Phillips
Presider says a few words
Breaking of the Bread Alice
In the breaking of the bread, we knew you, brother Jesus. Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus. Alleluia.
In the breaking of the bread, we know you, brother Jesus. Alleluia.
Presider: “…happy are we to share in this meal”
All: Our sharing in this meal is a sign of our willingness to follow Jesus.
When sharing the bread: “This is, and you are, the bread of life”
Presider: With great joy, we state.
All: We are followers of Jesus.
When sharing the cup: “The cup of the Covenant”
Communion Song Margie
Playing with the Moon
Closing Prayer Mike
“Rivers do not drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruit; the Sun does not shine on itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is a rule of nature. We are all born to help each other. No matter how difficult it is…. Life is good when you are happy; but much better when others are happy because of you.” Pope Francis.
Our lives will not be measured by the big things we do but rather by the little steps we take to make a difference. Each day during the Season of Creation take a step to change the world
Sending Forth Song Margie
Everything is Holy Now by Peter Mayer from Million Year Mind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_SgAmljIJc
When I was a boy each week, on Sunday,
we would go to church
And pay attention to the priest, he would read the holy word
And consecrate the holy bread,
and everyone would kneel and bow.
Today the only difference is everything is holy now .
Everything, Everything, Everything is holy now.
When I was in Sunday school, we would learn about the time
Moses split the sea in two, Jesus made the water wine.
And I remember feeling sad, that miracles don’t happen still,
But now I can’t keep track, ‘cause everything’s a miracle.
Everything, Everything, Everything’s a miracle.
Wine from water is not so small,
but an even better magic trick
Is that anything is here at all,
so the challenging thing becomes
Not to look for miracles, but finding where there isn’t one.
When holy water was rare at best, it barely wet my fingertips
But now I have to hold my breath,
like I’m swimming in a sea of it.
It used to be a world half there,
Heaven’s second rate hand-me-down,
But I walk it with a reverent air, ‘cause everything is holy now.
Everything, Everything, Everything is holy now.
Read a questioning child’s face, and say it’s not a testament
That’d be very hard to say, see another new morning come
And say it’s not a sacrament, I tell you that it can’t be done.
This morning, outside I stood, and saw a little red-winged bird
Shining like a burning bush, singing like a scripture verse.
It made me want to bow my head,
I remember when church let out.
How things have changed since then, everything is holy now.
It used to be a world half-there,
Heaven’s second rate hand-me-down.
But I walk it with a reverent air, ‘cause everything is holy now.
Announcements
Business
As any organized group, we have business to which we have to attend. Our Planning Meetings are held after Liturgy normally on the last Sunday of each month. All are welcome to participate, and all participate as equals. All have an opportunity to contribute ideas and opinions which lead to the success and health of the community as a whole. The community will be what the members want/need it to be in order to promote spiritual growth and health.
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