Epiphany6A.13.2.2011

Revd Rex A E Hunt

eMail: rexae@optusnet.com.au

Web site: www.rexaehuntprogressive.com

LITURGY FOR THE CELEBRATION OF LIFE

13 February 2011. Epiphany 6A. (Green).

Evolution Sunday

This is the sixth annual Evolution Weekend. It is an opportunity for serious discussion and reflection
on the relationship between religion and science. You can check its web site HERE

Acknowledgement of land

(An act towards reconciliation)

For thousands of years Indigenous people have walked

in this land, on their own country.

Their relationship with the land is at the centre of their lives.

We acknowledge the (NN) People and their stewardship

of this land throughout the ages.

(NN) is a safe place for all people to worship regardless of

race, creed, age, cultural background or sexual orientation

GATHERING

Gathering music

Entry into celebration

The gong is sounded three times

Creativity God fills this place of gathering.

The whole earth is full of God's glory.

All Amen.

Let us then celebrate the richness and diversity of life

in the presentness of this God.

Lighting of the community candle

The candle is lit

Hymn The people stand as they are able, to sing

“We thank you God…” (Tune: ‘Wareham’, 88 88, 377 TiS) 19 (v1-4) WNC

We thank you God for those who know

your depth of wisdom in their lives,

whose pride or power do not prevent

the love of Christ from being shown.

We thank you for the scholar's skill,

the learning that is honed and trained,

the gifts, that given, now are used

for good, for care, for love, for all.

We thank you for the poet's art

that offers prophecy and light,

which through the rhythm of the words

remains with us when thoughts depart.

We thank you for the dancing form

that pirouettes with grace and skill,

that weaves a pattern through the air

and challenges our static norm.

Remain standing

Opening sentences

In the beginning was creativity

All And the creativity was with God,

and the creativity was God.

All things came into being

through the mystery of creativity;

All Apart from creativity nothing

would have come into being. (GKaufman/ibc)

Prayer of awareness

We pray:

Creativity God, you have made us one with this earth,

to tend it and bring forth fruit;

may we share in the labour of all creation

to give birth to your hidden glory.

Amen.

Hymn “We thank you God…” (Tune: ‘Wareham’, 88 88, 377 TiS) 19 (v5-8) WNC

We thank you for the singing soul

that soars to some harmonious height

above, beyond our human sense,

and glimpses heaven, almost whole.

We thank you for incisive sight

that analyses and discerns,

through science, patterns that inform

predictions, actions we repeat.

We thank you, God, for light and sound

with which we interact and move;

for singing colours, thrumming beat,

that thrill, that shake the solid ground.

We thank you, God, for all the gifts

of human spirit, skill and mind;

O may indifference never numb

our sense of awe at love so deft. APratt

The people sit after the hymn

Welcome

In your own words

A warm welcome is extended to all.

Especially those who are worshipping at (NN) for the first time

or who have returned after an absence.

Your presence both enriches us and this time of celebration together.

Refer to printed liturgy.

Fellowship hour following worship.

Those visiting, please sign our Visitors book.

CENTERING

Meditation

“Meditation for a Beautiful Day”

By Sara Campbell

Ah, how beautiful is this day.

How crisp and clean the air.

How clear the sky.

How full of life the teeming earth.

And we are alive!

Yes, we feel the beat of our own hearts,

the pulsing of life in our veins,

the rhythm of our breathing.

We come into the silence of this time with gratitude for this day.

We come also with our needs.

Our gratitude stirs us to praise and sing our thanksgiving.

Our loneliness draws us into the company of others.

Our restlessness draws us into these moments of quiet.

Our longing for the spirit brings us before the mystery of the holy.

Our desire to heal our own wounds and the wounds of our world

brings us here to renew our strength and hope.

And we come into this space because we have gifts to share:

words of healing and encouragement for those who are burdened; songs of praise and hope;

smiles of comfort and affection;

deeds of love and kindness.

Each of us comes to dip into the well that nourishes our hungry spirits.

Each of us comes with our own cup of goodness to pour into the well.

We drink together.

May we be strengthened in our bonds of love and peace.

Silence

A period of silence is kept

Music of reflection

EXPLORING

Readings from our broad religious tradition

A collection of readings and/or pronouncements

from both the world around us and from our biblical tradition,

as recorded by the storyteller we call Matthew, will now be read by (NN) and (NN).
(Your selection will be needed)

The world around us:

“Our highest aspiration”

By Anonymous. Singing the living tradition/434.

May we be reminded here of our

highest aspirations,

and inspired to bring our gifts of

love and service

to the altar of

humanity.

May we know once again that we

are not isolated beings

but connected,

in mystery and

miracle,

to the universe,

to this community and to each

other.

Gospel:

Matthew 6: 26, 28-29 (NRSV)

Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap

nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not of more value than they...?

And why do you worry about clothing?

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;

they neither toil nor spin,

yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory

was not clothed like one of these.

Silence

“Consider the Lilies”

By Stephen Shick. Consider the lilies/1.

It is not newness we seek

but the fresh return of the eternal.

He said, the truth is not hidden in mountains,

it is not far off,

it is in your hand, your heart, your mouth.

‘So do it,’ he said.

He spoke in parables, mostly about money

and the truth it can't buy.

Consider the mustard seed, he said,

how it grows into the largest shrub.

From it, he said,

know your true wealth and power.

Consider the birds that nest in the shrub, he said,

how they sing in the spring.

From them, he said,

know your true heart's song.

Consider the lilies, he said,

and don't worry.

The truth is at hand.

With the seed and the lilies

nothing new arrives,

and even the mockingbird

sings songs that other birds once knew.

Nothing arrives with newness.

All is waiting to be reborn.

Gospel:

Matthew 5:21-24, 27-28, 31-35 (Scholars Edition)

• As you know, our ancestors were told,

‘You must not kill’, and ‘Whoever kills will be subject to judgment’.

But I tell you: Those who are angry with a companion

will be brought before a tribunal.

And those who say to the companion, ‘You moron,’

will be subject to the sentence of the court.

And whoever says, ‘You idiot,’ deserves the fires of Gehenna.

So, even if you happen to be offering your gift at the altar

and recall that your friend has some claim against you,

leave your gift there at the altar.

First go and be reconciled with your friend,

and only then return and offer your gift…

• As you know, we once were told,

‘You are not to commit adultery.’

But I tell you: Those who leer at a woman and desire her

have already committed adultery with her in their hearts…

• We were once told,

‘Whoever divorces his wife should give her a bill of divorce.’

But I tell you: Everyone who divorces his wife

(except in the case of infidelity) makes her the victim of adultery;

and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery…

• Again, as you know, our ancestors were told,

‘You must not break an oath,’ and ‘Oaths sworn

in the name of God must be kept.’

But I tell you: Don’t swear at all. Don’t invoke heaven, because

it is God’s footstool, and don’t invoke Jerusalem, because

it is the city of the great king…

Contemporary word

Silence for personal reflection

CELEBRATING

Litany: Web of Life

The people stand as they are able