Rex A E Hunt

Revd Rex A E Hunt

eMail: rexae@optusnet.com.au
Web site:  www.rexaehuntprogressive.com

LITURGY FOR THE CELEBRATION OF LIFE

5 June 2011. Easter 7A. (White).
Celebrating community: Sacrament of Holy Communion

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 the celebration
The gong is sounded three times

In this safe place let us be together.
For here together we will weave the threads of our lives
into a wondrous vision;
a bright new tapestry of dreams
of times to come.  SHardwick/ea-adapt

So let us celebrate the richness and diversity of life
in the presentness of the God.

Lighting of the community candle
The community candle is lit

God of light and the rainbow,
light up our world with colour.

Hymn The people stand as they are able, to sing
“God who sets us on a journey”  (Tune: ‘Canvas’’) 32 FFS
God who sets us on a journey
to discover, dream and grow,
lead us as you led your people
in the desert long ago;
journey inward, journey outward,
stir the spirit, stretch the mind,
love for God and self and neighbour
marks the way that Christ defined.

Exploration brings new insights,
changes, choices we must face;
give us wisdom in deciding,
mindful always of your grace;
should we stumble, lose our bearings,
find it hard to know what's right,
we regain our true direction
focused on the Jesus light.

End our longing for the old days,
grant the vision that we lack –
once we've started on this journey
there can be no turning back;
let us travel light, discarding
excess baggage from our past,
cherish only what's essential,
choosing treasure that will last.

When we set up camp and settle
to avoid love's risk and pain,
you disturb complacent comfort,
pull the tent pegs up again;
keep us travelling in the knowledge
you are always at our side;
give us courage for the journey,
Christ our goal and Christ our guide.  JDine
Remain standing

Opening sentences
As a workman gathers his tools
As a poet gathers her images
As a musician gathers his band
As a scholar gathers her arguments
As a writer gathers his stories
As a preacher gathers her texts
All So God gathers people for service.

Prayer of awareness
We pray:
Spinner, weaver of our lives, your loom is love.
May we who are gathered here be empowered by that love
to weave new patterns of truth and justice
into a web of life that is strong, beautiful, and everlasting.
Amen.  (Adapted/Barbara Wells)

Hymn “Crowded table, urgent faces”  (Tune: ‘Maria’s Tune’ 87 87D. 420 TiS)
Crowded table, urgent faces,
people longing for the bread,
bread of life and bread for living,
bread for rising from the dead;
Young and old, both men and women,
those for whom this life is hard,
those who live in warmth and comfort,
those whose life is stained or tarred;

All are welcome, wise or foolish,
at this table all are fed,
sharing wine in celebration,
eating Christ’s communion bread.
Then in costly life and giving
we will share what we receive,
demonstrate in daily living
all that we affirm, believe.  © APratt

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
"Landscape"
By David Best. …from under the bench/41.

our hills are not
silent but
shout tall
our rivers sing
their own
song to southern seas
our birds have
no foreign language
our light has
its own brightness
our night
the black of homely black
our sun warms
our wind cleans
bodies which are colded here
and splendidly selfsoiled
our sweat waters the earth
and gives hearty growth,
filling our geography
with the art and dreams
which spill
from our being
and shapes our clay.

when will we learn
that imported wisdom
is a landscape
of little joy?

Silence
In this time silence may we move
from busy-ness to quietness...
(Silence)

God of life
God of peace
God of wonders that will not cease...

Present with us now.

EXPLORING

Readings from our religious tradition
Some stories from our biblical tradition shall now be read. Our reader is (NN).

Hebrew scriptures:
Psalm 104
Margie Abbott. Sparks of the universe/22.

God, how fertile your genius!
You shape everything,
You fill the world
With what you do.
Le Let God’s glory endure.
The Holy One delights in creating.
Ri I will sing to my God,
Make music for my God,
As long as I live.

We praise you God
For the beauty of creation,
And stand in your presence
In awe and wonder.

Gospel:
John 17:1-5, 11.  (NRSV)

After Jesus had spoken he looked to heaven and said,
'Father, the hour has come.
Glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you,
since you have given him authority over all people,
to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

'And this is eternal life, that they may know you,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

'I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do.
So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence 
with the glory that I had in your presence  before the world existed...

'And now I am no longer in the world,
but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.
Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me,
so that they may be one, as we are one.'

Contemporary word

Silence for personal reflection

AFFIRMING

A litany of praise
The people stand as they are able

Praise the sun, the moon, the stars,
Mn Praise the ant, the tree, the shining leaf.
Wn Praise every child large and small,
All Praise the one within us all.

Praise the flower and the winding weed,
Mn Praise each blade of grass and every dewdrop.
Wn Praise dark moist earth.
Mn Praise rock, sand, and shoal.
Wn Praise wind - nature's breath.
Mn Praise those with fin, fur, and finger,
Wn Praise the winged ones, the tiny ones,
and all the ones that live unseen.
All Praise brightest morning and darkest night.

Praise the prickly and the unpopular.
Mn Praise the crow's cry and the beggar's sigh.
Wn Praise the dancers, the doers and the dreamers.
All Praise those that give, those who love, and those who heal.

Praise to wanderers, weavers and seekers.
Wn Praise sounds of thunder, crashing waves, and shouts for justice.

Praise silence.
Mn Praise spirit.
Wn Praise all colours.

Praise all acts of compassion.
All Praise all.  Praise all.  Praise all.  KHuff/adapt.

The peace
God makes peace within us.  Let us claim it.
God makes peace between us.  Let us share it. (nwi)
Let us greet another as a sign of God's peace.

The peace of God is here... to stay. (Iona)
All Thanks be to God.
You are invited to share the peace with your neighbours

CELEBRATING

Hymn of the Month People stand as they are able, to sing
“As the wind song” (Tune: ‘Wairua Tapu’ – Holy Spirit) 7 HoS

As the wind song through the trees,

as the stirring of the breeze,

so it is with the Spirit of God,

as the heart made strangely warm,

as the voice within the storm,

so it is with the Spirit of God.

Never seen, ever known

where this wind has blown

bringing life, bringing power to the world,

as the dancing tongues of fire,

as the soul’s most deep desire,

so it with the Spirit of God.

As the rainbow after rain,

as the hope that’s born again,

so it is with the Spirit of God,

as the green in the spring,

as a kite on a string,

so it it is with the Spirit of God,

making worlds that are new,

making peace come true,

bringing gifts, bringing love to the world,

as the rising of the yeast,

as the wine at the feast,

so it is with the Spirit of God. (SEMurray)

Reflections and Prayers
Care candle:
We are people of all ages who enter this space bringing our joys and concerns.
Joys and concerns shared.

Listening response:
May we today be touched by grace.
May we move beyond viewing this life
only through a frame,
Wm  but touch and be touched by it,
Mn know it and be known by it,
All Love it, and be loved by it (Chinook Psalter/ep).

Pastoral prayers:
The 'Abba' Prayer:
You are invited to pray in the spirit of the Lord's Prayer, and in your original language, as that is appropriate

All   Dear One,
closer to us than our own hearts,
farther from us than the most distant star,
you are beyond naming.

May your powerful presence become obvious
not only in the undeniable glory of the sky,
but also in the seemingly base
and common processes of the earth.

Give us what we need, day by day,
to keep body and soul together, because
clever as you have made us,
we still owe our existence to you.

We recognize that to be reconciled with you,
we must live peaceably and justly with other human beings,
putting hate and bitterness behind us.

We are torn between our faith in your goodness
and our awareness of the evil in your creation,
so deliver us from the temptation to despair.

Yours alone is the universe and all its majesty and beauty.
So it is.  Amen. (JBurklo, 2010)

With the children
Children gather on the conversation mat

Conversation

"Somewhere someone"
The kingdom of love is coming because:
All somewhere someone is kind when others are unkind,
somewhere someone shares with another in need,
somewhere someone refuses to hate, while others hate,
somewhere someone is patient - and waits in love,
somewhere someone returns good for evil,
somewhere someone serves another, in love,
somewhere someone is calm in a storm,
somewhere someone is loving everybody.
Is that someone you?  (jke)

CELEBRATING COMMUNITY: SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION
Welcoming to the Table
At this table we give thanks for
justice, love, peace and freedom.
All At this table we give thanks for friends and strangers.

At this table we welcome old and young.
All are invited.  (CHeyward)

Offerings
Our offerings and gifts of bread and wine shall now be received.

Presentation People stand as the gifts are presented
May the blessings of God, bring these gifts to life:
new hope of healing;
fresh ways of coping;
a chance to rest;
a chance to work;
a way to live gracefully.
People sit

Thanksgiving

Source and Sustainer of life we name God,

present and active from the beginning of time,

we are gathered in your ever presentness.

All And it is right that we give thanks and praise,

and tell our stories of celebration and connectedness.

Here we will offer praise and thanksgiving.
Here we will remember the words and deeds
of the one called Jesus of Nazareth,
who dared to call you Abba
and invited us to do the same.

We remember that wherever he came, people rediscovered
their humanity, became filled with new meaning and purpose,
and found a new courage to live,
not just for themselves but for others.

We remember how he spoke of a new reality he called the realm of God,
already among us yet coming in ever greater fullness,
creating communities of justice, love and peace.

We remember how he spoke in parables about
a lost coin, a lost child and a sheep that strayed,
in order to proclaim your inclusive love.

And we remember our tradition over the ages…
How, in a meal with his disciples, Jesus took bread in his hands,
blessed it, broke it, and shared it with them:
‘Let the bread you share be the means of my presence
with you for all time.’

After the meal, he poured a cup of wine:
‘Share this cup, all of you, as a remembrance
of the open meals I shared with all.’

Bread and wine
So now we take this bread and wine,
breaking it and pouring it out…

that they might be shared among us as equals.
Bread broaken, wine poured out

May this bread and wine nourish and sustain us on our life’s journey:
transforming, enabling, and empowering us,
as we continue to follow in the way of Jesus.  (Adapt/ R Osing, L&L Seminar)

Communion
Let us break bread together.
All Together, we celebrate the festival of our liberation.
Bread and wine served in small groups around the Table

After communion
Bind us together Enfolding God,
as those who feel your love under our feet
in the warmth of this, our holy ground.

SCATTERING

Hymn “Chant for the Seasons” (Tune: ‘Praha’, Irreg.) 73 (v1-2) SLT
Summer-time has turned the star-wheel,
autumn is upon us. (Repeat)
Sweet the angling sun,
sweet upon the air
the smell of blue mist rising.
Summer-time has turned the star-wheel,
autumn is upon us.
Glorious the trees,
glorious the sight
of rust leaves, falling.
Summer-time has turned the star-wheel,
autumn is upon us.

Autumn cold has turned the star-wheel,
winter is upon us. (Repeat)
Grey the windy storms,
cold upon our cheeks
the wet rain glistens, glistens.
Autumn cold has turned the star-wheel,
winter is upon us.
leaping is the fire,
golden in the glass
the cider glows like amber.
Autumn cold has turned the star-wheel,
winter is upon us.
Remain standing

Words of mission
Let us embrace the wonder of this week with expectation and imagination...
The community candle is extinguished

Be still...
And let God’s peace wash over you
like waves lapping over stones
smoothing rough edges of insurmountable worries
to tiny insignificant grains of sand,
leaving smooth shining love.

Blessing words
May you be wholly present in your own life,
ready to be surprised by the wonder
of each ordinary moment.

Go in peace.
May the earth be warm under your feet,
the rain bring the gentle flowers of the bush bright around you,
and the wind blows as the breath of the Spirit before you.
All Amen.

Hymn (Cont) 

Hymn “Chant for the Seasons” (Tune: ‘Praha’, Irreg.) 73 (v3-4) SLT

Winter rains have turned the star-wheel,

spring-time is upon us. (Repeat)

Sharp the smell of loam,

bursting in our eyes

the turrets of the tulip.

Winter rains have turned the star-wheel,

spring-time is upon us.

Greening is the grass,

soft upon our brows

the sunlight warm caresses.

Winter rains have turned the star-wheel,

spring-time is upon us.

Vernal clouds have turned the star-wheel,
summer is upon us. (Repeat)
Gliding are the hawks,
hovering above
the hot and yellow hillside.
Vernal clouds have turned the star-wheel,
summer is upon us.
crickets in the night,
chirping in our ears
the sound of moon-lit music.
Vernal clouds have turned the star-wheel,
summer is upon us.  (MLBelletini)
The people sit after the hymn

'This week' at (NN)
Notices
Birthdays and anniversaries
Significant events
Journey candles

Music

Fellowship
Morning tea is now served.
You are invited to share in the moment of fellowship.

You are invited to keep this copy of the liturgy and take it home with you
to share with another member of your family, or with a friend

I recommend the use of
LicenSing - Copyright cleared music for churches

Some of the resources used in shaping this liturgy:
Abbott, M. 2001.  Sparks of the cosmos. Rituals for seasonal use. SA: Unley. MediaCom Education.
Best, D. C. 2005.  …from under the bench. NZ: Wellington. Steele Roberts Ltd.
Binkley, C. G.; J. M. McKeel. 2001.  Jesus and his kingdom of equals. An international curriculum on the life and teaching of Jesus. CA: Santa Rosa. Polebridge Press.
(FFS) Faith forever singing. Songs for a new day. 2000. NZ: Raumati. New Zealand Hymnbook Trust. 
Holy Bible. NRSV. 1989. TN: Nashville. Thomas Nelson Publishers.
(HoS) Hope is our song. New hymns and songs from Aotearoa New Zealand. 2009. NZ: Palmerston North. New Zealand Hymnbook Trust.
Roberts, E; E. Amidon. 1991.  Earth prayers from around the world. 365 prayers, poems, and invocations for honoring the earth. NY: New York. HarperCollins.
Osing, R. 2006.  “Liturgy: Holy Eucharist”. In private circulation from the author. L & L Seminar.
(SLT) Singing the living tradition. 1993.  MA: Boston. UUA.
The St Hilda Community. 1996.  The new women included. A book of services and prayers. GtB: London.  SPCK.

Web sites:
Huff, UUA Worship Web. MA: Boston. < http://www.uua.org/spirituallife/worshipweb/>
Andrew Pratt. "Crowded Table, Urgent Faces"  Direct from author.
Jim Burklo. <http://www.jimburklo.com/>