Revd Rex A E Hunt
MSc(Hons), GradDipCommMgt
eMail: rexae@optusnet.com.au
Web site: www.rexaehuntprogressive.com
LITURGY FOR THE CELEBRATION OF LIFE
28 September 2008. Pentecost 20A/Creation 4A. (Green).
River Sunday
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 worship
The gong is sounded three times
Let us celebrate the richness and diversity of life in the presentness of God.
Lighting of the candle
The community candle is lit in silence
v2 Fountain of life...
Pulse of life...
Breath of life...
All Earth is filled with the presentness of God.
v1 A planet filled with the presentness of God
All quivering in the forests,
vibrating in the land,
pulsating in the wilderness,
shimmering in the rivers.
v2 Together this day, let us sense the face of God in all creation. (Adapt.NHabel)
Hymn The people stand as they are able, to sing
"Let justice roll down" 85 AA
Refrain:
Let justice roll down like a river,
let justice roll down like a sea,
let justice roll down like a river,
let justice begin through me.
Justice for all who go hungry,
crying to God to be fed,
left in a world of abundance
to beg for a morsel of bread.
Refrain:
Justice for those who are homeless,
victims of warfare or need,
trapped on the borders of no-where,
lost in the canyons of greed.
Refrain:
Justice for all who are powerless,
yearning for freedom in vain,
plundered, and robbed of their birth-right,
silently bearing their pain. Colin Gibson
Refrain:
Remain standing after the hymn
Opening sentences
We invite the rivers to worship with us:
All the Murray, the Darling and all the streams that flow to the sea.
We invite the country creeks to sing:
All perch, eel and platypus,
trout streams and gleaming fountains.
We invite the fauna to praise God with us:
All ibis, heron and mountain duck,
dragonflies and sleepy tortoises.
We join with the waters in praising God:
All waterfalls singing upstream
and waves dancing at the river mouth.
We celebrate the song of the river!
All Sing, river, sing! (Adapt/NHabel)
Prayer
We pray:
Creating God, we celebrate your refreshing presence
among us and our kin in creation,
especially in the rivers,
the creeks and the wetlands of Earth.
May our spirits be lifted to rejoice with
the vibrant world of the rivers.
Amen.
Hymn "In water we grow" (Tune: Paderborn, 55 55 65 65) 494 TiS
The people sit
Welcome
In your own words
A warm welcome is extended to all.
Especially those who are worshipping at St James 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
Remembering
Take the river stone you received at the door,
rub it between your fingers, feel its surface and edges,
and share with the person next to you
a special memory of the rivers, creeks
or wetlands you have enjoyed.
Conversation
Silence
We remember the rivers across our planet.
Rivers and wetlands that are the lifeblood of Earth
and vital for all that lives.
All We remember and rejoice.
Away from the busyness of our day-to-day living
and in the silence of this place,
let us now give thanks
for the rivers and creeks that sustain our life!
(Silence)
Sung reflection
As this day dawns in beauty,
we pledge ourselves
to repair the web. (CPChrist/swc)
(Silence)
Earth is a sanctuary, a sacred planet
filled with the presentness of God.
All A home for us to share with our kin. (NHabel)
EXPLORING
Readings from our broad religious tradition
Two readings from our broad religious tradition shall now be read by (NN).
From the world around us:
"Seeking harbour..."
By Kate McIllhagga. The green heart of the snowdrop/50.
As the grey wave
creeps on to the shore
and the sail limps
for port,
so, Lord, do I
seek harbour,
crawl into the circle
of your welcoming arms.
May I know your forgiveness.
Then may I forgive
as you have forgiven
me.
And now the blue comes flooding in,
transforming sea and sky with light;
the white wave tops
are bracelets of glory;
the sand
a new page
on which to write my story.
Gospel:
Matthew 21:23, 28-32 (Inclusive Text)
When Jesus entered the Temple, the chief priests and the elders came to him
as he was teaching, and challenged his authority.
So Jesus asked them a question, What do you reckon?
A man had two sons.
He went to the first and said,
‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’
He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went.
The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered,
‘I am going, sir’; but he did not go.
Which of the two did the will of his father?
They said, 'The first.' Jesus said to them,
'Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes
are going into the realm of God ahead of you.
'For John came to you in the way of righteousness
and you did not believe him,
but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him;
and even after you saw it,
you did not change your minds and believe him.
Contemporary word
Silence for personal reflection
CELEBRATING
Litany of praise (Environment)
The people stand
Le The
Earth. . . is a sparkling blue and white jewel… laced with
slowly
swirling veils of white… like a small pearl in a thick sea of black
mystery. (Edgar Mitchell, US Astronaut)
All All
creation is a song of praise to God. (Hildegard
of Bingen, Mystic)
Ri O
moving force of Wisdom, you encircle the wheel of the cosmos,
you
encompass all that is, all that has life, in one vast circle. (Hildegard
of Bingen, Mystic)
All All
creation is a song of praise to God. (Hildegard
of Bingen, Mystic)
Le It
could be that god has not absconded but spread, as our vision and
understanding of the universe
have spread, to a fabric of spirit and
sense so grand and subtle, powerful in a new way,
that we can only
feel blindly of its hem. (Annie Dillard, naturalist
writer)
All All
creation is a song of praise to God. (Hildegard
of Bingen, Mystic)
Ri …stardust
is not just fairy-tale magic; it is what we are really made
of... (Elisabet Sahtouris, Ecofeminist)
All All
creation is a song of praise to God. (Hildegard
of Bingen, Mystic)
Le Great
Spirit… give me the strength to walk the soft earth, a relative
to all that is!
…all over the
earth the faces of living things are all alike…
This is my prayer; hear me! (Black Elk, Oglala
Sioux)
All All
creation is a song of praise to God. (Hildegard
of Bingen, Mystic)
Ri There is
not anything new to be born. It
has been within you from the
beginningless beginning.
It has
only to be awakened, to become
aware of itself in you. (Zen saying)
All All
creation is a song of praise to God. (Hildegard
of Bingen, Mystic)
Le …for
in God we live/ and move/ and have our being. (Acts
17:28)
All All
creation is a song of praise to God. (Hildegard
of Bingen, Mystic)
Ri …When you
stand in the presence of the moon, you become a new
creation.
…The elementary particles of your body have absorbed
an influence and in that sense they - and you -
are brand spanking
new, a human being resonating everywhere with moonlight. (Brian Swimme, physicist)
All All
creation is a song of praise to God. (Hildegard
of Bingen, Mystic)
Le We shall
not cease from exploration/ And the end of all our exploring/
Will be to arrive where we started/
And know the place
for the first time. (T. S. Eliot, poet)
All All
creation is a song of praise to God. (Hildegard
of Bingen, Mystic)
(Source
unknown. Reproduced from www.webofcreation.org)
The peace
Let us take a moment to celebrate each other.
The peace of God is here… to stay.
All Thanks be to God.
You are invited to share the peace with your neighbours
Hymn of the Month
“Whispering gently” 77 FFS
Whispering gently the breeze from the mountain
beckons our senses to what it may say;
fresh from the snows that are melted by sunshine,
stirred by the kingfisher flying away.
Chorus:
Blue sky, Lord of creation,
freshen our faith,
blossom our love.
Deep green, Lord of creation,
springtime of faith,
the Spirit of love.
Bursting with colour the orchards surround us,
grasses that grow in the warmth of the green;
heralds of gold in the flowers of the bushland,
nature announces that spring should be seen.
Chorus:
Birth of the new is a sign of your Spirit,
God the creator and Jesus our Lord;
lambs on the hillsides and calves on the pastures,
leaping in sunshine and dancing your word.
Chorus:
Spirit of hope in the Christ who renews us,
lighten our winter of anguish with spring;
washed with the showers of loving forgiveness,
warmed by the rays of the love that you bring.
Chorus: BBennett/Adapt
AFFIRMING
Offerings
Our offerings for the celebration of life in this place and beyond, shall now be received.
Presentation People stand as the gifts are presented
Creativity God, the landscape of life and your presence is near:
a daffodil in bloom,
a single green gum leaf,
the red and green flash of a rosella.
May we too be a people of adventure and life,
offering courage and hope in unexpected places.
People sit
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)
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
In the light and beauty of day
All We give thanks in awe and wonder.
In the dark and stillness of night
All We dream of healing and hope (GVosper/wwg)
And so we take this flame and light our special care candle.
The Care candle is lit
In all our joys and in all our concerns, may we be ever mindful
of the presentness of God among us,
and to see new possibilities of the now.
Pastoral prayer
Lord's Prayer
You are invited to pray in the spirit of the Lord's Prayer, and in your original language, as that is appropriate
All God - heart of the world:
revealed through every aspect of creation:
understood through our awareness.
May we honour the holiness of creation and act accordingly
so that your love is reflected in the way we live.
May we always be thankful for the food we eat
and the friends we have.
May we forgive those who transgress against us
and be forgiven for our own.
In the freedom of love may we live as your heartbeat
and not be compromised by hesitation.
Through our freedom, may your justice
be seen and heard and experienced
forever and ever. Amen. SJWeinberg
SCATTERING
Hymn “Colourful creator” (Tune: ‘Houghton’, 65 65D) 190 (v1-2) TiS
Colourful Creator, God of mystery,
thank you for the artist teaching us to see
glimpses of the meaning of the commonplace,
visions of the holy in each human face.
Harmony of ages, God of listening ear,
thank you for composers tuning us to hear
echoes of the Gospel in the songs we sing,
sounds of love and longing from the deepest spring
Remain standing
Words of mission
Time has now come for us to leave this sacred place.
As we do, may we embrace the challenges
of our lives and our world...
The candle is extinguished
Hold again the river stone in your hands as you go forth into this week.
v2 Will you care for creation?
All We will care for creation!
We will nurture the rivers!
We will celebrate life!
v2 This we know, the earth does not belong to us,
All We belong to the earth.
Blessing words
Go in peace to claim the life of Christ within your midst:
and 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) “Colourful creator” (Tune: ‘Houghton’, 65 65D) 190 (v3-4) TiS
Author of our journey, God of near and far,
praise for tale and drama telling who we are,
stripping to the essence struggles of our day,
times of change and conflict when we choose our way.
God of truth and beauty, Poet of the Word,
may we be creators by the Spirit stirred,
open to your presence in our joy and strife,
vessels of the holy coursing through our life. RCDuck
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:
Alleluia Aotearoa. Hymns and songs for all churches. 1993. NZ: Raumati. New Zealand Hymnbook Trust.
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.
Christ, C. P. 2003. She who changes. Re-imagining the divine in the world. NY: New York. Palgrave Macmillan.
Faith forever singing. Songs for a new day. 2000. NZ: Raumati. New Zealand Hymnbook Trust.
Inclusive readings. Year A. 2004. Qld: Brisbane. Inclusive Language Project. In private circulation.
Iona Community. 2001. Iona abbey worship book. GtB: Glasgow. Wild Goose Publications.
McIlhagga, K. 2004. The green heart of the snowdrop. GtB: Glasgow. Wild Goose Publications.
Together in song. Australian hymn book 2. 1999. NSW: Sydney. HarperCollins Religious.
Vosper, G. 2008. With or without God. Why the way we live is more important that what we believe. Canada: Toronto. HarperCollins.
Web sites:
UUA Worship Web. MA: Boston. UUA. < www.uua.org/spirituallife/worshipweb/>
Sherri Weinberg. St Paul's Presbyterian Church. NZ: Devonport.
Norman Habel Creation Liturgies. <www.seasonofcreation.com>