Revd Rex A E Hunt
MSc(Hons), GradDipCommMgt
eMail: rexae@optusnet.com.au
Web site: www.rexaehuntprogressive.com
LITURGY FOR THE CELEBRATION OF LIFE
17 August 2008. Pentecost 14A. (Green).
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 worship
The gong is sounded three times
We enter this sacred space, conscious that we are
called to both celebrate and protect, our connectedness
to the source and web of life,
and to each other.
So let us celebrate the richness and diversity of this life in the presentness of God.
Lighting of the candle
The community candle is lit
We light this flame to affirm that new light
is ever waiting to break through to enlighten our ways
bringing rich possibilities in the now.
Hymn The people stand as they are able, to sing
“Gather us in” (Tune: ‘Gather us in’) 474 (v1-2) TiS
Remain standing after the hymn
Opening sentences
I saw that God was everything that
is good and encouraging…
All Everything has being because of God’s love. (Julian of Norwich)
Prayer
We pray:
May we sense the presentness of God among us,
that we may recognise God in each other,
and together know God’s healing and hope.
Amen.
Hymn “Gather us in” (Tune: ‘Gather us in’) 474 (v3-4) TiS
The people sit
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
Silence
In the silence of this moment may we give thanks for another day…
Indeed may we give thanks for the gift of life itself.
(Silence)
Music of reflection
Silence
Let us open ourselves to the process of becoming more whole:
of living more fully;
of giving and forgiving more freely;
of understanding more completely
the meaning of our lives here on this earth. (Adapt. THaley)
(Silence)
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:
“Revelation”
By Ann Lewin. Celebrating women/126.
God's work of art.
That's me?
Then beauty must lie
In the eye of the
Beholder.
I feel more like
One of those statues
Michelangelo left
Half emerging
From the marble block;
Full of potential,
On the verge of life,
But prisoned still
By circumstance and
Fear.
Yet part of me is free -
And you are still creating,
Bringing to life
The promise that is there.
Sometimes by
Hammer blows
Which jar my being,
Sometimes by
Tender strokes half felt
Which waken me to
Life.
Go on,
Lord.
Love me into wholeness.
Set me free
To share with you
In your creative joy;
To laugh with you
At your delight
In me,
Your work of art.
Gospel:
Matthew 15:21-28 (Inclusive text)
Jesus left and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting,
‘Have mercy on me, Son of David;
my daughter is tormented by a demon.’
But Jesus did not answer her at all.
And the disciples came and urged Jesus, saying,
‘Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.’
Jesus answered,
‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’
But the woman came and knelt before Jesus, saying,
‘Rabbi, help me.’
Jesus answered,
‘It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.’
She said,
‘Yes, Rabbi, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs
that fall from their masters' table.’
Then Jesus answered her,
‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’
And her daughter was healed instantly.
Contemporary word
Silence for personal reflection
AFFIRMING
An affirmation of hope
In response to the word reflected on, let us stand and share an affirmation of hope.
The people stand as they are able
v1 Look up and see the patch of sky
insisting on its place among the towers.
v2 Look down and find the fragile grass
refusing to be contained beneath the barriers.
All And we walk in community, free in the wonder of different faces,
studying the life wrinkles, waiting for a stranger’s smile
and the laugh of the child.
v2 You love us here,
O God of the sinners and publicans,
pausing to visit the one for whom nobody stops,
moving among crowds undaunted by their power,
seeing the bleeding woman in the midst,
and holding out your hand to be touched.
All And we walk safely here, secure among the sounds of humming life,
spacious in the small gaps which give us rest,
finding the patterns of your holy feet on the hard asphalt. (Adapt. D McRae-McMahon/uiw2)
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
“Shake up the morning” (Tune: ‘Shake up’). 18 HSNW
Shake up the morning, let the dawn undress,
Let dew reglisten nature’s loveliness;
Waken the songbird and unseal the throat
That greets the daybreak with a crystal note.
Praise to the Lord, whose morning we inherit;
Praise creation’s fuse, the Holy Spirit;
Praise to the Son who rises with the dawn,
Leaving graveclothes scarcely three days worn.
Shake up the world and let the Kingdom come,
The dumb be listened to, the lost find home;
Make earthly politics the stuff of prayer
Till want and warring are dispelled by care.
Praise to the Lord, whose world we inherit;
Praise God’s catalyst, the Holy Spirit;
Praise to the Son whose choice it is to bless
Those who work for peace and live on less.
Shake up the Church and let all Christians show
That faith is real, that God is good to know;
Fashion new symbols of the coming age
When hope and love with take the centre stage.
Praise to the Lord, whose Gospel we inherit;
Praise God’s bird of love, the Holy Spirit;
Praise to the Son whose will and words decree
All are one in this community.
Shake up the evening, let the shadows range
As clouds to castles in the sunset change;
Kindle the moon and stars which through each night
Reflect the glory of tomorrow’s light.
Praise to the Lord, whose evening we inherit;
Praise creation’s presence in the Holy Spirit;
Praise to the Son whose brightness none can kill,
Lighting paths for those who seek this will. © Iona Community
CELEBRATING
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. SJ. Weinberg
Offerings
Our offerings for the celebration of life in this place and beyond,
and our gifts of bread and wine, shall now be received.
Presentation People stand as the gifts are presented
May we, and these gifts of bread, wine and money
be used to further the way of love, hope, and justice
in this community, and on earth.
People sit
CELEBRATING COMMUNITY: SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION
Welcome to the Table
At this table we give thanks for justice, love, peace and freedom.
Mn At this table we give thanks for friends and strangers
together in community in this safe place.
Wm At this table we welcome old and young.
v2 A place at the table. And all are invited.
Thanksgiving
We give thanks for the unfolding of matter,
mind,
intelligence,
and life
that has brought us to this moment in time.
All We celebrate our common origin with everything that exists.
v1 We celebrate the mystery we experience and address as ‘God’.
ground and sustainer of everything that exists,
in whom we live and move and have our being.
v2 And we acknowledge this mystery embodied
in every human person,
aware that each one of us gives God
unique and personal expression.
All God is everywhere present.
In grace-filled moments of sharing.
In carefully created communities of loving solidarity.
We are one with everything, living and nonliving, on this planet.
Connected.
Interrelated.
Interdependent. MMorwood/pns
The story
We remember the stories from our tradition...
How on many occasions Jesus would share a meal with friends.
Bread and wine shared in community.
v2 For everyone born, a place at the table...
How the bread would be taken,
a blessing offered, and then shared between them.
And all of them ate.
How some wine would be poured out,
a blessing offered, and then passed between them.
And all of them drank.
v2 The bread and the wine symbolised human lives
interconnected with other human lives,
and the power of giving and receiving.
v1 May the passion for life as seen in Jesus,
and in the lives and struggles of many other
committed and faithful people then and now,
enable us to dare and to dream and to risk...
All Together may we re-imagine the world.
Together may we work to make all things new.
All Together may we celebrate the possibilities and hope
we each have and are called to share.
v2 For everyone born, a place at the table...
Bread and Wine
Bread is broken several times
We break the bread for the broken earth,
ravaged and plundered for greed.
All May there be healing of our beautiful blue and green planet.
We break this bread for our broken humanity,
for the powerful and the powerless
trapped by exploitation and oppression.
All May there be the healing of humanity.
We break this bread for those who follow other paths:
for those who follow the noble path of the Buddha,
the yogic path of the Hindus;
the way of the Eternal Guru of the Sikhs;
and for the children of Abraham and Sarah,
the Jews, and the Muslims.
All May there be healing where there is pain and woundedness.
We break this bread
for the unhealed hurts and wounds
that lie within us all. LBMiller
All May we be healed.
Wine is poured into the cup.
This is the cup of peace and of new life for all.
A sign of love for the community of hope.
All A reminder of the call to live fully,
to love wastefully, and
to be all that we can be.
Communion
Bread and cup raised together
To eat and drink together reminds us
of the deeper aspects of human fellowship,
for from time immemorial
the sharing of bread and wine
has been the most universal of all symbols of community.
The bread and wine will be served in the pews
After Communion
Divine Presence in all of life,
we give thanks that we have gathered together in this sacred place.
All We rejoice in the giftedness of each person here.
We are grateful for who we are for each other.
May we continue to be truly thankful
in all we do and in all we become.
SCATTERING
Hymn “She comes with mother's kindnesses” (Tune: ‘Martyrdom’, 86 86. 25 TiS)
She comes with mother's kindnesses
And bends to touch and heal.
She gives her heart away in love
For those who cannot feel.
She comes with lover's tenderness
To answer love's appeal,
She gives her body with her heart
To make her passion real.
She comes with worker's faithfulness
To sow and reap and spin.
She bends her back in common task
To gather harvest in.
She comes with artist's joyfulness
To make and shape and sing,
She gives her hands and from them grow
A free and lovely thing.
Remain standing
Words of mission
Let us go in faith to ponder in our hearts the mystery and the wonder of this season...
The candle is extinguished
We are called to join the adventure of living a passionate life.
All So may we be carried past the boundaries
and near horizons of our life’s small dreams.
Blessing words
Creativity God be with you on the smooth paths;
Companion Jesus be with you in the storms;
Awakening Spirit be with you at all times.
All Amen.
Hymn (Cont) “She comes with mother's kindnesses” (Tune: ‘Martyrdom’, 86 86. 25 TiS)
She comes, a child in humbleness
And trust is in her eyes,
And through them all of life appears
In wondering surprise.
She comes with sister's carefulness,
Strong to support and bind,
Her voice will speak for justice' sake,
And peace is in her mind.
She comes with power like the night
And glory like the day,
Her reign is in the heart of things,
Oh come to us and stay. (Kathy Galloway/cw)
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.
Bell, J; G. Maule. 1989. Heaven shall not wait. Wild Goose Songs Vol. 1. Revised edition. GtB: Glasgow. Wild Goose Publications.
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.
Burgess, R; K. Galloway. (ed). 2000. Praying for the dawn. A resource book for the ministry of healing. GtB: Glasgow. Wild Goose Publications.
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.
Morwood, M. 2003. Praying a new story. VIC: Richmond. Spectrum Publications.
Seaburg, C. (ed). 1993. The communion book. MA: Boston. UUMA.
The St Hilda Community. 1996. The new women included. A book of services and prayers. GtB: London. SPCK.
Together in song. Australian hymn book 2. 1999. NSW: Sydney. HarperCollins Religious.
Uniting in Worship 2. 2005. NSW: Sydney. Uniting Church Press.
Vosper, G. 2008. With or without God. Why the way we live is more important that what we believe. Canada: Toronto. HarperCollins.
Ward, H.; J. Wild, J Morley. (ed). 1995. Celebrating women. New edition. GtB: London. SPCK.
Web sites:
UUA Worship Web. MA: Boston. UUA. < www.uua.org/spirituallife/worshipweb/>
Sherri Weinberg. St Paul's Presbyterian Church. NZ: Devonport.
L Bruce Miller. Edmonton, Canada.