The Uniting Church of St James
Curtin, ACT
Minister-in-Placement: Revd Rex A E Hunt, MSc(Hons), GradDipCommMgt
eMail: rexae@optusnet.com.au
Web site: www.rexaehuntprogressive.com
LITURGY FOR THE CELEBRATION OF LIFE
25 May 2008. Pentecost 2A. (Green).
10.30am. Contemporary liturgical worship.
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 Ngambri-Ngunnawal People and their stewardship
of this land throughout the ages.
St James 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 gather in community
to rest from our labours,
to greet our neighbours,
and to open our being to insight and intuition
of that greater reality of which we are a part.
Let us celebrate the richness and diversity of life in the presentness of the God.
Lighting of the candle
The community candle is lit
Deep calls unto deep,
joy calls unto joy,
light calls unto light. Gordon B. McKeeman
Hymn The people stand as they are able, to sing
"God molds the shapes of life" (Tune: Little Conard 66 66 88. 469 TiS) 38 TMT
God molds the shapes of
life,
drawing
the flow of tides,
firing
the sunlight's blaze,
glazing
the night with pride:
God
gives the love which warms and moves
the
patterned rhythm life provides.
Ponder
the rising sap
changing
to leaf's decay;
think
of the winter's death
turning
to spring's new day,
and
in these cycles find the shapes
of
all God dreams and all God makes.
Pulse
of the veins and lungs,
seasons
of human hearts -
patterns
that intertwine,
shaping
our thought and art;
all
these are part of nature's flow -
the
life of God we reap and sow.
Sing
to the God of change,
chaos,
and fine design;
hallow
the ordered forms
filled
with the life divine.
In
God the universe is one
and
sings the hymn which God first sung! William Wallace
Remain standing after the hymn
Opening sentences
We come to this celebration of life
All in our need, and bringing with us
the needs of our selves and others.
We come remembering amazing stories of people
coming to awareness through reflection on the life of Jesus,
All that the same Spirit that moved in him,
moved in them and moves in us.
We come with our faithing and with our questions.
All We come with our hopes and our fears.
We come as we are.
All For this community seeks to embrace the inclusiveness of God.
Prayer
We pray:
Blossom of Love, give us courage and an open spirit
as we consider the life and teachings of Jesus.
May we feel an invitational embrace
beckoning us to fullness of life, where we
celebrate beauty and
engage the causes of suffering.
Amen.
Hymn “Take off your shoes” 651 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
Silence
How good it is to be 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.
(Silence)
We come with our needs.
And we come because we have gifts to share.
In our coming and in our going
may we be strengthened
in our bonds of love and peace.
(Silence)
Music of reflection
EXPLORING
Readings from our broad religious tradition
Three readings from our broad religious tradition shall now be read.
Our reader is (NN).
Hebrew scriptures:
Isaiah 49:13-16a (NRSV)
Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his suffering ones.
But Zion said, The Lord has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.
Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb?
Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.
See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands...
The world around us:
“Beyond passing seasons”
Stephen M Shick. Consider the lilies/19
There is no less magic now,
no less mystery now,
than when your comet first caught our eye.
Crossing seasonal space you captured
from cold indifference, sparks of hope,
from weary stillness, light waves of resilience,
from the dark, the light of distant stars
that once burned bright and also died.
Looking where you passed
will not reveal your eternal radiance.
But look further –
out there beyond seasonal change,
deep in the galaxies of the human spirit,
flares of passion have been released
to shape justice
and move the world toward peace.
(Silence)
Gospel:
Matthew 6:25-31, 33-34. (NRSV)
Jesus is speaking:
‘… I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear.
‘Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
‘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 can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?
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.
'But if God so clothes the grass of the field,
which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,
will he not much more clothe you - you of little faith?
‘Therefore do not worry, saying,
‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear…?’
‘Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own.
Today’s trouble is enough for today.’
Contemporary word
Silence for personal reflection
AFFIRMING
A celebration of faith
In response to the word reflected on let us stand and
share together, a celebration of faith
The people stand as they are able, to say.
In desert and bushland, mountain and water,
we see the signs that God is with us.
All In grass that grows through cities of concrete and brick,
we see the signs that God is with us.
In the faces of people whom God so loves,
All we see the signs that God is with us.
In our brokenness, there is the hope of wholeness.
All In our emptiness, there is the hope of fullness.
In our deaths,
All lies the hope of resurrection life.
This is the Word in Christ to us.
All The flame of the Holy Spirit lives in this place
and travels with us.
Amen. (Adapted-D McRae-McMahon/eoj)
The peace
The peace of God is here... to stay.
All Thanks be to God.
You are invited to share the peace with your neighbours
CELEBRATING
Hymn of the Month
“Playful God” (Tune: ‘Joyful God’. 77 87) 75 RP
Playful God, you laugh and dance
at every indication
that we have caught a glimpse, a glance
of magic in creation.
Tearful God, you weep and mourn,
you share our desolation;
in every doubt, in pain and grief,
we need your consolation.
Joyful God, we praise your name
in every situation.
Your love will even live through death,
you promise resurrection.
Mighty God, creative heart
and source of our elation,
accept our praise, our lives, our all,
our ceaseless adoration. Andrew Pratt
Offerings
Our offerings for the work of ministry in this place shall now be received.
Presentation People stand as the gifts are presented
The riches of God's gracious love have been entrusted to us.
May we share the beauty of God
with all who walk with us, in caring service.
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)
Care candle
We are people of all ages who enter this space bringing our joys and concerns.
Joys and concerns shared.
In all our joys and in all our concerns, may we be ever mindful
of the presentness of God among us,
and to see the new possibilities of the now.
The Care candle is lit
Prayers
Pastoral
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 Indwelling God,
infused throughout all existence,
we honour you with many names.
Your realm is within the human heart.
We accept life for all that it can be,
on earth as throughout all creation.
May we continue to draw sustenance from this earth,
and may we receive forgiveness equal to our own.
May we ever move from separation toward union,
to live in grace, with love in our hearts,
forever and ever. Amen. Fred F. Keip
SCATTERING
Hymn "Human touch can light the flame" (Tune: 387 TiS, Dunedin. 88 88) 307 SLT
The human touch can light the flame
which gives a brightness to the day,
the spirit uses mortal flame,
life's vehicle for work and play.
The lover's kiss, the friends embrace,
the clasp of hands to show we care,
the light of welcome on the face
are treasured moments all can share.
Remain standing
Words of mission
The presentness of God reaches beyond this place...
The candle is extinguished
We have a calling in this world:
All we are called to honour diversity,
to respect differences with dignity,
and to challenge those who would forbid it.
We are people of a wide path.
All Let us be wide in affection
and go our way in peace. Jean M. Rickard
Blessing words
May the places where you walk
become sacred spaces of the Holy God...
The places where you take your stand
be signposts to the love of Christ...
The places where you rest be filled
with the renewing grace of the Spirit. D McRae-McMahon/ith
All Amen.
Hymn (Cont) "Human touch can light the flame" (Tune: 387 TiS, Dunedin. 88 88) 307 SLT
May all who come within our reach
be kindled by our inner glow,
not just in spirit's words we preach,
in human touch love's faith we show. John Storey
The people sit after the hymn
'This week' at St James
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.
The contemporary hymns used in this liturgy,
are reproduced with permission under license #A1197.
LicenSing - Copyright cleared music for churches.
Some of the resources used in shaping this liturgy:
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.
Holy Bible. NRSV. 1989. Ten: Nashville. Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Iona Community. 2001. Iona abbey worship book. GtB: Glasgow. Wild Goose Publications.
McRae-McMahon, D. 2001. In this hour. Liturgies for pausing. VIC: Thornbury. DesBooks.
McRae-McMahon, D. 1993. Echoes of our journey. Liturgies of the people. VIC: Melbourne. JBCE.
Pratt, A. 2006. Reclaiming praise. Hymns from a spiritual journey. GtB: London. Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Shick, S. M. 2004. Consider the lilies. Meditations. MA: Boston. Skinner House Books.
Singing the living tradition. 1993. MA: Boston. UUA.
Together in song. Australian hymn book 2. 1999. NSW: Sydney. HarperCollins Religious.
Wallace, W. 2001. The mystery telling. Hymns and songs for the new millennium. NY: Kingston. Selah Publishing.
Web sites:
UUA Worship Web. MA: Boston. UUA. < http://www.uua.org/spirituallife/worshipweb/>