Revd Rex A E Hunt
eMail: rexae@optusnet.com.au
Web site: www.rexaehuntprogressive.com
LITURGY FOR THE CELEBRATION OF LIFE
14 February 2010. Epiphany 6C. (Green).
(Evolution 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) 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
Come into this place,
where the ordinary is sanctified,
the human is celebrated,
the compassionate is expected.
Let us celebrate the richness and diversity of life
in the presentness of God.
Lighting of the Community candle
A candle is lit
We light
this candle today in recognition of the energy that allows life to occur:
The
energy of atomic fusion
The
energy of photosynthesis
The
energy of primitive metabolisms, still active in our cells today
The
energy of campfires, labor, and growth
And, the
energy of our community (Adapt.JCH. public domain)
Hymn The people stand as they are able, to sing
"Colourful creator" (Tune: Houghton', 65 65D) 190 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
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
Remain standing
Opening sentences
Let us acknowledge the awesome mystery
embodied in every person.
All Through us God comes to unique and personal expression.
Let us give thanks for the abundance of life on this earth.
All Through it we and all people may be nourished.
Prayer of awareness
We pray:
Creativity in all times and seasons,
and of all the seasons of our lives,
we gather in this sacred place,
thankful for the days that have been,
and hopeful for the days that shall be.
May we become one with ourselves and you
in all the seasons to come.
Amen.
Hymn "Whispers
rippled through the cosmos" (Tune:
'Nettleton', 87 87. 392 TiS)
Whispers
rippled through the cosmos,
pan-galactic
breath of God;
marking paths
of whirling planets,
stellar
strings where stars first trod.
Major chords
of constellations
ringing on the
staves of time,
soften to a
sombre minor,
echoes of an
ancient rhyme.
God is in this
wild confusion
bringing
order, giving grace;
author, ground
of all creation,
fount of
being, Lord of space.
All
transcendent power and glory
now distilled,
condensed, confined;
shaped while
shaping rich resources
cradling waiting humankind. © APratt
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
"To look"
By Stephen Shick. Consider the lilies/51.
The doer looks with a focused gaze
upon a row of things once made,
or, if of the reformer's mind, reshapes the things
to fit the times.
But the watcher looks in another way
and sees the commonplace of day
a radiance on a wilted flower, a nest in a cathedral tower.
The watcher moves with a deliberate gait and knows the power of the wait
to lift the weariness of time
and show the world as a holy shrine.
As we gather let us claim
some stillness,
some silence.
(Silence)
May we become conscious in this moment
and in every moment of our gathering,
that the Holy One, Creator God,
is the life giving energy pulsing through us...
Energy which connects us, and us to all of creation.
(Silence continues)
Music of reflection
EXPLORING
Readings from our broad religious tradition
Some readings from our broad religious tradition shall now be read.
Hebrew scriptures:
Proverbs 8:1-7a, 8-9 (NRSV)
Does not wisdom call,
and does not understanding raise her voice?
On the heights, beside the way,
at the crossroads she takes her stand;
beside the gates in front of the town,
at the entrance of the portals she cries out:
To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live.
O simple ones, learn prudence;
acquire intelligence, you who lack it.
Hear, for I will speak noble things,
and from my lips will come what is right;
for my mouth will utter truth...
All the words of my mouth are righteous;
there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.
They are all straight to one who understands
and right to those who find knowledge.
The world around us:
"Our whole system"
By Maria Mitchell. Singing the living tradition/537.
Small as is our whole system
compared with the infinitude of creation,
Brief as is our life
compared with the cycles of time,
We are so tethered to all
by the beautiful dependencies of law,
That not only the sparrow's fall is felt to the uttermost bound
but the vibrations set in motion by the words that we utter
reach through all space
and the tremor is felt through all time.
Hymn In solidarity with those for whom standing is not easy or possible we will remain seated to sing...
"God of the galaxies" (Tune: Cheam) 54 AA
God of the galaxies spinning in space,
God of the smallest seed, our living source,
yours is the gift of this beautiful place.
Let us care for your garden
and honour the earth.
Careless and covetous, gross are our greeds,
taking the riches the garden provides,
wasting its goodness, forgetting its needs.
Let us care for your garden
and honour the earth.
Forests and rivers are ravaged and die,
raped is the land till it bleeds in its clay,
silenced the birdsong and plundered the sea.
Let us care for your garden
and honour the earth.
Let there be beauty, and let there be air
fragrant with peace, never poisoned with fear,
freed from the plagues of pollution and war.
Let us care for your garden
and honour the earth.
Life is a holy thing, life is a whole,
linking each creature and blessing us all,
making connections of body and soul.
Let us care for your garden
and honour the earth. SMurray
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 for personal reflection
AFFIRMING
A litany celebrating evolution
In response to the word reflected on let us share together
a litany celebrating evolution.
The people stand as they are able
Out of the stars in their flight, out
of the dust of eternity, here have we come,
Stardust and sunlight, mingling
through time and through space.
All Out of the stars have we come, up from time;
Out of the stars have we come.
Time out of time before time
in the vastness of space, earth
spun to orbit the sun,
Earth with the thunder of
mountains newborn, the boiling of seas.
All Earth warmed by sun, lit by sunlight:
This is our home;
Out of the stars have we come.
Mystery hidden in mystery, back
through all time;
Mystery rising from rocks in the
storm and the sea.
All Out of the stars, rising from rocks and the sea,
kindled by sunlight on earth, arose life.
Ponder this thing in your heart;
ponder with awe:
Out of the sea to the land, out of
the shallows came ferns.
All Out of the sea to the land, up from darkness to light,
Rising to walk and to fly,
out of the sea trembled life.
Ponder this thing in your heart,
life up from sea:
Eyes to behold, throats to sing, mates to love.
All Life from the sea, warmed by sun, washed by rain,
life from within, giving birth,
rose to love.
This is the wonder of time; this is
the marvel of space; out of the
stars swung the earth; life upon
earth rose to love.
All This is the marvel of life, rising
to see and to know;
Out of your heart, cry wonder:
sing that we live. RWeston/slt
Ritual: 'We are made of stardust'
v1 In the beginning there was mystery and darkness.
Out of this mystery and darkness, the universe
was born in a Great Radiance
of brilliant light and boundless energy...
The gong is sounded once
Presentation of symbols
A candle is brought in and lit
A bowl is brought in and filled with water, poured from a height to enhance the sound of falling water
A plate is brought in and a handful of sand is poured onto it
A coloured paper star, dusted with glitter, is placed in the midst of these symbols
All are invited to become aware of their breathing - breath in and then breath out
v2 We humans are a web of life, and part of a web of life.
v3 We humans have always been drawn to the stars.
We have always yearned for relationship.
v2 In 1943, the French author Antoine de St Exupery
had his Little Prince speak these words:
v4 "In one of the stars I shall be living.
In one of them I shall be laughing.
And so it will be as if all the stars
were laughing, when you look at the sky at night".
v1 Thirty years ago, the astronomer Carl Sagan
concluded his television series Cosmos in this way:
v5 "We are the local embodiment of a Cosmos
grown to self-awareness.
We have begun to contemplate our origins.
We are star-stuff pondering the stars!"
v2 Twenty years ago, Native American poet Joy Harjo
wrote of another kind of relationship with the stars:
v6 "I can hear the sizzle of a newborn star,
and know that anything of meaning,
of fierce magic, is emerging here.
I am witness to flexible eternity, the evolving past.
And I know I shall live forever,
as dust or breath in the face of stars,
in the shifting pattern of winds".
The gong is sounded once
v3 Out of the stars in their flight, out
of the dust of eternity, here have we come,
Stardust and sunlight, mingling
through time and through space.
All Out of the stars have we come, up from time;
Out of the stars have we come.
Invitation
v3 Those who would like to celebrate this relationship
are invited to come forward and receive the gift of 'stardust' (glitter)
on the back of their hands (or forehead)...
People come forward and receive
Hymn (Optional)
“Amazing place, so blue and round” (Tune:
‘Amazing grace’, 86 86. 129TiS)
Amazing Place, so blue and round,
That sets my spirit free.
I once seemed lost but now am found,
Seemed blind, but now, I see.
This Earth has rendered good to me.
And all my fears relieved.
How precious is this Earth to see,
its beauty now perceived.
Through many dangers, toils and snares
we have already come.
'Tis Earth that brought us safe thus far,
and still will be our home.
When we've been here ten thousand years,
bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing Earth's praise
than when we'd first begun. (PTolleson/tgs)
The peace
Let us now take some time 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.
CELEBRATING
Hymn of the Month The people stand as they are able, to sing
“Life into Life, the threads are woven” (Tune: ‘Stanley Street’) 28 TEL
Life into life, the threads are woven,
parent and child,
partner and friend;
tokens of love received and given:
joy at each birth,
grief at each end.
God of all time, all loves, all living,
hear as we bring our hearts' thanksgiving.
Life into life, our ways cross over,
culture and place,
neighbour and race;
in your good world help us discover
imprint of grace
in every face.
God of all time, all loves, all living,
hear as we bring our heart's thanksgiving.
Life into life, when love is spoken,
everyday things
give our heart wings,
life-changing ills when things are broken,
turn us to you,
seeing what's true,
God of all time, all loves, all living,
hear as we bring our heart's thanksgiving.
Life into life, your Holy Spirit
quickens the mind,
lifts humankind,
gives to our stream of days its current,
livens the slow,
charges the flow,
God of all time, all loves, all living,
hear as we bring our heart's thanksgiving.
Life into life, the world goes spinning,
catching your light,
gaining new sight;
you give us hope, a fresh beginning,
life's very breath,
life out of death.
God of all time, all loves, all living,
hears as we bring our heart's thanksgiving. (SEMurray)
The people sit
The offerings Offerings are presented
Let us bring our offerings as a symbol of our ministry
in this place and beyond.
The presentation The people stand as the gifts are brought forward
By our smallest actions, we become
part of a bigger world.
The smallest giving can be an expression
of the good spirit of generosity and caring.
May we be helped to carry through the doorway of each new day
this good spirit of generosity and caring.
Offerings placed on the table.
With the children
Children gather on the conversation mat
Conversation
An excellent resource is: S. Bellis. 2008.
The curious mind of young Darwin. GtB:
Shrewsbury. Field Studies Council.
Also check out: <www.darwinshrewsbury.org>
"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 this abundant blessing
All We share the joy.
In this, our time of need,
All May love abound (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 appropriate
All Loving Presence, luminous in all creation,
hallowed be your name.
Thy kin-dom come.
May we reflect on earth
the yielding perfection of the heavens.
Help us to receive an illumed measure from the earth this day.
Forgive us when we trespass against others,
human and other than human,
as we forgive others who trespass against us.
Keep us on the path of wisdom
when we are tempted to take the selfish path.
May it be your rule we follow,
your power we exercise,
and your radiance that allures.
May this be the truth that guides our lives,
the ground from which our future will grow,
until we meet again. (BSanguin/dddc)
SCATTERING
Hymn The people stand as they are able, to sing
“A firemist and a planet” (Tune: 'Aurelia', 76 76D, 457 TiS). 343 (v1-2) SLT
A firemist and a planet,
a crystal and a cell,
a starfish and a saurian,
and caves where ancients dwelt;
the sense of law and beauty,
a face turned from the sod
- some call it evolution,
and others call it God.
Haze on the far horizon,
the infinite tender sky,
the ripe, rich tints of [wheat]fields,
and wild geese sailing high;
and over high and low-land,
the charm of golden rod
- some people call it autumn,
and others call it God.
Words of mission
Let us take on this week’s life with renewed hope and imagination...
The candle is extinguished
Blessed be God
All Blessed be the earth
Blessed be those who compost
and nurture the earth
All Blessed be the petals, leaves and stems
that become compost for the seeds of the plant
Blessed be the life cycle that sustains and nurtures
All Blessed be God who creates and co-creates
Blessed be those who walk on the earth with respect.
All Blessed be all who care for the earth
Blessed be all! MAbbott/sotc
Blessing words
May the God who dances in creation,
who embraces us in human love,
who shakes our lives like thunder,
bless us and drive us out with power
to fill the world with her justice.
All Amen.
Hymn (Cont.) “A firemist and a planet” (Tune: 'Aurelia', 76 76D, 457 TiS). 343 (v3-4) SLT
Like tides on crescent sea-beach,
when moon's so new and thin,
into our hearts high yearnings
come welling, surging in,
come from the mystic ocean
whose rim not foot has trod
- some people call it longing,
and others call it God.
A sentry lone and frozen,
a mother starved for her brood,
and Socrates' dread hemlock,
and Jesus on the rood;
and millions, who, though nameless,
the straight, hard pathway trod,
- some call it consecration,
and others call it God. WHCarruth
The people sit after the hymn
'This week' at (NN)
Birthdays
Anniversaries
Significant events
Journeys
Recessional 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.
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.
Burgess, R. 2001. A book of blessings. GtB: Glasgow. Wild Goose Publications.
Holy Bible. NRSV. 1989. TN: Nashville. Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Iona Community. 2001. Iona abbey worship book. GtB: Glasgow. Wild Goose Publications.
Macnab, F. 1996. Hope: The deeper longings of the mind and heart. VIC: Richmond. Spectrum Publications.
Morwood, M. 2003. Praying a new story. VIC: Richmond. Spectrum Publications.
Murray, S. E. 2008. Touch the earth lightly. New hymns written between 2003 & 2008. IL: Carol Stream. Hope Publishing.
Sanguin, B. 2007. Darwin, divinity, and the dance of the cosmos. An ecological Christianity. Canada: Kelowna. CopperHouse.
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.
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.
Pete Tolleson. "Amazing place". The great story. <www.thegreatstory.org> 2003.
Connie Barlow. 'We are made of stardust' (Adapted). <www.thegreatstory.org> 2003
Andrew Pratt eMail distribution. UK. Direct from the author.
The Clergy Letter Project. "Evolution Weekend" Resources for UU ministers.