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
26 August 2007. Pentecost 13C. (Green).
10.30am. Contemporary liturgical worship.
Refugee and Migrant Sunday
Acknowledgement of land
(An act towards reconciliation by the Church of St James, Curtin.)
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 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
Let us celebrate the richness and diversity of life in the presentness of God.
Lighting of community candle
The candle is lit
As we see and feel the warmth of this flame,
may we also experience the warmth
of the presentness of God.
Hymn The people stand as they are able, to sing
"As our congregation gathers" (Tune: 392 TiS, ‘Nettleton’ 87 87D) 43 WNC
As our congregation gathers
lift our lives, with love amaze;
offer some melodious treasure,
fill our hearts with wondering praise.
Crashing brass and singing cymbals,
soaring organ, sound and light;
fill this space with awe and thunder,
lift us through the veil of night.
Then a sudden, silent stillness
holds an echo in the air:
on a knife edge, balanced, waiting,
in the silence, you are there.
Joy beyond imagination,
love incarnate, hope to hold,
faith we cannot sound or fathom,
gripped in wonder, we behold. Andrew Pratt
Remain standing
Opening sentences
God of all time, God of eternity
All our years belong to you.
Our endings are often your beginnings.
All Our dreamings are often your realities.
You affirm our past
All and give life to our future.
Prayer
We pray:
Remind us, O Spirit, that life is worth living.
Remind us, O Creativity, that the struggle for justice is worth undertaking.
Remind us, O Mercy, that love and action are one.
Amen. (Nelson-Pallmeyer/wsj)
Hymn "God is truly present" Tune: ‘Arnsberg’. 668D 33 66. 47AHB/121 TiS
God is truly present,
let us come expectant,
reverently through Christ approaching.
God has come among us,
so we bring our worship,
waiting here in awe and stillness.
God we own: God alone-
in the Son revealing
mercy, truth and healing.
Jesus, dwell within me,
let my mind and spirit
be the place where you are living.
Loving Lord, draw nearer,
bringing light and wholeness,
so may I reflect your glory.
Let your will guide me still,
as I bow before you,
always longing for you.
Come in power and wisdom,
let your presence fill me;
take away all things that bind me.
As the warmth of sunshine
brings the bud to flower,
let your beauty grow within me.
Lead me on, where you've gone,
Jesus friend and leader,
constant interceder. (© Keith Pearson)
The people sit after the hymn
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.
Reflection
“Like”
Bruce Prewer. More Australian psalms/62.
Faith-like,
the wild budgerigars
that neither sow nor store
yet at the break of day
flock out to be fed.
Truth-like,
the relentless wind
bursting upon the hillside bush,
testing alike sapling roots
and forest giants.
Grace-like,
the spring sunshine
that always rises to shine
upon both saints and sinners
without distinction.
Love-like,
the mother kangaroo
that allows her young to leave
the pouch and test its strength
in a dangerous world.
Christ-like,
the vines facing east
that suffered winter pruning
but are now rampant
with life renewed.
We-like,
the little desert seeds
that waited ages for the rains
but soon will be robed,
more glorious than kings.
Silence
Let there be a quiet time among us.
(Silence)
May the silence remind us of the best hours we have known,
and strengthen our resolve to live in that spirit
which gives the better meaning to our lives. Bob Holmes
(Silence)
Music of reflection
EXPLORING
Readings from our religious tradition
Two readings from our broad religious tradition
shall now be presented by (NN).
World around us:
“Let joy break out!”
By Donald Hilton. Liturgy of life/145.
Let joy break out, eternal God!
Take the self-imposed blindfold from our eyes,
Rob us of the crutches we so dearly love.
Unshackle mind and heart,
And grant the freedom you have ever planned.
Let joy break out!
Throw open wide the gate to life
and help us find ourselves.
Let joy break out!
and flood our lives;
creation spilling out its brilliant gifts,
love finding itself lost in love,
silence deepened, and all sound enhanced.
Let joy break out! And break again!
as your fatherly love enfolds us
as Jesus speaks the intimate Word
and the Spirit enlivens our half-deadened lives.
Let joy break out! And joy again!
Gospel:
Luke 13:10-17 (NRSV)
Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit
that had crippled her for 18 years.
She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight.
When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said,
‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment’.
When he laid his hands on her, immediately
she stood up straight and began praising God.
But the leader of the synagogue,
indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd,
‘There are six days on which work ought to be done;
come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day’.
But Jesus said in response,
‘You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger,
and lead it away to give it water?
‘And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for 18 long years,
be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?’
At this response, all Jesus’ opponents were put to shame.
And the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.
Contemporary word
Silence for personal reflection
AFFIRMING
An affirmation of faith
In response to the word reflected on, let us stand and share together an affirmation of faith.
The people stand as they are able
We affirm...
that we are called to be the Church,
All the witness of the Holy One in the world.
We believe...
that we are the disciples who follow in the footsteps
of Jesus, the Compassionate One,
All who extended the hospitality of God
by living within and for the marginalised,
those kept to the outside of society; and the stranger.
We acknowledge...
all lands belong to God and that Australia is God’s gift to us.
All We recognise and honour
the first inhabitants of our land,
the indigenous people and their rich culture.
We uphold the right of all people
irrespective of colour, culture, creed, or sexual orientation,
to find a home in Australian community.
All We believe the Spirit of God calls us
to work for and to support an Australian society which
affirms the traditions which have enriched our country,
welcomes newcomers,
appreciates the diversity of cultures, and
is inclusive and cooperative in spirit.
The peace
Let us greet another as a sign of God's peace.
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
“Great God of many names” (Tune: 66 84 + Choru: 444) 39 WNC
Great God of many names:
Jehovah, Allah, Lord,
Christ, Brahman, Spirit, Adonai;
We worship you.
Chorus:
Whatever name,
whichever face,
we worship you.
With pomp and pageantry
Beneath an onion dome,
Or in a bare and simple room,
we worship you.
Chorus:
Whatever name,
whichever face,
we worship you.
In chapel, mosque or shrine
we wait to praise your name,
through icon, book or choir
we worship you.
Chorus:
Whatever name,
whichever face,
we worship you.
With tabla or guitar,
or with a thousand lights,
through fasting, feasting, fellowship
we worship you.
Chorus:
Whatever name,
whichever face,
we worship you.
With formal dress or free,
we meditate or dance,
through pesach, hajj or nam simran
we worship you.
Chorus:
Whatever name,
whichever face,
we worship you.
Whatever name or creed,
enlightenment or book,
we seek you through our pilgrimage
and worship you.
Chorus:
Whatever name,
whichever face,
we worship you. Andrew Pratt
CELEBRATING
Offerings
Our offerings for the work of ministry in this place and beyond, shall now be received.
Presentation The people stand as they are able, as the gifts are presented
We pray:
As we bring our offerings forward,
may our whole life move forward,
in good faith,
with good feelings,
and with a good belief about the future.
Amen.
The 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
And let us recommit ourselves to the inclusive ways of Jesus.
Prayers
Pastoral
Lord's Prayer
You are invited to pray this contemporary prayer 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. Sherri J. Weinberg
SCATTERING
Hymn The people stand as they are able, to sing
“We are many” (Tune: ‘Hamilton’.) 67 FFS
We are many, we are one,
and the work of Christ is done
when we learn to live in true community,
as the stars that fill the night,
as a flock of birds in flight,
as the cluster of the grapes upon the vine;
as the branches of a tree,
as the waves upon the sea,
as the cluster of the grapes upon the vine.
All division is made whole
when we honour every soul,
find the life of God in every you and me,
as the fingers of a hand,
as the grains that form the sand,
as the cluster of the grapes upon the vine;
as the threads upon a loom,
as a field of flowers in bloom,
as the cluster of the grapes upon the vine.
Remain standing
Words of mission
Let us embrace the wonder of this week with expectation and imagination...
The community candle is extinguished
As we depart one from another,
let our hearts be secure through every human season.
All Let our hearts be secure
in seasons of anguish as in seasons of joy,
in seasons of failure as in seasons of success,
in seasons of uncertainty as in seasons of security.
Let our hearts be secure in this dual reality:
we are worthy recipients of love and support we can never earn,
All and we are worthy providers of love and support others cannot earn.
Let our hearts be secure,
All for hearts know and understand
and will respond if invited in. James A. Hobart
Blessing words
Go in peace, embraced by the light and warmth of our gathering.
Go in love, ready again to struggle on.
Go in beauty, shining forth like a lamp for freedom. Sarah Lammert
All Amen.
Hymn (Cont) “We are many” (Tune: ‘Hamilton’.) 67 FFS
We will join creation's song,
make a world where all belong,
build as one in peace and loving harmony,
as the voices of a choir,
as the flames within a fire,
as the cluster of the grapes upon the vine;
as the snowflakes in the snow,
as the colours of a bow,
as the cluster of the grapes upon the vine. Colin Gibson
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,
in addition to those from Together in Song,
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.
Faith forever singing. Songs for a new day. 2000. NZ: Raumati. New Zealand Hymnbook Trust.
Hilton, D. (ed). 1991. Liturgy of life. An anthology. GtB: Birmingham. National Christian Education Council.
Holmes, R. H. 1972. The Bob Holmes worship materials. Vol 1. NY: Little Falls. Self published.
Holy Bible. NRSV. 1989. Ten: Nashville. Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Iona Community. 2001. Iona abbey worship book. Scotland: Glasgow. Wild Goose Publications.
Macnab, F. 1996. Hope: The deeper longings of the mind and heart. VIC: Richmond. Spectrum Publications.
Nelson-Pallmeyer, J; B. Hesle. 2005. Worship in the spirit of Jesus. Theology, liturgy, and songs without violence. OH: Cleveland. The Pilgrim Press.
Pearson, K. 1995. God, we praise you. VIC: Melbourne. JBCE.
Pratt, A. 2002. Whatever name or creed. Hymns and songs. GtB: London. Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Prewer, B. D. 1996. More Australian psalms. SA: Adelaide. OpenBook Publishers.
Web sites:
UUA Worship Web. MA: Boston. UUA.
Sherri Weinberg. St Paul's Presbyterian Church. NZ: Devonport.