Revd Rex A E Hunt
eMail: rexae@optusnet.com.au
Web site: www.rexaehuntprogressive.com
LITURGY FOR THE CELEBRATION OF LIFE
6 June 2010. Pentecost 2C. (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
Music
Entry into celebration
The gong is sounded three times
Live this moment in its fullness, for in it is
all plentitude,
all realisation,
all time. (KPatton/sscl)
Let us celebrate the richness and diversity of life
in the presentness of God.
Lighting of community candle
The candle is lit
For gathering today in this sacred space, we light the flame.
For the opportunity to be together as a community,
we light the flame. (Adapt/Dillman Sorrells)
Hymn The people stand as they are able, to sing
“Praises
singing” (Tune: ‘Praise my
soul’, 87 87 87. 134 TIS)
Praise, my
soul, the wondrous beauty
to discover
everywhere:
painted
sunset, morning glory,
cooling rain,
and breezes fair.
Praises
singing, praises bringing,
for
the wonder that we share.
Praise, my
soul, the sense of myst’ry,
knowledge we
have yet to find,
much awaiting
our discovery,
life’s details
of every kind.
Praises
singing, praises bringing,
for
the questing, searching mind.
Praise, my
soul, the deep compassion
freely
offered, freely giv’n,
care that
reaches past the barriers,
care that
takes the stranger in.
Praises
singing, our lives bringing,
joined
with all we share a part.
Praise, my
soul, the sense of justice,
seeing others
equally,
full respect
for rights and honour,
full respect
for dignity.
Praises
singing, our lives bringing,
t’wards
a whole humanity. © Scott Kearns 2008
Remain standing
Opening sentences
Spirit of God brooding over the waters of our chaos,
All inspire us to generous living.
Wind of God dancing over the desert of our reluctance,
All lead us to the oasis of celebration.
Breath of God inspiring communication among strangers,
All make us channels of your peace. (KMcIlhagga/cw)
Prayer
We pray:
Be with us, O God, in
our thinking,
our feeling, and
our being.
Touch us where we need to feel your presence
and encourage us where we need your inspiration.
Amen.
Hymn “This hazy, gleaming veil” (Tune: ‘St Michael’, SM. 483 TiS) 3 RP
This hazy, gleaming veil,
this cloudy, milky skein,
the galaxy in which we live
this home that God has vowed.
A hundred billion stars
form that galactic space
these myriad sparks of dancing light
are signings of God's grace.
This place of hopes and dreams
God gives into our hands,
and we are stewards of its worth,
its rich majestic strands.
So limited our grasp
so narrow human scope,
so much is still beyond our reach,
yet beauty frames our hope. APratt
The 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.
Meditation
“Some sayings…”
By Meister Eckhart. (13th century)
What good is it to me
if Mary gave birth to Jesus 1400 years ago,
if I do not also give birth to him in my time and my culture…
What is the test that you have indeed undergone this holy birth?
Listen carefully.
If this birth has truly taken place within you,
then every single creature points you toward God…
God is creating the entire universe fully and totally in this present now.
Everything God created in the beginning –
and even previous to that…
God creates now all at once.
Silence
So come now apart from the busyness of family and work,
and dwell in the presentness of God
who is our source of creativity and being.
(Silence)
May the silence which we now share quieten us,
touch our need,
refresh our courage,
enlarge our wonder.
(Silence)
Music of reflection
EXPLORING
Readings from our religious tradition
Let us now listen to some readings and reflections from our broad religious tradition.
Hebrew scriptures:
(Alternate) Psalm 30.
By Francis Macnab. A fine wind is blowing/14-15.
The author of the Psalm finds himself 'in the pits". Yet he also feels God lifting him up…
‘Let me throw off the heavy blanket of depression’, he says.
When I really stop to think, I know I have a lot to thank God for.
There were times when I clearly needed help,
when people around me were being of no help at all.
I began to sink into the worst misery.
I kept asking: How can I get out of this hell-hole?
Then I felt the listening God was hearing me.
I began to feel his presence lifting me up;
and the things and the people against me
became less dominant in my thoughts…
After all, what is the good of my life,
if I am down in the pits of despair,
continually griping about this and groaning about that…?
Let me throw off the heavy blanket of my depressions,
and put on the lighter clothes of a buoyant spirit.
Set me free, O God, so that I can sing good songs every day.
Yes, everyday,
I want to be part of God's great-song!
The world around us:
(i) “A joyous quality”
By Henry N Wieman & Donald S Harrington. Outstretched wings of the spirit/23.
Religious living is oriented and integrated
toward one supreme area of worth.
Consequently all living is measured and ordered with reference to that which the devotee
holds to be The Most High…
There is a feeling that life is worth living.
There is a sense of direction.
There is a joyous quality through the sense of moving on
toward that value set as supreme, a consciousness of making progress…
Everything that occurs makes much more difference to the religiously integrated person…
To have a clear sense of direction,
a definite hierarchy of loyalties so as to be able to put first things first,
is fundamental to real enjoyment of life.
We want to know that we are accomplishing something,
getting somewhere worth while, if we are to be happy.
In the light of such an o'er arching commitment,
every smallest detail of life gains an eternal significance.
OR (ii) "God's dye"
By Jim Burklo. www.tcpc.blogs.com/musings (22/4/2010)
A few years back, Roberta and I were treated to a meal at Giorgio Baldi,
a restaurant near Sunset Boulevard and the Pacific Coast Highway.
It was pointed out to me that Hollywood notables were sitting at the tables around us.
Clueless as I was about the identities of these personages,
even then I didn't get it that I we were in a super-star restaurant.
Not until I placed on my tongue the asparagus ravioli I had ordered on a whim.
It would not be correct to say that I ate that ravioli.
Rather, it dissolved into my body in successive ecstasies of flavor, aroma, and texture.
If I am what I eat, I was an ennobled being that night.
A few weeks ago, Roberta made an extraordinarily tasty dinner
using the Arrabbiata pasta sauce produced by Giorgio Baldi.
This sauce is the refined quintessence, the Platonic ideal of tomatoes, not the flawed mortal form.
The cost of it is accordingly celestial.
At $7.00 for a smallish jar, it's not something
one could afford to turn into a habit.
And there's another reason not to make it a habit.
This sauce is cooked down to its bosons.
It is so utterly disintegrated from its original constituent elements
that it stained our dishes, right through the glaze.
The dishes were cheap but beautiful 'seconds'
from the famous Heath Ceramics studio in Sausalito;
the glaze was thin, so the sauce seeped in.
A few Sundays ago, at Easter,
I stood in line to receive communion with the other members of our church.
We received the bread from Reverend Rachel,
and dipped it in the wine, and put it on our tongues,
and let it melt into our mouths, coloring our souls with kindness.
We let divine love get through our skin,
so we could be stained with the rainbow colors of holy compassion.
"We take on God's dye".
And the church (or the mosque, or the synagogue, or the temple) is the vat where we soak our souls.
We're surrounded by God's colors every day, all the time, everywhere.
But so often we're so glazed-over so that this brightness doesn't get in.
The fabric of our lives gets waxed-over by habitual ways of seeing and doing.
We become tasteless and colorless.
Meditative prayer, humble worship, selfless service
open up the pores of our souls so that
we can receive all the hues of the Holy One.
And who has a better dye than God's?
Hymn In solidarity with those for whom standing is not easy or possible, we will remain seated to sing
A hymn from the ‘progressive’ movement of the late 1800s.
“Seek not afar for beauty” (Tune: ‘Sursum corda’, 10 10 10 10, 240 TiS) 174 HCL
Seek not afar for beauty; lo! it glows
In dew-wet grasses all about thy feet;
In birds, in sunshine, childish faces sweet,
In stars and mountain summits topped with snows.
Go not abroad for happiness: for see
It is a flower blooming at thy door.
Bring love and justice home, and then no more
Thou'lt wonder in what dwelling joy may be.
Dream not of noble service elsewhere wrought;
The simple duty that awaits thy hand
Is God's voice speaking a divine command:
Life's common deeds build all that saints have thought.
In wonder-workings, or some bush aflame,
We look for God and fancy God concealed;
But in earth's common things God stands re-vealed,
While grass and flowers and stars spell out the Name. (MJSavage, 1883)
Gospel:
(Alternate, because it never gets selected in the Lectionary)
Luke 9:11-17 (Inclusive Text)
Jesus made the crowds welcome and talked to them about the realm of God;
and cured those who were in need of healing.
It was late afternoon when the Twelve came to Jesus and said,
'Send the people away, and they can go to the villages and farms round about
to find lodging and food: for we are in a lonely place here.'
Jesus replied,
'Give them something to eat yourselves.'
But they said,
'We have no more than five loaves and two fish,
unless we are to go ourselves and buy food for all these people.'
For there were about five thousand.
But Jesus said to the disciples,
'Get them to sit down in parties of about fifty.'
They did so and made them all sit down.
Then Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish,
raised his eyes to heaven, and said the blessing over them;
then broke the loaves and handed them to the disciples to distribute among the crowd.
They all ate as much as they wanted, and when the scraps remaining were collected
they filled twelve baskets.
Silence for personal reflection
AFFIRMING
A litany: ‘Clear the way’
In response to the word reflected on, let us stand
and share a litany called ‘Clear the way’.
The people stand, as they are able
v1 God of surprises you call us
from the narrowness of our traditions to new ways of being church,
from the captivities of our culture to creative witness for justice,
from the smallness of our horizons to the bigness of your vision.
All Clear the way in us, your people,
that we might call others to freedom
and renewed faith.
v2 Jesus, wounded healer you call us
from preoccupation with our own histories and hurts to daily tasks of peacemaking,
from privilege to pilgrimage,
from insularity to inclusive community.
All Clear the way in us, your people,
that we might call others to wholeness and integrity.
v1 Holy, transforming, Spirit you call us
from fear to faithfulness,
from clutter to clarity,
from a desire to control to deeper trust,
from the refusal to love to a readiness to risk.
All Clear the way in us, your people,
that we might all know the beauty and power
and danger of the gospel.
JPuls, GCashmore/cw
The peace
Let us then 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
“Further still”
Further still than hill or mountain peak,
further still abides the help we seek.
Further than the heavens
where the planets roll
abides the love that lives to make us whole.
Closer still than eyes alert can see,
closer still than reason's trusted key.
Closer that the psyche,
closer than the soul,
abides the love that works to make us whole.
Deeper still than deepest therapy,
stronger still than medicine can be.
Bolder still than passion
bursting from control
abides the love that dies to make us whole. (©2004, Wm Flanders)
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 prayers
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 O presence and pow’r
within us,
Being and Life of all.
How we are filled, how we
o’erflow
with infinite love and
gladness!
We shall this day sow
grace and peace,
and show mercy to all,
and gentle
loving-kindness.
And we shall be not so
self-serving,
but a constant source of
giving.
For ours is the essence,
and the wholeness,
and the fullness forever.
(PALaughlin/4r)
Amen.
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)
CELEBRATING COMMUNITY: SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION
Offerings
Our offerings for the work of ministry in this place and beyond,
and our gifts of bread and wine, shall now be received.
Presentation The people stand, as they are able as the gifts are presented
For all the saints who went before us
who have spoken to our hearts...
For all the saints who live beside us...
For all the saints who live beyond us
who challenge us to change the world with them
All We declare our thanks and gratitude.
Thanksgiving
God
is the heart of life.
All
And
we are the heartbeat.
May your hearts
be filled with thanks
and
praise and songs of joy.
All
We rejoice
in the miracle of life
and
delight in our participation. SWeinberg
People
sit
Holy
Presence, the universe has been filled
with
the dance of light and darkness.
We
have walked in this Presence
since
the beginning of our time on this planet,
seeking
always for a closer relationship
in
our understanding of you.
Great
Earth Mother to whom we all belong,
Center
of Darkness and Chaos,
Holy
Sophia, Most Holy Womb, Source of all Being,
you
are indeed the heart, we the heartbeat.
You
are the Ocean, feeding us and all your creatures
with
what we need to sustain life.
You
are the Horn of Plenty, the stew pot that is always full,
the
great Hand that holds us.
We
remember the child, Jesus of Nazareth, son
of the rebel, Mary.
He
came among us to be
our
teacher, our brother, our friend.
He
shared food in joyful celebration
and
showed others
how to feast on
the
abundant goodness of Eden
around
and within us,
where
divisions cease and all creation is one.
On
the night before he was handed over, so our tradition says,
Jesus
took bread and broke it,
and
passed it to his friends gathered there.
v2
Remember
me when you break bread.
And
he did the same with the cup after supper.
v2
Remember
all I have been to you
when
you pour out wine.
May
we remember Jesus in this bread and this wine.
May
we celebrate in this feast our own embodiment
which
unites us with the cycles of earth and moon.
May
we receive these gifts with reverence and awe (soFFFia
community.Adapted).
Bread
and Wine
Bread
is broken. A cup of wine is
filled.
Ancient
symbols.
Common
acts.
Communion
So we share
bread and drink wine,
pledging
ourselves to allow the spirit
that
moved in Jesus
, to move freely in
our lives, too (MMorwood/pns).
The
bread and wine is served
After
Communion
We have been
fed with bread and wine for the journey.
Let
us now in turn feed those who hunger in
body,
mind and spirit,
the
lost and lonely,
and
all our fellow creatures who need our care.
SCATTERING
Hymn The people stand as they are able, to sing
“It all depends” (Tune: Te Horo) 39 (v1-2) FFS
It all depends on where I'm going
if I reach my anywhere,
but this I'm surely, surely knowing,
that I'll never leave God's care;
it all depends on when I'm travelling,
maybe now or maybe then,
but the Son of God will lead me
through each where and why and when.
It all depends on how I'm choosing
for the life that is in me,
but I will never lose the hand of Christ,
the one who walks with me;
if I stumble or I falter
he will steady me once more,
for there is no darkest pathway
that we cannot both explore.
Remain standing
Words of mission
The presentness of God reaches beyond this place...
The community candle is extinguished
With faith to face our challenges,
With love that casts out fear,
With hope to trust tomorrow,
All We accept this day as the gift it is:
a reason for rejoicing. GKowalski
Blessing words
Go in courage and celebration!
And may all the faces of the Holy God
be turned towards you in love,
the earth itself speak to you of its creativity,
and who we are, each and all,
be honoured in our authentic journeys. (DMcRae-McMahon/ith)
All Amen.
Hymn (Cont“It all depends” (Tune: Te Horo) 39 (v3) FFS
It all depends on who comes with me
if I break or if I bend,
but this I'm surely, surely knowing,
God will be there at the end
in the laughter and the sadness,
in the pleasure or the pain,
by my side and all about me
God's own Spirit will remain. CGibson
The people sit after the hymn
'This week' at (NN)
Notices
Birthdays and anniversaries
Significant events
Journey candles
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:
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.
Harrington, D. S. 1980. Outstretched wings of the spirit. On being intelligently and devotedly religious. MA: Boston. UUA.
Hymns for the celebration of life. 1964. MA: Boston. Beacon Press.
Inclusive readings. Year C. 2006. QLD: Brisbane. Inclusive Language Project. In private circulation.
Iona Community. 2001. Iona abbey worship book. GtB: Glasgow. Wild Goose Publications.
Kearns, S. (ed). 2009. Sing it forward. Traditional hymns recast and rewritten
for non-exclusive communities. In circulation from the author.
Laughlin, P. A. 2009. “Pray without seeking. Toward a truly mystical Lord’s Prayer”
in The Fourth R 22, 6, 20-24.
Macnab, F. 2006. A fine wind is blowing: Psalms of the bible in words that blow you away. VIC: Richmond. Spectrum Publications.
Morwood, M. 2003. Praying a new story. 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.
Patton, K. 1967. Services and songs for the celebration of life. MA: Boston. Beacon Press.
Pratt, A. 2006. Reclaiming praise. Hymns from a spiritual journey. GtB: London. Stainer & Bell Ltd.
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:
Dillman, Sorrells, Kowalski. UUA Worship Web. MA: Boston. UUA. http://uua.org/spirituallife/worshipweb/index.php
soFFFia Community. Gregory C. Jenks. FaithFutures Web site.
QLD: Brisbane.
Sherri Weinberg. St
Paul's Presbyterian Church. NZ: Devonport.
William Flanders. "Skeptics hymns" web site. <www.williamflandersmusic.com/>