Upper Room Weekend Liturgy, October 19 and 20, 2024 - Co-Presiders: Dennis McDonald, Kathie Ryan and Denise Hackert-Stoner (With help from Mary Theresa Streck, who cannot be with us today)

 Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155 
phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155

Family Liturgy 

Welcome (Kathie):  Welcome!  We are happy that you are here to celebrate with us! When we are gathered together like this, we can feel the Holy One among us.  Let us begin with a prayer. 

Opening Prayer (Dennis):

Holy One, we thank you for your gift of our lives.  We thank the sun, for its gifts of light and warmth.  We thank the air we breathe for its gift of oxygen so that we can live.  We thank the Earth for its gift of being a home we can live on.  We thank our families, our friends, and our pets for their gifts of love.  For these gifts and for so many others, we are thankful.  Help us to know and share our own gifts.  Amen. 

Opening Song:  

What Shall I Give by Sara Thomsen https://youtu.be/t9rYcvSSRQQ

LITURGY OF THE WORD  

 

First Reading 

The Friend in Need, by Jared Dees

There were two girls in school who were absolutely inseparable. They ate lunch together every day. They played together at recess and sat next to each other on the bus. They dressed alike. They talked alike. And they even looked alike, except one of the girls was tall and the other was short. They were best friends for life.  Until one morning, the taller girl stepped onto the bus to find her friend's backpack blocking the seat next to her. "I want to sit alone today," said her friend. She stared out the window. The taller girl could not get her to speak, but she didn't get angry and tried not to feel hurt. She knew something was wrong, and she wanted to help. She decided to wait until lunch.

At lunch, her friend continued to want to sit alone. She was silent and moved her lunch tray to another seat far away from her friend or anyone else.  The taller girl still didn't get upset or angry. She gave her friend some space, seeing that she needed it right now.  Finally, on the bus ride home, the shorter girl still blocked the seat next to her with her backpack. The taller girl turned to a boy sitting across the aisle. "Would you mind if I sat here today?" The boy shrugged his shoulders and said, "Sure." She sat down across the aisle from her friend.  "I'm going to sit over here. You don't have to talk, but I want you to know that I'm here for you. Whatever it is, I'm here when you need me, and I want you to know that."  Her friend turned and had a tear in her eye. She mouthed the words, "Thank you." The bus drove on until finally the shorter girl did speak. She took a deep breath, turned to her friend, and said, "It's my mom. She's sick. I didn't want to talk about it. I just can't even think about it."  "I'm so sorry," said her friend. "I'm here for you whenever you are ready."

This story about sharing the gift of friendship is by Jared Dees.  We acknowledge his words by saying, “Amen”

Alleluia:  Dennis   

Our Reading from Scripture:  Romans 12:4-8 (adapted)

Just as each of us has one body with many different parts, like hands, feet, teeth, and tongue, and each of these parts has its own function, so we, though many, all over the world, form one body.  And each of us is a part of that body, belonging to all the others.  Each one of us has a different gift, given to us especially, by the Holy One.  Whatever your gift is, give it cheerfully.

These words come from a letter written by Paul to the people of his church in Rome.  We acknowledge Paul’s words by saying, “Amen.”

 

Homily Starter: Denise

We all love getting gifts.  We like opening presents on our birthday or Christmas.  We might even have favorite gifts.  Do you have a favorite gift?  The best gift you ever got?

What about giving gifts?  Have you ever been excited to give a special gift to a special person?  Maybe something you made especially for that person?

Let’s stretch our minds for a moment.  Let’s think about giving and receiving gifts in a different way.  Can you imagine for a moment how everyone in the world can receive a gift from the sun?  What are the gifts that the sun gives to everyone on earth?  What about the rain?  What is the gift that rain gives to everyone and everything on earth?

Let’s think about how the sun and the rain give their special gifts.  Does the sun go out and buy light to give to everyone?  Does the rain buy water?  Of course not.  The sun IS light.  And rain IS water.  Sun and rain give what they are.  They share themselves.  

Each one of us has a gift special to us, just like the rain.  Just like the sun.  No one else on earth has the gift that only each of us can give, because no two people are exactly alike.  So I have a special gift that I can share with the world, and so do you.  And if I don’t share my gift the world won’t ever have it.  And if you don’t share your gift the world will never have it.  

All the gifts, of all the people, all the animals, all the plants, the rocks, the air, the water, together all those gifts, when given, create a world where all creatures, all people, live well and have enough.  Enough food, enough water, enough sunlight and shade, enough happiness, enough love.  It is our work to know what our special gift is, and to figure out how to give it.  

So, how do we know what our gift is?  To know the answer to this very important question we need to look inward.  We need to think about things like, “What do I love to do?”  “What am I good at?”  “What do I like to spend my time on?”  For some people, the answer comes right away.  For others, this can take some time.  Sometimes it can help to watch how the people around us share their gifts.  Do you have a friend or relative who you notice is really good at something?  Something like baking, or singing, or running, or telling a good story?  How does that person share their gift?  Sometimes it helps to write down ideas about your own gifts.  Today, each of you received a new journal, so that you can write down your ideas about what your gift is.  Don’t feel rushed.  Just take your journal, give yourself time to think and pray, and write down any ideas you have about your gift.

Later, when you have recognized within yourself your great and unique gift, you may want to write down some ideas about how you can give your gift, how you can share this very special gift that you have with the rest of the world, starting with your own home, with your friends, your school, your neighborhood, or with us here at the Upper Room.  

We will talk more about your gifts and how to give them in the year to come.    We can’t wait to hear what you have to share!  Please share any thoughts you have about your gifts, or the gifts of others.  We love to hear your ideas!

Statement of Faith 

We believe in the Holy One who is in everything we see

And even in everything we cannot see.

As far away as the most distant star and as near as the air we breathe

The Holy One is there, creating everything out of Love.

We believe in Jesus, who showed us the Holy One

In how he lived his life,
He showed us that the Holy One is 

In our lives too.

We believe that we are called to live like Jesus.

We are called to bring peace, and light, healing and kindness,

We are called to be brave and speak up, and help out when 

Others are suffering or things are not right.

We believe that the Spirit of the Holy One

Lives in us and in all of creation.  

We feel the Spirit in the wind, the warm sun,

The cold snow, and we see it in the faces of other people.

We believe that if we live in the Spirit of the Holy One,

If we remember to act with kindness and courage,

We will make the family of the Holy One larger and larger

Until the whole world is at peace.

Liturgy of the Eucharist

Kathie:  There are many things we are thankful for, and there are many things that make us feel sad or scared.  Now is the time to bring these things to this table, so that all of us can pray with one another.  We begin our prayers with the words: “I bring to the table.”

Kathie:  We pray for all these things, and for all the prayers that we hold silently in our hearts.  Amen.

Dennis:  Next we will pray our great prayer of Thanksgiving, called our Eucharistic Prayer: 

Dennis: O Holy One, you have made us in goodness, given us life and held us in love. Your Spirit lives within each of us; each of us has been given your Spirit of courage and vision, your Spirit of wisdom and truth.

In the power of that same Spirit, we ask that once again your gifts come upon us as we sing your praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy by Karen Drucker  https://youtu.be/kl7vmiZ1YuI

(The three presiders go to the table)

Denise: (Invite the children, and anyone who would like to, to join in a circle at the table).  Holy One, we see around us all of your creation.  The trees, flowers, birds, animals and insects sing with joy for your creative power.  We are your creation too, and we thank you for our lives.

We thank you for sending Jesus, our brother, to show us how to live so that your love can show through in the world.  We thank you for your Spirit, which showers your love and wisdom on the earth like rain, and which opens our eyes in wonder.

Kathie: Please hold your hands out like this… (demonstrate) as we bless the bread and juice. 

Holy One, you blessed the grain in this bread and the fruit in this juice as they grew on the earth. The people who baked the bread and made the juice blessed them with their work.  Today, with your Spirit, we bless them again, as they become gifts of love, light and truth and remind us that we too are blessed with your Spirit.

Dennis: (lifts bread):  Jesus gathered his friends around a table like this.  He took the bread, and said a prayer of thanksgiving.  Then he broke the bread and shared it with his friends, saying, “Take and eat this bread. It is my very self.”

Denise:  (lifts the cup):
After the meal, Jesus took the cup of blessing.  He said another prayer of thanks, and then he offered his friends the cup saying

Take and drink of the loving agreement

Made new again through my life in you.

Whenever you remember me like this,

I am among you.

Kathie:  We are one today with all people who have ever lived, all the people and animals we have loved.  With them we ask you, Holy One, for the wisdom to know what is right and the courage to do what is right.

- Help us to be kind to one another.

- Help us to take care of the earth.

- Help us to reach out to people who need our help.

And as we grow, help us to see where your Spirit leads us as our lives unfold in this world of pain and beauty so that we may become wise co-creators of the future.

Like Jesus, we will open up wide all that has been closed about us, and we will live loving lives, for it is through living as Jesus lived, that we awaken to your Light within.

Amen. 

We will pass the plate around the circle.  When the plate comes to you please take a piece of bread and eat it.  As you receive Communion remember the words, “I will share my gift.”

Communion Meditation:  This is the Gift I'll Give by Shawna Edwards

https://youtu.be/_xWMnuV7_BU?si=rQChd5IrBaK7AnUx

Dennis:   O Holy One, You call us to live in peace and justice.  We will live justly. You call us to be your presence in the world.  We will love tenderly.
You call us to speak truth even when it is difficult.  We will be courageous in your presence. 

Let us pray the prayer of Jesus:

O Holy One, who is within, around and among us, 

We celebrate your many names. 

Your Wisdom come. 

Your will be done, unfolding from the depths within us, 

Each day you give us all we need; 

You remind us of our limits, and we let go. 

You support us in our power, and we act with courage. 

For you are the dwelling place within us,  

the empowerment around us, 

and the celebration among us, now and forever.  Amen  

(Miriam Therese Winter) 

BLESSING

Denise: Please stand, and hold out your hands in blessing:

Holy One, we ask your blessing on all the children and adults gathered here today, and on all of your creation.  May we walk with joy in the world as we know that you are always walking with us, and thankful for your many gifts. 

All: AMEN

Closing Song:  Unwritten, by Natasha Bedingfield

https://youtu.be/QAS6lRQgNJA

Moment of Oneness, October 16, 2024 - Prepared by Dennis McDonald

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81507551772
Meeting ID: 815 0755 1772
To connect by phone dial: +1 646 558 8656

Listening

We must “obey God,” the Rule of Benedict says, “with the good gifts which are in us”— with all the good, all the love, all the talent, all the wisdom, all the care, all the concentration, all the abandon of the soul that is in us. We must obey the voices of life that are being drowned out around us but are, nevertheless, heard by God always. These are the voices that call to us to obey the needs of the world, the cry of the poor.

They call us to the consciousness of the power of God’s care for us, and the commitment to make that presence palpable in the world around us. There is no one in need within earshot of our hearts whom we may ignore— because in each of them is the living plea that we do the will of God It is by helping those who cannot help themselves that we do our part in the co-creation of the world. Amen.

The Monastery of the Heart: An Invitation to a     Meaningful Life by Joan Chittister

Opening Song: The Cry of the Poor by John Foley, SJ

https://youtu.be/w_Q0FjuAUZY?si=1ax5zt4hIgtLuUrt 

A Litany for Listening by Fran Pratt, July 11, 2016

Reader 1: The first word of the Rule of Benedict is “Listen.” The

Benedictine practice of listening is the heart of Benedictine spirituality, for not only are we instructed to listen constantly to one another in

community, to leaders, to guests, to the sick, to our inner selves, and most of all, to God, we must also “attend to [what we hear] with the ear of the heart.“ As Good Samaritan Sister Clare Condon writes, “Listening with the ear of the heart can be a scary experience because it can call me to radical change, to a transformation of my limited human perspective. This is not simply a change in my opinion or even in my ideological stance, but a much deeper change in my attitude, a real change in my way of being and doing.”

Reader 2: If we are going to keep praying for reconciliation among the

races; if we are going to keep praying for reconciliation between hetero

culture and the LGBTQ+ community; if we are going to keep praying for

reconciliation among differing religious paradigms; if we are going to keep praying for reconciliation among nations; then I wonder if we should start by asking for help with listening.

Reader 3: All this is from God, who reconciled us to God’s self through

Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation;... So we are

ambassadors for Christ, since God is making their appeal through us; we

entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2 Cor. 5:18-20)

Reader 4: God, who so graciously speaks to us and is present to us,

Help us to be present to you, and to your people.

Reader 1: We confess that we are distracted and noisy people.

We confess that we have avoided quieting ourselves before you.

We confess that we’ve been afraid of what you might say to us.

We confess that we are often so busy speaking that all we hear is

our own opinions.

Reader 2: We turn now to you, knowing that you are love,

And that love is what you are always telling us,

Even when you are gently correcting us.

We need gentle correction now.

Reader 3: We confess that we have not listened to our neighbors.

We confess that we have not made time and space to hear their

stories and concerns.

We confess that we have allowed our differences to put us off.

We confess that by not engaging, we have stifled love.

Reader 4: Show us how to listen attentively,

And to love our neighbors near and far.

Show us how to open our ears and hearts

To those of different cultures, races, backgrounds, belief

systems.

Show us how to embody the mission of Christ:

To prepare a great banquet and invite everyone to feast.

At This Table by Idina Menzel, video by Denise Hackert-Stoner

https://youtu.be/n9Xf4cHOcwQ?si=-63UUy3uvpoWe7pf 

Reader 1: May we make space in our lives to hear your voice and do your

good work.

May we know your voice.

May we overcome our fears of shame, and our reluctance to experience

awkward moments.

May we follow the promptings of your Spirit without hesitation.

May our hearts be big enough to hold the stories we hear.

May we live love loudly, and listen quietly.

Be near to us as we do the work of quieting our souls ,

That we may listen and learn from those around us. Amen

Closing Song: Love Large by Joyce Johnson Rouse - video by Deven Horne and Mary Theresa Streck

https://youtu.be/8ehQRPknqtg?si=7afVkmBky6rvNT0r