Upper Room Sunday Liturgy, August 30, 2026 - Presiders: Donna Panaro, Phillis Sheppard, and Suzanne DeFroy

Zoom:   https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155  
phone-in for (audio only).Phone Number: (646) 558-865

Welcome to the Upper Room on this last Sunday in August. Today we will consider the idea of a change of heart. What does that mean? We come together today against the backdrop of incredible challenges and tremendous possibilities. Like Jesus we seek a world where love is at the center. Our opening sung prayer is from a Shabbat Service in New York City. Two weeks ago, on August 14^th their services were interrupted by a man who sought to do them harm. He has been charged with a hate crime. As we consider our own Christian call let us stand united in solidarity with all people who seek truth and love.

Opening Song: One Voice, Central Synagogue

https://youtu.be/-bHdwtZ3Eos?si=iLOWmWCPkxPSFn0G

LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading: An excerpt from Wisdom Jesus by Cynthia Bourgeault.

Jesus teaches the art of metanoia or “going into the larger mind.” Underlying all his teaching is a clarion call to a radical shift in consciousness: away from the alienation and polarization of the egoic operating system and into the unified field of divine abundance that can be perceived only through the heart. But how does one make this shift in consciousness? I think it’s fair to say that all of the great spiritual paths lead toward the same center—the larger, nondual mind as the seat of personal consciousness—but they get there by different routes. In Jesus, everything hangs together around a single center of gravity, and we need to know what this center is before we can sense the subtle and cohesive power of his path.

What name might we give to this center? The apostle Paul suggests the word kenosis. In Greek, the verb kenosein means “to let go,” or “to empty oneself,” and this is the word Paul chooses to describe “the mind of Christ.” Everything he did, he did by self-emptying. He emptied himself and descended into human form. And he emptied himself still further, “even unto death on the cross.” In every life circumstance, Jesus always responded with the same motion of self-emptying—or to put it another way, descent: taking the lower place, not the higher.

These are the inspired words of Cynthia Bourgeault and the community affirms them by saying: Amen

Second Reading: Words of Rachel Corrie when she was in fifth grade at a local press conference.

I’m here for other children.
I’m here because I care.
I’m here because children everywhere are suffering and because forty thousand people die each day from hunger.
I’m here because those people are mostly children.
We have got to understand that the poor are all around us and we are ignoring them.
We have got to understand that these deaths are preventable.
We have got to understand that people in third world countries think and care and smile and cry just like us.
We have got to understand that they dream our dreams and we dream theirs.
We have got to understand that they are us. We are them.
My dream is to stop hunger by the year 2000.
My dream is to give the poor a chance.
My dream is to save the 40,000 people who die each day.
My dream can and will come true if we all look into the future and see the light that shines there.
If we ignore hunger, that light will go out.
If we all help and work together, it will grow and burn free with the potential of tomorrow.

These are the inspired words of Rachel Corrie and the community affirms them by saying: Amen

Gospel Acclamation: Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker

https://youtu.be/o1rc7ojQtJU 

Gospel: A reading from the Gospel writer known as Matthew (Mt. 16:21-27)

Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance^[h] to me, for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? “For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

These are the inspired words of the gospel writer known as Matthew and the community affirms them by saying: Amen

Shared Homily 

The gospel reading today immediately follows the reading we heard last Sunday when Peter said Jesus was the Messiah and Jesus told Peter he was the rock that would be the foundation of the church. Today we see a drastic shift between Jesus and Peter because Peter is unable to accept the idea that the Messiah will suffer and die. When Peter rebukes Jesus he moves from a foundational rock to a stumbling block in Jesus’s eyes. There is more to Jesus’s path than Peter can grasp. Peter did not have any understanding that he was going to lose his friend. Jesus teaches Peter and us a lesson about the cost of discipleship. He is teaching a mind-boggling lesson about the transformative power of love.

In our second reading we hear from a very young, Rachel Corrie, who already understood what Jesus is teaching Peter. When she was ten years old, she was already passionate about her life’s work that focused on justice for all. Her words at this young age show that she is living in a consciousness that comes from her heart. Rachel continued to live from her values by joining the International Solidarity Movement in order to protest the polices of the Israeli army in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. She went to the Gaza and took part in a nonviolent action and was killed in 2003. She will forever be remembered as one who lived a soulful life that focused on the greater good. We are inspired when we see this kind of passion. I don’t think the goal is to be a martyr. I think most people who die as martyrs are simply living according to their values in a passionate way.

Every day we are invited to let go of our preconceived notions so that there is room for transformation within our hearts. With transformed hearts we find our longing to share our gifts. We notice a heightened awareness of our interconnectedness. From this stance we are more apt to follow the example of Jesus who showed us how to love God, self and others. I think there are many ways that we lose our lives for the sake of great Love so that we can find it. Examples of this kind of self-emptying are: being fully present to each person we meet, waking up in the middle of the night to feed an infant or take care of a loved one who is sick, donating food and other supplies to those in need, and volunteering our time and talent to important causes. We find our authentic lives when we courageously let go of anything that blocks us from being open to God’s higher ways. In that letting go we open to abundant giving, living and loving. 

 

Statement of Faith: 

We believe in the Holy One, a divine mystery
beyond all definition and rational understanding,
the heart of all that has ever existed,
that exists now, or that ever will exist.

We believe in Jesus, messenger of the Divine Word,
bringer of healing, heart of Divine compassion,
bright star in the firmament of the Holy One's
prophets, mystics, and saints.

We believe that We are called to follow Jesus
as a vehicle of divine love,
a source of wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of peace in the world.

We believe in the Spirit of the Holy One,
the life that is our innermost life,
the breath moving in our being,
the depth living in each of us.

We believe that the Divine kin-dom is here and now,
stretched out all around us for those
with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it,
and hands to make it happen.

 

LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

Prayers of the Community

Presider: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we are aware that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. We bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns.  Please feel free to voice your concerns beginning with the words “I bring to the table….”

We pray for these and all unspoken concerns. Amen.

Eucharistic Prayer

adapted from Diarmuid O’Murchu

Presider:  With open hands let us pray our Eucharistic Prayer together:

Gracious God, source and sustenance of life, redeeming presence to the pain and brokenness of our world, Holy Spirit, who enlivens and inebriates all that exists, we beseech your healing power upon us and all we pray for today.

Down through the ages, you rescue us from darkness.
you light up our ways with wise and holy people. You restore our spirits and you revive our dwindling hope.

May the Spirit of life and wholeness transform us that we may be refreshed in our inner being and be empowered to bring mercy, love, and healing to those whose lives we touch.

For all you bring to our lives, and for all we seek amid
pain and suffering, we acclaim your love and greatness,
and we join with all creation to sing our hymn of praise: 

Holy, Holy, Holy: Here in this Place –by Christopher Grundy

https://youtu.be/uXyu57tR2gk?si=53zwEjCLjcGJQnBK

Presider: Please extend your hands in blessing.

Source of our health and wholeness, healer of body, mind, and spirit, we bring before you the darkness of our world, and the pain and suffering of your people.
We seek to be healed and made whole; we seek to be reconciled and united; we seek peace in our hearts and in our world.

We ask you to awaken anew in our hearts the empowering grace of your abundant Spirit, who infuses these gifts of bread and wine with the transforming energy of life, to nourish and sustain us in our time of need.

As we gather around this friendship table, we recall God’s
blessing and love from ages past, and we celebrate anew
the gift of life which we share among us at this Eucharistic feast.

The bread we break and the cup we share are symbols of our world of abundance where all are invited to partake of the fullness of life. But that life we often impede by our greed and selfishness and by our exploitation of other people.

On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for supper with the people closest to him. Like the least of household servants, he washed their feet. Once again, he showed us how to love one another.

All lift the plate and pray:

Back at the table, he took the Bread, spoke the grace, broke the bread and offered it to them saying, Take and eat, this is my very self.

All lift the cup and pray:

Then he took the cup of the covenant, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying:

Take and drink.

Whenever you remember me like this,

I am among you.

(pause)

Presider: We share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace. We choose to live justly, love tenderly, and walk with integrity. 

Please receive communion saying: “Let go and Live.”

Communion Song: Compassion (Change the World) by Andrew Witt

https://youtu.be/Tw_pUMqEZ_E?si=NdvaTH2NUqPqT3xN

Prayer After Communion

Presider: In faith and hope we are sustained,
In grace our dignity reclaimed,
In praise we thank our God.

Grant that we may strive to create a world where suffering and pain are diminished, where justice and peace are restored, and where all people can live in health and wholeness, united in acclaiming the God of life, whose abundance is offered to each and to all, until the Kin-dom arrives in the fullness of time.

This prayer we make in the name of our healing and nurturing God through, with, and in whom we offer these gifts, sources of life, love, and goodness, now and forever.  Amen.

Reader: Let us pray as Jesus taught us:

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  

(adapted by Miriam Therese Winter) 

Blessing

Presider: Let us raise our hands and bless each other.

May we seek to remove stumbling blocks so that our hearts are open to giving and receiving abundant love. May we be the face of the God to each other. May our awareness of our interdependence inspire us to live with great compassion bringing peace to a hurting world. May we be a blessing in our time. Amen.

Closing Song: Imagine

https://youtu.be/IgPRI6-8Efw?si=Gf8h2xabwr8PzCGO

Upper Room Saturday Liturgy, August 29, 2026 - Presider: Denise Hackert-Stoner

Zoom:   https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155  
phone-in for (audio only).Phone Number: (646) 558-865

Welcome as we remember and honor those among us who speak up.

Opening Prayer:  Holy One, open our minds and hearts to your truth.  Allow us to hear you, to see you, to live in your Divine Love, just as our brother Jesus did.  And as we strive to live as he did, help us to become more and more the people you created us to be.  Amen.

Opening Song:  Glory to God by Marty Haugen, https://youtu.be/uLyAzS7FThk

First Reading: A reading from an address by Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde

Let me make one final plea, Mr. President. Millions have put their trust in you. As you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families who fear for their lives.

And the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings; who labor in our poultry farms and meat-packing plants; who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shift in hospitals – they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes, and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches, mosques and synagogues, gurdwara, and temples.

Have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. Help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were once strangers in this land.

May God grant us all the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, speak the truth in love, and walk humbly with one another and our God, for the good of all the people of this nation and the world.

These are the words of Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, speaking truth to the President of the United States on January 21^st, 2025.

Gospel Acclamation: Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker

https://youtu.be/o1rc7ojQtJU

Gospel:  A reading from the writer known as Mark (Mk. 6:17-29) 

Herod was the one who had John the Baptist arrested and bound in prison
on account of Herodias, 
the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.
John had said to Herod,
“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
Herodias harbored a grudge against him
and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.
Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man,
and kept him in custody.
When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed,
yet he liked to listen to him.
She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday,
gave a banquet for his courtiers,
his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee.
Herodias’ own daughter came in
and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests.
The king said to the girl,
“Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.”
He even swore many things to her,
“I will grant you whatever you ask of me,
even to half of my kingdom.”
She went out and said to her mother,
“What shall I ask for?”
She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”
The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request,
“I want you to give me at once
on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”
The king was deeply distressed,
but because of his oaths and the guests
he did not wish to break his word to her.
So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders
to bring back his head.
He went off and beheaded him in the prison.
He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl.
The girl in turn gave it to her mother.
When his disciples heard about it,
they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

These are the words of the writer we know as Mark.  We respond with Amen.

Homily Starter

The right to speak up to the powerful has long been protected in democracies around the world.  In ancient Greece it was known as parrhesia.  Greek men reserved the right to criticize, ridicule, and disagree with those in power.  The same word, parrhesia, also referred to the courage it took to actually make use of the right, knowing that the speaker’s words would certainly offend the people wielding the most power.  Not far away, first-century Jews lived much more constrained lives, under strict religious law and as subjects of imperial Rome.  But Greece certainly wasn’t far away, and the desire to speak up to injustice must have been strong.  As we see from our Gospel, John’s outspokenness cost him his life.  But regardless, his defiant words were spoken, could not be unspoken, and remain to this very day.  Words don’t die. 

As a citizen of a 21^st century democracy, Bishop Budde enjoys a version of parrhesia, a right which now extends to both men and women.  The bishop is direct.  She uses her right of free speech to name the offence, addressing the powerful person who is perpetrating the offence, and appeals to that person to change.  In a way, her speech demonstrates both senses of parrhesia, both the right and the courage to speak truth to power.  Bishop Budde was ridiculed by the right-wing media as a “so-called bishop” and a “fake bishop.”  The President called her a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater.”  But she lives, and maintains her position as leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.  Her head remains firmly attached to the rest of her body.  And like John’s words, the words she spoke that day still resonate.  Her truth still speaks itself to those who want to hear it and to those who would like to silence that truth.  Words don’t die.

Two speakers, separated by miles and centuries; one a teacher of Jesus, the other a disciple of Jesus, both speaking truth to power.  Just as Jesus himself did.  Their words continue to echo in our lives, and will not be un-heard.  Words don’t die.  

What did you hear in today’s readings?  Please share your thoughts.

Statement of Faith 

 
We believe in the Holy One, a divine mystery 
beyond all definition and rational understanding, 
the heart of all that has ever existed, 
that exists now, or that ever will exist. 

We believe in Jesus, messenger of the Divine Word, 
bringer of healing, heart of Divine compassion, 
bright star in the firmament of the Holy One's 
prophets, mystics, and saints. 
 
We believe that We are called to follow Jesus 
as a vehicle of divine love, 
a source of wisdom and truth, 
and an instrument of peace in the world. 
 
We believe in the Spirit of the Holy One, 
the life that is our innermost life, 
the breath moving in our being, 
the depth living in each of us. 
 
We believe that the Divine kin-dom is here and now, 
stretched out all around us for those 
with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it, 
and hands to make it happen. 

 

LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

(Written by Jay Murnane)

Prayers of the Community

As we prepare for this sacred meal, we bring to this table our prayers for the community beginning with the words, I bring to the Table. 

We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.

 

Eucharistic Prayer

Please join in praying the Eucharistic prayer together.  

Blessed are you, Holy One, source of all creation. Through your goodness you made this world and called us to be Your co-creators. We give thanks for the diversity and beauty of life around us and within us. 

We open our awareness to the goodness of all of creation and we remember our responsibility to serve. You invite us to build the earth into a community of love rooted in justice. You placed confidence in us, for you made us and you know that we are good.  

In joy and in thanksgiving we join with all the faithful servants who have gone before us and we sing:

Holy, Holy, Holy: by Peter Mayer 

https://youtu.be/A4kiEGVb3E8

We thank you for Jesus, simple servant, lifting up the lowly, revealing you as God-With-Us, and revealing us as one with you and all of creation.

He lived among us to show us who we are and challenged us to know you. He taught us the strength of compassionate love.  

Please extend your hands in blessing.

We are grateful for your Spirit at our Eucharistic Table and for this bread and wine which reminds us of our call to be the body of Christ in the world. 

On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for supper with the people closest to him. Like the least of household servants, he washed their feet, so that they would re-member him.

When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying: 

Take and eat, this is my very self.

 (pause) 

 

Then he took the cup of the covenant, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying:

Take and drink.

Whenever you remember me like this,

I am among you.

(pause)

What we have heard with our ears, we will live with our lives.  As we share communion, we become Communion both love’s nourishment and love’s challenge.

Please receive Communion with the words, “May my words bring life and justice.”

Communion Meditation:  Lost Words Blessing by Artists from the Spell Songs, Video by Denise Hackert-Stoner

https://youtu.be/aauBmnCJnZQ

Prayer after Communion

Holy One, we are willing to do everything Jesus did, to re-create the living presence of a love that does justice, of a compassion that heals and liberates, of a joy that generates hope, of a light that illumines people and confronts the darkness of every injustice and inequity.

We trust you to continue to share with us your own spirit, the spirit that animated Jesus, for it is through his life and teaching, all honor and glory is yours, O Holy One, forever and ever.  Amen.

 

Let us pray as Jesus taught us: 

Holy One, you are 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 that 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.  

Adapted by Miriam Therese Winter 

BLESSING

Please raise your hands in Blessing:  

May our lives reflect the love of the Holy One in whatever form that takes.  May our words reflect the life of Jesus and bring the Kin-dom he preached into the lives of all who hear.  May we be a blessing in our time.  Amen.

Closing Song: Speechless From "Aladdin" - Cover by Rise Up Children's Choir

https://youtu.be/csmku3VHFS0