At your word, the earth brought forth plants yielding seed and trees of every kind bearing fruit. The rivers, mountains, minerals, seas and forests sustained life. The eyes of all look to you to satisfy the needs of every living thing. And throughout time the earth has sustained life. Through the planetary cycle of days and seasons, renewal and growth, you open your hand to give creatures food in proper time.
In your wisdom, you granted a Sabbath; a blessed time to rest in gratitude for all
that you have given; a time to liberate ourselves from vicious consumption; a time to allow the land and all creatures to rest from the burden of production. But these days our living pushes the planet beyond its limits. Our demands for growth, and our never-ending cycle of production and consumption are exhausting our world. The forests are leached, the topsoil erodes, the fields fail, the deserts advance, the seas acidify, the storms intensify. We have not allowed the land to observe her Sabbath, and the Earth is struggling to be renewed.
During this season of creation, we ask for courage to observe the Sabbath for our planet. Strengthen us with the faith to trust in your providence. Inspire us with the creativity to share what we have been given. Teach us to be satisfied with enough. And as we proclaim a Jubilee for the earth, we will be co-creators with you to renew the face of creation.
Amen.
Saratoga Park 2020 - photo by MT Streck
Reading: Encourage sustainable living
The Season of Creation is a wonderful time to reflect on how our lifestyles affect the environment and to make a commitment to more sustainable ways of living. The good news is that making more sustainable lifestyle choices in just a few areas adds up to a big difference overall.
Here are some sustainable life choices:
Diet : promote sustainable consumption by a) lessening red meat consumption, b) buying ecological and fair-trade foods from local producers, c) reducing food waste, d) avoiding disposable (single-use) articles e) promoting reusable food packaging and items (no plastics and tins for daily diet)
Transportation: Promote climate-friendly mobility by supporting climate-friendly and post-fossil mobility. Depending on your context: post timetables for public transport, use bicycles and sharing, installing one of the many carpooling or car-sharing systems, installing charging points for electrical cars – or – over all: reduce the need for mobility by regionalizing daily-life economy!
Energy: Monitor our energy consumption at least once a year and strive for a complete change to renewable energy. The consumption of fossil-fuel based energy harms the climate.
Materials: Engage materials use consciously. Every time we purchase something, we pay for its raw materials, production costs and disposal as waste after use. The acquisition of raw materials is often very harmful to people and the environment. Small changes like duplex printing on recycled paper or avoiding buying new mobile phones, computers, laptops every one or two years can help the Earth restore. Think about a “Jubilee for the Earth” before buying.
photo by MT Streck
Prayers for Creation:
With open hearts and spirits and with respect for all humanity, we pray that we may learn to care not only for our brothers and sisters, but for all of creation revealed in the wonder of nature that maintains our common life.
Response: Inspire us to love the whole of creation.
We remember especially the victims of natural disasters caused by our own greed and negligence. May we learn to live simply, reduce our carbon footprint, and respond to those in need of our help.
Response: Inspire us to love the whole of creation.
Inspire our religious leaders to be an example of your Christ, who revered and cared for the fullness of your creation.
Response: Inspire us to love the whole of creation.
Inspire all civil authorities to dedicate their resources and efforts to the building of a better world for all your people. May they govern with respect and balance toward nature through policies that seek to relieve the environmental calamity that surrounds us.
Response: Inspire us to love the whole of creation.
We offer these prayers as a sign of our immense gratitude for the many blessings you have given us, and above all for the life in nature that continues to flourish despite our carelessness. May we return your love in acts of charity and compassion toward the world that you created and all of its creatures.
Amen.
photo by MT Streck
Closing Prayer: Our Father, Holy Mother by Jan Phillips
In the midst of global fire, earthquake and flood - as species are going extinct every day and national and global economies totter - the planet doesn't need another church or religion.
What it needs is a new Order:...a sacred community and movement: ...A movement of communities welcoming all the peoples of Earth: our varied belief systems (or non-belief systems), genders, races, classes, abilities, and nations. ...A deeply spiritual movement, grounded in the Wisdom traditions of both East and West, in leading-edge science and indigenous tradition. Therefore, an Order of the Sacred Earth.
Not a new religion; or a new church; but a new Order.
A radically inclusive Order of mystic activists, uniting our energy and intention in one sacred vow:
“I promise to be the best lover and defender of the Earth that I can be.”
Embraced in God’s Gentle Wisdom, End of Summer, Beginning of Fall.
Welcome and Theme
Greetings to our friends and family of the Upper Room both near and far. In the spirit of Jesus Christ and as a true fan of Paul, I wish you all Peace, Love and Grace. We come to this time in our year at the end of the Summer and beginning of Fall, ready to move forward in hope and joy. In September, the Upper Room will celebrate the Month of Creation. As we acknowledge our place in the great Circle, may we remember our connection to each other and to the created Cosmos. We bring our attention to this special time right now. We allow our awareness of who we truly are.
Opening Song:
Dance Then Wherever You May Be. https://youtu.be/L6R6_Qz6_dU
By John Ogrodowczyk
I danced in the morning when the world was begun I danced in the Moon, and the stars, and the Sun I came to the Earth and I danced on the sea From the dust of stars I came to be.
Dance then, wherever you may be I Am the Life in your dance you see! And I'll lead you all, and you will dance with me,
For I am Life, The Great Mystery!
I danced for the strong and I danced for the weak, I danced for those who wouldn't dance with me, I danced for the rich and I danced for the poor, I danced till the king’s gold lustered no more.
Dance then, wherever you may be I Am Life, The Great Mystery!
And I'll lead you all wherever you may be
and I lead you all in your dance with me.
I danced in the springtime, in the summer and fall I danced when the cold winds blew in winter's call I danced in the rain under rainbow's bend,
I danced in the sun to horizon's end.
Dance then, wherever you may be I Am the Life in your dance you see! And I'll lead you all, and you will dance with me,
For I am Life, The Great Mystery!
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading:
A reading from Mary Magdalene Revealed by Meggan Watterson.
“We should clothe ourselves with the perfect Human, acquire for ourselves as he commanded us, and announce the Good news.” The Gospel of Mary, 10:11-13
This of course does not mean that we remain that way. Perfect, whole, unified, complete. It does not mean that we are infallible, and incorruptible, and that we float from now on several feet above the ground. It doesn’t mean that we have to always wear white, never have sex, and abstain from anything that would actually make us happy.
As humans, we forget, as Mary revealed to us. The chains of forgetfulness bind us again to the ego. The work we're being called to here though, is to “clothe ourselves with the perfect human.”
This experience of not just being this pain, and grief, and terror of the ego, but also this soul of love that loves through us.
The whole point is that it never ends. I keep thinking there will be this “X marks the spot”, this place where I free myself once and for all from myself. But there is no there… It isn't a failure to feel human, to be broken by heartbreak. It's the whole point. The choice we have, the opportunity that's presented to us in those moments of exquisite pain, is to also remember the soul.
We can bring in the other half of what it means to be human. Try to see it as our chance to reach a love that can withstand it. Not permanently; Just in this moment. That's all that matters. Find the presence of love in those moments when before you had abandoned yourself. Even if it's just a little love, a grain of sand, a mustard seed. Your love is enough.
These are sacred words from Meggan Watterson, and our community affirms them by saying, AMEN.
Alleluia.
Gospel MT 16:21-27
At that time, Jesus began to explain to his followers that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo much suffering at the hands of the councilors, and chief priests, and scholars, and be put to death, and rise on the third day. But Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him. “Master,” he said, “please God that will never be your fate!” Jesus however, turning to Peter, said: “Out of my way, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you look at things, not as God does, but as people do.” Then Jesus said to his disciples: “If anyone wishes to walk in my steps, let him renounce self, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save her life will lose it, but whoever, for my sake, loses her life will find it. What good will it do a person to gain the whole world if she forfeits her life? Or what will a person give that is of equal value with her life? For the Child of Humanity is to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he ‘will give to everyone what his actions deserve.’
These sacred words are from the Book of Matthew from the New, New Testament, and we affirm them by saying, AMEN.
Homily and Shared Reflections, Deb Trees and Margaret Dilgen.
Some of you may have seen the picture of Jesus laughing. It’s a picture
of Jesus caught in a hearty laugh, head flung back, eyes closed, obviously enjoying some joyful conversation with others. It’s an image that is almost jarring when one first sees it. We have been taught to think of Jesus in terms of suffering, pain, death and martyrdom. Sacrifice of one’s life for the good of all.
Today’s gospel reading is that realization on the part of Jesus. He is aware of his calling and what it means. It is hard enough to do without others dissuading him. And so, his condemnation of Peter, and the explanation to his followers of what it means: You must give up your concept of who you are and follow your spirit self.
Mary Magdalene explains this to the disciples after Jesus’s death. They obviously still have not got it. And it is really a difficult concept to embrace. In her recent book, Mary Magdalene Revealed, Meggan Watterson takes a deep dive into these concepts of what Mary was trying to relay to the other followers of Jesus. Clothing ourselves as the “Perfect Human” embraces both Our Body and Our Soul. As we are created, we are both at the same time. We are called then to follow Jesus as the Child of Humanity. The One who gives us an example of living in Love, both Human and Divine.
But following our God-given awareness of our many callings requiring sacrifice and loss of self does not mean that we do so without JOY. Happiness, Creativity, Love, Peacefulness, Hope and Grace anchor our very body and soul, our Human Beingness.
Awareness of the Suffering and Joy around us can call us to acts of Love and Expressions of all kinds of Human Emotions. We invite you to look at a recent YouTube reflection by Fr. Scott Vanderveer on “Loving without Getting Tired.” It’s a beautiful, eye-opening and helpful way to think about loving within our personal awareness and capabilities.
Happiness and Joy, Hope, Peace and Faith, Love, are just as much a part of our Human Heritage as Suffering and Pain. Let us reach with mature understanding towards our goals of clothing ourselves as Perfect Humans. Let us bring that beautiful awareness to each moment and each person we meet.
What did you hear, dear friends? How will it challenge you? What will you do about it?
Our shared homily is rich when we all participate. If you feel called to say something, please unmute yourself and 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
As we prepare for the sacred meal, we share our intentions. pause for intentions We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.
Presider 1 : Let us pray our Eucharistic prayer with open hearts and hands:
Holy One, we yearn to be close to you and to live in the embrace of your gentle wisdom. Your divine grace and love lead us away from our anxieties, fears and distractions and toward all that is blessed and joyous.
Each of us is divinely created in Your image. We are precious to you and to each other because of who we are. We are beloved and blessed in your unconditional love, quite apart from how we act or fail to act.
Thankful for Jesus who treated all of Creation with respect and abundant love, we resolve to follow his example to be a light in the darkness. We recognize Your loving Presence here with us today and always, and we sing:
Holy, Holy: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy
All: Dearest Holy One, there are times when we feel scarcity and emptiness even though we know You love us more than our human imagination can grasp. May we have the presence of mind to live in Your love. We strive to see You reflected in every person we meet. Guide us in sharing our gifts and in being open hearted so that we may accept help from others.
We thank you for Jesus, who knew what it was like to be an outsider in occupied and foreign lands. May his presence prompt us to bring gospel kindness and understanding to the divisions and conflicts of our time.
Presider 2: Please extend your hands in blessing.
All: We call upon your Spirit that is present in us at this Eucharistic table. We are grateful for the bread and wine that remind us of our call to be the light of Christ to the world.
All: On the night before he faced betrayal and death, Jesus shared supper with his friends. He reminded them of all that he taught them, and to fix that memory clearly with them, he bent down and washed their feet.
All lift the plate and pray:
Presider 1: 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. (Bread is consumed)
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. (Wine/juice is consumed) Let us share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace.
All: Holy One, your transforming grace inspires us to follow our consciences and bring comfort to wherever people are in need. We pray for wisdom, patience and persistence to make a difference in our world. We resolve to love as Jesus loved, to discern the better angels of our nature with hearts open to your Spirit. Amen.
Presider 2: 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
All: Loving Source of our being, you call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice. We choose to live justly, love tenderly, and walk with integrity in Your Presence.
May we have a moment of silence.
BLESSING
Presider 1: Please extend your hands in blessing. May the infinite beauty and joy of Creation continue to astound us. May the Presence of the Divine always comfort and inspire us May we be the face of the Holy One in all we say and do, and May we be a blessing in our time. AMEN.
We hear about the light of Christ, and about Christ being the light of the world. We might ask, what is this light?
If we light a candle in a dark room, or turn on a lamp, we might first notice the source of that light. But soon our eyes are open to the entire room. When the sun rises every morning we might notice first the glory of our magnificent, life-giving star. But soon we make out the details of the world around us. We navigate our day; we see ourselves, our own lives, and the lives of our loved ones, indeed we see all of Creation, in the light of our sun.
The light of Christ is like that. In the Divine light of the Christ we see truth. We see love. We see the world the way it was meant to be, and we see our true selves.
There are people in the world called to carry this light. We are here this evening to honor one of them.
Irene was many things to many people. A trusted mentor and companion to the many young people she served in youth ministry. A dear friend whose humor and deep listening brought joy and understanding. A loving daughter, wife, devoted mother and grandmother.
And for all of us, all the time, in every situation, Irene carried the Light of Christ into our lives.
With her love, her humor, her way of listening and affirming, she carried the light. When we were with Irene we saw ourselves more clearly. That was her gift. Her Christ light. That is the woman we celebrate tonight.
Let us pray for our dear Irene, knowing that she rests now in the source of that divine light.
Please respond, "Carry the light of Christ"
Irene lived a life of love. Love of family, love of friends, love of life. She now rests in the source of all love. As we remember and celebrate her let us... "Carry the light of Christ"
Irene saw with the light of Christ the way the world should be. She helped build that worldview in her work with the young people she loved so much. She now rests in the light of that world. As we remember and celebrate her let us in our own way, using our own gifts, continue her work. Let us…"Carry the light of Christ"
Irene saw the people in her life as they were, and loved them as they were. She saw with the light of Christ, which is truth, which is love. As we remember and celebrate her let us take up that light. Let us see ourselves, and our family and friends as the true selves we all are. And let us love and nurture these true selves as they blossom into fullness of being.... Let us "Carry the light of Christ"
May Irene, in the company of saints known and unknown, in the care of angels seen and unseen, in the presence of the light she carried on her journey, live in radiant joy until we meet again. Amen.
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Opening Prayer
We gather together remotely, the paradox of our time, to reach out to the Holy One and reconnect. We reconnect to the Holy One, to each other, and to the glorious natural world around us in love and joy. As the days of summer dwindle, let us bask in the warmth of the Holy One’s love for us, a love more eternal than the sun. AMEN.
Reading
The Sun
by Mary Oliver
Have you ever seen anything in your life more wonderful
than the way the sun, every evening, relaxed and easy, floats toward the horizon
and into the clouds or the hills, or the rumpled sea, and is gone— and how it slides again
out of the blackness, every morning, on the other side of the world, like a red flower
streaming upward on its heavenly oils, say, on a morning in early summer, at its perfect imperial distance— and have you ever felt for anything such wild love— do you think there is anywhere, in any language, a word billowing enough for the pleasure
that fills you, as the sun reaches out, as it warms you
as you stand there, empty-handed— or have you too turned from this world—
or have you too gone crazy for power, for things?
Silent Reflection
Prayers of Petition
Holy One, fill us with your wild love that we may embrace and protect each other, those living at the margins, and the natural world.
RESPONSE: Fill us with your wild love.
Holy One, reconnect us to our compassion that we may extend our hands to those who need our help in these challenging days.
RESPONSE: Fill us with your wild love.
Holy One, help us reorder our society in justice and peace for women and men of all races, abilities, and sexual orientations.
RESPONSE: Fill us with your wild love.
Holy One, soothe our frazzled spirits, calm our troubled minds, and strengthen our weary bodies that we may better face the challenges of the coming days.
RESPONSE: Fill us with your wild love.
Holy One, in these days of rampant income inequality, remind us of the joy and pleasure to be found both in nature and in each other, lest we too go crazy for power, for things.
RESPONSE: Fill us with your wild love.
Please offer your own silent intentions.
AMEN.
Closing Prayer
Holy One, you are with us every morning, every evening, your love warming us like the sun. May we shine for you and for each other. May we light each other’s dark patches. And may our love warm the world. AMEN.
Welcome and Theme: Presider 1: Good morning and welcome. Our theme today is Interdependence. We are a community of believers joined together by Jesus’s love. None of us can do it all. Tom would have us remember the concept of Ubuntu, I am because we are. No one of us can do it alone.
Opening Prayer: Presider 1: Please join me in our opening prayer. Holy One, be with us this morning as we come together to open our hearts to you and to each other as we do the work of lifting up the lowly and ourselves in peace and justice and love. Amen.
Oh, how deep are the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge, how inscrutable the judgments, how unsearchable the ways of God! For, “Who has known the mind of God or been God’s counselor? Who has given God anything to deserve anything in return?” For all things are from God and through God and for God. To God be glory forever! Amen.
These are the inspired words of Paul and the community affirms them by saying Amen!
Reading 2: A reading from Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr., “Loving Your Enemies,” from Strength to Love
Love is the most durable power in the world. This creative force, so beautifully exemplified in the life of Christ, is the most potent instrument available in mankind's quest for peace and security. Napoleon Bonaparte, the great military genius, looking back over his years of conquest, is reported to have said: “Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have built great empires. But upon what did they depend? They depended on Force. But centuries ago Jesus started an empire that was built on love, and even to this day, millions will die for him.”
Who can doubt the veracity of these words? The great military leaders of the past have gone, and their empires have crumbled and burned to ashes. But the empire of Jesus, built solidly and majestically on the foundation of love, is still growing.
These are the inspired words of Martin Luther King Jr. and the community affirms them by saying Amen!
When Jesus went to the neighborhood of Caesarea Philippi, he asked the disciples this question: “What do people say about who the Chosen One is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptizer, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
“And you,” he said, “who do you say that I am?” "You are the Messiah,” Simon Peter answered, “the Firstborn of the living God!” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon ben-Jonah! No mere mortal has revealed this to you, but my Abba God in heaven. I also tell you this: your name now is ‘Rock,” and on bedrock like this I will build my community, and the jaws of death will not prevail against it. Here—I’ll give you the keys to the reign of heaven: whatever you declare bound on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you declare loosed on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then Jesus strictly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
These are the inspired words of Matthew and the community affirms them by saying Amen!
Homily Starter:
Annabella: We are told by the lectionary that this is the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time. But these are hardly ordinary times! During these times, how many of us are experiencing disorientation, where there is little we see as we used to know it.
During these volatile times, we see a worldwide pandemic the likes of which we have never seen sweep through our cities, turning our world upside down. Further, our communities are in upheaval as we renegotiate old social contracts and rebuild trust in our civic life.
We feel, I feel, an utter loss of control. And it is in these times that we are reminded, as in reading from Romans, the ways of the Lord are inscrutable. We cannot know them. That is how I feel every day now. We play the odds with our health every time we go out into the street. We wonder about our schools, our institutions. We wonder about our mental health, and that of our loved ones. We wonder about our elections, we wonder about trust in our government, our law enforcement. And it goes on and on. A perfect storm, some people say. And who is taking the hit the most? Those most at the edge, the poor, the ones with least resources. While many of us are seriously impacted, it is three times more likely that those that have less, less income, less stability, are or will be hit with more cases of the virus in their family, are impacted by loss of jobs, and worse. And this is just this country. These are not ordinary times.
It is also at this time that we see extravagant wealth in the news every day. In a recent piece in late July, I took a gut punch when I heard that Jeff Bezos amassed $13 billion in one day (July 21, 2020). So, I am thinking, while families are made homeless due to loss of jobs, or illness and children are trapped in cages at the border, there are others making even more money. In these times, in the country, we see extremes just become more so. Those in vulnerable stations in life, fragile circumstances, and undefended conditions are brought lower under the multiple pressures of these extraordinary times.
But, you know, maybe these times are not so extraordinary or different from another era, long, long ago. Actually, this time of inequity and injustice probably looks a lot like the times when Jesus lived, when the Romans and others lived in high luxury as slaves toiled in poverty and squalor. Maybe we HAVE been here before. And it was in times like this that Jesus often talked about the lowly being exalted. In the readings today, we are reminded.
In Romans 11, we are reminded of how unsearchable are the ways of the Lord, who can know them. Quite frankly, I find little comfort in these words. They actually raise my anxiety. I want to understand! There are days during this time of pandemic, where I am just sick of it all. It is all upside down. People making money off misery. And every day, we hear about the leader of this country removing laws that protect the environment, keeping defenseless children trapped in a limbo, and creating chaos and fomenting division. It is painful. But the ways of the Lord are inscrutable. Who can know them. And it is during these times that we are told Jesus raised the lowly. How are we called to raise the lowly in this time of extreme pressures and extraordinary times. We are shown how and why.
In Matthew 16, Simon Peter becomes the Rock on which Jesus will build his church. He is given the Keys to the Church. How did Jesus choose him? It was because of Peter’s faith, because he recognized Jesus as Lord, that he was raised. It is by faith that we are exalted.
How can we know what the ways of God are? In today’s world where we plan the future one week at a time, our faith in what is right, we don’t know. There is one way we can know. We know, in faith.
It is through faith that we navigate these inscrutable times. It is through Faith that we rise up, and it is through faith, that we are raised. It is faith, and moreover, this faith that give us strength to Love. In the final reading, we are reminded by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr’s words that Love endures longer than any regime, over the mightiest armies.
And so, in closing, while in the thick of these extraordinary times, I am reminded to watch for the helpers, and raise the lowly among us and with us. These are the people that are changing the world; the lowly shall be lifted up and maybe lifting us all up in the process.
What did you hear?
Please unmute yourselves so we can hear you.
Shared Homily
Homily Wrap Up
Julie: Thank you everyone for your keen insights and heartfelt observations. As Annabella mentioned at the start, these are challenging readings, with no easy answers. For some of us, for me, the biggest challenge is wondering why the lectionary never includes John 11:27 where Martha, not Peter, proclaims Jesus Messiah. Wouldn’t Church leadership look different if it did?
Statement of Faith
Presider 1: Please join in praying our 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
Presider 1: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we bring to this table our blessings, cares, and concerns. (Dennis reads the intentions.)
We pray for these and all unspoken concerns. Amen.
Presider 2: O Holy One, you have been called by many names by many people in the centuries of our planet’s life. Yet, no name truly defines you or describes you. We celebrate you as the marvelous, loving energy of life who caused us and our world to be. We celebrate you as the Source of light and life and love, and we celebrate your presence and all-ways care.
Presider 1:Please join in praying the Eucharistic prayer together: (Eucharistic prayer taken from the work of Diarmuid O’Murchu and Jay Murnane)
Presider 1/All: O Holy One, we stand at a critical moment in Earth’s history – a time when humanity must choose its future.
As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future holds both peril and great promise.
May we recognize that, in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms, we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny.
United with our vast universe, with our Mother-Planet and her people everywhere, with one another and You, Holy One, our spirits dance and sing this song of praise:
Presider 2/All: We give grateful thanks for those who came before us, for all those who gave from their hearts, who gave from their lives, that there might be a better world, a safer world, a kinder world, we pray for peace in their name.
And for the children, that they may live, that they may have children of their own and that it will go on - this great blossoming that is meant to go on and on – we pray for peace, in their name.
And for all peoples of this earth who have no voice in this,
For the animals that have no voice in this,
For the plants, the trees, the flowers that have no voice in this,
For all who share this earth with us, we pray for peace in their name.
We thank you for our brother, Jesus. He showed us so simply, so tenderly, how the world is in our hands. He had nothing in this world but your love, companions on the journey, and his very self. Together, that was more than enough, and that remains our clarity in the midst of confusion: the miracle of healing, new hope, nurturance, nourishment, liberation and life.
Presider 1: Please extend your hands in blessing.
Presider 1/All: We invoke Your Spirit upon the gifts of this Eucharistic table, bread of the grain and wine of the grape, that they may become gifts of wisdom, light and truth which remind us of our call to be the body of Christ to the world.
Community lifts their plates.
All: On the night before he faced his own death and for the sake of living fully, Jesus sat at the Seder supper with his companions and friends. He reminded them of all that he taught them, and to fix that memory clearly within them, he bent down and washed their feet.
When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the Passover bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat; this is my very self.
(pause) Community consumes the bread.
Community lifts the cup.
Presider 2/All: He then raised high the cup of blessing, spoke the grace, and offered them the wine saying:
Take and drink of the covenant made new again through my life,
for you and for everyone,
for liberation from every oppression.
Whenever you do this, Re-member me!
(pause) Community drinks from the cup.
Loving Source of All, we have looked for others to save us and to save our world. Yet, we are called, and consecrated and sent into the world to establish justice and show the blessed fulfillment that comes with simplicity and the giving of ourselves in love. We will make new our commitment to the harmony of the original vision of creation.
We will open up wide all that has been closed about us, and our small circles. Like Jesus, in all openness, we will be filled with your own Spirit and renew the face of the earth.
For it is through learning to live as he lived,
And why he lived,
And for whom he lived,
That we awaken to your Spirit within,
Moving us to worship you truly,
O Holy One,
At this time and all time and in all ways.
And we say yes to You!
Presider 1: Let us pray together the prayer of Jesus:
All: 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)
Presider 2/All: We are called to live the Gospel of peace and justice in harmony and with joy. We will live justly, love tenderly and walk with integrity in Your Presence.
Communion Song: Beatitudes, Sweet Honey in the Rock
May wonder and thanksgiving fill us, may compassion penetrate us, that we may penetrate the numbness that continues our society’s injustices. May we know that we are loved.
May we continue to be the face of the Holy One to each other and may our name be a blessing in our time! Amen.
Presider 2: Please join in singing our Closing Song.
