It is a restless seeker for the Love that only it remembers from the womb.
When, my Beloved, will I see your face and feel your presence within me?
With gratitude and love I extol your steadfast hold of me as I walk and rest throughout the day and night.
Beloved, let not my fear and sorrow of these times keep me from radiating your light.
Strengthen and guide me dearest Creator and Oneness of all things. In you, I hope. (Psalm 42- Reinterpreted in a Pandemic, Deven Horne)
Reading: Phillis Sheppard
The Joy of Worship in the Temple
How glorious is your dwelling place,
O Blessed Architect of the Universe!
My soul longs, yes aches for the abode of the Beloved;
All that is within me sings for joy to the living Heart of Love!
Even as the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nesting place,
where its young are raised within your majestic creation,
You invite us to dwell within your Heart.
Blessed are they whose hearts are filled with love,
who sing praises to You with grateful hearts!
Blessed are they who put their strength in You,
who choose to share the joy and sorrows of the world.
They do not give way to fear or doubt;
they are quickened by Divine Light and Power;
they dwell within the peace of the Most High.
They go from strength to strength and live with integrity.
Psalm 84 Nan C. Merrill
Silent Reflection
Intentions: Ann Bayly
Warrior-Spirit Prayer of Awakening. . . . Response – May it be so.
May all beings be granted with the strength, determination and wisdom to extinguish anger and reject violence as a way. Response – May it be so.
May all suffering cease and may I seek, find, and fully realize the love and compassion that already lives within me and allow them to inspire and permeate my every action. Response – May it be so.
May I exercise the precious gift of choice and the power to change [as] that which makes me uniquely human and is the only true path to liberation. Response – May it be so.
May I swiftly reach complete, effortless freedom so that my fearless, unhindered action be of benefit to all. Response – May it be so.
May I lead the life of a warrior. Response – May it be so.
Rev. angel Kyodo williams, Sensei
Silence to add your own intentions.
Closing Prayer: Deven Horne
Dreamsby Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow.
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Denise:Welcome and Theme:
Welcome to our liturgy this morning as we begin our celebration of Advent. As a young person I understood Advent to be a season of waiting, of expectation; and that was confusing to me. Was I awaiting the birth of Jesus who had already been born?Was I waiting for some time in the future when Jesus might return?Was I to feel penitence?Joy?Anticipation?Fear?For me, Advent was a season without real focus.It seemed ill-defined.So I finally decided to simply look at the word.Advent, from the Latin adventus, means “arrival.”Arrival, not waiting.How that simple shift in word meaning helped me to reframe the season!The Divine Presence, or as Richard Rohr calls it, the Universal Christ, saturates the universe and everything in it, here and now.We are all pregnant with it.And just as Mary, mother of Jesus bore incarnate divinity, so do we.It is within us, as it was within Mary, and as it was within her son.It arrives, with every breath we take.
So our theme for this first Sunday of Advent is not so much about waiting, but rather living in the hope that we carry our own spark of divinity to fulfillment, and deliver it in love and wholeness into the kin-dom of our world.So let us light our first candle surrounded by this great love that lives within us now and forever.Everyone is invited to light their first candle during the following blessing:
Joan:Lighting of Advent Candles:
We light this first candle and remember the Holy One who created light and life out of darkness by loving.The dark shadow of space leans over us and we are mindful that the darkness of greed, exploitation, and hatred also lengthens its shadow over our small planet Earth.
And so we respond: Let us kindle the light of hope!
LITURGY OF THE WORD
Readings:
Denise:First Reading and Opening Song:Today our first reading is also our opening song.Written by Craig Minowa of Cloud Cult, the piece is There’s So Much Energy In Us.
Denise:This is the inspired work of Craig Minowa, a seeker and finder of truth.Let the community affirm his words and music with….Amen.
Second ReadingJim
The Light Within
Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continually return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto Itself. Yielding to these persuasions, gladly committing ourselves in body and soul, utterly and completely, to the Light Within, is the beginning of true life. It is a dynamic center, a creative Life that presses to birth within us. It is a Light Within that illumines the face of God and casts new shadows and new glories upon the human face. It is a seed stirring to life if we do not choke it. It is the Shekinah of the soul, the Presence in the midst. Here is the Slumbering Christ, stirring to be awakened, to become the soul we clothe in earthly form and action. And Christ is within us all.
These are the inspired words of Thomas Kelly, Quaker mystic.Let the community affirm them with…..Amen.
Alleluia
Gospel:Sandi - Mark 13:33-37(Inclusive Bible)
“Be constantly on the watch!Stay awake!You do not know when the appointed time will come.
It is like people traveling abroad.They leave their home and put the workers in charge, each with a certain task, and those who watch at the front gate are ordered to stay on the alert.So stay alert!You do not know when the owner of the house is coming, whether at dusk, at midnight, when the cock crows or at early dawn.Do not let the owner come suddenly and catch you asleep.What I say to you, I say to all:stay alert!”
Homily Starter - Denise
We are dreamers.We aspire.We imagine.Among all our fellow creatures we alone, as far as we know, allow ourselves to live in that space between what is, and what is hoped for.And in that space we unfurl the ribbon of light that is the Divine in us, becoming co-creators, partners in shaping reality.
It is in that space that we meet the Holy One; not in some far-off place, some mythical other world, but right here, within ourselves and in communion with the rest of creation.Right here we find the power of our own potential, our own energy.
In our first reading, Craig Minowa describes a million-year dream.The dream is a search for something hoped for.An energy, a light, something other, something outside, far away.In the end, the searchers find that energy, and it is surprisingly close at hand.It is within themselves, in their own world, in their own loving relationships that the long-hoped for light is recognized, having been there all along.Thomas Kelly reminds us that we each shelter a Light Within, which is like a seed waiting to spring to life, the Christ within us all.In today’s Gospel Jesus tells us to stay alert right where we are, at our posts.For it is right here, in the midst of living our own lives, that we meet the Holy One.This, right here, is the place of dream and hope and awareness where our beloved is revealed as the one clothed in our own flesh.
What a thought!That the creative power of the Divine, the Light of the world, the source of all energy, is found here, within our own selves, our own communities.This Advent, let’s give ourselves permission to be in that space of dreams, that place where the Divine light unfurls, that place where hope lives.Let’s not be practical, let’s not develop plans.Martin Luther King’s most famous speech is not called “I have a Plan.”It is called “I Have a Dream” because the dream, the hope, came first.So let us dream this Advent Season.Let us hope.Let us sit with our own power, the power that comes from the Holy One, and let the Divine Light nurture our dream, allowing it to spring up within us like an incarnation.Who knows what our dreams will give birth to?
We hope that you will share your thoughts about today’s readings, about your dreams, and about the light within you.Your wisdom is sacred, and we value it.
Shared Reflections
Mary Theresa:We thank you for sharing your wisdom this morning.The shared wisdom of our community is our greatest treasure.We now invite you to join in our Statement of Faith.
Mary Theresa: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
Joan: As we prepare for this sacred meal we are aware that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. As bearers of LIGHT and HOPE, we bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns. Intentions are read.
Joan concludes with: We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.
Joan: With open hearts and hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer as one voice:
(written by Jay Murnane)
Joan: Source of All That Is, we seek you in this season, when the earth is resting and preparing for new life. Like the earth, we long for new life and hopeful beginnings. This is the time of the pregnant woman, filled with life and hope powerful enough to topple structures of oppression. This is the time of her song of fidelity and celebration.
During this gentle season of Advent, we recognize that you have made us capable of bringing forth justice, like a rising sun. One with all who have gone before us, we sing a song of praise:
Denise:We thank you for those in times past who believed the good news, and lived what they believed.
Blessed is Isaiah and every visionary who insisted on a better future that would break through the deception, disaster and broken promises of the age in which they lived.
Blessed is John, in the stark desert of careful focus, inviting the people to be born again in your love.
Blessed is Miriam, who believed the words of Isaiah and opened herself up to the unbelievable.
And blessed is her child Jesus, who felt the sorrows of humankind in his soul, and responded with deep and tender compassion.
Mary Theresa:Please extend your hands in blessing.
Mary Theresa: 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.
Mary Theresa: On the night before he faced his own death, 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 with them, he bent down and washed their feet.
All lift plates and pray the following:
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)
All lift the cup and pray the following:
Joan: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)
Let us share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace, remembering that we are bearers of light and hope.
Denise: We give thanks for our tradition, which is a living history of your love for all creation. We join ourselves with that tradition, as the visionaries and healers and peacemakers of our own time in history.
We celebrate the many creative traditions which guide and form us and we are grateful that there are many paths to wisdom and life.
Each Advent we make a place in our prayer for all those who are oppressed and marginalized in so many places throughout this earth, and right here among us.
We are grateful for the gift of your Spirit, always drawing beauty and balance out of chaos. And like Jesus…
Standing where he stood,
and for what he stood,
and with whom he stood,
we are united in your Spirit,
and worship you with our lives,
All: Amen.
Joan: 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
Mary Theresa: Please extend your hands and pray our blessing together.
May the Divine Light nurture our dreams.
May we unfurl the ribbon of light that is the Divine in us.
May our light shine for all to see, and may we be a blessing in our time!
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Welcome: (Kathie) Welcome everyone to the Upper Room Liturgical Celebration of Thanksgiving. Our scriptures this morning remind us we have much to be grateful for. Gratefulness brings peace to our hearts. Take a moment, breathe deeply, the Holy One is present in each breath. Let us pray:
Opening Prayer: (Connie)
With grateful hearts we turn our thoughts to you, Holy One, as we prepare for the feast of giving thanks. We acknowledge that
You are the source of all our gifts,
You are the one who brings us together,
You are the One who sends us forth.
We are grateful not only for the gift of life itself,
But for all the gifts of friendship, love, devotion, and forgiveness
That we have received and shared.
May our celebration of Thanksgiving teach us more about how to live lives of service
by deeds of hospitality,
by kindness to strangers,
by concern that goes beyond the call of duty,
by promoting restorative justice, when people have been harmed.
by Henri J. M. Nouwen, Bread for the Journey A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith
To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all of our lives - the good as well as the bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as wells the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections - that requires hard spiritual work. Still, we are only truly grateful people when we can say thank you to all that has brought us to the present moment. As long as we keep dividing our lives between events and people we would like to remember and those we would rather forget, we cannot claim the fullness of our beings as a gift of God to be grateful for. Let's not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we are now and trust that we will soon see in it the guiding hand of a loving God.
These are the inspired words of Henri Nouwen and we respond by saying, Amen.
Responsorial Psalm: (Deven) The Voice of Earth Speaking God's Presence
Earth teach me stillness
as the grasses are stilled with light.
Earth teach me humility
as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring
as the mother bird nestles her young.
Earth teach me gentleness
as the deer walks softly through the forest.
Earth teach me freedom
as the lark who sings and soars.
Earth teach me resignation
as the cycle of life turns and turns.
Earth teach me about the regeneration of life
as the seed rises after being scattered and buried.
Earth teach me to remember kindness
as the blossoms turn rejoicing towards the sun.
Earth teach me gratitude
as the soil begins a new journey toward the harvest.
Earth teach me to know the Author of Life
as I daily gaze in wonder
at the marvelous mysteries of all creation.
(Anonymous - taken from Praying with the Women Mystics, by Mary T. Malone)
Gospel Acclamation: Alleluia
Gospel: Luke 12: 22-27 (Diane Geary)
Do not worry about your life and what you are to eat. Do not worry about your body and what you are to wear. For life is more than food and the body is more than clothing. Take a lesson from the ravens. They do not sow or reap. They have neither a food cellar nor a barn, yet the Holy One feeds them. And how much more valuable are you than birds? Can any of you for all your worrying, add a single hour to your life? If even the smallest things are beyond your control, why worry about all the rest? Notice how the flowers grow. They neither labor nor weave, yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was robed like one of these.
These are the inspired words of the Gospel writer known as Luke and we respond by saying, Amen.
Homily Starter (Kathie Ryan)
In the 1960’s Judy Collins, recorded a song, I can’t remember the title but I do remember this verse: “when I am not feeling holy, I feel like I’ve sinned” Nowadays we may not struggle with feeling holy, holy is not an everyday word we think about. But as Henri Nouwen writes, we do struggle every day to feel good, or joyful. We strive to be successful and we often hope for some type of reward or recognition for our successes.We have heard many people say, I just want to be happy.
We put so much energy into obtaining these positive emotions. When we cannot sustain them, we feel something must be wrong with us, or with our lives in general. Nouwen reminds us that we need the both/and, not just the either/or.We become a grateful people when we can say thank you to the good and the bad, the joys and the sorrows.
Gratefulness is so much greater than a nice feeling. It is the key to trusting. Trusting that no matter what is happening in our lives now, the Holy One is walking with us, in the good and bad times, in the joys and in the sorrows. We can trust that the Holy One is always with us.
Our responsorial psalm reinforces this message of trust.The Earth, all of creation, teaches us to trust. After all we know, we have seen it, we trust that “the seed rises after being scattered and buried, and we know the cycle of life turns and turns”. You and I need to be scattered and buried in order to rise. We need the cycle of life that is filled with ups and downs, we need the both/and to become who we are meant to be. We learn to trust just as the lilies of the field and the birds of the air trust. The Holy One is within and around all of creation, and creation, of course, includes each of us.
What did you hear?How will it change you?
Statement of Faith (Ginny and Mike)
Let us pray together our Statement of Faith
We believe in one God, 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 God's Word, bringer of God's healing, heart of God's compassion, bright star in the firmament of God's prophets, mystics, and saints.
We believe that We are called to follow Jesus as a vehicle of God's love, a source of God's wisdom and truth, and an instrument of God's peace in the world.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
The life of God that is our innermost life,
the breath of God moving in our being.
The depth of God living in each of us.
We believe that God's 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.
Presider: (Mary Theresa) As we prepare for the sacred eucharistic meal, we bring to our virtual table the prayerful intentions of the community.
We pray for our newly elected U.S. leaders, and the team they will bring together to unite us,
We pray for all who exercise leadership roles in all faith traditions,
We pray for all who are infected by COVID-19 and their care-givers as well as those who are researching a vaccine and cure,
We pray for all suffering from cancer and for all working for a cure,
We pray for all who are unemployed and underemployed, for migrants and refugees,
We pray for all who work to promote justice by eradicating sexism, racism, and discrimination of every kind,
We pray for an end to the “arms race” and peaceful ways to resolve conflicts among nations,
And we pray for all unspoken attentions.
(moment of silence)
Closing: Amen.
Presider: (Kathie) With open hands and grateful hearts let us pray our Eucharistic prayer as one:
Adapted from A Thanksgiving Prayer by Diana Butler Bass
Kathie: Holy One, there are days we do not feel grateful. When we are anxious or angry. When we are alone. When we do not understand what is happening in the world, or with our neighbors. We struggle to feel grateful.
Mary Theresa: This Thanksgiving, we choose gratitude. We choose to accept life as a gift from you, from the unfolding work of all creation. We choose to be grateful for the earth from which our food comes; for the water that gives life; and for the air we all breathe. We see your sacred generosity, and we live in an infinite circle of gratitude.
Joan: We give thanks for our ancestors, those who came before us, and for their stories, as a continuing gift of wisdom for us today. We choose to see our families and friends with new eyes, appreciating them for who they are.
Kathie:We are all guests at this hospitable table where gifts are passed and received.In gratitude for your free and unmerited love, the giftedness of life everywhere, and the tender web of all creation, we sing:
Mary Theresa: Holy One, we journey towards greater openness and awareness, a living sense of gratitude. Opening up to the amazing energies of your creative spirit, we enter into life as Jesus taught us, revealing you as God-With-Us, revealing us as one with you, and all creation.
Please extend your hands in blessing
Joan: This bread and wine is a sign of Your nourishment and a sign of Your great love. Your Spirit is upon us and we belong to You and one another.
Kathie: We thank you for Jesus, simple servant, lifting up the lowly, revealing you as God-With-Us, revealing us as one with you, and all creation.
Mary Theresa: 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 bread
Joan: Back at the table, he took the Passover 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
Kathie: Then he took the cup of blessing, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying:
Take and drink of the covenant
Made new again through my life in you.
Whenever you remember me like this,
I am among you.
Mary Theresa: What we have heard with our ears, we will live with our lives. As we share communion, we will become communion, both love’s nourishment and love’s challenge.
We are the beloved of God.
Please receive Communion now.
Our Communion Song is: Simple Gifts - Yo-Yo Ma and Alison Krauss
Joan: Holy One, in gratitude we open ourselves to Your loving Spirit, the Spirit that filled Jesus, for it is through his life and teaching, his loving and healing that all honor and glory is Yours. Amen.
Kathie: Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
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 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.
The Prayer of Jesus as interpreted by Miriam Therese Winter
Mary Theresa: Blessing: Let us raise our hands and bless each other in gratitude and joy:
May we continue to be the Face of God to each other.
May we seek truth boldly and love deeply.
May we continue to be the face of the Holy One, and
