Saturday, July 30, 2022

Upper Room Sunday Liturgy, July 31, 2002 - Presiders: Joan Chesterfield and Mary Theresa Streck

photo from UN World Food Program

Please join us between 9:30 and 9:55 am via Zoom
Here is the Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155 

phone-in for (audio only).Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155

Welcome

MT: Today’s theme is Economic Justice.  We will hear in our readings and our songs a reminder to use our gifts for the greater good. We are called, like the prophets before us to engage in “doing justice,” an essential to expressing both a vital faith and building a world at peace. 


Opening Prayer 

Joan: As we gather around the table of friendship, we come with profound thanksgiving for the countless blessings we have received. And, at this table, we remember all those who are struggling economically, especially those who are continually hungry. As we pray for them, we work for systemic change for we know, there is enough to go around.  Our opening song is Extravagant Love.


Opening Song: Extravagant Love by the Many: Extravagant Love by the Many 

https://youtu.be/xl2gOHyssvw



First Reading: “What Does It Mean to Reimagine? ”

by Valarie Kaur, 2021 


When we look back through history, our greatest social reformers did more than resist oppressors. They held up a vision of the world as they dreamt it. Nanak sang it. Muhammad led it. Jesus taught it. Buddha envisioned it. King dreamt it. Dorothy Day labored for it. Mandela lived it. Gandhi died for it. Grace Lee Boggs fought for it for seven decades. 


They all called for us not only to unseat bad actors, but to reimagine institutions of power, the institutions that order our world. You see, any social harm can be traced to institutions that produce it, authorize it, or otherwise profit from it. To undo the injustice, we have to imagine new institutions and step in to lead them. 


This is why I believe reimagining is front line social justice work. It is essential for this moment as we are in the midst of a massive transition here in the United States and all around the world. We can't ever fully be able to transition humanity into a new place unless we imagine it first. So this is how I am defining what it means to reimagine. 


To reimagine is to explore a vision of a relationship, a community, a world where all of us are safe and free, where all of us flourish. Reimagining means that we're doing more than resisting our opponents, that we are paying attention to the cultures that authorize them to harm us, the institutions that allow them to continue with their behavior. And if we shift our gaze to institutions, that means some institutions can be reformed, but others must be dismantled and replaced altogether. 


Reimagining focuses us not just on what we are fighting against, but the future that we are fighting for. And here's the secret: Reimagining—when we engage in that hard and vibrant work of reimagining the world as it ought to be—we start to realize that we have opportunities, spaces in our own lives to begin to create the beloved community where we are. 


When we are brave enough to reimagine, we can begin to become the beloved community by birthing it here and now. 


With open hearts, we affirm these words by saying: Amen.


Alleluia: Dennis


Gospel: A reading from the Gospel of Luke

Lk 12:13-21


Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’
But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves
but are not rich in what matters to God.”


With open hearts, we affirm these words by saying: Amen.


Homily Starter: Mary Theresa


The Gospel message is very clear. Jesus is reminding the rich man to “take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” And to drive the point home he reminds him that, "You can’t take it with you!" So rather than settle the dispute for this man, Jesus called him into solidarity with the poor.
 

In our first reading, lawyer and activist Valarie Kaur invites us to reimagine our relationships, our community, and our world where all of us are safe and free, where all of us flourish. This reimagining means that we're doing more than resisting our opponents, that we are paying attention to the cultures that authorize them to harm us, the institutions that allow them to continue with their behavior.

 

Today I would like to honor Sister Simone Campbell who has spent a good part of her life challenging those institutions.

 

On July 7, President Biden presented Sister Simone Campbell and fifteen other recipients with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.  


Sister Simone Campbell, a lawyer, lobbyist, poet, Zen contemplative and longtime advocate for economic justice and health care policy, served as the executive director of Network, a Catholic social justice lobbying organization for seventeen years. She joined with other members of her community to form the “Nuns on the Bus” nationwide tours that played a significant role in the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, a complex law which expanded access to health care for millions of people.

President Biden praised Sister Simone with these words:

“For so many people and for the nation, Sister Simone Campbell is a gift from God. For the past 50 years she has embodied the belief in our church that faith without works is dead. Compassionate and brave, humble and strong, today Sister Simone remains a beacon of light. She’s the embodiment of a covenant of trust, hope and progress of a nation,”


Sister Simone and Network are beacons of light and each of us is a beacon of light as we support local organizations in their efforts to help those most in need. And we are beacons of light as we support organizations working for systemic change. We are today’s prophets, bearers of hope, far from being hateful or unpatriotic. We engage in “doing justice” that is essential to expressing both a vital faith and building a world at peace. 


Shared Reflections


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.


Prayers for the Community


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


Prayers for the community are offered.


MT: We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen. 


Liturgy of the Eucharist


MT: With open hands and hearts and in one voice, let us together pray our Eucharistic Prayer:


Holy One, the first passion of Jesus was his passion for you and for justice so that all may reap the beauty and bounty of Creation in equal measure. Jesus lived to incarnate your justice for all the world according to your covenant with Israel. In solidarity with Jesus, and with all the faithful women and men who have gone before us, we lift up our hearts and sing:


Holy, Holy, Holy: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy

https://youtu.be/sgkWXOSGmOQ 



Joan: We celebrate the life of our brother, Jesus. He lived his life and walked forward to his death knowing that you were leading him. We walk forward in his pathway and follow his teaching.


MT: We are standing in the right place with Jesus when we let go of money, possessions, pride and privilege, to become vulnerable and open to you, to accept poverty of spirit and reliance on you. 


Joan: We are standing with You when we are compassionate for all human beings, and when we extend empathy and love to everyone, especially the poor, oppressed, and mournful. We remember all those who suffer and die each year from war, poverty and disease. We mourn for them, and for all creatures, and for the earth itself.


MT: We are blessed when we are gentle, nonviolent, courageous and humble, like your saints. We pray to grow in awareness of our unity with all of creation and co-create with You our earth as a sanctuary of peace.


MT: Please extend your hands in blessing.


Joan: We are ever aware of your Spirit in us and among us at this Eucharistic table and we are grateful for this bread and wine which reminds us of our call to be the body of Christ in the world. 


MT: We join the lineage of Your prophets of justice and peace and as Your daughters and sons, we continue to work with Your grace as we walk forward in the footsteps of our compassionate brother, Jesus.


Joan: On the night before he died, Jesus did more than ask us to remember him.  He showed us how to live in humility and generosity when he washed the feet of his friends.


Community lifts the bread


MT: 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.


Community lifts the cup


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.


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: I am a blessing.


Communion Song: Bread On Every Table – Monks of Weston Priory 

https://youtu.be/z4Mw9tSD-Jo



Prayer after communion: 

 

MT: Holy One, we are aware of your Spirit within us and our community, the same Spirit that filled Jesus.  And is through following his life and teaching, his loving and healing that we honor You and each other. Amen.


Joan: 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 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


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


May we be blessed with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships.

May we seek truth boldly and love deeply. 

May we continue to be the face of the Holy One, and 

May we be a blessing in our time. Amen.


MT: Our closing song is: "I Hope" sung by Meah Pace with The Resistance Revival Chorus – Lyrics added

https://youtu.be/AjirwATs5r4




The Eucharistic Prayer is adapted from Beatitudes for Peace by John Dear.



Thursday, July 28, 2022

Upper Room Saturday Liturgy, July 30, 2022 - Presider: Kathleen Ryan

Please join us between 4:30 and 4:55 pm via Zoom
Here is the Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155 

phone-in for (audio only).Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155


Welcome:  Our whole lives we all follow many rules. Most rules give us a sense of security, or at least a sense of what to expect. How many of our rules really come from God?  Let’s tease this out in our readings and sharing tonight.

Let us pray:  Holy One, we are here to pray our liturgy together. Spending this time with each other gives us encouragement and support as we go about our lives.  This community right here and now is filled with your Spirit, and we are grateful for your presence. Amen.


Opening song:

Fire of Love and Kathy Sherman

https://youtu.be/P_6cILrBpJE


LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading: A Reading from the Prophets Isaiah and Micah 

(Isaiah 55:8-10)

YHWH says, “for my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways, my ways. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.


(Micah 6:8)

Listen here, mortal: God has already made abundantly clear what “good” is. and what YHWH needs from you: simply do justice, love kindness, and humbly walk with your God.

These are the words of the Prophets Isaiah and Micah.  The community affirms them. AMEN

Celtic Alleluia

https://youtu.be/o1rc7ojQtJU


Gospel: A Reading from the gospel of Matthew (15:10-14)

Jesus called the crowd together and said to them, it’s not what enters your mouth that defiles you—it’s what comes out of your mouth that defiles you.”

Then disciples approached him and said, “do you realize that the Pharisees were offended by what you said?”  

Jesus replied, “Every plant that my Abba God in heaven has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.  Ignore them—they are blind people leading other blind people.  And when the blind lead the blind, they all will fall into a ditch.” 

These are the inspired words of Matthew a disciple of Jesus. The community affirms them AMEN


Shared Homily: 

Jesus is constantly challenging the status quo. The disciples are nervous. Jesus had broken the rules about washing hands and offended the powers that be. The Pharisees were big on rules.

In the Book of Deuteronomy there are many rules about what to eat, how to prepare the food, when and how to eat it. The Pharisees are intent on following the rules while their people are hungry.  Focusing and trying to follow rules is often easier than feeding the hungry or caring for one another. 

The Roman Catholic Church is focused on rules.  One particular harsh rule  is who may be  invited to the Eucharistic table.  At the Upper Room we invite everyone to the table.  We come to the table every week to nurture one another and share our thoughts and prayers. Our community gives us encouragement, love, and support. You and I love being together on Zoom or in person. It’s a holy experience.  Coming together to nurture and care for each other is wonderful and inspiring but is that enough?  We know by the stories of the Pharisees and our own church history that rules and rituals that were so important change and often fade away.

Jesus is still challenging the status quo and this time the status quo is not only the Pharisees and their rules, but the status quo is you and me at the Upper Room.  

Jesus is asking us to consider what will we do when we leave the Upper Room?  What comes next?  The Holy One tells us so clearly in the Isaiah and Micah readings what is expected.  Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. Following rules are easy, living out what the Holy One calls us to, not so much.  


Statement of Faith 

All: 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.


Eucharistic Prayer of Belonging


As we prepare for the sacred meal 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 prayers and blessings. Amen.


 We are a priestly people. We are anointed. With open hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer as one voice:


All: O Nurturing, Mothering One, You are always with us. We are grateful for Your constant loving and unconditional presence. At times we forget that You are holding us, attending to us. We fall and You pick us up. You send strangers, friends and family to our aid. We are never without Your Light and Spirit.


We experience great joy and we experience great pain and suffering. You are with us in the joy and the pain and suffering. When we experience Your presence we long to sing our hymn of praise: 


Here in this Place – Holy Holy Holy by Christopher Grundy

https://youtu.be/sgkWXOSGmOQ


All: Creator and Lover of all beings, we cannot grow in the darkness of this world without Your Light. Our desire to be in Your light is a gift from You. Help us keep our hearts and minds open to You through our love and care for each other and all creation

Please extend your hands in blessing

All: 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.

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.

On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for the 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)

All: 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)

ALL: 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.

Bread and wine are transformed by Your Spirit and we are transformed when we open ourselves to Your Spirit. Every time we share this bread and wine we choose to be transformed. We choose to love as You love us.

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.

Please receive the bread and cup with the words: I am unconditionally loved.

Communion Song: The House That Love Is Building – Sarah Hart
https://youtu.be/dM69BAgvuXw



Communion prayer:

Loving Source of our being, You call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice. We live justly, we love tenderly, we walk with integrity in Your Presence Amen.

Let us pray together 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 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

BLESSING

Please extend your hands and pray our blessing together

May we continue to be the Face of God to each other. May the certainty of our connectedness to one another and all creation ignite us to love more fully. May we be rule breakers and shake up the status quo. And like Jesus be a shining light and a blessing for all.

All: Amen.

Closing Song: Be a Light – shortened Thomas Rhett (lyrics ) ft. Keith Urban, Chris Tomlin, Hillary Scott & Reba McEntire

https://youtu.be/Oqiw54l_x-8






 

Sunday, July 24, 2022

Moment of Oneness, July 27, 2022

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


Opening Prayer

Loving One, may your peace flow through every part of us. May your peace grow and increase, and let it shape the lives of all human beings. When fears multiply and danger threatens, it is Your peace that sustains us and upholds us. Your peace lightens our burdens, restores our strength, and renews our hope. Your presence is our peace.  Amen.


Flowers of the Forest by Mike Oldfield shortened

https://youtu.be/gC-vTJUzft0


Reading from the Gospel of Luke


Jesus said: “Don’t worry about your life and what you are to eat. Don’t 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 don’t sow or reap.  They have neither a food cellar nor a barn, yet God 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! If that is how God clothes the grass in the field, which is there today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, how much more will God look after you."

Silent reflection


Intentions  


Loving One, you give us all that we need to care for ourselves and one another.  May we aware and grateful for our many blessings.


Loving One, you give us faith that all will be well. May we learn to trust and know that all will be well. 


Loving One, you give us your love unconditionally. May we know deep within we are all unconditionally loved especially those who we find difficult to love.  


Loving One, you give us strength in difficult times. We pray for those who are suffering and do not have basic necessities for themselves and their families.  


Loving One, you give us courage to stand with those who are struggling with all kinds of illness.  May they feel your presence as we are with them.


Loving One, you give us your peace. We pray for the healing of divisions in our world. 



Closing Night Prayer


Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, All things pass away:

   God never changes.

   Patience obtains all things.

   He who has God finds he lacks nothing;

   God alone suffices.


        (Found in the breviary of St. Teresa of Avila at the time of her death.)



How Can I Keep from Singing by Pete Seeger, video by Denise Hackert-Stoner

https://youtu.be/UxQhxKPbFTY







Upper Room Sunday Liturgy, July 24, 2022 - Presiders: Bridget Ball Shaw and Kathleen Ryan

Please join us between 9:30 and 9:55 am via Zoom

Here is the Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155 

phone-in for (audio only).Phone Number: (646) 558-8656

Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155


Welcome:  Our theme today is the importance of prayer and trust.  The picture above shows the trapeze artist reaching out with both hands, she does not grab on to the catcher but trusts that she will be caught. 

Let us pray: Holy One, every day we pray for what we need. We pray for all those who have asked us for prayer. Help us to trust that our prayers will be caught at exactly the right moment, and all will be well, all matter of things will be well. 

Our God is Here by Chris Muglia  

https://youtu.be/0gmfcCV5QJ4       (Please stop @ 2:45)



LITURGY OF THE WORD

Reading 1: A Reading from Richard Rohr

Prayer is not primarily saying words or thinking thoughts. It is rather a life stance.  It is a way of living in the Presence, living in awareness of the Presence.  The contemplative secret is learning to live in the now.

God is either in this now or God isn’t at all. If the now has never been full or sufficient, we will always be grasping. (longing for more, something else)

For Jesus, prayer is waiting in love, returning to love.  Prayer is an attitude, a stance.

These are the inspired words of Richard Rohr, a disciple of Jesus. The community affirms these words with AMEN

Alleluia (Bridget)

Gospel: A Reading from the gospel of Luke.  (translation from the Jesus Seminar)


One of the disciples to Jesus, teach us to pray. Jesus said to them, “when you pray, you should say, Abba, hallowed be your Name. May your reign come. Provide us with the bread we need day by day. Forgive our debts to the extent we have forgiven those in debt to us.  And please don’t subject us to test after test but rescue us from the evil one”.

So I tell you, ask—it will be given to you; seek---you will find; knock---it will be opened for you. “Rest assured; everyone who asks receives; everyone who seeks finds; and for the one who knocks it is opened.


These are the inspired words of Jesus, our brother. The community affirms them with AMEN


Shared Homily 

The prayer of Jesus that is in this gospel translation is different from the one we pray each week in liturgy.  There are many translations of the gospels and of the Jesus prayer. This translation is from the Jesus Seminar. They concluded that Jesus most likely said these words.   

They feel certain that Jesus would call God, Abba. Jesus most likely would have said “forgive us our debts” because debt forgiveness in his time was a life and death issue for many.  But the phrase that really caught my attention was “provide us with the bread we need day to day”.  We know that in the time of Jesus bread literally meant survival, it meant life.  Waiting for bread day to day reminded the disciples of the manna that the Holy One sent to the Israelites, just enough for each day.  

The disciples watched Jesus go off by himself and pray. They asked Jesus to teach them to pray. Jesus consistently taught and showed them that prayer is being connected and aware of the Holy One in everyday life.  Jesus told his disciples and us that we can and must place our trust in Abba.  Trust Abba as in the prayer Miriam Therese Winter wrote and we pray almost every week in liturgy “each day you give us all that we need”. 

Richard Rohr says prayer is an attitude and life stance.  When you and I take on the “attitude” of trust in our prayers what happens to us? Maybe we relax, worry less, and maybe discover the secret of learning to live in the now. Living in the here and now is when we know we are given all that we need. 

Let’s take this all one step further.  Jesus asks us to trust that all we need will be provided. Richard Rohr says prayer is a life stance.  What are we to do with this knowledge?  The hard part:  we are to act like Jesus, go to the margins, be the one, or the group, or the committee, or the church that provides for those who have daily needs.  When we do this, we are following Jesus and our life stance becomes the same as our Abba God.

What are your thoughts?  What did you hear?  Please unmute and share.

Statement of Faith 

All: 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.


Eucharistic Prayer of Belonging


As we prepare for the sacred meal 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 prayers and blessings. Amen.


 We are a priestly people. We are anointed. With open hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer as one voice:


All: O Nurturing, Mothering One, You are always with us. We are grateful for Your constant loving and unconditional presence. At times we forget that You are holding us, attending to us. We fall and You pick us up. You send strangers, friends and family to our aid. We are never without Your Light and Spirit.


We experience great joy and we experience great pain and suffering. You are with us in the joy and the pain and suffering. When we experience Your presence we long to sing our hymn of praise: 


Here in this Place – Holy Holy Holy by Christopher Grundy

https://youtu.be/cVWY9ourooI




All: Creator and Lover of all beings, we cannot grow in the darkness of this world without Your Light. Our desire to be in Your light is a gift from You. Help us keep our hearts and minds open to You through our love and care for each other and all creation

Please extend your hands in blessing


All: 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.


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.


On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for the 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)


All: 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) 


ALL: 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.


Bread and wine are transformed by Your Spirit and we are transformed when we open ourselves to Your Spirit. Every time we share this bread and wine we choose to be transformed. We choose to love as You love us.


  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. 

Please receive the bread and cup with the words: I am a child of the Holy One.


Communion Song:

 Bread of Life by Rory Corey  video by MTStreck

https://youtu.be/n7aYkPE5YDE 



  Communion prayer:

Loving Source of our being, You call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice. We live justly, we love tenderly, we walk with integrity in Your Presence Amen.



Let us pray together 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 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



BLESSING


Please extend your hands and pray our blessing together

  May we continue to be the Face of God to each other. May the certainty of our connectedness to one another and all creation ignite us to love more fully. May we stand together and go to the margins to provide the daily needs of others. May we be like  Jesus a shining light and a blessing for all.  Amen

Closing Song: 


The House That Love Is Building – Sarah Hart

https://youtu.be/dM69BAgvuXw