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
Family Liturgy of Gratitude
Welcome (Kathie): Welcome to all here celebrating with us, both in person and on Zoom. Today we will think and talk about all the ways we are grateful. We will use the beautiful fruits of the earth that we collected this morning as we create a living prayer, or earth altar, or earth mandala. Let us begin with a prayer.
Opening Prayer (Denise):
Holy One, we see you today in all the faces gathered here. And we thank you for them. We see you in the fallen leaves, acorns, and pine cones that the animals can use for food and we thank you for them. We see you in our lives, every day, and we thank you. Amen.
Opening Song: Thank you for this day by Karen Drucker
LITURGY OF THE WORD
Kathie: We have two special readings to listen to today. Let’s quiet ourselves as we listen to the first reading.
First Reading
If the only prayer you say in your whole life is “thank you” that would be enough.
These words are from Meister Eckhart, who lived 900 years ago but who can still teach us about the Holy One today. We believe these words. AMEN.
Alleluia: Dennis
Scripture Reading: Psalms
(from Psalms for Young Children by Marie-Helene Delval)
Every Sunday we have at least one reading that comes from the Bible. These are called scripture readings. Today our scripture reading will actually be several special songs that were written a long, long time ago (thousands of years ago!). These songs are called Psalms, and the Psalms we will be hearing today are all about gratitude, or being grateful, to the Holy One.
Psalm 8: People are so small next you, Great Spirit. You put the stars and the moon in the sky, and the birds in the air above the cows and horses in the fields, and the fish that swim in the seas. You created all the beauty in the world. Thank you.
Psalm 34 (Mia): I will pray to you, Holy One and I want to know You and I want others to know how great You are. I want others to sing to You with me. With you I have everything that I need. Thank you
Psalm 48: Let us clap our hands and shout for joy to You, Holy One, because You created our home, the Earth. We sing songs of gratitude for the Earth and all of Creation. Thank you.
Psalm 84: (Katherine) Like a mama bird who has found a nest for her baby chicks, Holy One, you provide a safe, warm place for me, Your child. Thank you.
Psalm 89: (Teddy) Great Spirit, I want to tell everyone I know about You. I want to sing about how much you love me, about the beautiful world you made. Thank you.
Psalm 100: Holy One, You made us and we are your children. We sing songs of happiness and celebrate Your goodness. Thank you.
Psalm 103: Holy One, You are so good, so kind. You love me like a father loves his child. For all of this, I say thank you.
Psalm 104: I praise You, Great Spirit! You make the water run in rivers, and the animals who come for a drink. You make the plants grow, and we have food to eat. Thank you.
Psalm 136 IAnnie): Thank you, Holy One, You are so good! Thank you for making the sun! Your love never ends. Thank you for the moon and the stars. Your love is forever and ever.
These are the songs of our ancestors, and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Homily Starter (This is an interactive, guided conversation.)
It’s almost Thanksgiving, isn’t it? This is the time of year that we remember all the people and things that we are thankful for; that we are grateful for. In the Psalms that were so beautifully read this morning we heard about some of the things we should always be grateful for. What were some of those things? (pause….) We are grateful to the Holy One for everything, because everything comes from the Holy One. Everything is filled with the Holy One. Our whole, entire lives are sparked by the Holy One! And so our lives are holy. We are so grateful for our lives.
Meister Eckhart puts it very simply. If every day we simply look at our day, look at our life, and say “Thank you” to Holy One who has given us the whole entire universe, that will be enough. No other prayer is necessary. What in our lives are we especially grateful for? (pause…)
Thank you for sharing your gratitude this morning. Your gratitude is holy. Just like you.
Statement of Faith
We believe in the Holy One who is in everything we see
And even in everything we cannot see.
As far away as the most distant star and as near as the air we breathe
The Holy One is there, creating everything out of Love.
We believe in Jesus, who showed us the Holy One
In how he lived his life,
He showed us that the Holy One is
In our lives too.
We believe that we are called to live like Jesus.
We are called to bring peace, and light, healing and kindness,
We are called to be brave and speak up, and help out when
Others are suffering or things are not right.
We believe that the Spirit of the Holy One
Lives in us and in all of creation.
We feel the Spirit in the wind, the warm sun,
The cold snow, and we see it in the faces of other people.
We believe that if we live in the Spirit of the Holy One,
If we remember to act with kindness and courage,
We will make the family of the Holy One larger and larger
Until the whole world is at peace.
Liturgy of the Eucharist
Kathie: Today we are going to create a beautiful nature mandala. The word mandala means “circle,” and it is a way for us to imagine the whole universe. People often create mandalas using colored sand or small stones, filling the circle with beautiful and sacred designs. Then prayers are spoken or sung around the mandala, blessing the world with compassion and peace. Finally the sand, full of prayers, is released into a stream or river, carrying the prayers into the ocean and all over the world. Today we will create our mandala out of the beautiful objects from nature, and each object will hold one of our prayers of gratitude. When it is your turn we invite you to pick out any object you wish, and offer your prayer for what you are thankful for as you hold your object. You may want to pray your gratitude prayer out loud or think it in your mind. Then please place your object on the circle where you think it should be. There are plenty of objects for everyone to have more than one turn. I will go first. I am grateful for………. (Kathie picks an object and places it near the center of the circle.. Denise follows next. One by one the children and adults place their objects in the circle.)
(Once all of the children are seated, Kathie continues):
Holy One, our gratitude fills the circle of the universe. Each of us is a part of your creation. We are grateful for all of it. AMEN.
Mary Theresa: Next we will pray our great prayer of Thanksgiving, called our Eucharistic Prayer. The beginning of this prayer is a collection of all the things the children have told us they are grateful for. Let us give thanks for these and all the good gifts of our Beloved.
Holy One you have given us all good things. Every friend we meet is a gift from you. We are grateful for all of our friends. We thank you for our bodies, we wouldn’t be here without them. We are grateful for the moon because the sky wouldn’t be the same without it. We thank you for the sun, because it gives us heat and helps the plants make food. And we are thankful for love, Holy One; love that comes from you through the people in our lives. We thank you for our families, for our moms, our dads, our Grandmas and Grandpas, Grammies and Papas. We thank you for our pets (especially Luna, Toby and Doodle, Shyla and Ruby). We are grateful for our activities, like Tae Kwon Do and dance.
Conclude with:
In love and gratitude for all these things we sing your praise :
Holy, Holy, Holy by Karen Drucker https://youtu.be/kl7vmiZ1YuI
(Invite children to join presiders at the table)
Kathie: Holy One, we see around us all of your creation. The trees, flowers, birds, animals and insects sing with joy for your creative power. We are your creation too, and we thank you for our lives.
We thank you for sending Jesus, our brother, to show us how to live so that your love can show through in the world. We thank you for your Spirit, which showers your love and wisdom on the earth like rain, and which opens our eyes in wonder.
Kathie: Please hold your hands out like this… (demonstrate) as we bless the bread and juice.
Holy One, you blessed the grain in this bread and the fruit in this juice as they grew on the earth. The people who baked the bread and made the juice blessed them with their work. Today, with your Spirit, we bless them again, as they become gifts of love, light and truth and remind us that we too are blessed with your Spirit.
(Invite children to gather at the table for the consecration.)
Denise: Jesus gathered his friends around a table like this. He took the bread, and said a prayer of thanksgiving. Then he broke the bread and shared it with his friends, saying, “Take and eat this bread. It is my very self.”
Kathie: After the meal, Jesus took the cup of blessing. He said another prayer of thanks, and then he offered his friends the cup saying
“Take and drink of the loving agreement
Made new again through my life in you.
Whenever you remember me like this,
I am among you.”
Denise: We are one today with all people who have ever lived, all the people and animals we have loved. With them we ask you, Holy One, for the wisdom to know what is right and the courage to do what is right.
- Help us to be kind to one another.
- Help us to take care of the earth.
- Help us to reach out to people who need our help.
And as we grow, help us to see where your Spirit leads us as our lives unfold in this world of pain and beauty so that we may become wise co-creators of the future.
Like Jesus, we will open up wide all that has been closed about us, and we will live loving lives, for it is through living as Jesus lived, that we awaken to your Light within.
Amen.
We will pass the plate around the circle. When the plate comes to you please take a piece of bread and eat it. As you receive Communion remember the words, “I give thanks to you, Holy One.”
Communion Meditation: In The Name of All That Is, by Michelle Sherliza
Kathie: Jesus taught us how to love and care for one another and all of creation. We are grateful for our brother, Jesus, who taught us how to pray.
Let us pray like Jesus taught us:
Great Spirit,
You are within, around and among us,
We know you by many names:
Beloved, Holy One, Great Mystery….
May we be wise.
May we live as you want us to live.
Each day you give us all we need.
You guide us and support us in our power.
For you dwell within us,
and we celebrate you now and forever. Amen
BLESSING
Kathie: We have almost come to the end of our liturgy. But we want to bless each other first, and we will also bless the beautiful mandala we made that is now full of our prayers. After the blessing and our closing song we will give people a chance to come and see the mandala up close. Some people may want to take a picture of the mandala. Then we will walk together with our mandala out to our garden. We will return all of our treasures along with our prayers to nature, where our fellow creatures will use them for warmth and food. Now please stand, and hold out your hands in blessing:
Holy One, we ask your blessing on all the children and adults gathered here today, and on all of your creation. May we walk with joy and gratitude as we know that you are always walking with us.
All: AMEN
( Invite Children and any willing adults gather around the mandala for closing song)
Denise: Let’s show our gratitude to our beloved Holy One. Let’s be joyful! Let’s dance! “Grateful” by Empty Hands
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.