Moment of Oneness, November 30, 2022

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81507551772

Meeting ID: 815 0755 1772

To connect by phone dial: +1 646 558 8656

Reading: Romans 15:13  “May the God of hope fill you with such peace and joy in your faith, that you may be filled with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

As we waddle past Thanksgiving with full tummies and hearts full of gratitude, we are almost magnetically drawn to the preparation and anticipation of Christmas   I would like to take tonight’s few moments together to step back and bring an awareness and honoring to the reality that for many, these holidays are not always “Happy” Thanksgiving and “Merry” Christmas. Let us also take every opportunity to be the hope, peace, love, and joy of Advent for each other.

Jean:  Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk provides a beautiful example of experiencing the joy no matter what is going on in our lives.  Thich Nhat Hanh endured all kinds of hardships, including the deaths at the hands of the French, Americans and Vietnamese of his family members and friends.  An orphanage that he started was bombed.  And yet he was a walking example of joy and gratitude.  When asked how he survived such difficulties with such peace and love in his heart, he replied that every morning he would ask himself what he could count on that day; sometimes all it was the blue sky and the brown earth, and the fact that he was still breathing in and out.  But in counting his blessings, he reconnected to the miracle that he was, at least for the present moment, still alive in this beautiful world.  “Suffering is not enough.  Life is both dreadful and wonderful,” he reminded us.  “How can I smile when I am filled with so much sorrow? It is natural – you need to smile to your sorrow because you are more than our sorrow.”

That’s what we’re all called upon to do – to notice what we can appreciate right now, no matter what else is going on in our lives.   Adapted from Giving Thanks: The Gift of Gratitude by MJ Ryan

Let us take a Moment of Silence to listen to our hearts

Ann:  Joan Chittister says, “Grief is a process of many stages and no guaranteed cutoff points.  When something happens that in our minds should not have happened – a child dies, a group betrays us, a loved one leaves – there is no charting the time it will take to recover.  There is only the sure knowledge that we can recover if for no other reason than that so many have.  Once we realize that everything we touch is in the act of disappearing, we shall touch it more intensely.  The very thought of grief prepares us to live well.”

Terri:  Part of living well, we at The Upper Room have recognized, is challenging ourselves not only to see the face of the Holy One in all we meet, but also, as Denise so beautifully shared Sunday, we are challenged to open our eyes to the light in every small gesture:  a kind word…listening with a open mind and hear…In the darkest times, ‘let’s be ready for the light when we see it.  Let’s allow that light to brighten a path to salvation: both for the opportunity to give it and for the blessing to receive it.”

♥ As we reflect on the beauty of this Season, and the gift we are to each other may we shine the light of our God on anyone experiencing loneliness or sadness; may we hold them in our heart and offer our friendship

♥ May we constantly practice being a light, if only a small flashlight, lighting each other’s path

♥ May we open our eyes to see and respond to the needs -  silent as well as spoken or witnessed, in our family, our community and our world 

♥ May we come to realize and live the belief that we are more than our sorrow

♥ May we notice every little moment that we can appreciate right now, no matter what else is going on in our lives.

♥ May we, as did Thich Nhat Hanh, count our blessings so we reconnect to the miracle that we are alive in this beautiful world

♥ May we see all people, including ourselves, as reflecting the Face of God

♥ May we be healed and may we be a source of healing in our world…we truly do have everything we need to do just that.

Closing Song: Everything We Need by Carrie Newcomer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WOCQiNqOcY 

  

Closing Reflection:  May we be and share with everyone we meet, the hope, peace, love, and joy of this Advent Season.

Upper Room Sunday Liturgy, November 27, 2022 - Presiders: Denise Hackert-Stoner and Christina Homer

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:  We welcome you to our celebration of the first Sunday in the season of Advent.  Let us open our hearts and minds to the call that this season offers, the call that invites us to shine! Let us ponder the Divine light within us and one another as we light the first candle of our Advent wreath.

 

Opening Prayer / Peace Prayer / Lighting of Advent Candles 

Advent Candle Lighting Blessing Prayer

Jean T:  Like our ancestors, we honor the cycles and the seasons that remind us of the ever-changing flow of life.  Ritual acts give life meaning—they honor and acknowledge the unseen web of Life that connects us all.

 Ann lights candle as prayer is read:

As we light this first candle let us keep in mind that the Promised One moves among us every day, often un-noticed and unappreciated.  Our hope lies in seeing the Promise of the Holy One as it shines in us, and in our neighbors; in friends we know and in friends we have not yet met. 

And so we respond: Let us kindle the light of hope!

Jean: Indeed, let us welcome the light within each other!

Opening Song:  In the Stillness, the Many  https://youtu.be/knaEnlvPu3U

LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading:  Isaiah 2:1-5 (Inclusive Bible, adapted)

This is what Isaiah ben-Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

In the last days, the mountain of the Temple of the Holy One

will be established as the most important mountain

and raised above all other hills—

all nations will stream toward it.

Many people will come and say:

“Come, let us climb the Holy One’s mountain

to the Temple of the God of our ancestors,

that we may be instructed in God’s ways and walk in God’s paths.”

Instruction will be given from Zion 

and the word of God from Jerusalem.

Our Beloved will judge between the nations

and render decisions for many countries.

They will beat their swords into plowshares,

and their spears into pruning hooks;

one nation will not raise the sword against another,

and never again will they train for war.

O house of Leah and Rachel and Jacob, come,

let us walk in the light of our God!

These words from the prophet Isaiah, passed through the millennia, are inspiring us today.  We affirm these words by saying Amen!

Second Reading:  Romans 13:11-14

Brothers and sisters:
You know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

These words are from Paul, an apostle of Jesus.  We affirm these words by saying Amen

 Alleluia:  Dennis

Gospel:   Matthew 24:37-44 (The Inclusive Bible)

The coming of the Promised One will be just like Noah’s time.  In the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, having relationships and getting married, right up to the day Noah entered the ark.  They were totally unconcerned until the flood came and destroyed them.  So it will be at the coming of the Promised One.  Two people will be out in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.  Two people will be grinding meal; one will be taken and one will be left.  Therefore be vigilant!  For you don’t know the day your Savior is coming.”

Be sure of this:  if the owner of the house had known when the thief was coming, the owner would have kept a watchful eye and not allowed the house to be broken into.  You must be prepared in the same way.  The Promised One is coming at the time you least expect.

These are the words of the gospel writer known as Matthew.  We affirm them by saying Amen.

Homily Starter:

It seems that for all human history we have needed saving.  Isaiah speaks to a nation surrounded by enemies, led by a young and feckless king who makes unwise alliances with some of those enemies, while the people drift farther and farther away from the covenant that is their very identity.  Jesus speaks to that same nation, some seven hundred years later, when there is no king, and the land is occupied by a powerful foreign country.  His people are divided, arguing about how best to survive as oppressed people and how best to practice their religion.  Sound familiar?

Both Jesus and Isaiah promise a savior.  For Isaiah, this Messiah will deliver the people and the land back to God.  There will be no more wars because the whole world will stream to Jerusalem and become one whole nation.  Everyone will “walk in the light of God.”  Jesus also promises a special coming.  The Promised One will come when least expected, and this saving moment might be easy to miss if we are not paying attention.  We need to be awake, and be prepared.  We need to keep watch.  We need to keep the lights on, as Paul reminds us.  Because this is something we really do not want to miss out on. 

 

I want to share a story.  When my daughter Emily was in sixth grade she was walking down our street on her way to her friend’s house when a neighbor stopped her.  This neighbor, Brenda, looked Emily in the eye and told her “You are the most beautiful girl in the whole neighborhood.”  I don’t know what else was said in the conversation.  I think that’s the only part that Em remembers.  But it was enough.  For a little girl on the cusp of puberty, feeling awkward and at loose ends with herself these words changed something in her.  Suddenly she felt noticed.  Emily has never forgotten those words from a kind neighbor who didn’t have to say anything to her that day.  That was a small salvation.  Brenda offered it.  Emily was ready for it.  Both walked in the light of God that day.  

Salvation sometimes comes in “biblical” proportions.  Waters part.  The dead rise.  Those moments are hard to miss.  But if we open our eyes to the light in every small gesture:  a kind word, providing food for someone, listening with an open mind and heart; if we see all of these small acts as flashes of salvation, then we become not mere spectators, not just people waiting.  We become participants in salvation.  

 

In this, the darkest time of the year, let’s be ready for the light when we see it. Let’s allow that light to brighten a path to salvation: both for the opportunity to give it and for the blessing to receive it.  It may come when we least expect it.  Like lightening emblazoning the sky for a fraction of a second and then disappearing, it may present itself only for a moment.  Let’s not miss out.  Let’s shine in the light of our God.

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

Statement of Faith 

 
We believe in the Holy One, a divine mystery 
beyond all definition and rational understanding, 
the heart of all that has ever existed, 
that exists now, or that ever will exist. 
 
We believe in Jesus, messenger of the Divine Word, 
bringer of healing, heart of Divine compassion, 
bright star in the firmament of the Holy One's 
prophets, mystics, and saints. 
 
We believe that We are called to follow Jesus 
as a vehicle of divine love, 
a source of wisdom and truth, 
and an instrument of peace in the world. 
 

We believe in the Spirit of the Holy One, 
the life that is our innermost life, 
the breath moving in our being, 
the depth living in each of us. 
 
We believe that the Divine kin-dom is here and now, 
stretched out all around us for those 
with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it, 
and hands to make it happen. 

 

LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST 

Christina:  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. Please feel free to voice your intentions beginning with the words, “I bring to the table…..” 

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

 

Denise: With open hearts and hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer as one voice:

(written by Jay Murnane) 

 

All: 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: Holy, Holy, Holy, Karen Drucker https://youtu.be/kl7vmiZ1YuI

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. 

Christina:  Please extend your hands in blessing.

All: 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. 

All: On the night before he faced his own death, Jesus sat at 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. 

 

(Presiders go to the table.  Christina reads while Denise lifts the plate)

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) 

 

(Christina reads while Denise lifts cup)

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) 

Christina: Let us share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace.  Please receive communion with the words “You are the light of Salvation.”

Communion Meditation/Song:  Be a Light, Thomas Rhett https://youtu.be/Oqiw54l_x-8

Prayer after communion: 

 

Denise: Holy One, 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.  

Denise: 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 

Christina: Please extend your hands and pray our blessing together.

May we, the living Body of Christ, recognize the light of the Holy One in ourselves, in one another, and in all our fellow humans and other – than – humans who share this beautiful creation with us.  May this Advent season find us ready and eager to give and receive Divine Light.  May we walk in the Light of our God.  May we Shine.

 

All: AMEN 

Denise:  A word about our closing song.  I want to thank the many people who responded to my request for photos showing themselves or their family members actively doing their ministries.  It has been a joy to look at your beautiful pictures and to include them in this video.  You all, every one of you, shine.

 

Closing Song:  Shine by Collective Soul  https://youtu.be/-bnIEs1n0vs

Upper Room Saturday Liturgy, November 26, 2022 - Presider: Kathie Ryan

Please join us between 4:30 and 4:55 pm via ZoomHere is the Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155 
phone-in for (audio only).Phone Number: (646) 558-8656

Welcome: “Be not afraid” or “fear not” is repeated more times than any other phrase in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures.  Today’s gospel has many fear filled verses.  We know Jesus was unafraid and taught us to be fearless too.  

Let us pray: The Holy One is as close to us as our next breath. Breathe deeply.  We are free from fear and anxiety.  Amen.

Opening song: Breath of the One Life by Jan Novotka

https://youtu.be/FV8dQhTZe_o

LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading: A Reading from the daily meditations of Richard Rohr

Jesus did not establish an institution, though institutions can serve his cause. He did not organize a political party, though his teachings have a profound impact on politics. Jesus did not even found a religion. No, Jesus began a movement, fueled by the Spirit, a movement whose purpose was to change the face of the earth from the nightmare it often is into the dreams of the Holy One.

These are the inspired words of Richard Rohr, a disciple of Jesus.

Celtic Alleluia

https://youtu.be/o1rc7ojQtJU

Gospel: A Reading from the gospel of Luke 

“Be on your guard lest your spirits become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life. That day will suddenly catch you by surprise like a trap. It will come upon all who dwell on the face of the earth, so be on your watch. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Chosen One.”

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

Shared Homily: Today’s gospel and tomorrow’s gospel on the first Sunday of Advent remind us to be on guard, to stay awake. There will be tribulations, dangers and one will be taken and another left.   The church ends the year and starts the year with gospels that evoke fear. If you and I are fearful, someone or something has power over us. 

 Let’s tease out what these gospels are really about. 

 “Pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations” What tribulations?  The end of the world? The rapture?   In truth these verses have little to do with Jesus’ life and message. These scriptures were written about 80 years after the fall of Jerusalem. The trials and tribulations were connected to the destruction of the temple that happened years after Jesus’ death.  The gospel writers were trying to make sense of why Jerusalem was destroyed, and they were also trying to make the case that Jesus was the Messiah.  “Be on your guard”, here comes tribulations and be ready “to stand before the Chosen One”, (Jesus). The idea of tribulations and standing in front of Jesus sounds scary to me.  And yet Jesus did not want us to be filled with fear.  He told his followers, repeatedly “be not afraid”.  Jesus understood the frailty of our humanity. He knew fear holds us back from living a full and loving life. Jesus reminded us constantly we are never alone and how much we are loved. Fear is definitely not a core value of Jesus.  Advent is beginning, we can choose to let go of our fears, and do our best to live in love as Jesus taught us.  Breathe deeply, the Holy One is here.

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: 

Holy Holy Holy: Here in this Place – 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 fearless in the presence of the Holy One.

Communion Song:

I Am the One – Janis Ian, video by Denise Hackert-Stoner

https://youtu.be/83CKYR9uyFI   

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 comes. 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 stand with each other in fearless love. May we know we are not alone. May our gathering ignite us to love more fully.  And like Jesus be a shining light and a blessing for all.  

All: Amen.

Closing Song 

Christ, Shine in Our Lives by Chris Muglia

https://youtu.be/-vnwdrtwBwk    

Upper Room Thanksgiving Service, November 24, 2022 - Presiders: Debra Trees and Stephen Trimboli

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 and Opening Prayer:

Good morning, everyone. We are so grateful to be here with you all online or on Zoom. Welcome to this Thanksgiving Service from the Upper Room. We will be keeping to less than 30 minutes so that you can head back to your busy day. 

Gratefulness has many derivations and is rooted in the Latin word, gratia, which translates to grace. How apropos then that some health studies point to a happier life when we practice gratitude regularly. (See Harvard Health Publishing, August 14, 2021).

As we quiet our minds to be here, let’s take a deep breath, feet on the floor, and remember our blessings…

Blessings, by Hollow Cove.  https://youtu.be/KY7rwjFmNfs

♪ Sunlight fell and reminded me ♪

♪ That life can be so gracious sometimes ♪

♪ And I felt like everything ♪

♪ Around me was connected somehow ♪    ♪ Ooh ooh ooh ooh ♪

♪ At night I hear the rhythm of the ocean ♪

♪ As it breaks on the shore ♪

♪ And I think about all the things ♪

♪ That I am grateful for ♪

♪ And they say, hold on to the ones you love ♪

♪ Keep ‘em close to you ♪

♪ And they say, hold on to this time we have ♪

♪ And let the light shine through ♪

♪ Sometimes I get a little bit emotional ♪

♪ When I see love unfold ♪

♪ Two hearts bound by reflections ♪

♪ Of the memories they’ll forever hold ♪

♪ And they say, hold on to the ones you love ♪

♪ Keep ’em close to you ♪

♪ And they say, hold on to this time we have ♪

♪ And let the light shine through ♪

♪ Ooh ooh ooh ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh ooh ooh ♪

♪ Ooh ooh ooh ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh ooh ooh ♪

♪ There are blessings all around you ♪

♪ Open up your eyes ♪

♪ Feel the sunlight fall upon you ♪

♪ Let it free your mind ♪

♪ There are blessings all around you ♪

♪ Take a step outside ♪

♪ Let your heart shine in a new light ♪

♪ See it come alive ♪

♪ They say, hold on to the ones you love ♪

♪ Keep ‘em close to you ♪

♪ They say, hold on to this time we have ♪

♪ And let the light shine through ♪

Our First Reading is a poem from Mary Oliver

The Sun

Have you ever seen

anything

in your life

more wonderful

than the way the sun,

every evening,

relaxed and easy,

floats towards 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 and early summer,

at its perfect imperial distance ---

and have you ever felt for anything

such wild love---

do you think there was 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?

Alleluia: Deb

Our Gospel Reading is from Luke, (17:11-19)  (Steve)

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus passed between Samaria and Galilee. 

As he was entering a village, ten people with virulent skin disease met him. Standing still, some distance off, they called out loudly: “Jesus! Master! Pity us!” 

When Jesus saw them, he said: “Go and show yourselves to the priest.” And, as they were on their way, they were made clean. 

One of them, finding he was healed, came back, praising God loudly, and threw himself on his face at Jesus’s feet, thanking him for what he had done; and this man was a Samaritan. 

“Were not all the ten made clean?” exclaimed Jesus. “But the nine—where are they? Were there none to come back and praise God except this foreigner? 

Get up,” he said to him, “and go on your way. Your confidence has delivered you.”

These are the words attributed to Luke, and we affirm them by saying, AMEN. (as shared in the New New Testament compiled by Hal Taussig)

Short Homily Reflection (Deb):

I used to have trouble coming up with things to be grateful for. I am not sure why that would be so, because now I can’t imagine not walking in gratitude every minute. One of my spiritual directors gently suggested that I bring gratitude to the forefront by going through the alphabet and finding one thing for each letter! It was a great exercise for me, and just what I needed to prime my soul for the grace of awareness. Jesus knew this so well and tried to help us understand how important saying thank you really is.

Since a shared homily today may send us over our limits, I ask you to take some time on your own, or with your friends and family, to say Thank you, and to say how much you love and appreciate each other. Remember the many blessings we are always given, often without even being aware of the effects, like the energy and warmth of the sun and the Holy One Who sustains us. 

Happy Thanksgiving.

May we have a moment of silence as we think of our intentions and prepare for our day.

Prayer of Jesus (adapted by Miriam Therese Winters)

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.

Closing Blessing:

May we each remember our many blessings as we go through this Thanksgiving Day and through the year. 

May our lives reflect our awareness of the amazing gifts we receive just by being here on this planet and with each other.

May we continue to always share the blessings we have with those around us since we know that everything is holy now. Peace.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Everything is Holy Now sung by Peter Mayer

https://youtu.be/s_SgAmljIJc

When I was a boy, each week

On Sunday, we would go to church

And pay attention to the priest

He would read the holy word

And consecrate the holy bread

And everyone would kneel and bow

Today the only difference is

Everything is holy now

Everything, everything

Everything is holy now

When I was in Sunday school

We would learn about the time

Moses split the sea in two

Jesus made the water wine

And I remember feeling sad

That miracles don't happen still

But now I can't keep track

'Cause everything's a miracle

Everything, Everything

Everything's a miracle

Wine from water is not so small

But an even better magic trick

Is that anything is here at all

So the challenging thing becomes

Not to look for miracles

But finding where there isn't one

When holy water was rare at best

It barely wet my fingertips

But now I have to hold my breath

Like I'm swimming in a sea of it

It used to be a world half there

Heaven's second rate hand-me-down

But I walk it with a reverent air

'Cause everything is holy now

Everything, everything

Everything is holy now

Read a questioning child's face

And say it's not a testament

That'd be very hard to say

See another new morning come

And say it's not a sacrament

I tell you that it can't be done

This morning, outside I stood

And saw a little red-winged bird

Shining like a burning bush

Singing like a scripture verse

It made me want to bow my head

I remember when church let out

How things have changed since then

Everything is holy now

It used to be a world half-there

Heaven's second rate hand-me-down

But I walk it with a reverent air

'Cause everything is holy now.