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
Family Liturgy
Welcome and Theme (Dennis): Today we learn about the Beatitudes or Blessings that Jesus shared with his friends/disciples. These blessings give us a roadmap of how to live our lives by loving others, being kind to others, and standing with those who are sad, who are laughed at, or who are treated unfairly. He also tells us that at times by living this way, we may also be treated unfairly, but God loves us for helping others have a better life.
Opening Prayer (Dennis): Let us open our hearts and minds to the words of the Beatitudes that call us to be a blessing to others, and remind us that we are blessed when we live our lives modeled on Jesus. Amen.
Opening Song: Try a Little Kindness – Sesame Street with Tori Kelly
LITURGY OF THE WORD
1st Reading: Be Kind, a story by Pat Zietlow Miller
This is a story by Pat Zietlow Miller about sharing kindness in our everyday lives, and we affirm it by saying, Amen.
Alleluia: Celtic Alleluia – Christopher Walker
Gospel: A reading from the Gospel of Matthew
Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who need help and let others and God help them, they will experience happiness and joy in their life.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are those who are sad, hurt, or feel lonely, they will receive comfort and love from friends and family.
Blessed are those who are gentle, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who are gentle in how they treat others, they will find that God and others appreciate how they act toward others.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be filled.
Blessed are those who help others who are treated unfairly, they will, with God’s help, bring change to the world.
Blessed are who show mercy to others, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are those who are loving and kind (compassionate) to others, they will be shown love and kindness in return.
Blessed are those whose hearts are clean, for they will see God.
Blessed are those who make good decisions because they act out of love, they will know God in their hearts.
Blessed are those who work for peace, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are peaceful and help others to get along, they will experience the peace of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of their struggle for justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who are treated badly for doing what is right and treating all people equally, they will be respected and honored by God and others who act like them.
“Count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or speak lies about you to hurt me. What it means is that they don’t want to hear the truth and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, but I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. (last paragraph adapted from The Message Bible)
These are the inspired words of the anonymous storyteller we call Matthew and the community affirms them by saying AMEN.
(pause)
Homily and Shared Reflection
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
Dennis: 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, cares and concerns.
Intentions read
We bring these and all deeply held blessings, cares, and concerns to the table of friendship and peace.
Phillis: Next we will pray our great prayer of Thanksgiving, called our Eucharistic Prayer.
We are blessed by the lights of the heavens: the sun and moon, planets and comets and stars; we are blessed by the darkness which keeps us from being blinded by the light, and eases us into contemplation and rootedness.
We are blessed by the generous oceans, and the cliffs and shores which embrace them and allow us to be touched, and to touch. We are blessed by streams and lakes and rivers, by snow and rain.
We are blessed by mountains, which teach us of solitude; where we can feel the power of the softest wind.
We are blessed by all the harmonies of creation, which charge our souls with hope.
We are blessed by the children whose open arms and imaginations teach us enthusiasm and delight at living in the now.
We are blessed by friends who share with us the dark and the light, the tears and the laughter – our companions on the journey.
We are filled with appreciation for all these blessings, as we become aware that all is oneness and oneness is all. And so we sing:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy
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.
Phillis: 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.)
Phillis: 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.”
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.”
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, Be Kind to Everyone You Meet.
Communion Meditation: I Will Sing of Your Love, Love, Love by Christopher Grundy https://youtu.be/eJeVqR0Mngs
Phillis: 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:
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
Phillis: We have almost come to the end of our liturgy. 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 we are blessed and that you are always walking with us.
All: AMEN
Closing Song: Kindness by the Juicebox Jukebox
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