Upper Room Sunday Liturgy, April 30, 2023 - Presiders: Mary Theresa Streck and Jim Marsh

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155 
phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155

Theme: Abundant Life

Welcome: Mary Theresa

Welcome to our Upper Room liturgy for the Fourth Sunday of Easter. Our theme today is “Abundant Life.” As we listen to the readings and songs and each other, ponder what it means for all of creation to experience life in abundance. And so we pray:

Opening Prayer: Jim

O Holy One, during this Easter season we celebrate with great joy the transformation and resurrection of Jesus. Enliven your Spirit within us; grant us the grace to hear your voice and respond to your call: to leave our sheepfolds and the darkness behind, to venture out and come to know abundant life and blessings. Amen!

Opening song: Glory to God by Marty Haugen  
https://youtu.be/udjH7EON5IY

LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading: Judy

Abundant Living

from 365 Science of the Mind: A Year of Daily Wisdom by Ernest Holmes 

Why go through life as though it were something to be endured, as though there were not enough good or joy to go around? Are we not always limiting the possibility of love and affection, of appreciation, and of the common everyday good things of life? If we really are in union with a Divine Source then there should come a feeling of abundance in everything we do—an abundance of friendship, of self-expression, of everything. The abundant life contains all things whether we call them big or little. We should sense the flow into our consciousness of the Divine Intelligence, a feeling that the creative imagination of the whole Universe is centered in us and flowing through us. We should consciously practice this more abundant life, not necessarily for any specific thing or good we desire, but for the realization of the All-Good flowing through everything and everyone. Attuning our consciousness to this Divine abundance, automatically we find a betterment in everything we do, a broader and deeper experience, a higher realization, and a greater good. 

These are the inspired words of Ernest Holmes and we affirm them by saying, Amen.

More Light by Christopher Grundy

https://youtu.be/a8XaUlqb8t0

Gospel: Phillis

A reading from the Gospel of John

Jn 10:1-10

Jesus said:
"Whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger;
they will run away from him,
because they do not recognize the voice of strangers."
Although Jesus used this figure of speech,
the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.

So Jesus said again,
“I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be safe,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."

These are the inspired words of the Gospel writer known as John and we affirm them by saying, Amen.

Homily Starter: Jim

Shared Homily

Statement of Faith  - Dotty and Joan

 

We believe in the Great Spirit, 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
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

Mary Theresa: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we are aware that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. 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….”

We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.

Joan: With open hands and hearts, let us pray together our Eucharistic Prayer.

Guiding Spirit, you have been called by many names by many people in the centuries of our planet’s life. Yet, no name truly defines you or describes you.  We celebrate you as the marvelous, loving energy of life who caused us and our world to be. We celebrate you as the Source of light and life and love, and we celebrate your presence and all-ways care.

May we recognize that, in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms, we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny. 

United with our vast universe, with our Mother-Planet and her people everywhere, with one another and You, Holy One, we sing this song of praise: 

Holy Holy Holy: Here in this Place – by Christopher Grundy

https://youtu.be/sgkWXOSGmOQ 

Mary Theresa: We give grateful thanks for those who came before us, for all those who gave from their hearts, who gave from their lives, that there might be a better world, a safer world, a kinder world, we pray for peace in their name. 

And for all peoples of this earth who have no voice in this, the marginalized, the children, the animals the plants and all who share this earth with us, we pray for peace in their name.

Please extend your hands in blessing.

We are ever aware of your Spirit in us and among us at this Eucharistic table and we are grateful for our brother, Jesus, and this bread and wine which reminds us to follow him.

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. 

 

All lift the plate and pray:

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:

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) 

We share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace. We choose to live justly, love tenderly, and walk with integrity. 

Please receive communion saying: I am (You Are) a blessing.

Communion: Psalm 23  - Bobby McFerrin

https://youtu.be/000AuO_lBJk 

Prayer After Communion - Joan

God of Abundance, in this holy meal You show us your will for every meal. Through living as Jesus did, we will live and work for the day when all tables are filled with your abundance and surrounded by people in peace. We will open up wide all that has been closed about us, and our small circles. Like Jesus, may we will be filled with your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.

Mary Theresa: 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 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

Joan:  Let us pray together our blessing:

Sisters and brothers, go forth from this place with eyes to see, and hearts full of gratitude for the beauty and blessings that surround us each day. May our living and loving bless others and our world abundantly: adding more joy, more hope, more kindness, generosity and appreciation for life. Until we meet again, go in peace singing Alleluia! Amen.

Closing Song: God of Abundance by Kat Mills and Taylor Breen

https://youtu.be/SAqqVXxvuGI

Upper Room Saturday Liturgy - April 29, 2023 - Presider: Denise Hackert-Stoner

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155 
phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155

Welcome to our Saturday liturgy.  Gates and passages will be our theme this evening, what they are and where they lead.

Opening Prayer:  Holy One, it sometimes feels like our lives are a just a series of paths in a giant maze.  We have all met our own dead ends, false doorways, and blocked passages.  Help us to see the way of our brother Jesus, the way that leads to abundant life.  Amen.

Opening Song:  As the Moon, by Christopher Grundy  https://youtu.be/qkDwd0uv178

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading:  From Thoughts in Solitude by Thomas Merton

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

These are the words of Thomas Merton, monk and wanderer.  We affirm his words by saying, Amen.

Alleluia (Eightfold) – Jan Phillips  https://youtu.be/IC4nbwmQDVw

Gospel:  John 10:1-10

“I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.” Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”

Homily Starter

Sometimes it helps to know the context of a story.  When we lift chapters and verses out of the larger bodies of the Gospel (or whichever book of the Bible they live in) we lose that context.  In the chapter just prior to tonight’s reading Jesus heals a man who was born blind.  The man shows himself to the Pharisees, his eyesight intact.  First the Pharisees demand proof, and the man brings in his mother who attests that he had been blind all his life.  Then the Pharisees banish the man because they say that he must be a terrible sinner to have been born blind.  The poor guy couldn’t win.  Finally he returns to Jesus, who accepts him as a disciple.  So then comes this discourse on the gate, and later in the chapter, the good shepherd.  It’s not hard to imagine who the “thieves and robbers” are!  Jesus is pretty annoyed at the Pharisees at this point.  He repeatedly makes the point that he himself is the gate.  The way that he points to will lead to life in abundance, without fear and dread of being labeled a sinner or unworthy.

Of course, Jesus was speaking to people of his own time.  He was trying to show them that they could have full lives, come and go freely, and find goodness by following him.  Do his words mean the same for us today?   I don’t know about you but there are times I can really relate to the Thomas Merton reading.  “I have no idea where I am going.”  So true!  And there are so many voices calling us in so many directions, so many gates to choose from.  And really, I don’t want to think of myself as a sheep who needs saving from wolves and thieves.  But if I’m completely honest with myself I have to admit I do need saving.  From the free-floating anxiety that can overwhelm me at any given moment, from the old guilts and regrets that rear their ugly heads when I least expect them.  I need salvation from these.  And I believe that this is what Jesus is offering.  This is what Thomas Merton has found, even in his uncertainty.  My hope lies in choosing the gate that is the way of Jesus, or at least making my best attempt at that and hoping for the grace to get me there.  

What did you hear in tonight’s readings?  Please share your wisdom.

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. 

Denise:  As we prepare for the sacred meal, we voice our intentions beginning with the words, “We bring to the table…..”  

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

Liturgy of the Eucharist

Denise: Let us pray together our Eucharistic Prayer:

 ALL:  O Divine Fire of Love, how often have we felt your tender love, for you love us without limits or boundaries! How often have we been consumed with delight by your love in human touch!  How often have we felt your embrace through Earth's beauty, as part of your beloved creation! Your Spirit energizes us to work for a just and peaceful world and we raise our voices with grateful hearts as we sing:

Here in This Place   https://youtu.be/sgkWXOSGmOQ

All:  Holy One, we recognize Your Spirit in the gifts of this Eucharistic table and the gifts within each of us.  May they become gifts of wisdom, light and truth.

 We thank you for Jesus whose message blesses and transform our lives. He showed us how to live as your new creation.

Denise:  Please extend your hands in blessing.

 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 their plate and pray the following:

When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the Passover bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying:

Take and eat; this is my very self.

All lift their cup and pray the following:

He then raised high 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 will become communion;

Both Love’s nourishment and Love’s challenge.

Please receive communion with the words, “Open wide the gate.” 

Communion Meditation:  Psalm 23, Bobby McFarrin   https://youtu.be/000AuO_lBJk

Denise:  Let us pray together,  O Holy One, You call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice.  We will live justly. You call us to be your presence in the world.  We will love tenderly. You call us to speak truth to power.  We will walk with integrity in your presence. 

Denise: Let us pray the prayer 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 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)  

 Denise:  Please raise your hands in blessing.  May your ever-present, empowering and magnificent love, the source of all light and life, fill us to over-flowing.  With it may we light the world. 

Closing Song:  Joy in our Hearts, Karen Drucker https://youtu.be/QRBSdrI1MBI

Moment of Oneness - April 26, 2023

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

LOVE SURROUNDS US

Opening Song: There is Only Love by Karen Drucker

https://youtu.be/MLRcGBAIccQ 

Opening Prayer: Holy Mystery, we gather in celebration of the world that surrounds us reminding us of the deep and lasting love that has been bestowed upon all of creation. May we be ever aware of the responsibility we have as true stewards of all creation, and of the care and nurturance of all life to which we are called. Amen   

Reading: 

The signs are all around us. We can see them springing up like wildflowers after the prairie rain. People who had fallen asleep are waking up. People who had been content to watch are wanting to join. People who never said a word are speaking out. The tipping point of faith is the threshold of spiritual energy, where what we believe becomes what we do. When that power is released, there is no stopping it, for love is a force that cannot be contained. Look and see the thousands of new faces gathering from every direction. There is the sign of hope for which you have been waiting. . . .

Hope lets us literally see the presence and action of the holy in our everyday lives. This is not an imaginary desire viewed through rose-colored glasses. It is the solid evidence of the power of love made visible in abundance.

Sometimes, in this troubled world of ours, we forget that love is all around us. We imagine the worst of other people and withdraw into our own shells. But try this simple test: Stand still in any crowded place and watch the people around you. Within a very short time, you will begin to see love, and you will see it over and over and over. A young mother talking to her child, a couple laughing together as they walk by, an older man holding the door for a stranger—small signs of love are everywhere. The more you look, the more you will see. Love is literally everywhere. We are surrounded by love.

                    Bishop Stephen Charleston

Reflection Time (pause for a minute)

Intentions

Holy One, fill us with your wild love that we may embrace and protect each other, those living at the margins, and the natural world.

RESPONSE: Fill us with your wild love.

Holy One, reconnect us to our compassion that we may extend our hands to those who need our help in these challenging days.

RESPONSE: Fill us with your wild love.

Holy One, help us reorder our society in justice and peace for women and men of all races, abilities, and sexual orientations.

RESPONSE: Fill us with your wild love.

Holy One, soothe our frazzled spirits, calm our troubled minds, and strengthen our weary bodies that we may better face the challenges of the coming days.

RESPONSE: Fill us with your wild love.

Holy One, in these days of rampant income inequality, remind us of the joy and pleasure to be found both in nature and in each other, lest we too go crazy for power, for things.

RESPONSE: Fill us with your wild love. AMEN.

Closing Prayer: 

Eternal Source of Life, I pray in great gratitude this holy day for Love. Love raises the sun and greets me in each drop of water I drink, in each crumb of bread I taste, in each smile and tear I touch, in each child I meet. In a mantle of awe I stand enwrapped. My feet rest upon Earth and my head meets the moon. 

O God of All Names and Beyond All Names, Whose Face is Love may I and we collectively be the face of Transforming Love in this moment, in this day, in these times. Amen.

Closing Song: Power of Kindness by MaMuse

https://youtu.be/pfsRSoeC8Lg