Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82512159155
phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Welcoming in the New Year, 2024
Welcome: Hello dear friends. Jesus said to his followers, “I no longer call you servants, I call you friends”. So here we are in this time of our Own Day, and we are no longer servants, we are friends too!
Who is my mother and my brother? Jesus says, looking at all of his disciples, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of Abba God, is my brother and sister and mother.” I wonder what does that mean for each of us?
Opening Prayer:
As a member of the Holy Family, we are each full of Spirit and Blessed beyond compare. And so is each of our neighbors. May we understand our place in the big scheme of things, may we take responsibility for our continued actions and understanding, and may our time together here help us to See with new eyes, the Holy Family of Jesus.
Opening Song: I Am the One Within You by Karen Drucker
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading
The First reading is from The Way of The Rose, The Radical Path of The Divine Feminine in the Rosary by Clark Strand and Perdita Finn
Our first instinct as babies is to hold on – to a finger, a tress of hair, to the nipple. Medieval statues of the Madonna and child often showed Jesus tugging at the collar of Mary's gown. Like our Simeon ancestors, we are born clinging to our mothers, and for the rest of our lives we will reenact that first embrace, reaching out for something to hold on to - both in moments of joy and in moments of distress. Surely that is why nearly every religion includes a tradition of using beads for prayer. When we pick up the rosary, we are like a small child reaching out to hold our lady's hand.
These are the sacred words of The Way of the Rose and we affirm them by saying AMEN.
Second Reading
Our second reading is a reading from Paul’s letter to the Colossians.
Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved,
Heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
Bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
If one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
That is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
The peace into which you were also called in one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
Singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
With gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in Word or in deed,
Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the father through him.
There are the words attributed to Paul’s letter to the Colossians, and we affirm these words by saying AMEN.
Alleluia: Bernadett’s Alleluia by Joseph Moorman
https://youtu.be/TgzsYa6A2wY?si=keuvqWSagPro0Z5d
Gospel:
Steve: A reading of the Gospel from Luke.
When the days were completed for their purification
According to the law of Moses,
they took him up to Jerusalem.
To present him to the Lord.
When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions
Of the law of the Lord,
They returned to Galilee,
To their own town of Nazareth.
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
And the favor of God was upon him.
These are the words from the gospel writer known as Luke and we affirm them by saying Amen.
Shared Homily - Deb
These are indeed difficult times. Every single day, we see men, women and children being killed, starving, holding out their hand waiting for help. This is not a new scene to us. And by that, I mean to us as human beings through time.
During the time of Jesus, scenes like this may have been more common, but may not have been as obvious to all of the citizens of the world. Suffering is something that we all know from our own lives as well as from seeing it in the lives of others. Jesus during his time on this earth, witnessed suffering, identified it, and then tried to do something about it. He was called to serve not just the people of his tribe but also the people who lived around him in so many communities. His vision was global, at least for the day that he lived.
Our vision is global, and in our sense, we see the world more globally. We see the person on the other side of the planet, or in our southern borders. We see the person living in our own neighborhood, afraid to say who they are. We see our friends, our family suffering.
These images can be overwhelming. Jesus took breaks. He went into the desert and the mountains and sat quietly and prayed well, he rejuvenated himself in order to do his work. He also reached out to everyone whether they met his tribal criteria or not. This took courage and fortitude and persistence.
As we continue in our following of The Way, and we hear what Jesus and his leaders like Paul asked us to do, what is it that we will do in our own individual lives to promote the Family of God?
The Holy Family is not just Jesus, Mary and Joseph, although they are a beautiful symbol for all of us. The Holy Family are everyone that we encounter, including ourselves and our immediate Family, because all of us are imbued with the Spirit of the Holy One.
And so, my friends, even in our frustration and pain at what we see: What will you do about it, what will that mean for you, and what will it cost you?
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
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 of the Community
Deb: 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.
We bring these and all deeply held blessings, cares, and concerns to the table of friendship and peace.
(Presiders go to the table)
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Deb: Please join in praying the Eucharistic prayer together:
(Eucharistic prayer taken from the work of Diarmuid O’Murchu and Jay Murnane)
O Holy One, 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.
All: O Holy One, we stand at a critical moment in Earth’s history – a time when humanity must choose its future.
As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future holds both peril and great promise.
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, our spirits dance and sing this song of praise:
Holy Holy Holy: Here in this Place by Christopher Grundy
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 the children, that they may live, that they may have children of their own and that it will go on - this great blossoming that is meant to go on and on – we pray for peace, in their name.
And for all peoples of this earth who have no voice in this,
For the animals that have no voice in this,
For the plants, the trees, the flowers that have no voice in this,
For all who share this earth with us, we pray for peace in their name.
We thank you for our brother, Jesus. He showed us so simply, so tenderly, how the world is in our hands. He had nothing in this world but your love, companions on the journey, and his very self. Together, that was more than enough, and that remains our clarity in the midst of confusion: the miracle of healing, new hope, nurturance, nourishment, liberation and life.
Steve: Please extend your hands in blessing.
All: Your Spirit is here in us and in the gifts of this Eucharistic table. May we become gifts of wisdom, light and truth which remind us of our call to be the body of Christ to the world.
Presider 1 lifts bread.
On the night before he faced his own death and for the sake of living fully, 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 within 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 consume the bread and drink the cup with the words: Ubuntu: I am because You are.
Communion Song: Stables by Peter Mayer
https://youtu.be/iwMLJ4g4va4?si=BG2YQsC0yDUWVgaR
Prayer After Communion
Deb: Loving Source of All, we have looked for others to save us and to save our world. Yet, we are called, and consecrated and sent into the world to establish justice and show the blessed fulfillment that comes with simplicity and the giving of ourselves in love. We will make new our commitment to the harmony of the original vision of creation.
We will open up wide all that has been closed about us, and our small circles. Like Jesus, in all openness, we will be filled with your own Spirit and renew the face of the earth.
For it is through learning to live as he lived,
And why he lived,
And for whom he lived,
That we awaken to your Spirit within,
Moving us to worship you truly,
O Holy One,
At this time and all time and in all ways.
And we say yes to You!
Steve: Let us pray together the prayer of Jesus:
All: 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
Deb: Let us pray together our blessing:
May wonder and thanksgiving fill us, may compassion penetrate us, that we may penetrate the numbness that continues our society’s injustices. May we know that we are loved.
May we continue to be the face of the Holy One to each other and may we be a blessing in our time! Amen.
Deb: Please join in singing our Closing Song
Closing Song: Being Kind – Empty Hands Music (Nimo)
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