Upper Room Sunday Liturgy, June 23, 2024 - Presiders: Kim Panaro and Dennis McDonald

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

Embracing The Storm

YOU CAN DANCE IN A HURRICANE BUT ONLY IF YOU ARE STANDING IN THE EYE------- BRANDI CARLILE

Welcome and Theme 

Good morning and welcome to the Upper Room. Today we are celebrating the first Sunday after the summer solstice on June 20. On some parts of the planet this is hurricane season. So, today we will consider the life giving aspects of storms. Yes, storms can cause great fear and destruction. Storms are, however, part of God’s beautiful design for the cycles of life. We come together as a community to consider the necessity  of embracing the goodness of storms on our planet, in our individual and communal life and within our very selves. 

Opening Song: When Jacob Awoke 

https://youtu.be/HiKLgFOP7cA?si=5W4B7NxgqEAiN-2n

LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading: Soul Of A Storm: A Poem By Ms Moem

She has the soul of a storm and the freedom of the wind.

She has eyes like the stars with moonshine within.

With the strength of sea and lightning in her toes

She dances on the breeze of change wherever she goes.

Hotter than a volcano and deeper than the oceans

A whirling, swirling myriad of feelings & emotions.

She is daughter of the earth, primordially inspired.

She is water, she is wood. She is earth. She is fire!

These are the inspired words of MS Moem and the community affirms them by saying: Amen.

Second Reading: A reading from Tanya Tiger

I’m not going to tell you that it’s all going to be okay…

To tell you that you will never face a storm would be a lie. To pretend they do not exist would only leave you open to being blindsided by their harsh reality. To tell you to hide away in shelters built around your heart, to remain steely and aloof, would only serve to cut you off from all that makes life worth it. Shelters never survive the biggest storms anyway. Storms are a natural part of life. They come in the form of death, disease, job loss, separations, financial collapse, and numerous other trials and tribulations found within the human experience. We can pray that a storm will never find its way to our door, but they always do.

I could tell you to run screaming, crying over the inevitable pain that the storm will bring, but that would only serve to weaken you and that I will not do. Instead, I will tell you to run into the storm. Embrace the winds and let them carry you. You can make them a part of you. You can love the storms and all their brutal honesty.

Heed this warning: once you choose to embrace the storm, you will never be able to go back to the way you were before it. To do this means letting go of the limitations we have placed on ourselves. It means opening wide, dropping the sword and the shield, and leaving ourselves vulnerable to all that comes when a storm hits. Once we stand inside the storm and survive, we realize just how strong we really are.

These are the inspired words of Tanya Tiger and the community affirms them by saying: Amen.

Alleluia   

https://youtu.be/o1rc7ojQtJU?si=iHWmWV31VwRGOVq0

Gospel: A reading from the writing attributed to Mark (Mark 4:35-41)

On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples:
“Let us cross to the other side.”
Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was.
And other boats were with him.
A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat,
so that it was already filling up.
Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.
They woke him and said to him,
“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
He woke up,
rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet!  Be still!”
The wind ceased and there was great calm.
Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified?
Do you not yet have faith?”
They were filled with great awe and said to one another,
“Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”

These are the inspired words from the gospel writer known as Mark and the community affirms them by saying: Amen.

Shared Homily

Mark’s Jesus has the power to both sleep during a storm and then to silence it altogether. For some, the goal is to have enough faith in God to relax no matter what storms rage at the moment. Some people pray that in the name of Jesus, storms will be removed from one’s life. A cure, a healed depression or grief, the manifestation of money, the end of injustice and war and so on. These prayers have a biblical basis and I do not intend to diminish the comfort or hope they bring. Still, I feel called to speak on behalf of the natural beauty of storms. Whether they be weather events or the reality of life, storms are a part of God’s natural way to recreate us and the earth. 

Storms in nature are critical to keeping the planet healthy. Lightening balances the electrical charges between the sky and the earth. Lightening is critical to the availability of nitrogen, so necessary for life on earth. Storms over the waters cause the churning, or upwelling, of deep-sea waters so that the nutrients on the bottom can feed sea life and keep them healthy. Thunderstorms regulate the temperature and weather patterns. They shape the waterways. Thunderstorms clean the air of pollutants and dust. They help reduce the spread of airborne pathogens. The storms can destroy life, but life could not exist without them. They are part of God’s smart plan for a self-sustaining system. Our mother, the earth, is dependent on her storms for her very life. 

In our first reading today, we are reminded of the aspects of storms that exist inside the person. In this poem, it is a woman. Although women are often expected to be the kinder gentler sex, meet any woman and you will find she has fire and power within her bones and flesh. She is not one thing or another but a beautiful complex integration of chaos and the calm within the storm.  The same is true for men. A balanced man and a balanced woman will contain some combination of these energies. This goal is embodied in the eastern traditions with the Yin Yang symbol and philosophy. We should embrace the gentleness of men and we should embrace the life-giving storms within each woman. 

Finally, the truth is, no matter what we pray for or hope for, storms come to each of our lives. Illness, poverty, death, change, the deterioration with age, war, accidents, family strife, lost friendships, the loss of faith and so much more. We cannot avoid storms and for most of us, prayer alone will not make them disappear. I do not think that is even a good goal. It is in the storm that, like Mother Earth, we gain nutrients, cleansing, growth and life sustaining lessons. We learn of the deep and eternal truths, the wisdom of Sophia and the way of Jesus’ fidelity to the path set before him. We learn that we can, and do, stand firmly in the center of life’s storms and look the storm in the eye saying “I see you, yes maybe you scare me but I will not look away. I will put my faith in God and my companions to walk through this storm with my head held high. I will persevere like all my ancestors before me. I may fall but I will stand up and thrive”.  No, we do not pray for all storms to cease but to know that individually and together, we can face every single one and, in the end, find peace.

We would love to hear your thoughts on these readings or of your experience. 

with storms in life. 

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. 

 

Prayers of the Community

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

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

LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

Presider 1: Please join in praying the Eucharistic prayer together:  

 

All: O Holy One, you have birthed us in goodness, gifted us with life and cherished us in love. In the heart of our being, your Spirit dwells; a Spirit of courage and vision, a Spirit of wisdom and truth. 
 

In the power of that same Spirit, we lift our hearts in prayer, invoking anew the gift of wisdom and enlightenment, that we may continue to praise and thank you, in union with all who sing the ancient hymn of praise: 

 

Holy, Holy, Holy

https://youtu.be/uXyu57tR2gk?si=xAc1g0kkEdxoz3sv

ALL: Holy One, we see around us the work of your hands, the fruit of your wisdom and love. The unfolding story of creation witnesses unceasingly to your creative power.  We, your creatures, often deviate from that wisdom, thus hindering your creative presence in our midst. 
 
Sending among us Jesus, our brother, you birth afresh in our world the power of Sophia-Wisdom, and in the gift of Your Spirit, your creative goodness blooms anew, amid the variety and wonder of life. 
 

Presider 2: Please extend your hands in blessing.  

 
All: We invoke Your Spirit upon the gifts of this Eucharistic table, bread of the grain and wine of the grape, that they may become gifts of wisdom, light and truth which remind us of our call to be the body of Christ to the world. 

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.

(consume bread and wine)

Communion Song: You’ll Never Walk Alone – Virtual Choir & Orchestra

https://youtu.be/6gpoJNv5dlQ?si=u_S-_dMSBPDTWsIm

Presider 1: 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)   

 

 

 

BLESSING

Presider: Let us together bless one another:

In the midst of the chaos, we find solace in God’s presence. God is our shelter, our rock, our refuge. God is the stillness in the midst of the storm, the calm in the eye of the hurricane. God is our hope, our comfort, and our peace. May we find peace and bring peace to one another. 

Closing Song:Blowing in the Wind – Peter, Paul, & Mary

I​n this song the term “blowing in the wind”refers to how much effort it can take to grasp and hold onto values and truth when the storms of life are blowing everything around us.

https://youtu.be/6_3CNhTRphc?si=VAUg2APinfgeyyBq