Upper Room Moment of Oneness July 15, 2025 Commitment and Endurance - Prepared by Sharon Beneteau, Suzanne De Froy, and Kathy Worotny

 

In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81507551772
Meeting ID: 815 0755 1772

To connect by phone dial: +1 646 558 8656

Welcome

During these uncertain times when there does not seem to be any hope for change, slipping into passivity becomes an option.  As our community reflects on the life and times of our beloved teacher from Nazareth, it is a wonder that the stories that began as an oral tradition have continued for centuries long after his earthly death. We follow in the steps of the early disciples who gathered, shared Eucharistic meals, and prayed together as was their Jewish custom.  They courageously broke away from the world view of a top-down patriarchal oppressive society to become an evolving brotherhood and sisterhood of equals.  Circumventing what continues to appear impossible we find ourselves in a period of transition that has existed for thousands of years sparked by a commitment to pursue what makes life worthwhile.  We are emboldened with courage on this perilous journey together because we believe in the very last message from Jesus shared in the final verse of gospel story-teller Matthew, “I am with you always, to the end of the ages.”

 

A Reading from Joan Chittister: Commitment to what makes life worthwhile

Everyone is defeated some time. Many simply quit the fray. But the really strong, the really committed, do not. They decide whether the mountain is worth the climb. And if it is, no amount of wind can force them from the face of it. They endure the hard climb to finish what they began.

It is endurance that provides the will not to give up.  It is not about being too stubborn to give up on the impossible. Endurance is about having heart enough to keep on trying to do the possible, even if it is unattainable.  For example, we nurse the dying through years of disability.  We begin projects for the poor even when they don’t begin to make a dent in the problem of poverty.  We hold on against opposition for the sake of a heart-felt principle we believe in. Those who endure seek to do what is deeply important to them, no matter how difficult it may be.

The problem is that it is often hard to tell the difference between endurance and denial, which is a necessary distinction to make.  We are in denial when we fail to accept the fact that what we want to have happen, depends on more than what we as individuals have to offer. When we do not have the agreement of others that are needed to see a thing through, but cling to the idea anyway, that is denial.  If we do not have the basic musical abilities it takes to play the piano, no amount of music lessons will make up for a lack of natural rhythm. 

Endurance, then, does not mean “success.” It means being willing to cope with what is, until something else begins. It means being open to the possibility that some things will stay the way they are, perhaps indefinitely.  Endurance demands that I bear what I must and still be what I can, in tribute to those things that make a life worth living.  Endurance is not misery, not martyrdom, not spiritual masochism. Endurance means that I intend to survive the worst, singing as I go along despite forces devoted to destruction. 

It also means soul searching - that I must resist the comfort of passivity and be open to becoming something new.  This is the gift woven through the sacrament of commitment, not to be wasted on denial, on stubbornness, or on posturing.  Like the early Christians, we do what we do, not because we are sure to succeed at it, but because it brings out something good in us that nothing else can touch.

 

A Reading from a Cherokee Elder:  Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Passivity is the habitual comfort of a familiar place that keeps us where we are – even if we are not happy there.  The hurt of leaving something we have grown accustomed to makes it more difficult.  It takes time to adjust.  But once an adjustment is made, we could never go back.  The ache for the old and familiar no longer has the pull it once had.  Like the delicate tendrils of an ivy clinging tenaciously, each sensitive feeling must be loosened and detached before we begin to feel at home. Until we lose the world we once knew, we cannot fully adjust to a new one.  It is a slow unravelling of old ways of thinking and doing.  But one day we can look back without regret and wonder why it took so long when being free and joyfully alive is so good.

 

Prayer of Intention:

“It is when we immerse ourselves in something big enough or beautiful enough to consume us beyond the moment and forever that we find the unreachable limits of human happiness.” Joan Chittister

May my spirit fill the world with beauty and wonder. Let it be so, All: Let it be so.

May my mind seek truth about my strengths with humility. Let it be so, All: Let it be so.

May my imagination overcome despair and suffering by recognizing possibilities. Let it be so, All: Let it be so.
May my heart be open to God’s presence within me, so I may serve for the well-being of myself and others. Let it be so, All: Let it be so.
May my soul rejoice in the light that glimmers in the present moment. Let it be so, All: Let it be so.

— Adapted from Mary Lou Kownacki, Distributed by Pax Christi, USA

We invite you to share your intentions on this day.

For these and all intentions held in our hearts, let it be so.

 

A Scripture Reading        1 Corinthians 12:4-11

There are varieties of gifts, service, and activities but the same Spirit who empowers them all in everyone …To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good … to one the utterance of wisdom, to another the utterance of knowledge, to another faith, to another gifts of healing, to another the working of miracles … All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit.

Closing Song: Be a Light by Thomas Rhett (lyrics), Keith Urban, Chris Tomlin, Hillary Scott Reba McEntire

https://youtu.be/Oqiw54l_x-8             

References

Hifler, J. S. (1992).  A Cherokee Feast of Days:  Daily Meditations.  Council Oaks Books.

Chittister, Joan (2023, Jan 23).  Commitment to what makes life worthwhile

—from Scarred By Struggle, Transformed by Hope, by Joan Chittister (Eerdmans)

https://joanchittister.org/articles/commitment-what-makes-life-worthwhile

 

Upper Room Sunday Liturgy Sunday, July 13, 2025, The Challenge of the Good Samaritan - Presiders: Kim and Donna Panaro

 

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 Theme 

Good morning and welcome. Today our community celebrates a story only found in the gospel of Luke. It is a familiar story about the gospel imperative to do good. It is a Sunday school favorite. At a deeper level, it is an invitation to challenge tribal beliefs and definitions of who one considers to be a neighbor . At the deepest level , Luke challenges us to look at whether and how we allow ourselves to be healed and transformed. Our faith is one that relies on relationships as a way to embody and reflect the divine, the Love that surpasses all understanding. Let us spend some time appreciating the depth of the challenge and the opportunity Luke presents.

 

Opening Prayer : Namaste by Annie Garrison video by MT Streck

https://youtu.be/ZiWwuz_NdyI  

 

LITURGY OF THE WORD

  

First Reading: Afflicting the Comfortable by Debie Thomas

 

Is there anything we can do in our 21st century lives to recover the scandal at the heart of this parable?  Because its heart is a scandal.  Think about it this way: Who is the last person on earth you'd ever want to deem "the good guy?"  The last person you'd ever want to ask for a favor — much less owe your life?  Whom do you secretly hope to convert, fix, impress, control, or save — but never, ever need?

May I throw out some possibilities?  A progressive Democrat is robbed, and a far-right Republican saves her life.  A racist white cop is robbed, and an African-American teenager saves his life.  A transgender woman is robbed, and an anti-LGBTQ activist saves her life. An outspoken atheist is robbed, and a Bible-thumping fundamentalist saves his life.  A border patrol agent is robbed, and an undocumented immigrant saves his life.       

I don't mean for a moment to trivialize the real and consequential differences that divide us politically, religiously, racially, or ideologically.  I dare not do that — not when those differences are even today costing people their lives.  But the enmity between the Jews and the Samaritans in Jesus's day was not theoretical; it was embodied and real.  The differences between them were not easily negotiated; each was fully convinced that the other was wrong. 

So what Jesus did when he deemed the Samaritan "good" was radical and risky; it stunned his Jewish listeners. He was asking them to dream of a different kind of kingdom.  He was inviting them to consider the possibility that a person might add up to more than the sum of her political, racial, cultural, and economic identities.  He was calling them to put aside the history they knew, and the prejudices they nursed.  He was asking them to leave room for divine and world-altering surprises. 

These are the inspired words of Debie Thomas and the community affirms them by saying, Amen.

Second Reading: Psalms 69

Come to my aid, O Beloved!

For my fears threaten to drown me.

I sink in the mire of confusion,

where there is no foothold;

I have entered deep waters,

and the flood sweeps over me.

I am exhausted from weeping;

I thirst as in a desert.

I no longer see the path while

waiting for your return.

 

More in number than the hairs

of my head

are the fears that I carry;

So mighty are they, the walls that

I built

can no longer withstand them.

What must I do, O Merciful One,

to be at peace once again?

O, Life of my Life, You know my pretenses,

the wrongs I have done are not

hidden from You.

 

Let me live simply, sharing what I have

with those in need,

that the abundance of your creation

might be reflected!

Let me speak out of the Silence,

that through the words given,

others will learn of You!

 

Gospel Acclamation: Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker

https://youtu.be/o1rc7ojQtJU

 

Gospel: A reading from the gospel writer known as Luke (Lk 10:25-37)

 

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said,
"Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law?
How do you read it?"
He said in reply,
"You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your being,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind,
and your neighbor as yourself."
He replied to him, "You have answered correctly;
do this and you will live."

But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus,
"And who is my neighbor?"
Jesus replied,
"A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim,
poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.
Then he lifted him up on his own animal,
took him to an inn, and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,
'Take care of him.
If you spend more than what I have given you,
I shall repay you on my way back.'
Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers' victim?"
He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy."
Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise.”

These are the inspired words of the gospel writer known as Luke. The community affirms them by saying “amen”

Shared Homily

 

The story of the Good Samaritan is one that probably feels very familiar to most of us. As children we were taught that it was a story about helping people who are vulnerable. We should not pass by those in need. As a younger adult I learned, as most of us may have, that there is another dimension to this story. The Samaritan was “other” to first century Jews living in Palestine. For centuries, there had been growing tensions because the Samaritans had “strayed” by intermarrying with immigrants and others.  The schism was deep and full of hate and contempt. Therefore it was considered a big deal that the “enemy” would care enough to stop and help the man lying half dead in the road.

There is another level of meaning that we should not miss. In our psalm today there is such agony and fear being expressed. I think in these troubling times, many of us can relate to the pain for so many different reasons. In our progressive theology however, we do not implore God to just change things from on high. No, we understand that it takes our own hands, feet, heart and eyes as one mystic put it. So, let’s imagine that we are the person robbed and broken on the road. Life has a way of making us feel that way sometimes. I have felt it many times and I suspect you may have also. The Jews in first century Palestine were culturally and religiously required to reject the help of the unclean Samaritans. They were not supposed to accept the healing oil and water and wine, the physical carrying, the money…nothing. In order to be healed however, this person accepted unexpected grace and Love. It saved him and it saves us. It was earthshaking in its scope for this parable to be placed on Jesus’ lips. The message of the story is that we are transformed by accepting Love and kindness from whatever source. As one author put it, when we reject any good from any source, we turn away from God’s grace.

I wonder how I would be changed if my life was in the hands of someone I consider to be my enemy. I admit I have such people in mind when I say that. Change my heart, change my mind, change my understanding so that I can accept transformation as the Spirit of Wisdom invites and not my limited mindset and ego dictate. This is my prayer, and I admit I have a long way to go.

 

Please feel free to share your own thoughts on this topic and readings.

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: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy

https://youtu.be/uXyu57tR2gk?si=ty1cpzQp9N6TrhAd

 

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: Love Can Build a Bridge written by John Jarvis, Naomi Judd and Paul Overstreet

https://youtu.be/laI791ZTrWE 

 

Prayer after Communion:

And may we ever be aware and alert to the new things Your Spirit makes possible in us, as our world unfolds amid pain and beauty, into the fullness of life to which all are called, participating in the wise and wonderful work of co-creation. 
 

Like Jesus, we will open up wide all that has been closed about us, and we will live compassionate lives, for it is through living as Jesus lived, that we awaken to your Spirit within, moving us to glorify you, O Holy One, at this time and all ways. 

Amen.  

 

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 pray together our blessing:

May we open ourselves up to the mystery of God. May we seek to be both Healer and the Healed. May we draw courage from the Love the we seek to reflect and embody in our hurting world. It is through this faithful commitment that we join our lives to those who came before us, those who walk with us now and with those that will come after us. May our life and our name be a blessing in our time. Amen, Namaste.

Closing Song: Lean on Me by Playing for Change

https://youtu.be/LiouJsnYytI  

  

Upper Room Liturgy Saturday, July 12, 2025 - Presider: Denise Hackert-Stoner

 

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

LITURGY OF THE WORD

Welcome to our Saturday evening liturgy.  Tonight, we are reminded once more that our neighbor is both next door and half a world away, and that just as we are called to love God, so are we called to love our neighbor.  

Opening Prayer

Holy One, we gather tonight in a world that has grown dark with hate.  We ask that our hearts be open to your love, that we might be the neighbors you call us to be.  Amen.

 

Opening Song:  Namaste by Mark Hayes – video by MTStreck

https://youtu.be/Hxf8QFTkYY8

 

LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading:  Deuteronomy 30:10-14

Moses said to the people:
"If only you would heed the voice of your God,
and keep the commandments and statutes
that are written in this book of the law,
when you return to the LORD, your God,
with all your heart and all your soul.

"For this command that I enjoin on you today
is not too mysterious and remote for you.
It is not up in the sky, that you should say,
'Who will go up in the sky to get it for us
and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?'
Nor is it across the sea, that you should say,
'Who will cross the sea to get it for us
and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?'
No, it is something very near to you,
already in your mouths and in your hearts;
you have only to carry it out."

These are the ancient words of wisdom from our ancestors, and we affirm them with Amen.

Gospel Acclamation: Alleluia (Eightfold) – Jan Phillips shortened

https://youtu.be/IC4nbwmQDVw

Gospel:  Luke 10:25-37

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said,
"Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law?
How do you read it?"
He said in reply,
"You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your being,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind,
and your neighbor as yourself."
He replied to him, "You have answered correctly;
do this and you will live."

But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus,
"And who is my neighbor?"
Jesus replied,
"A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim,
poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.
Then he lifted him up on his own animal,
took him to an inn, and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,
'Take care of him.
If you spend more than what I have given you,
I shall repay you on my way back.'
Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers' victim?"
He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy."
Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

These are the words of the gospel writer known as Luke.  We affirm them with Amen.

Homily Starter:

Who is our neighbor?  Who is my neighbor?  Who is your neighbor? 

As he so often does, Jesus answers this question with a story.  And the story’s surprise ending has the injured man aided by a man from a despised region.  Jews avoided the region of Samaria, and the people who lived there.  Samaritans were considered non-authentic Jews.  They worshipped in a different place, they had different beliefs about scripture, and they were thought to have corrupted Judaism by intermarrying with pagans. 

If we were to tell the same story today, we might imagine the that the injured man has brown skin and speaks with a Spanish accent.  The man who rescues him might be wearing a MAGA hat. 

Why?  Why would a despised Samaritan reach out and give aid to an Israelite who under normal circumstances would avoid him like a disease?  And why would the MAGA guy come to the aid of the Hispanic man who under other circumstances he might report to ICE?

I think that it is the Divine that resides in both the injured person and the rescuer that allows them to see one another. 

So why don’t the priest and the Levite see this?  Why don’t they notice?  Why do they just walk on by, on the other side of the street?  In our re-telling of the story these characters might be a priest and a politician.  Are they bad, horrible people?  Probably not.  Probably they are just very busy people.  People with agendas.  Maybe the priest was composing a fantastic homily, or maybe they were on their way to help out at a food pantry.  Maybe the politician was hurrying to get to an important session where their vote was needed to pass much-needed legislation.  So, maybe they just didn’t notice that the injured person and they themselves shared this precious Divinity.  So, they passed by.  And missed an opportunity to repair a hole in the fabric of the world.  Missed an opportunity to collect a piece of the shattered universe and put it back into place.  Missed an opportunity to bring the Kin-dom to fruition. 

Is the MAGA guy a better person than the priest or the politician?  Maybe.  Or maybe he just happened to notice that someone who somehow, even though he looked much different, shared something with him.  Something too deep to grasp.  And so, he helped.  Maybe after helping him, he would never want to see that injured man again.  Jesus never said anything about the injured man and the Samaritan going out for a beer together. 

Loving our neighbor doesn’t mean we have warm feelings toward them.  It doesn’t mean feeling at all.  It means doing.  Love is an action word.  It’s what neighbors do for one another that matters.  It’s a command that is in our mouths and in our hearts, and we need only to carry it out.

Please share your thoughts on tonight’s readings.

Shared Homily

 

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

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 concerns beginning with the words “I bring to the table….”

We pray for these and all unspoken concerns. Amen.

 

LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

adapted from Diarmuid O’Murchu

With open hands let us pray our Eucharistic Prayer together:

Gracious God, source and sustenance of life, redeeming presence to the pain and brokenness of our world, Holy Spirit, who enlivens and inebriates all that exists, we beseech your healing power upon us and all we pray for today.

Down through the ages, you rescue us from darkness. You light up our ways with wise and holy people. You restore our spirits, and you revive our dwindling hope.

May the Spirit of life and wholeness transform us that we may be refreshed in our inner being and be empowered to bring mercy, love, and healing to those whose lives we touch.

For all you bring to our lives, we acclaim your love and greatness,
and we join with all creation to sing our hymn of praise:

 

Holy, Holy, Holy: Words and music by Karen Drucker, video by Denise

https://youtu.be/9XywpRw3OPw

 

Source of our health and wholeness, healer of body, mind, and spirit, we bring before you the darkness of our world, and the pain and suffering of your people.
We seek to be healed and made whole; we seek to be reconciled and united; we seek peace in our hearts and in our world.

Please extend your hands in blessing.

We ask you to awaken anew in our hearts the empowering grace of your abundant Spirit, who infuses these gifts of bread and wine with the transforming energy of life, to nourish and sustain us in our time of need.

As we gather around this friendship table, we recall God’s blessing and love from ages past, and we celebrate anew the gift of life which we share among us at this Eucharistic feast.

The bread we break and the cup we share are symbols of our world of abundance where all are invited to partake of the fullness of life. Help us to extend that invitation to all we meet.

On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for 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 plate and pray:

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 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.

 

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: “Let us live the command of Love.”

Communion Song: Only Love by Jordan Smith

https://youtu.be/Xrv9KmyQAPU

 

Prayer After Communion

In faith and hope we are sustained,
In grace our dignity reclaimed,
In praise we thank our God.

Grant that we may strive to create a world where suffering and pain are diminished, where justice and peace are restored, and where all people can live in health and wholeness, united in acclaiming the God of life, whose abundance is offered to each and to all, until the Kin-dom arrives in the fullness of time.

This prayer we make in the name of our healing and nurturing God through, with, and in whom we offer these gifts, sources of life, love, and goodness, now and forever.  Amen.

Let us pray as Jesus taught us:

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

Let us raise our hands and bless each other.

Holy One, may we see you in the faces of all we meet.  May we respond with Love to every neighbor, far and near.  May we be a blessing in our time.  Amen.

Closing Song: By Breath by Sara Thomsen (Video by Denise) 

https://youtu.be/FIc2NBt6NI0