Be grateful for the things and people you have in your life. Things you take for granted someone else is praying for. (Marlan Rico Lee)
Opening Prayer: Let us breathe deeply for the Holy One is as close to us as our next breath. We often feel lonely, but we are never alone. We often feel separated, but we are always connected. We are connected by the spirit of the Holy One. Amen
Holy One, we do not know how to pray as we ought to pray. Sometimes we just list our grievances, but you know them already. Sometimes we ask for favors--to make a budget, to elect the latest savior, to make it rain, to make it stop raining, to win the lottery to feel superior to those we hate, to advance our portfolio, to add square footage to our house.
But today, Holy One, let’s try something different. This prayer is not a tweet, or a post or the pronouncement of yet another talking head. This is a prayer for all those people who live in the shadows, who wonder if their lives count for anything. The people whose houses we walk by in the darkness but whose threshold we will never cross, whose faces we will never see, whose joys and sorrows we will never know.
This is a prayer for the forgotten ones, in our neighborhoods, lying abed in hospitals, staring through the bars of a prison cell, sleeping on the cold floor of a refugee camp, digging through a garbage dump for dinner.
This is a prayer of lament for the way the world is set up to care about famous people, powerful people, often cruel and selfish people.Meanwhile the little ones we are commanded to care about are everywhere hidden and invisible.The teacher who doesn’t know if she can afford to keep going, the girl who can’t tell anyone about the abuse, the teenager who hears voices in his head and doesn’t see the point of living, the spouse who covers once more for her partner’s lies.
This prayer is for all the people we don’t know, will never know, and will never see on the evening news. Yet the prophets have told us that the forgotten ones are precious, and that either all of us matter or none of us do.Help us, we pray, to run our gaze away from screens and mirrors and toward the stranger—hold open the door, invite someone new to dinner, speak a word of gratitude—so that the forgotten are not forgotten.After all, they hold the world together, and they are doing the best they can.AMEN
Silent Reflection
Intentions:We bring to the table:
All those gathered here, for our Community, and for all of us on earth.
All our families- for those struggling with careers, with health issues.
All those suffering from mental illness, those who are grieving, and those who await surgery.
All those suffering from emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.
All those who are in-need of fairness-those mistreated because of the color of their skin, sexual orientation, disability, size or gender.
All those who live in abject poverty and for those suffering the devastation of war.
All those suffering from earthquakes, famine, fires, floods and all environmental disasters.
All those who are suffering from cancer especially those we have on our prayer list.
All our politicians who are at war with each other for the sake of power. May they lay their gauntlets down and do their best for our nation and world.
All nations who are at war, especially the Ukraine and Russia, Palestine and Israel. May all find a way to peace.
All of creation. May we take care of all that you have given us and may we take care of each other with loving kindness.
Who and what else would you like to bring to the table tonight?
We pray for these and all the unspoken intentions in our hearts.
Closing prayer: Holy One we brought those we love and those who are in-need of knowing they are loved to you tonight. Even in our forgetfulness we know you are holding each of them as we know you are holding each of us. We are one with you and each other.Amen
Closing Song:Be a Light – shortened Thomas Rhett (lyrics ) ft. Keith Urban, Chris Tomlin, Hillary Scott & Reba McEntire
Dennis: Welcome to all here present.We gather this day to celebrate Earth Day, reminding ourselves that we are a part of creation and have been provided the opportunity to care for this planet we call home.We reflect today on our role as co-creators and care-givers of the Earth, and the call to bring harmony to all that we touch with the love and beauty with which the Holy One graces Her creation.
Let us celebrate with joy the indwelling of our God among us and among all of creation.Welcome, sisters and brothers, to the table where the broken word and bread and cup of life nourish us and feed our spirit, calling us to care for this home we call Earth.
Creator, Source of all that we are, we gather to honor your Creation as an integrated and holy system of plant, animal and human life placed lovingly side by side with water, air, wind, and earth. We pray for the imagination and resolve to establish a supportive ecology so that all of Creation may not just survive but thrive as a continuing sign of your wondrous love. Amen.
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading:Reading from Susan Drake
As Americans, we have become comfortable with our environment of concrete, steel, plastics, and artificial fibers, colors, and flavorings to such a degree that many question whether or not we even need to focus on a relationship with the creation. We have lost the desire to seek God and the ability to see God in all things. And perhaps, we have closed our eyes to the importance of Divine creation as expressed through the forests because we have substituted the wonders of human creation for the wonders of God's creation. This form of idolatry should concern us.
These are the inspired words of Susan Drake and the community affirms them by saying, Amen.
Second Reading: A reading from Ilia Delio
Where is this risen Christ? Everywhere and all around us—in you, your neighbor, the dogwood tree outside, the budding grape vine, the ants popping up through the cracks. The whole world is filled with God, who is shining through even the darkest places of our lives. To “go to church” is to awaken to this divine presence in our midst and respond in love with a yes: Your life, O God, is my life and the life of the planet….
We have an invitation to go to church in a new way, by praying before the new leaves budding through dormant trees or the wobbly flowers by the side of the road pushing through the solid earth…. [Like Francis of Assisi,] we too can sing with the air we breathe, the sun that shines upon us, the rain that pours down to water the earth. And we can cry with those who are mourning, with the forgotten, with those who are suffering from disease or illness, with the weak, with the imprisoned. We can mourn in the solidarity of compassion but we must live in the hope of new life. For we are Easter people, and we are called to celebrate the whole earth as the body of Christ. Every act done in love gives glory to God: a pause of thanksgiving, a laugh, a gaze at the sun, or just raising a toast to your friends at your virtual gathering. The good news? “He is not here!” Christ is everywhere, and love will make us whole.
These are inspired words of Ilia Delio and the community affirms them by saying, Amen.
Gospel: A Reading from the Hebrew Scriptures - Genesis
Humankind was created as God’s reflection:
in the divine image God created them;
female and male, God made them.
God blessed them and said, “Bear fruit, increase your numbers, and fill the earth—and be responsible for it! Watch over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things on the earth!”God then told them, “Look! I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the earth, and every tree whose fruit carries its seed inside itself: they will be your food; and to all the animals of the earth and the birds of the air and things that crawl on the ground—everything that has a living soul in it—I give all the green plants for food.” So it was. God looked at all of this creation, and proclaimed that this was good—very good.
These are the inspired words of the anonymous author of Genesis, and the community affirms them by saying, Amen.
Homily Starter:
Our opening song ask the questions, Are we listening to Mother Earth? Are we listening to the message being sent by way of storms, fires, floods, etc.? Are we listening to the animals, the plants, as we watch and learn of the demise of various species? Can we feel the heartbeat beneath our feet?
Our first reading, from Susan Drake, reinforces this message much more strongly, questioning if we have lost our way in seeking God, and our ability to see the Divine in all things, in all of creation. Are we so captured by the ways of the world of commerce, of progress, of development that we lose sight of their impact on the future of the planet.
The photo chosen for today’s liturgy shows hands holding the earth, and it might recall for us the song, He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands, but if we ponder our readings today, that is a misnomer for the song. In reality, if we truly believe what we often say here in the Upper Room that we are co-creators with the Divine, then the photo reflects that it is we who hold the world in our hands, and what we do or don’t do has an impact on our future and the future of the planet.
Our reading from Genesis reminds us that we are created in the divine image as a reflection of the Creative Force of the Universe, and are charged with being responsible for creation, to be stewards of all that lives and breathes. St. Theresa of Avila says it this way, “Christ has no body but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassionately on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.”
In this season of Easter, of New Life, of the Risen Christ, our reading from Ilia Delio reminds us that the Christ, existing from the beginning of time, is “everywhere and all around us”, and invites us to go to church in a new way. This new way is to see church beyond the confines of four walls, entering into and engaging with creation in all its joys and sorrows. Once again, she reminds us to be the Body of Christ in the world. We are an Easter People, we are not waiting for the return of the Christ, we are divinely created with a mission today to watch over and care for this home of ours, this evolving planet.We are called to feel the heartbeat beneath our feet.
Pope Francis in June 2013 said, “I would like us all to make a serious commitment to respect and protect creation, to be attentive to every person, to counter the culture of waste and disposable, to promote a culture of solidarity and of encounter.”
Are you in tune with the Earth? Do you feel/sense the heartbeat? Is it strong or fading? How might you counter the culture of waste and disposable? How can we live as Christ’s body as responsible stewards of the Earth?
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
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.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Dennis: Please join us, with arms raised, in the praying of the Eucharistic Prayer.
Sonowweenterintotheoneness of creation,attuneourselvestojoinintheharmony,letourselves embrace that oneness withthankfulness andjoy. And so, we join with all of creationand sing in glory for the beauty that encircles us.
Holy, Holy, Holy: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy
All: Creator of the whole universe, we glory in the environment, especially forests, that surround us. May we have the vision and strength to protect all forest ecosystems and the whole of Your creation, which have been corrupted by human exploitation, pollution, and destruction, so that the whole of creation may be renewed and made whole,
We join with the earth and with each other, to bring new life to the land, to restore the waters, to refresh the air.
We join with the earth and with each other to renew the forests, to care for the plants, to protect the creatures.
We join with the earth and with each other to celebrate the seas, to rejoice in the sunlight, to sing the song of the stars.
We join together as many and diverse expressions of one loving mystery: for the healing of the earth and the renewal of life.
We join together and call the Spirit upon the gifts of the earth, bread and wine, as we bless them and remember our call to be the Body of Christ in the world.
On the night before he died, he sat at a table with friends and relived with them his work, his teaching and wisdom of the universe. Then he went among them as servant, washing their feet, touching their hearts.
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, the bread of life for all who hunger. (pause)
Then he took the cup of blessing, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying:
Take and drink, the Cup of Compassion for a broken world.
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 receive communion we will become communion, both love’s nourishment and love’s challenge.
Please receive communion saying:I am in communion with all of Creation.
All: Mystery of Life present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures, embrace with tenderness all that exists. May the power of divine love pour upon us, that we may protect life and beauty. Help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes. Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it, that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction. Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain at the expense of the poor and the earth. Teach us to discover the worth of each thing, to be filled with awe and contemplation, to recognize that we are profoundly united with every creature as we journey towards divine light and love. We are thankful for the pulse of life that fills us each day. May we be encouraged and strengthened for our struggle for justice, love, and peace in the world.
Dennis: Let us pray the prayer of Jesus with an eye toward our connection to creation:
Generous Creator, the intricate and elegant biodiversity of our world is your hallowed autograph on our lives, on our souls and in our hearts.
We yearn for the wholeness of being in harmony with Your will and with all living things.
Each day we draw on your creative, life-giving energy with gratitude and awe as we find nourishment in, seed and field, river and forest.
May we be stewards and co-creators with you in caring for the gifts of Your Creation.
We acknowledge our shortcomings, especially our neglect of the environment as we mark Earth Day. We seek to be reconciled with those we have hurt and we resolve to do better.
With your unfailing wisdom and the wind of Your Spirit, inspire us that we may reach out and love one another and care for the world, our home.
Strengthen us to work for local and global justice so that we may one day reap a harvest of equality and fairness as if they were wildflowers, propagating spontaneously, unerringly and in surprising abundance. Amen. Lynn Kinlan
BLESSING
Let us raise our hands and pray our closing blessing:
Let us pray for an end to the Waste and desecration of God's creation For access to the fruits of creation To be shared equally among all people And for communities and nations to find sustenance In the fruits of the earth and the water God has given us.
Almighty God, you created the world and gave it Into our care so that, in obedience to you, We might serve all people: Inspire us to use the riches of creation with wisdom, and to ensure that their blessings are shared by all; That, trusting in your bounty, all people may be Empowered to seek freedom from poverty, famine, and oppression. Amen.
Welcome to our Saturday evening liturgy as we celebrate the Good Shepherd. The one who knows and loves every member of the flock, no matter where each one is, what each one believes, or what situations each one gets into. Make no mistake, the flock is everyone. And everything.
Opening Prayer
Holy One, we come with open hearts this evening, seeking to know you. Help us to recognize your Spirit as What Is. Help us to love your Spirit by loving your dwelling place, which is all of Creation. Amen.
Opening Song: May the Christ Light Shine in You by Kathy Sherman
In Scotland there once lived a poor shepherd whose name was James Hogg. His father and grandfather and great-grandfather had all been shepherds. It was his business to take care of the sheep which belonged to a rich landholder by the Ettrick Water. Sometimes he had several hundreds of lambs to look after. He drove these to the pastures on the hills and watched them day after day while they fed on the short green grass. He had a dog which he called Sirrah. This dog helped him watch the sheep. He would drive them from place to place as his master wished. Sometimes he would take care of the whole flock while the shepherd was resting or eating his dinner. One dark night James Hogg was on the hilltop with a flock of seven hundred lambs. Sirrah was with him. Suddenly a storm came up. There was thunder and lightning; the wind blew hard; the rain poured. The poor lambs were frightened. The shepherd and his dog could not keep them together. Some of them ran towards the east, some towards the west, and some towards the south. The shepherd soon lost sight of them in the darkness. With his lighted lantern in his hand, he went up and down the rough hills calling for his lambs. Two or three other shepherds joined him in the search. All night long they sought for the lambs. Morning came and still they sought. They looked, as they thought, in every place where the lambs might have taken shelter. At last James Hogg said, "It's of no use; all we can do is to go home and tell the master that we have lost his whole flock." They had walked a mile or two towards home, when they came to the edge of a narrow and deep ravine. They looked down, and at the bottom they saw some lambs huddled together among the rocks. And there was Sirrah standing guard over them and looking all around for help "These must be the lambs that rushed off towards the south," said James Hogg. The men hurried down and soon saw that the flock was a large one. "I really believe they are all here," said one. They counted them and were surprised to find that not one lamb of the great flock of seven hundred was missing. How had Sirrah managed to get the three scattered divisions together? How had he managed to drive all the frightened little animals into this place of safety? Nobody could answer these questions. But there was no shepherd in Scotland that could have done better than Sirrah did that night.
Long afterward James Hogg said, "I never felt so grateful to any creature below the sun as I did to Sirrah that morning."
This story, told by the shepherd himself, inspires us. We respond with Amen.
Jesus said: "I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
These are the words of the gospel writer known as John. We affirm them with Amen.
Homily Starter:
“I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
We are a peripatetic species. We have wander-lust. We are driven to explore, both places and ideas. It is this drive to move into uncharted territory that defines us as co-creators. Our very presence alters the status quo. We leave no stone un-turned in our search for truth, for understanding, for meaning, for home. And we don’t all travel in the same direction. I imagine that to a distant observer, our wanderings may appear random, capricious, like pinballs spinning in all different directions. And maybe that’s true. Maybe we are chaos-agents. Or maybe we respond, like the Ettrick shepherd’s lambs, to the chaos around us. In any case, we end up in many different places, with many differing ideas, with many opposing beliefs. How can we even hope to be reconciled? How can we imagine that we might be brought together under one umbrella of love? Where is Sirrah the sheep dog when we need him?
“I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me.”
The author of these words wrote almost 100 years after the death of Jesus, and almost 30 years after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple by the Romans. The Jesus movement was still new, and was undergoing its long and painful separation from Judaism. It was being influenced by thinkers from Asia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, to name a few. Divergent thought prevailed during this period.
And yet the author holds up for us a Jesus who knows all of them. Recognizes all of them. And admits the possibility that all of them, in all the shards of truth they hold, recognize him, too. He knows them. They know him.
As we consider this gospel today, in our fast-paced race to alienation from one another, let us consider this. The Christ that resides in Jesus resides in us as well. Each one of us. We are kin because we share a Divinity that unites us at some deep level. Can we know that in one another? Can we live in a way that is open to others knowing that in us? Can we be the Christ for one another? Can we shepherd one another to that umbrella of love? Please share your thoughts.
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.
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, and for all we seek amid pain and suffering, 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)
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.
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. But that life we often impede by our greed and selfishness and by our exploitation of other people.
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: “Your Spirit is my life.”
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.
May we continue to shepherd one another. May our companionship make us new each day. May our name be a blessing in our time. Amen.
Closing Song: Closing Song: By Breath song by Sara Thomsen
