Welcome: We will be taking a journey called, “Pleasures of Presence”.This is taken from NCR's Earth Beat. We will bring awareness to the joy of connecting with our present moment experience through our senses and the four elements and give thanks.The invitation is to begin bringing more attention to our physical bodies through our senses.There are three basic steps for this invitation:1} bringing attention to our physical senses;2} savoring when you experience pleasure; and 3}giving thanks. I am inviting us to specifically meditate with the elements, as part of our ecological journey.
Prayer: All living creatures are sparks from the radiation of God's brilliance, emerging from God like the rays of the sun The truly holy person welcomes all that is earthly. (Inspired words of Hildegard of Bingen)
Let's begin.Take a moment just to connect with your breath.
A. Earth: Notice the ground beneath your feet. What does it feel like to feel supported by the earth? What are the ways that Sister Mother Earth has and continues to support you? Give thanks if you feel called. For fun, if you imagined roots coming out of your feet and sinking down into this earth, what might they encounter?Say hello to all those creatures.
B. Air: What sensations do you feel on your skin? Hold your hands out and feel the air running through your fingers.Sense how it feels. If you are outside, perhaps bring your attention to what smells are present.Tilt your head back, can you catch any scent of the breeze?What would our lives be like without Sister Air?Can we give thanks for how God intimately sustains us with our breath, in every moment?
C. Fire: Wonder, where you can notice how the element of fire is sustaining you right now. Perhaps the energy fueling your computer. Or the sunshine powering the process of photosynthesis of all the plants. As you cook or heat food, notice the fire needed to make your meal. Notice any smells present. As you do this, offer thanks for the element of fire.
D. Water: Imagine the number of times today you interacted with water. If you drink a glass of water, notice the feeling as it goes down your throat. Where did it come from? When your was your hands tonight, take a moment to actually feel the sensation of the water on your skin. Offer thanks to Sister Water for this experience.
Pause for a reflection.
If you have any prayer request, please share.
Ending Prayer from NCR:
As we enter this beautiful Season of Creation, spend a few minutes each day with creation. See if you can shift your attention, even for a moment, to experience how creation is holding you, inviting you to rest and give thanks.
Closing song: “Let Me Be An Instrument of Your Peace.” by Sarah McLachlan
Welcome:We have been celebrating the Season of Creation for several years now.We remember and reflect on our amazing world and all the elements. Today let us focus on how you and I are fearfully and wonderfully made to be co-creators with the Holy One.
Opening Prayer. Holy One before we were born you had a plan for us. Every day we are on the journey that you lay out before us. When we stray, you patiently wait, and call us back to you.We experience your presence and know you are our Beloved.Amen.
Opening Song: By What Name Shall I Call Thee by Michael A Singer, performed by Kathy Zavada (4 minute version) (Video by Denise Hackert-Stoner)
First Reading: A reading from the Book of Genesis(1:26-27, 31)
Then God said, “let us make humankind in our image, to be like us. Let them be stewards of the fish in the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, he wild animals and everything that crawls on the ground”.Humankind was created as God’s reflection: in the divine image God created them; female and male, God made them.God looked at all of creation and proclaimed that this was good- very good.
These are the inspired words of the Torah. The community affirms these words with an AMEN!
Second Reading: A reading from Psalm 139 (13-18)
You created my inmost being and stitched me together in my mother’s womb. For all these mysteries I thank you-for the wonder of myself, for the wonders of your works-my soul knows it well. My frame was not hidden from you while I was being made in that secret place, knitted together in the depths of the earth; your eyes saw my body even there. All my days were written in your book, all them planned before even the first of them came to be. How precious are your thoughts are to me, O God!How impossible to number them! I could no more count them than I could count the sand.But suppose I could? You would still be with me!
These are the inspired words of the Book of Psalms. Our community affirms them by saying AMEN!
Jesus would pray this every day.The Shema
Hear O Israel the Lord is our God. The Lord is one. Blessed is the name of God forever and ever.
Third Reading: A reading from a Letter of Paul to the Galatians (3:6-7)
The proof that we are children of God is the fact that God sent forth into our hearts the Spirit of the Child who calls out “ABBA”! There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for we are all one as children of the Holy One.
These are the words of the writer known as Paul and we affirm these words by saying AMEN!
Shared Homily
Some of you may be questioning the choice of today’s readings- there is no “Gospel”.There are readings from Genesis, Paul’s letter to Galatians, and Psalm 139.These readings all talk about the creation of the human being, the responsibilities of the human being, and how the human being is a co-creator with our Creator, the Source of our Being.Genesis says we humans are made in the image of God and we were made male and female.Words matter especially in translation.Certainly, gender-based words, and even small words, like conjunctions or prepositions matter.We all know that God is neither male nor female. And yet, we struggle when writing or speaking, to not say he or she, mother or father. Over the centuries rabbis have discussed, argued and interpreted what does this simple verse mean: he created them male and female. Many interpretations declared that male and female meant something akin to androgyny, male and female are one, one human creation. Perhaps we are all one human creation, male and female.The Rabbis’ have re-enforced their theory noting that the word in Hebrew tzela for rib is also the word for side. The first human had two sides, one female, one male. Or another way of interpreting it is the one human is made of the same ribs.These interpretations gave them insight to the importance of oneness, or no separation from the Holy One. We are part of and therefore co-creators with our Creator. I suppose this might be a stretch for us to get our mind around.But imagine what our world would be like now if we understood male and female as a single human creation. Neither the male nor the female was created first but at the same time.Paul who was a Pharisee and well versed in the Torah backs up this ancient theory in his letter to the Galatians.He wrote “no longer jew or Greek, slave or free, and no longer male and female.Why did Paul not say no longer male or female but male and female?An understanding of a simple conjunction such as or, and, changes meaning and understanding.Reading and studying scripture, paying attention to small details opens our minds and hearts to a deeper understanding.We as creatures and creators are changing and growing, understanding and reinterpreting, birthing and dying. We humans evolve just as all creation evolves. Psalm 139 says for all these mysteries I thank you, we cannot understand the mind of our Creator but we always know what is asked of us. Perhaps there is a gospel here today after all.The good news, or gospel for todays’ liturgy is that we are co-creators and stewards of the world.We live gospel values when we act justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with our God. And most important of all is that we are One with the Holy One.
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 for our Community
As we prepare for the sacred meal, we bring to the table our prayer of intentions:
We pray for these and all unspoken intentions that are in our hearts. Amen.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
With open hearts and hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer in one voice:
O Holy One, you are always with us. In the blessed abundance of creation, we gather to celebrate Your nourishing gift of life. May our hearts be open as You invite us to participate in the wise and wonderful work of co-creation. May we be ever aware of Your Spirit within and among us as our world unfolds amid pain and beauty into the fullness of life.
We are grateful for Your Spirit whose breath inspired the primal waters, calling into being the variety and abundance we see around us. Your Spirit sustains and animates our every endeavor, inviting us to act in wisdom and in truth.
In gratitude and joy we embrace our calling and we lift our voices to proclaim a song of praise:
As a community, we gather in the power of your Spirit, refreshing wind, purifying fire and flowing water, for the variety and diversity of Creation. We seek to live as Jesus taught us, wise and holy as Spirit-filled people, courageous and prophetic, ever obedient to your call.
Please extend your hands in blessing.
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, 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.
Lift the bread
When he returned to his place, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and offered it to them saying take this bread, go and share my love with one another.
Lift the cup
Jesus then raised a cup of blessing, spoke the grace and offered the wine saying:
Take and drink of the covenant
Made new again through my life in you.
Whenever you remember me like this,
I am among you.
Bread and wine are transformed by Your Spirit, and we are transformed when we open ourselves to Your Spirit. Every time we share this bread and wine we choose to be transformed. We choose to love as You love us.
As we celebrate You in this bread and wine we love and recognize you in each other. We are filled with gratitude and joy.
Please receive communion with the words: We are creators with the Holy One
Communion song: Every Step of the Way by Christopher Grundy
In union with all peoples living and dead, we unite our thoughts and prayers, asking wisdom to discern more wisely your call to us in the circumstances of our daily lives.
We seek to act justly and courageously in confronting the suffering that desecrates the Earth and its peoples; to take risks in being proactive on behalf of the marginalized who suffer the environmental injustices of fouled air, tainted water, and a poverty of parks and public spaces that bring people together to enjoy nature. We pray for inspiration to act with the harmony and unity and synthesis that is modeled for us by the trees of the forest, and the stars of the evening.
Holy One, your transforming energy is always moving within us and working through us. 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.
Let us pray as Jesus taught us with an eye toward this Season of 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. 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.
We are called to live the Gospel of Creation in harmony and gratitude with all our sisters and brothers across the Earth. We will live justly, love tenderly and walk with integrity in Your Presence. Lynn Kinlan
BLESSING
Let us pray together our closing blessing:
Creator most generous and kind, your gift of Earth and sky reveals your omnipotence and glory. May we go forward boldly to live in the life you gave us.
May we treat all of Creation as sacred and discern the best path to an equitable distribution of the resources we share with our sisters and brothers across the globe. Let us live and work as if the future depends on it. Amen.
Closing Song: Dance Then Wherever You May Be by John Ogrodowczyk
Jesus centered himself on inclusivity and love. Is it so hard to do that for ourselves? I think it is.
DEB: When someone hurts us; when someone is disrespectful to us; when someone degrades our point of view; when someone makes it seem like it’s our fault that they are not able to function; when someone tries to instigate our reaction; when someone has no idea how they are disruptive. Ahhh. That is when we must choose Love.
We are challenged to Love.
First Reading:
You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those show persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others?
These words are from the works of Matthew (5:43-47) and we affirm them by saying: AMEN.
Second reading: From challenged to Love, in Hearts Renewed, Lenten Devotions for Families by Amy Welborn, 2000
Here’s the hard part. It’s easy to run towards open arms or answer kind words lovingly. Jesus challenges us to do more. Our caring hearts are committed to loving in God’s way. Whomever God loves, we love. Whomever God cares for, we have concern for. But remember—we’re not left to offer kindness in return for hurt all on our own. Jesus stays with us, deep in our hearts, giving strength to love as he does. Whom do you have a difficult time caring for this week?
Let’s take a moment of silence as we ponder these readings for ourselves and for our lives…
1.Jesus, you show us the power and the cost of Love.Help us to follow your way in every moment of our lives here on earth.
2.Jesus, you give us an example of God’s love for us, Keep reminding us of this great miracle that we can hardly fathom.
3.Jesus, you love us unconditionally. Show us by your example how to treat all people in our lives, whether they are intimate or a fleeting encounter.
4.Jesus, you challenge us to Love and trust in God’s grace and presence. Thank you, in complete gratitude, for the opportunities that enfold in our lives.
Please add your own requests for anyone, or any issue you desire…
Deb: We ask for all of these holy imperatives for ourselves, in our communities and beyond in our earthly presence.
AMEN
Deb: Final Blessing: May each of us find the strength, patience and love in our hearts to meet others in the sacred space of Love. In gratitude we love, and in gratitude we call all around us to show Love.
May we have the awareness to see ourselves as beautiful spirits of God’s Love and Presence. AMEN.
