The Uniting Church of St James
Curtin, ACT
Minister-in-Placement: Revd Rex A E Hunt, MSc(Hons), GradDipCommMgt
eMail: rexae@optusnet.com.au
Web site: www.rexaehuntprogressive.com
LITURGY FOR THE CELEBRATION OF LIFE
27 January 2008. Epiphany 3A. (Green).
10.30am. Contemporary liturgical worship.
Acknowledgement of land
(An act towards reconciliation by the Church of St James, Curtin.)
For thousands of years Indigenous people have walked
in this land, on their own country.
Their relationship with the land is at the centre of their lives.
We acknowledge the Ngunnawal People and their stewardship
of this land throughout the ages.
St James is a safe place for all people to worship regardless of
race, creed, age, cultural background or sexual orientation
GATHERING
Gathering music
Entry into worship
The gong is sounded three times
Come in. Come into this place
which we make special by our presence.
Come into this place,
where the ordinary is sanctified,
the human is celebrated,
the compassionate is expected.
Come into this place.
Together we make it a holy place.
Let us celebrate the richness and diversity of life in the presentness of God.
Lighting of the community candle
The candle is lit
Hymn The people stand as they are able, to sing
"As the sun beats down" (Tune: 10 7 10 7) 2 FFS
As the sun beats down and the heat invades,
and creation burns and dries;
let us sing to God of a promised hope
in the midst of anxious cries.
As the parching winds relentless blow,
and creation browns away;
let us sing to God, who restores and calms
all foreboding and dismay.
As the feed dies back and the stock decline,
and creation's bones show through;
let us sing to God of the bread of life,
to refresh, restore, renew.
As the silent birds sing a silent song
in creation's still blue sky;
let us sing to God of the songs of hope,
through a gentle rain's reply.
As the season comes and the season goes,
and we search the skies each day;
let us sing to God of a rainbow faith,
and a promised green display. Bill Bennett
Remain standing
Opening sentences
God of our yesterdays and God of our tomorrows
we ask that you be with us now, God of our today.
All Amen.
God of vision and new possibilities
open our hearts and minds
to the reality of your presence. (Adapted/ Rosalie Sugrue)
All Amen.
Prayer of awareness
We pray:
We gather grateful for the companionship of hearts and minds
seeking to speak the truth in love.
We gather grateful for our heritage,
for the women and men before us
whose imagination, dedication and prophetic words and deeds
make possible our dreams and our insight.
And we gather grateful for the gift of life itself,
mindful that to respect life means both to celebrate what life is
and to insist on what it can become.
May we always rejoice in life,
and work to cultivate a sense of its giftedness. M. Susan Milnor/adapted
Amen.
Hymn "Faith has set us on a journey" (Tune: Venture) 14 FFS
Faith has set us on a journey
past the landmarks that we know,
taking risks with no insurance
but the Word that tells us "Go!"
Friend or job or home or lover
we may need to leave behind,
outworn truths and ways of thinking,
baggage to the past consigned.
Some are swags of easy conscience
who with others hitch a ride,
some are tourist-package Christians,
dollar-safe, with Book and guide.
There are others on this journey -
those who long and pray and search,
heave the stones to free the structures,
love the Christ and leave the Church.
We are this unlikely people
in the Body knit as one,
company of clowns and cripples -
some are wise and some can run.
Prophets are our travel agents,
gospel-makers lay this road:
to the place of peace and promise
faith will take us into God. Shirley Murray
The people sit after the hymn
Welcome
In your own words
A warm welcome is extended to all.
Especially those who are worshipping at St James for the first time
or who have returned after an absence.
Your presence both enriches us and this time of celebration together.
Refer to printed liturgy.
Fellowship hour following worship.
Those visiting, please sign our Visitors book.
Remembering
Today is part of the celebration we call Australia Day weekend.
A time of reflecting and remembering.
As you entered this morning, you were given a eucalypt or gum leaf.
Take it between your fingers, break it, smell it,
and share with the person next to you
a memory of times you celebrated Australia Day.
Conversation
Silence
This day we celebrate our country in its grandeur and grace,
its challenges and its possibilities.
All We remember and rejoice…
This day we also grieve and respect our past
and walk another step into our future together. D McRae-McMahon/rlll
All and we lament.
Now away from the busyness of life
and in the silence of this sacred place,
let us give thanks for the gift of life, all of life:
life born of faithfulness,
life born of courage.
(Silence)
Life rises in our midst
All It surprises us when it blossoms forth
in unexpected times and places. D McRae-McMahon/plpm
Music of reflection
EXPLORING
Readings from our broad biblical tradition
Two readings from our broad biblical tradition shall be read by (nn).
Hebrew scriptures:
Psalm 27
Francis Macnab. A fine wind is blowing/13.
• How easy the author succumbs to every noise and anxiety. How easy it is to fall in heap.
But the author wants to believe, wants courage and strength. They are God’s gift.
The headlines in the papers every day can arouse a lot of anxiety.
Even in the safety of my home,
one noise at night can make my heart jump with fright
and I start believing the house could be surrounded
by who-knows-what - coming to get me.
And then I know that I have succumbed to my own scattered fear when
what I need to do is refocus
on what is good and beautiful in life.
So I focus on the Presence of a loving caring God
who raises me out of my stress,
and helps me stand tall again,
in spite of the things that make me anxious.
Deep inside, I hear my heart say to me
"Come on, take hold of that good Presence".
Even then in my anxiety I hear myself say
"Oh God, help me. Do not hide yourself from me.
Though mother and father are of no help to me,
surely there is a God who will bring me to my moment of strength".
Yes, I say to that Good Presence
"Show me the way. I do not want to be like those
who throw themselves on the useless heaps of life".
I want to believe in the Goodness of Life.
I am ready to wait for that.
Yes I shall breathe better.
I shall gather my courage and my strength.
God gives them to me. If only I will wait for God's gift.
Gospel:
Matthew 4:12, 18-23 (Inclusive Text)
Hearing that John had been arrested Jesus went back to Galilee,
and leaving Nazareth went and settled in Capernaum, a lake-side town…
From that moment Jesus began preaching with the message,
'Repent, for heaven's reign is close at hand.'
As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee,
he saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother, Andrew
they were making a cast in the lake with their net, for they were by trade, fishers.
And Jesus said to them,
'Follow me and I will make you fishers of people.'
And they left their nets at once and followed Jesus.
Going on from there Jesus saw another pair of brothers,
James, son of Zebedee, and his brother, John;
they were in their boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets,
and Jesus called them.
At once, leaving the boat and their father, they followed.
Jesus went round the whole of Galilee teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Good News of God's reign and
curing all kinds of diseases and sickness among the people.
Contemporary word
Silence for personal reflection
CELEBRATING
Litany: Travelling on...
The people stand as they are able
When hope invites us to journey
elusive, beckoning onward
but never in our grasp:
All God of wisdom and promise give us courage to travel on.
Wn When dreams glimmer in the distance,
fading, clouded and hidden
or shining with new brightness:
All God of wisdom and promise give us courage to travel on.
Mn When established patterns collapse
into the uncertainty of the unknown
and security dissolves into a memory:
All God of wisdom and promise give us courage to travel on.
Wn When the illusion of success threatens to divert us
and silence our souls' yearning:
All God of wisdom and promise give us courage to travel on.
Mn When we think our journey has ended in the star-lit glow
only to find the end is a new beginning:
All God of wisdom and promise give us courage to travel on. Jan Berry/ssb
The peace
This is a house of God. A place of peace.
A place where we befriend one another.
Let us greet another as a sign of God's peace and of our shared friendship.
The peace of God is here... to stay.
All Thanks be to God.
You are invited to share the peace with your neighbours.
Hymn of the Month
“For the music of creation” 41 AA
For the music of creation,
for the song your Spirit sings,
for your sound's divine expression,
burst of joy in living things:
God, our God, the worlds composer,
hear us, echoes of your voice:
music is your art, your glory,
let the human heart rejoice!
Psalms and symphonies exalt you,
drum and trumpet, string and reed,
simple melodies acclaim you,
tunes that rise from deepest need,
hymns of longing and belonging,
carols from a cheerful throat,
lilt of lullaby and lovesong
catching heaven in a note.
All the voices of the ages
in transcendent chorus meet,
worship lifting up the senses,
hands that praise and dancing feet;
over discord and division
music speaks your joy and peace,
harmony of earth and heaven,
song of God that cannot cease! Shirley Murray
AFFIRMING
Offering
Our offerings for the work of ministry in this place and beyond, shall now be received.
Presentation The people stand as they are able, for the presentation of gifts
Far beyond the ‘east’, your Australian children
come to celebrate under the Southern Cross.
As we gather in this place, remembering
and telling the stories of our faith,
may we go behind the words to discern their meaning,
that we may be empowered with courage
to embrace the living of these days.
Care candle
We are people of all ages who enter this space bringing our joys and concerns.
Joys and concerns shared.
In all our joys and in all our concerns, may we be ever mindful
of the presentness of God among us,
and to see the new possibilities of the now.
The Care candle is lit
And let us recommit ourselves to the inclusive ways of Jesus.
Prayers
Pastoral
Lord's Prayer
You are invited to pray this contemporary prayer in the spirit of the Lord's Prayer,
and in your original language, as that is appropriate
All O Birther! Father-Mother of the Cosmos,
Focus your light within us - make it useful:
Create your reign of unity now.
Your one desire then acts with ours,
as in all light, so in all forms.
Grant what we need each day in bread and insight.
Loose the cords of mistakes binding us,
as we release the strands we hold of others'
Don't let surface things delude us,
But free us from what holds us back.
From you is born all ruling will,
the power and the life to do,
the song that beautifies all, from age to age it renews.
Truly - power to these statements -
may they be the ground from which all my actions grow. Amen. (Neil Douglas-Klotz)
SCATTERING
Hymn The people stand as they are able, to sing
“Epiphany hymn” (Tune: “Spean”, 11 10 11 10, 310ii TiS)
Deep in the darkness a starlight is gleaming,
Calling us out from the safety of home.
God of the questions, the mystery of dreaming,
Lighten our journey into the unknown.
Out of the darkness the voices are crying,
Terror and fear screaming loud in the night.
God of the hurting, of innocence dying,
Fire us with anger to struggle for right.
Remain standing
Words of mission
The God we worship is never confined to this holy place.
So go and travel with the God
who is found in ordinary and surprising places.
The community candle is extinguished
Come to us, Creating God.
In new life,
In courage,
In wisdom,
In joy.
Bind us together as those who feel
your love under our feet in the warmth of this,
our holy ground.
All Dance within our life, Spirit of God,
that we may be transformed by your eternal passion
for making all things new. D McRae-McMahon/bst
Blessing words
Go into this week,
held together by the love of God
clothed with the nature of Jesus our Companion
reinforced by the strength of the Holy Spirit.
All Amen!
Hymn (Cont) “Epiphany hymn” (Tune: “Spean”, 11 10 11 10, 310ii TiS)
Still in the darkness we search for your healing,
Hoping for meaning to comfort our fear.
God of the silence, of unspoken feeling,
Teach us the wisdom to make your truth clear.
On through the darkness we follow your leading,
Searching for joy and a refuge to stay.
God of our longing, the bliss we are seeking,
journey with us to the brightness of day. Jan Berry/ssb
The people sit after the hymn
'This week' at St James
Notices
Birthdays and anniversaries
Significant events
Journey candles
Music
Fellowship
Morning tea is now served.
You are invited to share in the moment of fellowship.
You are invited to keep this copy of the liturgy and take it home with you
to share with another member of your family, or with a friend.
The contemporary hymns used in this liturgy,
are reproduced with permission under license #A1197.
LicenSing - Copyright cleared music for churches.
Some of the resources used in shaping this liturgy:
Alleluia Aotearoa. Hymns and songs for all churches. 1993. NZ: Raumati. New Zealand Hymnbook Trust.
Douglas-Klotz, N. 1990. Prayers of the cosmos. Meditations on the aramaic words of Jesus. NY: New York. Harper & Row.
Duncan, G. (ed). 2001. Shine on, star of bethlehem. A worship resource for advent, christmas and epiphany. Gt. Britain: Norwich. The Canterbury Press.
Faith forever singing. Songs for a new day. 2000. NZ: Raumati. New Zealand Hymnbook Trust.
Inclusive readings. Year A. 2004. Qld: Brisbane. Inclusive Language Project. In private circulation.
Iona Community. 2001. Iona abbey worship book. Scotland: Glasgow. Wild Goose Publications.
McRae-McMahon, D. 2003. Rituals for life, love and loss. NSW: Paddington. Jane Curry Publishing.
McRae-McMahon, D. 2001. Prayers for life's particular moments. VIC: Thornbury. DesBooks.
McRae-McMahon, D. 199. The glory of blood, sweat & tears. VIC: Collingwood. JBCE.
Macnab, F. 2006. A fine wind is blowing: Psalms of the bible in words that blow you away. VIC: Richmond. Spectrum Publications.
Mitchell, R. C; G. A. Ricciuti. 1992. Birthings and blessings. Liberating worship services for the inclusive church. NY: New York. Crossroads.
Web sites:
Spirit & spice Web site, NZ.
UUA Worship Web. MA: Boston. UUA.