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
30 March 2008. Easter 2A. (White).
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
We gather here to celebrate life's beauty and find healing for its pain;
to honour our kinship with each other and with the earth,
and to be inspired to create a more compassionate world,
beginning with ourselves. Gary Kowalski/adapted
So let us celebrate the richness and diversity of life in the presentness of God.
Lighting of the community candle
The community candle is lit
Hymn The people stand as they are able, to sing
"See the glory of the morning" (Tune: ‘St Cataherine,’ 87 87, 589 TiS) 4 RP
See the glory of the morning:
autumn leaves of red and gold;
flashing silver sea, and sunlight,
new each dawning, never old.
God is painting from a palette
each kaleidoscopic scene,
visions that we greet with wonder
shot with crimson, streaked with green.
Every sight and sound is different,
every new epiphany
points to God's eternal glory,
fires our joyous litany. (Andrew Pratt)
Remain standing
Opening sentences
To worship is to stand in awe under a heaven of stars,
before a flower, a leaf in sunlight
or a grain of sand.
All To worship is to sing with the singing beauty of the earth.
To pause, to be silent... and receptive. (Jacob Trapp/adapted)
Prayer of awareness
We pray:
May the Spirit of Wisdom comfort and inspire us.
The symbols of life are all around us:
light and noise,
infants and adults,
birds and animals,
colours and movement,
words of goodwill, songs of joy.
May we recognise and renew these symbols of life everyday;
and be inspired to share them generously.
Amen.
Hymn "He came singing love" (Tune: ‘Singing love’) 59 AA
He came singing love
and he lived singing love;
he died singing love.
He arose in silence.
For the love to go on
we must make it our song:
you and I be the singers.
He came singing faith
and he lived singing faith;
he died singing faith.
He arose in silence.
For the faith to go on
we must make it our song:
you and I be the singers.
He came singing hope
and he lived singing hope;
he died singing hope.
He arose in silence.
For the hope to go on
we must make it our song:
you and I be the singers.
He came singing peace
and he lived singing peace;
he died singing peace.
He arose in silence.
For the peace to go on
we must make it our song:
you and I be the singers. Colin Gibson.
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.
CENTERING
Meditation with many voices
"The gift"
By Zam Walker. Timeless prayers for peace/114.
v1 God grant us the gift of dreaming:
v2 The dream of a world enjoying its extraordinary colour and beauty;
not viewing life through tunnel-vision, grey-tinted spectacles.
v3 The dream of breadth and variety in glorious harmony;
not definition through division, prejudice and ignorance.
v4 The dream of acceptance and inclusion;
not judgement and exclusion.
v5 The dream of your love and humour;
not our idolatry and self-righteousness.
v6 The dream of 'we might'; not 'we can not'.
(Silence)
v1 God give us the vision and imagination to dream
and enable us to make the dream a reality.
Silence
We come now into the silence of this place
with gratitude for this day.
(Silence)
We come with our needs.
And we come because we have gifts to share.
In our coming and in our going
may we be strengthened
in our bonds of love and peace.
(Silence)
Music of reflection
EXPLORING
Readings from our religious tradition
Some readings from our broad religious tradition shall be read by (NN).
Hebrew scriptures:
Psalm 16
A translation by Francis Macnab. A fine wind is blowing/7
• A prayer to the God at the centre of life is a prayer for inward nurture
and for enlargement of our vision, for guidance and fulfilment
My faith continues to strengthen and sustain me.
When I am estranged from you O God,
everything starts to lose its worthwhile purpose.
There are many
who become absorbed in their own pursuits.
But you, O God, have become the sufficient centre of my life;
you nurture my spirit and you enlarge my boundaries.
I listen to you and receive the guidance and counsel I need;
even in the dark night of the soul,
if I can feel you close to me, I know I will not lose my way.
Deep in my heart and soul, there is a strong sense of joy.
Even my vulnerable body relaxes its anxiety.
I trust you to keep me from all destructiveness;
and that you will show me the pathways that lead to life,
to its genuine fulfilment,
and to ways of finding a beautiful harmony with you,
so long as I have life within me.
Gospel:
John 20:19-23, 30-31. (Inclusive Text)
In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week,
the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the people.
Jesus came, stood among them and said to them,
'Peace be with you,'
and showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Risen One who said to them again,
'Peace be with you.
'As our God sent me, so I am sending you.'
After saying this, Jesus breathed on them and said,
'Receive the Holy Spirit.
For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven;
For those whose sins you retain, they are retained...'
Now there are many other signs that Jesus worked and the disciples saw,
but they are not recorded in this book.
These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the one born of God, and that believing this
you may have life through Jesus' name.
Doxology The people stand to sing
Praise God the giver and the gift, (Tune 100 TiS)
Hearts, minds and voices now uplift:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Breath of glad surprise,
freeing, uplifting, opening eyes,
Three in Oneness, Love communing,
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Brian Wren
People sit
Contemporary word
Silence for personal reflection
AFFIRMING
A litany: ‘Sometimes we wonder’
The people stand as they are able
v1 The creation is alive with the glory of God,
yet sometimes we wonder.
All After the music has died away and
we are faced with the challenges of a new day –
sometimes we wonder…
v1 Wonder whether we have the heart to keep going.
All The way ahead seems unclear
and so much is changing around and within us…
v2 Sometimes we wonder whether we have the imagination to keep hoping.
All When the pain and struggles of our hurting world
catch at our throats and draw us into despair…
Wn Then into our weariness new life is breathed.
Mn Into our helplessness fresh dreams are poured.
All And we rise upon wings like eagles.
We run and no longer feel tired.
Thanks be to God. (unknown and adapted)
The peace
God makes peace within us. Let us claim it.
God makes peace between us. Let us share it.
Let us greet another as a sign of God's peace.
The peace of God is here... to stay.
All Thanks be to God.
You are invited to share the peace with your neighbours
CELEBRATING
Hymn of the Month
“The cosmos is revolving” (Tune: ‘Sprowston’, 13 13 13 13) 147 RP
The cosmos is revolving with endless rhythmic rhyme,
the circle keeps on turning to mark off chance and time;
and through the life we're living and images we see
we plot the hopeful story of God's eternity.
The summer sheds its harvest as autumn turns to gold,
the springtime and its newness are lost in time, grown old;
the cold of winter beckons, the trees are crippled, bare,
but seeds of hope are hidden, await the spring's repair.
This broadens expectation, the life for which we hope,
the gift of resurrection, the faith for which we grope,
are found within our compass and not beyond our grasp,
these gifts of grace and loving are sown in us to last. Andrew Pratt
Offerings
We bring our gifts for ministry in this place, and in the wider world.
Presentation The people stand as the gifts are presented
Receive these our gifts, gracious God.
In hope and thanksgiving
we offer them to you.
With the children
Children gather on the conversation mat
Conversation
"Somewhere someone"
The kingdom of love is coming because:
All somewhere someone is kind when others are unkind,
somewhere someone shares with another in need,
somewhere someone refuses to hate, while others hate,
somewhere someone is patient - and waits in love,
somewhere someone returns good for evil,
somewhere someone serves another, in love,
somewhere someone is calm in a storm,
somewhere someone is loving everybody.
Is that someone you? (jke)
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
Prayers
Pastoral
Lord's Prayer
You are invited to pray in the spirit of the Lord's Prayer, and in your original language, as that is appropriate
All Most compassionate Life-giver,
may we honour and praise you:
may we work with you to establish
your new order of
justice, peace and love.
Give us what we need for growth,
and help us, through forgiving others,
to accept forgiveness.
Strengthen us in the time of testing,
that we may resist all evil.
For all the tenderness,
strength and love are yours, now and forever.
Amen. (W Wallace)
SCATTERING
Hymn “God on earth” (Tune: ‘O waly waly’, 654, 536 TiS) 70 (v1-3) HSNW
When God Almighty came to earth
He took the pain of Jesus’ birth,
He took the flight of refugee,
And whispered, “Humbly follow me.”
When God Almighty went to work
Carpenter’s sweat he didn’t shirk,
Profit and loss he didn’t flee,
And whispered, “Humbly follow me.”
When God Almighty walked the street,
The critic’s curse he had to meet,
The cynic’s smile he had to see
And whispered, “Humbly follow me.”
Remain standing
Words of mission
Let us embrace the wonder of this week
with expectation and imagination...
The community candle is extinguished
With hope and wisdom
All Living God, inspire us.
With compassion and involvement
All Living God, inspire us.
With openness and love
All Living God, inspire us.
With courage to face the reality and complexity of life
All Living God, inspire us. Richard Watson/cl
Blessing words
May the freshness of the dawn enliven our spirits
May the rising of the sun enlighten our minds
May the noon-tide of the day warm our hearts
May the sunset clothe us with restfulness. Wm Wallace/wb
All Amen!
Hymn (Cont) “God on earth” (Tune: ‘O waly waly’, 654, 536 TiS) 70 (v4-6) HSNW
When God Almighty met his folk,
Of peace and truth he boldly spoke
To set the slave and tyrant free,
And whispered, “Humbly follow me.”
When God Almighty took his place
To save the sometimes human race,
He took it boldly on a tree
And whispered, “Humbly follow me.”
When God Almighty comes again,
He’ll meet us incognito as then;
And though no words may voice his plea,
He’ll whisper, “Are you following me?” Iona Community
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.
Bell, J; G. Maule. 1989. Heaven shall not wait. Wild Goose Songs Vol. 1. Revised edition. Gt. Britain: Glasgow. Wild Goose Publications.
Binkley, C. G.; J. M. McKeel. 2001. Jesus and his kingdom of equals. An international curriculum on the life and teaching of Jesus. CA: Santa Rosa. Polebridge Press.
Duncan, G. (ed). 2003. Timeless prayers for peace. Voices together from around the world. Gt. Britain: Norwich. The Canterbury Press.
Duncan, G. (ed). 2002. Courage to love. An anthology of inclusive worship material. Gt. Britain: Norwich. The Canterbury Press.
Duncan, G. (ed). 2000. A world of blessing. Benedictions from every continent and many cultures. Gt. Britain: Norwich. The Canterbury Press.
Inclusive readings. Year A. 2004. QLD: Brisbane. Inclusive Language Project. In private circulation.
Iona Community. 2001. Iona abbey worship book. GtB: Glasgow. Wild Goose Publications.
Macnab, F. 2006. A fine wind is blowing: Psalms of the bible in words that blow you away. VIC: Richmond. Spectrum Publications.
Pratt, A. 2006. Reclaiming praise. Hymns from a spiritual journey. GtB: London. Stainer & Bell Ltd.
The St Hilda Community. 1996. The new women included. A book of services and prayers. GtB: London. SPCK.
Web sites:
UUA Worship Web. MA: Boston. UUA.
Stainer & Bell Ltd. Web site: hymns.uk.com