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 April 2008. Easter 6A. (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
Discovered in daily life
divine background print
opening eyes
opening minds
opening hearts
inviting the journey deeper
into life...
Gentle still point
Silent place of knowing... (John Hebenton)
Let us celebrate the richness and diversity of life
in the presentness of this God.
Lighting of the community candle
The community candle is lit
For every time we make a mistake
and we decide to start again: we light this flame.
For every time we are lonely
and we let someone be our friend: we light this flame.
For every time we are disappointed
and we choose to hope: we light this flame. M M Killoran
Hymn The people stand as they are able, to sing
“Sing a new song” (Tune: Cosmic Praise’) 166 (v1,2,4) TiS
Remain standing
Opening sentences
As we gather in this sacred place
let us open our minds to the challenge of reason,
our hearts open to the healing of love,
our lives open to the calling of conscience,
and our souls open to the comfort of joy.
All Astonished by the miracle of life,
grateful for the gift of fellowship,
and confident in the power of a living faith,
we celebrate this time together. Lindsay Bates/adapted
Prayer of awareness
We pray:
As this season of Easter gradually draws to a close
may we continue to be created, sustained and energised,
for the journey the future holds.
Amen.
Hymn "Now light is less" (Tune: Sursum Corda, 10 10 10 10) 54 SLT
Now light is less; noon skies are wide and deep;
the ravages of wind and rain are healed.
The haze of harvest drifts along the field
until clear eyes put on the look of sleep.
The garden spider weaves a silken pear
to keep inclement weather from its young.
Straight from the oak, the gossamer is hung.
At dusk our slow breath thickens on the air.
Lost hues of birds the trees take as their own.
Long since, bronze wheat was gathered into sheaves.
The walker trudges ankle deep in leaves;
the feather of the milk-weed fluters down.
The shoots of spring have mellowed with the year.
Buds, long unsealed, obscure the narrow lane.
The blood slows trance-like in the altered vein;
our vernal wisdom moves through ripe to sere. (Theodore Roethke)
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
“Prayer as invitation”
By Earl Holt
The moment of prayer is an invitation to be calm
in the midst of the tumult of the world and our over busy lives…
To bring together thought and feeling,
mind and spirit,
and to find some center, some still point,
of perspective and peace.
Here in this sacred place which has been home
for so many secret thoughts and hopes, fears and desires,
may we feel free to look at ourselves honestly.
May we be unafraid to face
the decisions we have been trying to avoid,
the doubts and questions it has been easy to ignore,
the things we have tried to keep hidden not only from others
but even from ourselves.
May we come to discover that there are resources
within ourselves and beyond us…
New dimensions of the spirit…
May we be emboldened by these discoveries
to reach out to others in their need
and so finally to discover that to give
is not only more blessed than to receive,
but that to give to others
is to receive what we most need for ourselves.
Silence
So come apart from the busyness of family and work,
and dwell in the presentness of God
who is our source of being.
(Silence)
May the silence which we now share
quieten us, touch our need,
refresh our courage,
enlarge our wonder.
(Silence)
Music of reflection
EXPLORING
Readings from our religious tradition
Some stories from our broad religious tradition shall now be read.
Our reader is (NN).
Early church (extra-biblical):
Gospel of Philip 79 and 67. (Selected verses) (Scholars version)
God's farming... has four elements:
faith, hope, love and knowledge.
Faith is our earth, that in which we take root.
Hope is the water through which we are nourished.
Love is the wind through which we grow.
Knowledge is the light through which we ripen...
Truth did not come into the world naked,
but it came in types and images.
One will not receive truth in any other way.
Gospel:
John 14:15-21. (Inclusive Text)
Jesus said to the disciples:
'If you love me you will keep my commandments.
'I shall ask the One who sent me,
who will give you another Advocate to be with you for ever,
that Spirit of truth whom the world can never receive
since it neither sees nor knows this Spirit;
but you know the Spirit,
because the Spirit is with you and dwells within you.
'I will not leave you orphans; I will come back to you.
'In a short while the world will no longer see me;
but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
'On that day you will understand that I am in God
and you in me and I in you.
'They who receive my commandments and keep them
are the ones who love me; and they who love me
will be loved by God who sent me,
and I shall love them and show myself to them.'
Doxology The people remain seated 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
Contemporary word
Silence for personal reflection
AFFIRMING
An affirmation of faith
In response to the word reflected on let us stand
and share together an affirmation of faith.
The people stand as they are able
We believe that horizons of hope are never fixed.
All They always move beyond, in the creativity of God.
We believe that powers of evil can not kill God.
All God walks on free and leaps ahead of us in the risen Christ.
We believe that the Spirit can never be confined.
All She dances forth in the world
and is found in surprising places,
leading us on until the end of time. (Adapted/ D McRae-McMahon/bst)
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
“God who sets us on a journey” (Tune: ‘Canvas’’) 32 FFS
God who sets us on a journey
to discover, dream and grow,
lead us as you led your people
in the desert long ago;
journey inward, journey outward,
stir the spirit, stretch the mind,
love for God and self and neighbour
marks the way that Christ defined.
Exploration brings new insights,
changes, choices we must face;
give us wisdom in deciding,
mindful always of your grace;
should we stumble, lose our bearings,
find it hard to know what's right,
we regain our true direction
focused on the Jesus light.
End our longing for the old days,
grant the vision that we lack –
once we've started on this journey
there can be no turning back;
let us travel light, discarding
excess baggage from our past,
cherish only what's essential,
choosing treasure that will last.
When we set up camp and settle
to avoid love's risk and pain,
you disturb complacent comfort,
pull the tent pegs up again;
keep us travelling in the knowledge
you are always at our side;
give us courage for the journey,
Christ our goal and Christ our guide. Joy Dine
Offerings
Let us now gather our offerings that we and others
can be empowered for ministry in this place and beyond.
Presentation People stand as the gifts are presented
We are called to make real
the sharing of the gifts God has given to us.
We offer what we have for the good of all.
People sit
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 “Hymn for Anzac Day” (Tune: ‘Anzac’, 10 10 10 10, Colin Gibson)
Honour the dead, our country's fighting brave,
honour our children left in foreign grave,
where poppies blow and sorrow seeds her flowers,
honour the crosses marked forever ours.
Weep for the places ravaged by our blood,
weep for the young bones buried in the mud,
weep for the powers of violence and greed,
weep for the deals done in the name of need.
Honour the brave whose conscience was their call,
answered no bugle, went against the wall,
suffered in prisons of contempt and shame,
branded as cowards, in our country's name.
Remain standing
Words of mission
Let us embrace the wonder of this week with expectation and imagination...
The community candle is extinguished
There is hope!
Our
God is a God of life,
and
the power of the God’s Spirit permeates all creation.
All To
live according to the Spirit
is
to acknowledge its presentness in all creation.
Blessing words
May the blessings of the Holy One be upon us and upon this congregation.
May the memories we gathered here give us hope for the future.
May the love we have shared bring strength and joy to our hearts,
and the peace of this community be with us
until we meet again. Gary Kowalski/adapted
All Amen.
Hymn (Cont) “Hymn for Anzac Day” (Tune: ‘Anzac’, 10 10 10 10, Colin Gibson)
Weep for the waste of all that might have been,
weep for the cost that war has made obscene,
weep for the homes that ache with human pain,
weep that we ever sanction war again.
Honour the dream for which our nation bled,
held now in trust to justify the dead,
honour their vision on this solemn day:
peace known in freedom, peace the only way. Shirley Murray, 2005
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:
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.
Butcher, J. B. (2002). An uncommon lectionary. A companion to common lectionaries. CA: Santa Rosa. Polebridge 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. GtB: Glasgow. Wild Goose Publications.
McRae-McMahon, D. 1996. The glory of blood, sweat and tears. Liturgies for living and dying. VIC: Melbourne. JBCE.
Singing the living tradition. 1993. MA: Boston. UUA.
The St Hilda Community. 1996. The new women included. A book of services and prayers. GtB: London. SPCK.
Together in song. Australian hymn book 2. 1999. NSW: Sydney. HarperCollins Religious.
Web sites:
UUA Worship Web. MA: Boston. UUA. < http://www.uua.org/spirituallife/worshipweb/>
Shirley Murray. Direct from the composer.
Stainer & Bell Ltd. Web site: hymns.uk.com