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
6 May 2007. Easter 5C. (White).
10.30am. Contemporary liturgical worship.
Celebrating community: Sacrament of Holy Communion.
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
Music
Entry into worship
The gong is sounded three times
Each morning we are thankful
for the night just ended,
for the years that have been,
and for the day that is. (Kenneth Patton)
v2 Let us celebrate the richness and diversity of life
in the presentness of God.
Lighting of community candle
The candle is lit
In the mystery of life about us there is light.
It gives us a place to be, to grow, to rejoice together.
It opens the pathways to love.
Let the light we kindle go before us,
strong in hope,
wide in good will,
inviting the day to come. (Adapted/George Beach).
Hymn The people stand as they are able, to sing
“God who carved... landscape” (Tune: ‘Dansey’). 31 FFS
God who carved this timeless landscape,
snow-clad ridge to valley plain,
power of surging race and river,
limestone crag and scarred terrain;
maker still of earth, fire, water,
artistry of sight and sound,
Southern lights and sunset splendour,
raise our eyes and you are found.
Calendar of nature's balance,
rhythms of the farming year,
shearing, milking, ploughing, pruning,
manger setting ever near!
lonely struggle in the byways,
nor'west dust or snow and flood,
fellowship of tears and laughter:
Lord, with you, we're understood.
Giving thanks for those before us,
village life and tussock track,
as we turn to face the future,
history's wind upon our back;
scattered are our congregations,
each now shares in ministry,
bonding strength of work together:
spirit of community. Doug Grierson
Remain standing
Opening sentences
It is time.
The joy of the God, Spirit of Life, be with you all.
All And also with you.
It is time
for pausing and praising,
for thinking and thanking,
for listening and learning,
for confessing and forgiving.
All A time for allowing ourselves
to be loved and cherished by a lover
who will never leave us or forsake us.
Prayer
We pray:
Generous God,
you bring light to our days and hope to our hearts.
We are grateful for your care.
You have invited us once more to this time of celebration.
May we be raised up to embrace your way of love.
Amen.
Hymn “Perfect singer” (Tune: ‘Catherine’, 77 77. 622 TiS) 332 SLT
Perfect Singer, songs of earth
rise on every field and hearth;
let our voices sound again
ancient songs of joy and pain.
All your creatures strive for life
suffer hurt in angry strife,
seek compassion, find release
in the covenant of peace.
Sing a sacred melody
for the justice that shall be;
let our harmonies resolve
dissonance in steadfast love.
Steadfast Seeker, find our song
woven into lives made strong;
let the patterns of surprise
kindle hope with each sunrise. (G K Beach)
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.
Music of celebration
EXPLORING
Readings from our religious tradition
Let us now listen to some stories from our broad religious tradition.
From our world around us:
"For desert times"
By Margaret Keip.
The journeys of our lives are never fully charted.
There come to each of us deserts to cross - barren stretches -
where the green edge on the horizon may be our destination,
or an oasis on our way,
or a mirage that beckons only to leave us lost.
When fear grips the heart,
or despair bows the head,
may we bend as heart and head lead us down
to touch the ground beneath our feet.
May we scoop some sand into our hands
and receive what the sand would teach us:
it holds the warmth of the sun when the sun has left our sight,
as it holds the cool of the night when the stars have faded.
Hidden among its grains are tiny seeds,
at rest and waiting,
dormant yet undefeated.
Desert flowers.
They endure.
Moistened by our tears and by the rains which come
to end even the longest drought,
they send down roots and they bloom.
May we believe in those seeds, and in the seeds within us.
May we remember in our dry seasons that we, too, are desert flowers.
Early church:
Revelation of John the Divine 21:1-5 (Inclusive Text)
I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth;
the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now,
and there was no longer any sea.
I saw the holy city, and the new Jerusalem,
coming down out from God out of heaven,
beautiful as a bride and groom on their wedding day.
Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne,
"You see this city? Here God lives among humankind.
"God will dwell with them as their God.
They will be God's people, and God will be with them.
"God will wipe away all tears from their eyes.
There will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness.
The world of the past has gone."
Then the One sitting on the throne spoke,
"Now I am making the whole creation new."
Hymn In solidarity with those for whom standing is not easy or possible, we will remain seated to sing
"See the glory of the morning" (Tune: ‘St Cataherine,’ 87 87, 589 TiS)
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 Gods eternal glory,
fires our joyous litany. (© Andrew Pratt)
Non-canonical gospel: (Scholars Version)
Thomas
47:3-4
“Nobody
drinks aged wine and
immediately wants to drink young wine.
Young
wine is not poured into old wineskins,
or
they might break, and aged wine
is
not poured into a new wineskin, or
it might spoil.
“An old patch is not sewn onto a new garment, since it would create a tear”.
Contemporary word
Silence for personal reflection
AFFIRMING
A litany: Choose life
In response to the word reflected on, let us stand
and share litany affirming our faith in life.
The people stand
We say to ourselves:
All Choose life,
that you and your children may live.
We say to friends:
All Choose life,
that you and your children may live.
We say to the world:
All Choose life,
that you and your children may live.
The earth is our source of survival.
Deplete her resources, poison her waters,
and you will cultivate death.
All Choose life,
that you and your children may live.
The universe is our sacred canopy.
Clutter its space with the hardware of war,
and the stars and the planets will die.
All Choose life,
that you and your children may live.
Life is a fragile environment.
Upset the balance, and everything, everyone,
everywhere will disappear.
All Choose life,
that you and your children may live. (Miriam T Winter)
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.
Hymn of the Month
“Come and
find the quiet centre”
(Tune: ‘Sanctum/Jullian Bray) 10
FFS
Come
and find the quiet centre
in
the crowded life we lead,
find
the room for hope to enter,
find
the frame where we are freed:
clear
the chaos and the clutter,
clear
our eyes, that we can see
all
the things that really matter,
be
at peace, and simply be.
Silence
is a friend who claims us,
cools
the heat and slows the pace,
God
it is who speaks and names us,
knows
our being, touches base,
making
space within our thinking,
lifting
shades to show the sun,
raising
courage when we're shrinking,
finding
scope for faith begun.
In
the Spirit let us travel,
open
to each other's pain,
let
our lives and fears unravel,
celebrate
the space we gain:
there's
a place for deepest dreaming,
there's
a time for heart to care,
in
the Spirit's lively scheming
there
is always room to spare! Shirley Murray
CELEBRATING
The offering Offerings/gifts are presented
Let us bring our offerings and gifts of bread and wine,
as a symbol of our ministry in this place and beyond.
The presentation The people stand as the offerings/gifts are brought forward
We pray:
We give these gifts as an act of celebration.
We celebrate our own new life, and the worldwide proclamation
of the good news to all people, everywhere.
Amen.
Offerings/gifts placed on the table.
Care candle
We are people of all ages who enter this space
bringing our joys and concerns.
Joys and concerns shared.
The Care candle is lit
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 God, lover of us all, most holy one.
Help us to respond to you.
To create what you want for us here on earth.
Give us today enough for our needs.
Forgive our weak and deliberate offences,
just as we must forgive others
when they hurt us.
Help us to resist evil and to do what is good.
For we are yours, endowed with your power
to make our world whole.
Amen. (Lala Winkley/cw)
Stewardship Renewal: "Unexplored tomorrows"
Stewardship hymn
“God of
unexplored tomorrows”
(Tune: ‘Marching’, 87 87. 165 TiS) 27
FFS
God
of unexplored tomorrows,
of
today and yesterday,
God
of rock and flowing river,
be
our refuge, be our way.
Guardian
rock above, before us,
strong
foundation where we build,
landmark
through the haze of doubting,
shelter
where our fears are stilled,
Be
the cleansing, quenching water,
irrigate,
disturb and move,
stir
us from our easy shallows,
current
of refreshing love.
God
of rock and flowing river
now
and ever with us stand,
to
transform our land of promise
into
each one's promised land. Beverley Jones
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)
CELEBRATING COMMUNITY: THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION
The Invitation
Our tradition says at the Last Supper Jesus,
sharing bread and wine, invited the disciples to share his journey.
Here today, through bread and wine,
we renew our journey with Jesus and his disciples.
Here today, through bread and wine,
we renew our unity with one another,
and with all those who have gone before us in this place.
Here today, through bread and wine,
we renew our communion with the earth
and our interwovenness with the broken ones of the world.
The story of the Last Supper
We are reminded again of the tradition that surrounds this story.
Long ago, on the night of his arrest,
Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and broke it:
'This bread is broken, as my body will be'.
And he handed it to his friends, and invited them to eat:
'Remember all that I have been to you'.
Long ago, on that same night,
Jesus poured a cup of wine, offered thanks for it, and gave it to his friends:
'This wine is poured out, as my life will be.
Remember me and give thanks for all I have given'.
Thanksgiving
God is the heart of life.
All And we are the heartbeat.
May our hearts be filled
with thanks and praise and songs of joy.
All We rejoice in the miracle of life
and delight in our participation. Sherri Weinberg
Creating God, Source of Life, we offer our thanks.
The smell of gums after rain,
The surprise of ducks in flight,
The taste of peach and plum and nectarine,
For all gifts simple and profound,
in country and city,
in paddock, or back yard and on lake:
We give thanks.
All We give thanks.
We who hold all such good things in trust give thanks to you as Good Creator,
joining in the praise of all your people:
All Holy! Holy! Holy!
Heaven and earth are holy and good.
Holy is peace.
All Holy is truth.
Holy is love.
In this season of transition
as the leaves begin their subtle change of colour
and our hearts cling to the warmth as the days shorten,
once again we are reminded,
that new possibilities can rise from our failures
or disappointments
or what has come to an end.
We give thanks for all the influences in our lives
that have helped us to see beyond the present:
that teach us to combine labour and rest,
that bring us the cycles of time and season,
that sustain us when we are in need.
All God loves in us;
God cares through us;
God laughs in us;
God cries in us, as nowhere else.
Especially we give thanks for Jesus of Nazareth,
gatherer of folk,
teller of stories,
breaker of bread,
pourer of wine,
weaver of lives.
In his life, wisdom, stories and social vision
we recall the words he spoke to call forth in us
love, care and respect for one another:
All And we believe the same Spirit of God
that came to visibility in Jesus
yearns for visibile expression in us.
Prayer of blessing
So now we take this bread and this wine...
May they be a constant presence of the Spirit of Life and Love
healing,
renewing
and making us whole.
All Together we remember our past.
Together we discern our present.
Together we shape our future.
Breaking of the bread/Pouring the wine
The bread is broken... the wine poured, in silence.
Bread broken.
Wine poured out, for the life of the world.
Communion
So come, taste of this same bread and wine...
Gifts of the earth.
Work of human hands.
Distribution of bread and wine, in small groups around the Table
After Communion
May the bread and the wine and the remembering
be a blessing on us all.
SCATTERING
Hymn The people stand as they are able, to sing
“God gives the song” (Tune: Kingsfold’ 86 86D, 262 TiS) 20 TMT
God gives the song which we shall sing
Of freedom for us all
To leave behind our guilt and fears
And break our narrowness
Refrain:
Come share your tears of joy with me.
Dance like the Autumn leaves;
Life is for loving, joy and fun,
God is the lively one.
God gives the song which we shall sing
Of laughter for us all
Of twinkling eyes replacing frowns
And structures freed by clowns.
Refrain:
Words of mission
Time has now come for us to leave this sacred place.
As we do, may we embrace the challenges
of our lives and our world...
The candle is extinguished
Remembering that the universe is much larger
than our ability to comprehend,
All let us go from this time together with the resolve
to allow wonder - that sense of what is sacred -
to find space to open up our minds
and illumine our lives. Marjorie Leaming
Blessing words
And now may the rhythms of our coming together,
the melodies of our worship,
and the harmonies of our farewells,
make musical our living,
soothing our spirits
and uplifting our souls,
This day and into the beckoning future. (Richard S. Gilbert)
All Amen.
Hymn (Cont.) “God gives the song” (Tune: Kingsfold’ 86 86D, 262 TiS) 20 TMT
God gives the song which we shall sing
Of justice for us all
Of sharing with the hungry poor
What they should own by right.
Refrain:
Come share your tears of joy with me.
Dance like the Autumn leaves;
Life is for loving, joy and fun,
God is the lively one.
The people sit after the hymn
'This week' at St James
Notices
Birthdays and anniversaries
Significant events
Journey candles
Recessional 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,
in addition to those from Together in Song,
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.
Faith forever singing. Songs for a new day. 2000. NZ: Raumati. New Zealand Hymnbook Trust.
Inclusive readings. Year C. 2006. Qld: Brisbane. Inclusive Language Project. In private circulation.
Iona Community. 2001. Iona abbey worship book. Scotland: Glasgow. Wild Goose Publications.
Lee, B. J. (ed). 1987. Alternative futures for worship. Vol 3. The eucharist. MIN: Collegeville. The Liturgical press.
Morely, J. 1992. All desires known. Expanded edition. Gt. Britain: London. SPCK.
Morwood, M. 2003. Praying a new story. VIC: Richmond. Spectrum Publications.
Nelson-Pallmeyer, J; B. Hesle. 2005. Worship in the spirit of Jesus. Theology, liturgy, and songs without violence. OH: Cleveland. The Pilgrim Press.
Patton, K. 1967. Services and songs for the celebration of life. MA: Boston. Beacon Press.
Pratt, A. 2002. Whatever name or creed. Hymns and songs. GtB: London. Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Prewer, B. D. 1983. Australian prayers. SA: Adelaide. OpenBook Publishers.
Seaburg, C. (ed). 1993. The communion book. MA: Boston. UUMA.
Singing the living tradition. 1993. MA: Boston. UUA.
The St Hilda Community. 1996. The new women included. A book of services and prayers. Gt. Britain: London. SPCK.
Uniting in Worship. Leader’s Book. 1988. VIC: Melbourne. Uniting Church Press.
Wallace, W. L. 2001. The mystery telling. Hymns and songs for the new millennium. NY: Kingston. Selah Publishing.
Ward, H.; J. Wild, J Morley. (ed). 1995. Celebrating women. New edition. Gt. Britain: London. SPCK.
Winter, Miriam T. 1987. Women prayer. Women song. Resources for ritual. CT: Hartford. Meyer Stone Books.
Withrow, L. 1995. Seasons of prayer. Resources for worship. Gt. Britain: London. SPCK.
Web sites:
UUA Worship Web. MA: Boston. UUA.
Sherri Weinberg. St Paul's Presbyterian Church. NZ: Devonport.
L Bruce Miller. Edmonton, Canada.
Andrew Pratt web site. Manchester.