Suggestion: ’Refresh’ each page before reading to make sure to get my latest edition
The Other Lectionary is a suggested ‘southern hemisphere’ Lectionary (with a few Resources added) offered in parallel to,
or even replacement of, the RCL which is in standard use by many
A GATHERING LITURGY FOR THE
CELEBRATION OF LIFE
“...in the end the universe can only be explained in terms of celebration.
It is all an exuberant expression of existence itself”
26 January 2025. Epiphany 3C. (Green).
Children Sunday
Celebrating Community in the tradition of the Meal
Acknowledgement of Country/First Peoples
(An act towards reconciliation)
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 (NN) People of the (N) Nation, past, present, and emerging,
and their stewardship of this land throughout the ages.
First Peoples Statement to the Nation 2017 is called “Uluru Statement from the Heart”
A Response from Common Dreams5 Conference of Religious Progressives,
Australia/South Pacific 2019
Both found in Affirmations/Manifestoes
And we recognise and give thanks that we humans
are creatures of the Earth living in the ecosystem
—flowers, trees and insects; land, waters and mountain range—
that is unique to (NN).
May we honour one another and honour life itself.
(NN) is a safe place for all people to worship regardless of
race, creed, age, cultural background or sexual orientation
GATHERING
Rich and Striking Visuals
“The function of beauty… is to make us aware of a reality which is richer and deeper
and more marvellous than anything we can dream or conceive.” (Henry N. Wieman)
Artwork OR Floral/Symbols display (cloths, candles, stones, wood, leaves, flowers, earth, water) OR projection of Film/Video
Gathering Music
Entry into the Celebration
The gong is sounded three times
Come, teach us, Spirit of our God,
the language of your way,
the lessons that we need to live,
the faith for every day. Shirley Erena Murray
Let us celebrate the richness and diversity of life.
Lighting of Community Candle
A Community Candle is lit
This is the light that is lit for everyone who comes into the world.
Bear this light to others, one by one.
Let the flame go from life to life
till all is lit with its warmth. (Elizabeth Strong)
Note: (i) A suggested process for introducing new hymns is called Hymn of the Month
(ii) Additional Special Purpose Hymns cover major international events or themes. They include these categories: 1. Bush (Brush) Fire, 2. Tsunami, Storms/Cyclones, 3. Earthquakes, 4. War/Remembrance, 5. Caregiving, 6. God as Mother, 7. Human Trafficking, 8. Disabled, 9. Migration/Refugees, 10. Terrorist Attacks, 11. Science/Cosmology
(iii) Specific resources on Terrorism
(iv) On Wonder, Awe, and Nature
Hymn/Song The people stand, as they are able to sing
“At The Learning Curve's Beginning” (Tune: Metre 87.87)
At the learning curve's beginning,
hardly knowing where we head,
finding how to learn, while living,
grasping all that's seen or said.
Looking through the sky that's soaring,
waiting at the ocean's shore,
filled with wonder at the seeing,
sensing God will offer more;
Filled with praise for revelation,
and for all we've yet to find.
Praise to God the source of wisdom,
and for each enquiring mind. © Andrew Pratt 9/1/2008
OR
"Sing High to God" (Tune: ‘Woodlands', 10.10.10.10)
Sing high to God, who once upon a time
(Before all time!) Took love to shape a dream
And poured it into life creating words
That gave to all that is: a role, a name.
Give thanks to Christ who calls us to be one
And learn to use the future tense today
To keep the dream alive the vision clear:
A world at peace, the human race at play.
Pray that the Holy Spirit may proceed
Empowering us to see Christ's mission through
Transform the dream to speech, enact the word
Put flesh on hope, make God's intent come true.
Let not, O God, the vision we have caught
Fade as we rise, nor let it die away;
Give us the faith with passion to pursue
That dream's fulfilment in the light of day. Fred Kaan
Remain standing
Opening Sentences
May the stories we share refresh our courage.
May the songs we sing lift our spirits.
All May the words we speak invigorate us.
May the touch of hands, the sound of laughter,
the sight of faces new and familiar,
All restore us in faith. C O Dame
Words of Awareness
It is good to be alive!
To share life with each other
in this wonder-filled and evolving universe.
We are most grateful.
May wisdom dawn in us
so we may see all things in clarity.
OR
We pray:
Spirit of life, we gather here in loving community.
Keep us in mind of the responsibilities of being human.
Give us the strength to endure, but more,
help us to bring strength to each other.
May we exclude no one intentionally,
but may our church be inclusive as we say it is.
May our coming and our going be blessed,
this day and forever more.
All May it be so with us!
Hymn/Song “God’s Word, God’s World” (Tune: ‘The Streets of Laredo’ - trad.)
Come people of faith from the bounds of Australia,
let’s share in the vision of what we might be:
a part of God’s world that is vibrant with colour,
a landscape for life that is open and free.
God’s world has one table for all kinds of people,
God's world is a home all are welcome inside,
God's way is the way beyond stigma and dogma,
God's Spirit the surfboard that dares us to-ride.
God's Word is alive in the challenge of Jesus:
to look with his eyes at the world that we know,
to stand with conviction, to care with compassion,
to make new connections, to pray as we go.
Let's relish the changes the Word rearranges,
with bushfires of bias stamped out from the start,
let's savour the flavour of full-bodied living,
the world of Christ Jesus, the way of the heart. Shirley Erena Murray
The people sit after the hymn
Welcome
Or in your own words
A warm welcome is extended to all.
Especially those who are gatheringg at (NN) 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.
Those visiting, please sign our Visitors book.
CENTERING
Centering Silence
Centering silence has its roots in the earliest of monastic traditions of the ‘desert Fathers (abbas)/Mothers (ammas)’
and the Christian mystic tradition… Relaxing into ‘quietness’ creates the space for deep listening and draws you into yourself
Let us take a moment to settle into the silence.
Hear and feel your quiet breathing.
Hear and feel the quiet of this place and this community of people.
In this time of celebration,
may our minds be open to new truth,
and our hearts be receptive to love,
as we give thanks for this life we are blessed to share. E-LBelcher
(Silence)
Music of Reflection
And Reflecting on Life as Australians...
Come to us, Creating God,
as the One who walks the way of ordinary people.
All Come to us, as the One who weeps over the city.
Come to us,
as the One who deeply understands
the paradox of life which rises from death.
All Come to us, in a language of grace
that we may approach you
in vulnerable hope.
Give us new life if the old has been destroyed in us.
All Give us openness if we have closed our hearts to your future.
Give us courage, if we tread this land in fear of bringing our gifts.
All Give us wisdom, when we forget to listen to the learnings of our history.
Give us joy when we see the breadth of your imagination
expressed in the differences between us.
All Differences of race and culture,
differences of history and journey,
differences in our experience of you.
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, O Spirit of God,
that we may be transformed by your eternal passion
for making all things new. Dorothy McRae-McMahon/bst
EXPLORING
Wisdom from the World/Religious Traditions
“Wisdom is not just special knowledge about something. Wisdom is a way of being, a way of inhabiting the world.
The beauty of wisdom is harmony, belonging and illumination of thought, action, heart and mind.” (John O’Donohue)
Reader: Even as we seek understanding, our minds,
too often, shelter us from the realities we might uncover.
All May we have the courage to hear and hold truths
found within these words. (Gretta Vosper/ab)
• i Corinthians 12:12-14, 27 (Inclusive text)
Just as the human body, though it is made up of many parts,
is a single unit because of all these parts, though many,
make one body, so it is with Christ.
In the one Spirit we were all baptised,
Jews as well as Greeks,
slaves as well as free citizens,
and one Spirit was given to all to drink.
Nor is the body to be identified with any one of its many parts...
Now you together are Christ's body;
but each of you is a different part of it.
OR
• “Honoring Children”
By Linda Olson Peebles
Sitting on the ground,
with the huge universe of sky and space all around,
may we let our eyes be open to the miracle of life
in every person whom we see.
May our hearts and minds not be numb
or unaware or unconcerned.
The vibrancy of life is all around.
The power of love and nurture
is ours to bring into being,
to help ourselves and every child we meet.
Who we are and how we are with one another matters.
May we bring blessing and witness to
the sacredness of our being human.
OR
• “Do not ask your children to strive”
By William Martin (Found on internet)
Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is the way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.
• Luke 4:14-21 (Inclusive Text)
Jesus with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee.
And his reputation spread throughout the countryside.
He taught in the synagogues and everyone praised him.
Jesus came to Nazara, where he had been brought up,
and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day as he usually did.
Jesus stood up to read and they handed him
the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
Unrolling the scroll Jesus found the place where it was written:
The Spirit of God has been given to me, and has anointed me.
I have been sent to bring good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives
and to the blind new sight,
to set the downtrodden free,
to proclaim God's year of favour.
Jesus then rolled up the scroll,
gave it back to the assistant and sat down.
And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him.
Contemporary Exploration
Silence for Personal Reflection
AFFIRMING
A Celebration of Faith (Optional)
In response to the word reflected on
let us stand and share together a celebration of faith.
The people stand as they are able
For our community gathered here,
for the spirit that called us together and drew us to this place:
All We give thanks this day.
For moments we have shared with others;
for times when we have reached out across barriers
of distance and fear;
for times when others have reached out to us;
for moments when we have discovered another along our path:
All We give thanks this day.
For this community of celebration and growth,
introspection and solitude,
and for those moments of 'that peace which passes all understanding':
All We give thanks this day.
For our gathering together out of distant places;
for our weaving together out of many separate selves
this hour of celebration and worship:
All We give thanks this day. JMauldin
OR
• If Celebrating Australia Day/Survival Day
"The Most Significant Day in Australian History”
By Peter Gebhardt. Eureka Street, Vol 27, No. 15, 7 August 2017
(Published posthumously)
Trespass is made legal
Bare footprints in the sand, toe-clear,
Crushed by heavy boot-prints.
The Governor has stepped ashore,
Powder blue powder pink
Patent leather shoes with gold buckles
Parrots twitter gaily, dragonflies zoom the silver heat
The water sparkles, the tank stream trickles.
Chivalry tamed savagery
The air was filled with petitions
prayers
hymns
and anthems
day by day the axe severed
‘God save the King’
‘Well may God save the King!’
‘But what about the Governor?’
The wind begins to sing with spears
The sand blushes with blood
The language tides are changing,
The wounds are still bleeding.
Treaties are a treatment for wounds I’m told.
It’s rather silly to think we can repeat
‘The Sermon on the Mount’, but
Faith and belief in our true past - and the truth of it,
Might just help us
Get nearer the peak
And what a wonderful view!
Sharing 'The Peace’
Let us now take a moment to celebrate each other.
May a heart of peace rest with you. (David Galston/q)
All And also with you.
You are invited to share the peace with your neighbours
OR
Namaste
Facing the person with right hand on your heart and a slight bow of the head…
The Divine in me honours the Divine in you.
OR
The Light in me recognises the Light in you.
OR
The spirit within me sees the spirit within you.
Hymn/Song The people stand as they are able, to sing
“Perfect Singer” (Tune: ‘Catherine’, 77.77) 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. GKBeach
The people sit
In Solidarity
Care Candle:
We are people of all ages who enter this space
bringing our joys and concerns.
Joys and Celebrations; Griefs and Concerns shared
Focused Thoughts:
Listening Response:
In this abundant blessing
All We share the joy.
In this, our time of need,
All May love abound. (Gretta Vosper/wwg)
And so we take this flame and light our special care candle…
The Care Candle is lit
When we are grieving or sad,
When we are challenged,
When we need help,
All This flame guides us out of the darkness.
When we are cheerful,
When we celebrate,
When we accomplish a great task,
When we return to a place that makes us happy,
All This flame reminds us to share our happiness with others. (Adapt/APalmer)
The 'Abba' Prayer: (Optional)
You are invited to pray in the spirit of the Abba/Lord's Prayer, and in your original language, as appropriate
All Loving Presence, luminous in all creation,
hallowed be your name.
Thy kin-dom come.
May we reflect on earth
the yielding perfection of the heavens.
Help us to receive an illumined measure from the earth this day.
Forgive us when we trespass against others,
human and other than human,
as we forgive others who trespass against us.
Keep us on the path of wisdom
when we are tempted to take the selfish path.
May it be your rule we follow,
your power we exercise,
and your radiance that allures.
May this be the truth that guides our lives,
the ground from which our future will grow,
until we meet again. (Bruce Sanguin/dddc)
CELEBRATING
CELEBRATING LEADERS AND CHILDREN
Teachers/helpers/Community worker come forward.
Children/parents form a circle around them.
v1 Once upon a time, in the beginning,
a labour of love was undertaken.
And a place was established where children
might find learning and love and acceptance,
and it was called Children's Sunday Club.
And the labour of love progressed.
And it was very good.
v2 We pray:
We give thanks for all teachers, helpers, musicians, community
workers, children and parents,
who are part of (NN) Sunday Club this new year.
May they be blessed in their ministry.
May we always be prepared to offer our support,
that they may never feel alone in their work.
v1 And the labourers looked at all that had been accomplished,and the people rejoiced,for it was very good.
(Pause, then children move into the centre surrounded by teachers/leaders)
v1 As we welcome the children back to the Sunday Club,
let us recommit ourselves to their nurture…
Let us also remember the children we once were
and who still live within us.
All Let us love them now, in this quiet moment.
Let us remember the children of our own families
and the children of our friends.
All Let us love them now, in this quiet moment.
Let us remember the children who are homeless
children who are separated from their families
children who are hungry or in pain
children whose lives are threatened by
drugs, crime, lack of health care.
All Let us love them now, in this quiet moment.
Let us remember all children and commit ourselves
to their growth and safety,
their health and education,
their uniqueness and their unfolding beauty.
All Let us love them now, in this quiet moment.
And forever more. (CSternberg/UUA Worship Web)
Teachers/children return to their seats
CELEBRATING COMMUNITY IN THE TRADITION OF THE MEAL
Invitation
In faith and love, gathered in this place,
we celebrate the brightness of community
and the season of early Summer called 'Balalambar'
(Season of Butterflies)
by the Djab Wurrung and Jardwidjarli People.
The Offering
The Presentation
God of splendour,
your goodness sustains us,
and your graciousness gives us hope.
May we and these gifts of bread, wine and money
be used to further your way of love, hope, and justice.
May it be so.
Introduction (Optional)
Members of the Jesus movements regularly ate a meal together
when they met as a community.
It was a characteristic that they had in common
with virtually every other social group in their world.
It was considered primary to the early developments
in the movements’ meal liturgy.
These meal traditions were not about personal salvation or payment for sin.
Instead, they were about actions and offering hospitality, social identity,
and being in solidarity with those around us.
The liturgical movements centred on celebration, presence, and joy.
I invite you into the spirit of those meals…
Thanksgiving
God of the summer’s day,
All praise and wonder be.
God of the lingering sunset and early dawn,
All praise and wonder be.
God of the hot north wind and the refreshing shower,
God of the shady tree and the cool water bag,
God of the ripening harvest and sparkling sea,
All praise and wonder be.
We also remember the ways of Jesus
who walked the dusty roads of Galilee,
who taught from seashore and mountainside,
and who told stories of the sower and the seed,
the lilies of the field,
and the birds of the air.
May we, too, know the presentness in the beauty of nature.
We also remember that goodness and beauty can be abused
as the Holy One was betrayed.
On the night of his arrest, so our tradition tells us,
Jesus, the Holy One, again shared a meal with his friends.
Through grain and grape, bread and wine,
he celebrated community
asking them to remember him.
May we feel your touch, hear your call,
experience your grace, and
know your strength in our lives
All As we celebrate your life in our midst.
Breaking of the Bread/Pouring of White Wine
Jesus took bread,
offered thanks, broke it, and
gave it to those gathered with him:
v2 'Bread broken - for you. Take this, all of you'
He poured a cup of wine
offered thanks for it, and
gave it too to those gathered with him:
v2 'Wine poured out for you. Take this - all of you.'
Bread, that was once scattered as grain in a paddock
and gathered together
and baked into a loaf;
Wine, that was once grapes grown on a hillside
and gathered together
and pressed into juice.
Communion
Come, for all is now ready.
The Bread and the White Wine will be served in small groups around the Table
PARTING
Hymn/Song The people stand as they are able, to sing
“I Dream of a Church”
I dream of a church that
Joins in with God’s laughing
As she rocks in her rapture
Enjoying her art.
She’s glad of her world
In its risking and growing
‘tis the child she has borne
And holds close to her heart.
I dream of a church that
Joins in with God’s weeping
As she crouches, weighed
Down by the sorrow she sees.
She cries for the hostile
the cold and no-hoping
For she bears in herself
Our despair and disease.
I dream of a church that
Joins in with God’s dancing
As she moves like the wind
And the wave and the fire.
A church that can pick up
Its skirts, pirouetting
With the steps that can signal
God’s deepest desire.
Parting Words
The presentness of God reaches beyond this place...
The Community Candle is extinguished
With faith in the creative powers of life,
With hope for the future of life in this world,
With love for all others who share this life with us,
Let us go forward together in peace.
All Our worship in this sacred space has ended.
Let our service begin.
Words of Blessing
Go as far as your courage takes you,
for you cannot go beyond the reach of God.
Give as extravagantly as you may,
for you cannot spend all the riches of God.
Care as lavishly as you are able,
for you cannot exhaust the love of God.
Keep journeying as a friend,
for God will always be with you. (BHughes)
All May it be so!
Hymn/Song (Cont.) “I Dream of a Church”
I dream of a church that can
Join in God’s loving
As she bends to embrace
the unlovely and lost.
A church that can free
By its sharing and daring
The imprisoned and poor
And then shoulder the cost.
God, make us a church that
Joins in with your living
As you cherish and challenge
Rein in and release.
A church that is winsome
Impassioned, inspiring
Lioness of your justice
And lamb of your peace. Kate Compston/cw
The people sit after the hymn, then prepare to leave
Recessional Music
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
Please include any reproduction of hymns/songs for local church use
on your Music Licence returns, as appropriate
Some of the Resources used in Shaping this Liturgy:
Burgess, R. A Book of Blessings. Glasgow: Wild Goose Publications, 2001.
Duncan, G. (ed). Seeing Christ in Others. An Anthology for Worship, Mediation and Mission. Norwich: The Canterbury Press, 1998.
Inclusive Readings. Year C. Brisbane: Inclusive Language Project. In private circulation, 2006.
McRae-McMahon, D. The Glory of Blood, Sweat and Tears. Liturgies for Living and Dying. Melbourne: JBCE, 1996.
Morely, J. All Desires Known. Expanded edition. London: SPCK, 1992.
(SLT) Singing the Living Tradition. Boston. UUA, 1993.
Uniting in Worship. Leader’s Book. Melbourne: Uniting Church Press, 1988.
Vosper, G. With or Without God. Why the Way we Live is more Important than What we Believe. Toronto: HarperCollins, 2008
Vosper, G. Another Breath. Prayers for Celebration and Reflection. Brisbane. The Centre for Progressive Religious Thought Brisbane, 2009/2010..
Ward, H.; J. Wild, & J Morley. (ed). Celebrating Women. New edition. London: SPCK, 1995.
Withrow, L. Seasons of Prayer. Resources for Worship. London: SPCK, 1995.
Web sites/Other:
Strong, Dame, Belcher, Palmer, Peebles, Mauldin. UUA Worship Web. Boston. http://uua.org/spirituallife/worshipweb/index.php
L Bruce Miller. 2004. Edmonton, Canada.
Stainer & Bell Ltd. Web site: hymns.uk.com
"God's Word, God's World". Shirley Erena Murray. Direct for the author.
David Galston. Quest Learning Centre for Religious Literacy. <http://www.questcentre.ca/>
“At The Learning Curve's Beginning”. Andrew Pratt .Direct from the author