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

“We are thoroughly nature. To claim otherwise is to attempt to place human beings and everything we do
in some rare unimaginable realm beyond the universe,
thus rendering the power of our origins lost and our obligations vague”

1 September 2024.  Season of Creation 1B/Pentecost 15B. (Green).
Southern Hemisphere Spring
Celebrating Banquet of the Cosmos
Planet Earth Sunday

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 (NN) Nation, past, present, 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 can be 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

Refreshment Station/Water Basins
Pottery basins are set on stands near the entrance to the Gathering space. 
Attendees are invited to dip their hands in the cool water in the basins as they arrive. 
Or to rinse each other’s hands. 
That we may relax, be refreshed, and prepare for this time together.

(Note: A small sign is placed above the basin explaining that as they dip their hands in the water, they are invited to relax and try to mindfully set aside or release for a time anything that might be preventing them from being fully present—each traveller rinsing the “dust from the road”).

OR

(A suggestion of other words)

We come together from our separate lives,
each of us bringing our concerns, our preoccupations,
our hopes, and our dreams.

We are not yet fully present.
The traffic, the last-minute cooking, the final details still cling to us.
Our bodies hold the rush of the past few hours.

It is now time to let go of these pressures and really arrive…   

When you are ready, repeat silently to yourself: ‘Hineini’ or ‘Here I am’.
Hineini is used in the Torah to signify being present
in body, mind, and spirit.

It means settling into where we are and simply being “here”.  (Adapted/Nan Fink Gene)

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

With respect and gratitude for the original custodians of this land,
we gather together this day
to affirm in hope and faith,
that we can create a sacred space of welcome
for all who live in Australia.

So let us celebrate the richness and diversity of life.

Lighting of the Community Candle
The Community Candle is lit

v2  Fountain of life…
Pulse of life…Breath of life…
All  Earth is filled with the presentness of God.

v1  A planet filled with the presence of God
All  a living green blue planet,
peoples from every corner of creation,
the vast reaches of space above us,
and the rocks and hills and wonders of the wild.

v2  Together this day, let us sense the face of God in all creativity.

Note: Check out 'Special Liturgies’ (this site) for the following:
(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   People stand as they are able, to sing
“Blue Boat Home”  (Tune: ‘Hyfrydol’, 87.87D)                                                                  207 STJ
Though below me, I feel no motion 
Standing on these mountains and plains 
Far away from the rolling ocean 
Still my dry land heart can say 
I’ve been sailing all my life now 
Never harbor or port have I known 
The wide universe is the ocean I travel 
And the earth is my blue boat home 

Sun, my sail and moon, my rudder 
As I ply the starry sea 
Leaning over the edge in wonder 
Casting questions into the deep 
Drifting here with my ship’s companions 
All we kindred pilgrim souls 
Making our way by the lights of the heavens 
In our beautiful blue boat home 

I give thanks to the waves upholding me 
Hail the great winds urging me on 
Greet the infinite sea before me 
Sing the sky my sailor’s song 
I was born upon the fathoms 
Never harbor or port have I known 
The wide universe is the ocean I travel 
And the earth is my blue boat home.   (© Peter Mayer. <http://petermayer.net/music/>)

OR

"Praise the God of Evolution”  (Tune: ‘Praise my Soul…’)                                            14(v1-3) HH3
Praise the God of evolution,
Spinning stars through time and space,
Turning matter into music,
Symphonies of cosmic grace.
Celebrate your evolution!
Join the chorus of the skies.

Praise the God of evolution,
Turning light bursts into years,
Making gravity a partner
In the dance of solar spheres.
Celebrate your evolution!
Thank the stars for gravity.

Praise the God of evolution,
Swirling planets left and right,
Waiting for that special moment
When ourt came in sight.
Celebrate your evolution!
Hail the birth of baby Earth.
Remain standing after the hymn

Opening Sentences
v1  Planet Earth, spinning silently through space:
All  Celebrate your beauty and your grace,
your special place in our solar system.

v1  Planet Earth, gleaming green and blue:
All  Rejoice in your ocean currents
as they dance and swirl with hope.

v1  Planet Earth, pulsing with life:
All  Join in praise with all your fauna and flora
as they sing their songs with praise.

v1  Planet Earth, enveloped in the breath of God:
All  Bless all your creatures this day
with the life-giving breath of God.

v1  Planet Earth, our precious, fragile home:
All  Celebrate, with all your children,
God’s presence in our planet home.

v2  Spin, Planet Earth, spin!
All  Sing, Planet Earth, sing!  (Adapt. Norman Habel/soc)

Words of Awareness
The thought manifests as the word.
The word manifests as the deed.
The deed develops into habit.
And habit hardens into character.

So watch the thought and its ways with care.
And let it spring from love
born out of concern for all beings.  (The Buddha/lp).

OR

We pray:
Creating God, whose renewing breath fills our planet,
may we discern your vibrant, creative presence among us.
And may our spirits be lifted
as we rejoice with Planet Earth
and all its inhabitants, this day.
May it be so.

Hymn/Song "God of the Galaxies"   (Tune: "Cheam")                                                            54 AA
God of the galaxies spinning in space,
God of the smallest seed, our living source,
yours is the gift of this beautiful place.
Let us care for your garden
and honour the earth.

Careless and covetous, gross are our greeds,
taking the riches the garden provides,
wasting its goodness, forgetting its needs.
Let us care for your garden
and honour the earth.

Forests and rivers are ravaged and die,
raped is the land till it bleeds in its clay,
silenced the birdsong and plundered the sea.
Let us care for your garden
and honour the earth.

Let there be beauty, and let there be air
fragrant with peace, never poisoned with fear,
freed from the plagues of pollution and war.
Let us care for your garden
and honour the earth.

Life is a holy thing, life is a whole,
linking each creature and blessing us all,
making connections of body and soul.
Let us care for your garden
and honour the earth.  (Shirley Erena Murray)

OR

"Praise the God of Evolution”  (Tune: ‘Praise my Soul…’)                                                 14(v4-5) HH3
Praise the God of evolution,
Stirring oxygen with love,
Turning gases into waters,
Wombs in tune with light above.
Celebrate your evolution!
Breathe the air of life itself.

Praise the God of evolution,
Forming embryos to view,
Turning molecules to mammals,
Birthing lives like me and you.
Celebrate your evolution!
Join the song of life on Earth.  (1999. Norman Habel)
People are seated

Welcome 
Or in your own words

A warm welcome is extended to all.
Especially those who are gathering 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.
Fellowship hour following the Gathering
Those visiting, please sign our Visitors book.

CENTERING

Presentation of Water Basins
Words which acknowledge that the dust of many roads and many life experiences has been rinsed into the basins, and calls for the contents of the basins and the gathering to be transformed, renewed, and more fully alive

The dust of many roads and may life experiences
has been washed in this refreshing water.
For this place is a sacred place.

May we
greet one another with open hearts and minds;
inspire each other to consider new questions
and seek deeper meaning;
and cultivate both wisdom and compassion.

And may this time together empower us to take some new steps
so all our living is transforming and the
yearning of our hearts become reality.
If using the Calling… the bowls of water are put in place

OR

If using the Remembering… the bowls of water are removed from the Gathering space and placed on an outside garden

Calling
Four different voices each with a symbol

Faces East, blows a feather
v1  Spirit of the East,
Filled with the winds of the air cycle,
Breathing the universe in and out again,
All  Come, bring beauty to planet Earth 
during this season of Spring.

Faces South, presents a potted plant
v2  Spirit of the South,
Filled with the creation of the Earth cycle,
Producing food to feed hungry creatures,
All   Come, bring beauty to plant Earth
during this season of Spring.

Faces West, takes water from a bowl, and sprinkles the gathered
v3  Spirit of the West,
Filled with the flow of the water cycle,
Pouring moisture in and through and out of you,
All   Come, bring beauty to planet Earth
during this season of Spring.

Faces North, lights a nest of candles
v4  Spirit of the North,
Filled with the metabolism of the fire cycle,
Producing energy to warm our bodies,
All   Come, bring beauty to planet Earth
during this season of Spring.   (Adapted. Diann New/rb)

OR

Remembering
Take the symbol (rosemary/gum leaf/lavender)
you received at the door, rub it between your fingers, smell it,
and share with the person next to you
a special memory of Earth as a planet
that stirred your spirit or sense of wonder.
Conversation

We remember our excitement 
when we first saw the orb of Earth,
the mystery of a living green blue planet,
a fragile speck of stardust
made into a magnificent home.
All  We remember and rejoice.

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

Now away from the busyness of life
and in the silence of this place,
let us give thanks
for the gift of Planet Earth, filled with mystery!
(Silence)

We celebrate the song of our planet!
All  Sing! Planet Earth! Sing!  (Norman Habel/soc)

Music of Celebration

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:  Into the silence of our hopes and dreams,
words work upon us to break, crack, open us
to new understanding.
All   May we experience, in these words,
a seeking after truth, that we may lift ourselves
to this same desire.  (Gretta Vosper/ab)

• “Prepare to be Astonished” (Edited)
By Elizabeth Johnstone

Out of the Big Bang the stars; out of the stardust the Earth; 
out of the molecules of the Earth, life. 
They were single-celled creatures at first, for millions of years. 
Then out of their life and death an advancing tide, fragile but unstoppable: 
creatures that live in shells, fish, amphibians, insects, flowers, birds, reptiles, and mammals…

 In the human species, nature becomes conscious of itself and open to fulfillment in grace and glory. 
As rabbi Abraham Heschel (1907–1972) notes, this makes human beings the cantors of the universe.

OR

• The Blue Marble (Edited)
By SueEllen Campbell. The Face of the Earth/292

Besides being an incredibly beautiful image, the 'Pale Blue Dot' gives us some perspective on the scale of our world...

It streaks through space with the galaxy and with the solar system. 
It loops around the sun. It moves through sunlight, around and around, north to south to north. 
It spins, wobbles, and tilts. 
Its atmosphere roils and flows in great waves and whirlpools. 

Hurricanes and tornadoes spin across its surface; rainstorms, blizzards, and summer breezes form, move, hesitate, and disappear. 
Plants grow green, sometimes red and gold, brown, and green again; 
stalks and leaves materialize from nowhere, then vanish.  
Waters slosh back and forth across vast basins, circling in gyres, splashing against the edges of the land. 
Caterpillars wrap themselves in silk and emerge as butter-flies, drink nectar, pollinate flowers, lay eggs, then die. 
Pieces of land slide around the surface, tear, collide, vanish; new rock rises from deep below, flows like burning water into the open air. 

Ice and snow expand and melt. 
Forests burn and grow again. 
Cities grow and crumble. 

Birds and airplanes fly between continents; 
mammals walk or drive hundreds of miles; sea creatures rise through fathoms, then sink. 
Hummingbirds hone their beaks in crabapple trees, both breathing, oxygen or carbon dioxide in, carbon dioxide or oxygen out. 

This—this wonderful moving kaleidoscope—is the face of the earth.

OR

And we know, when Moses was told,
in the way he was told,
“Take off your shoes!” He grew pale from that simple
reminder of fire in the dusty earth.

He never recovered
his complicated way of loving again
and was free to love in the same way
he felt the fire licking at his heels loved him.

As if the lion earth could roar
and take him in one movement.

Every step he took
from there was carefully placed.

Everything he said mattered as if he knew
the constant witness of the ground
and remembered his own face in the dust
the moment before revelation.

Since then thousands have felt
the same immobile tongue with which he tried to speak.

Like the moment you too saw, for the first time,
your own house turned to ashes.
Everything consumed so the road could open again.

Your entire presence in your eyes
and the world turning slowly
into a single branch of flame.  - David Whyte, “Fire In The Earth” from River Flow. 
(Posted on Seminary of the Wild, June 2021)

• Mark 7:1-4a, 5-8, 15-20 (Adapt/Inclusive Text)

The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus,  
and they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with unclean hands,
that is, without washing them.

For the Pharisees, and the Jewish people in general,
follow the tradition of the elders and never eat
without washing their arms as far as the elbow,
and on returning from the market place
they never eat without first sprinkling themselves...

So these Pharisees and the scribes asked Jesus,
'Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders 
but eat their food with unclean hands?'

Jesus answered,
'It was of you hypocrites that Isaiah rightly prophesied
in this passage of scripture: This people honours me only with lip service,
while their hearts are far from me.
The worship they offer me is worthless,
the doctrines they teach are only human regulations.
You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions.

Jesus then called the people to him again and said,
'Listen to me, all of you, and understand.

'Nothing that goes into people from outside can make them unclean;
it is the things that come out of people that make them unclean...

Jesus left the crowd and entered the house,
where the disciples asked about the parable.

So Jesus said,
'Do you also fail to understand?
Do you not see that what goes into a person from outside cannot make them unclean, 
since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?

'It is what comes out of a person that makes them unclean’.

OR

Alternate - Season of Creation
John 1:1-5 (Inclusive Text)

In the beginning was the Word:
the Word was with God and the Word was God.

The Word was with God in the beginning.
Through this word all things came to be, without whom not one thing had its being.

All that came to be had life in the Word and that life was the light of humankind,
a light that shines in the dark,
a light that darkness could not overpower.

OR

• “Spring”
by Mary Oliver

Somewhere
a black bear
has just risen from sleep
and is staring

down the mountain.
All night
in the brisk and shallow restlessness
of early spring

I think of her,
her four black fists
flicking the gravel,
her tongue

like a red fire
touching the grass,
the cold water.
There is only one question:

how to love this world.
I think of her
rising
like a black and leafy ledge

to sharpen her claws against
the silence
of the trees.
Whatever else

my life is
with its poems
and its music
and its glass cities,

it is also this dazzling darkness
coming
down the mountain,
breathing and tasting;

all day I think of her—
her white teeth,
her wordlessness,
her perfect love.

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

In desert and bushland, mountain and water,
we see the signs that God is with us.
All  In grass that grows through cities 
of concrete and brick,
we see the signs that God is with us.

In the faces of people whom God so loves,
All  we see the signs that God is with us.

In our brokenness,
there is the hope of wholeness.
All  In our emptiness, there is the hope of fullness.

In our deaths,
All  lies the hope of resurrection life.

This is the Word in Christ to us.
All  The flame of the Holy Spirit
lives in this place and travels with us.  (Adapt.Dorothy McRae-McMahon/eoj)

Sharing ‘The Peace'
Let us take a moment to celebrate each other.

May a heart of peace rest with you.
All  And also with you. (David Galston/q)
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  People stand as they are able, to sing
“Spirit of Springtime” (Tune: ‘Verdure’)                                                                        59 FFS
Spirit if springtime in creation’s garden,
tingling the senses,
tickling the earth,
sap that is rising where the seed was sleeping,
push for a new world
coming to birth!

Heard in the song that sweeps from bush to ocean,
seen in the sunlight,
felt in the blood,
surge of delight at every greening, growing,
God in the promise,
blossom from bud.

Fresh as the rain that washes clean our vision,
keen as the wind on
Pentecost day,
bright as the Spirit in the life of Jesus,
bold as the mindset
thinking his way.

Springtime of hope from out of winter’s clutches,
warm us to witness
woo us to see
beauty will break through rotted leaves and ashes,
joy will erupt, and
life will leap free! (Shirley Erena Murray)
People sit

OR

“Praise in Springtime”                                                                                                           1005 STL
Praise to God and thanks we bring,
hearts rejoice and voices sing;
praises to the Glorious One;
for a year of wonder done.
Praise now for the budding green,
April’s Resurrection scene;
Praise now for the shining hours
starring all the land with flowers.

Praise now for the summer rain;
feeding day and night with grain;
praise now for the tiny seed;
holding all the word shall need;
Praise now for the garden root,
meadow grass and orchard fruit;
and for hills and valleys broad;
bring we now our thanks to God.

Praise now for the snowy rest,
falling soft on nature’s breast;
for the happy dreams of birth,
brooding in the quiet earth,
For this year of wonder done,
praise to the All glorious One;
hearts rejoice and voices sing;
praise and love and thanks we bring. (Tom Benjamin)
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:
Creation thrums with Being

and peals the Word - 'I am’.
All  We sometimes remember
to whisper the antiphon, 'We are’.  (Vic Arnold/es)

And so we take this flame and light our special care candle…
The Care candle is lit

For ourselves, for those named or remembered, and in solidarity with those

who have not the freedom to express their concern or celebration
for fear of discrimination or condemnation.

In all our joys and in all our concerns, may we be ever mindful
of the presentness of the sacred among us,
and to see new possibilities of the now.

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  Good caring presence within us, around us, and above us;
Hold us in a sense of mystery and wonder.

Let the fullness of your goodness be within us and around us.
Let all the world know your ways of caring and generosity.
May we find we have all we need
to meet each day without undue anxiety.

Overlook our many stupidities,
and help us to release everyone from their stupidities.
May we know we are accepted.
Strengthen us that we will reach out to the best,
always with the faith
to rise above the ugly realities of our existence.

And we celebrate the gifts you have given us:
the rich kingdom of life’s possibilities,
the power to do good and the triumphs of good,
and the moments when we have seen
the glory and wonder of everything.

You are life’s richness.
You are life’s power.
You are life’s ultimate meaning.
Always.
And for everyone.
And for ever more.  Amen.  (Francis Macnab/fwb)

CELEBRATING

Conversation 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?  (Binkley & McKeel/jke)

Offerings

Presentation
May the presentness of the Sacred be in the breaking:
in the break of day
in the breaking of the bread
in the breaking of our lives
in the breaking of our hopes…
May the presentness of the Sacred make us whole.

THE BANQUET OF THE COSMOS
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…
The Table is prepared

Presentation
Beginnings and endings shape this meal gathering today.
We celebrate a faithful, strong past.
We prepare for a future yet to be conceived.
We call it the rhythm of life.

Thanksgiving
v1 May it be well with you.
All And also with you.

v1 Sacred is the cosmos, whirling, expanding, living, dying,
yearning for abundance and freedom.
All  We come to this table awe-struck creatures
conscious that as we take these few short steps
the whole cosmos—gathered up in us—journeys with us, and in us.

v2  How can we not stand in wonder and awe.
Those same vast processes that created
galaxies and suns and stars and planets,
continue to shape our existence…

v1 Out of the Big Bang the stars;
All Out of the stardust the Earth;
Out of the molecules of the Earth, life.
v1 Earth was planted with the seeds of its future;
by the sacrifice of our sun,
Earth flowered forth.

In the human species, nature became conscious of itself
and open to fulfilment in thought and word and deed.
All  Blessed be Earth.
v1  Blessed be Earth.
All  Earth, our home.

v2 We celebrate the interconnectedness that is our life—all life.
Stardust and mountains,
the light at dusk and the moment of dawn;
wild flowers and rain forests;
gilled ones of river and sea
and the feathered ones of the air;
kangaroo and desert dingo,
earth-worm, butterfly, and bacteria;
First Nation/Native Peoples and recent arrivals;
sacred wisdom of sages, and the consciousness of prophets.

v1 Every day we encounter the cosmos.
All It is our bodies, our food, our air, our everything.
v1 One thing is made up of all other things.
All Being and beauty flow freely through
all the universe in this great procession of life.

Bread and White Wine
v1 As we gather together to share and eat food
we also remember the stories around all the meals
in the wisdom tradition of the Galilean sage we call Jesus…

v2 Born of a woman and the Hebrew gene pool,
he was a creature of earth, a moment in the biological evolution of this planet.
v1 Like all human beings, he carried within himself
the signature of the supernovas
and the geology and life history of the Earth…
v2 For just as the Milky Way is the universe in the form of a galaxy,
and the Wedge-tailed Eagle is the universe in the form of a bird,
he was and we are, the universe in the form of a human.
All May we care for our planet.
May we nurture this piece of stardust!
May we celebrate with the cosmos!
(Silence)

Bread is broken several times
v1 And so we remember the living tradition…
How, during a meal, bread would be taken
and after thanks given, it would be broken and shared
with both friend and stranger.

v2 This piece of bread is the body of the whole cosmos.
Look deeply and you notice the sunshine in the bread,
the blue sky in the bread,
the clouds and the great earth in the bread.

The whole cosmos has come together
in order to bring to us this piece of bread.
(Short silence)

White wine is poured out
v1 After conversation some Wine would be taken,
thanks for it would be given,
and poured out and shared with all those present.

v1 Wine, fruit of the vine, gift of nature.
v2 Since all food is cosmic and born of the sun and photosynthesis,
sharing a meal of bread and wine
renders the universe both sacred and intimate.
(Short silence)

v1 Bread and Wine,
Elements for life on Earth…
In solidarity with life…

Response
v2  In sharing this banquet, we in our time and place,
enter into a new relationship,
with sacred wisdom,
with the planet, and
with one another,
All  to feel our kinship with all life,
to raise our voice in the service of life,
All  to love kindness, and to seek justice,
to live in harmony
All  and awaken to peace.

v2 May we sense the wonder of what might yet be.
All We are part of Earth
Earth is part of us.
v1 And as we consider this Earth, our home,
All may we continue to walk upon it
gently and with reverence.

Communion
The Bread and White Wine—with conversation—is served in small groups around the Gathering space

SCATTERING

Hymn/Song  People stand as they are able, to sing
“Our Mother Earth” (Tune: ‘Nun Danket’, 67.67.66.66)                                                 100(v1-2) SNS
It is our Mother Earth 
To whom we owe allegiance, 
For ever since our birth 
She’s shared from her abundance; 
The air we need for breath, 
The plants we need for food, 
Cycles of life and death, 
All have our gratitude. 

From oceans, lakes and streams, 
We draw much from their waters; 
They are where nature dreams 
Of bearing sons and daughters. 
Then to the air and skies, 
With energy and glee, 
She moves with grace and flies 
With polished artistry. 
Remain standing

OR

“Earth Was Given as a Garden”  (Tune: ‘Hyfrydol’, 87.87D)                                        207(1-2) SLT
Earth was given as a garden, 
cradle for humanity; 
tree of life and tree of knowledge 
placed for our discovery.
Here was home for all your creatures 
born of land and sky and sea;
all created in your image,
all to live in harmony

Show to us again the garden 
where all life flows fresh and free. 
Gently guide your sons and daughters 
into full maturity.
Teach us how to trust each other, 
how to use for good our power,
how to touch the earth with rev’rence.
Then once more will Eden flower.
Remain standing

Parting Words
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 Community Candle is extinguished

Hold again the fragrant symbol in your hands
and go forth to serve.

Will you care for Planet Earth?
All  We will remember our planet home!
We will nurture our planet!
We will celebrate life!

OR

Let us go forth to walk in beauty.
All   May beauty be within us.
May beauty be around us.
May beauty be ours in eternal life.  (Diann New/rb)

Words of Blessing
May the firmness of the earth be yours.
May the flow of the water be yours.
May the freedom of the air be yours.
May the fierceness of the fire be yours.

May all of the gifts of this life, 
The Below and the Above, 
Be with you now and remain with you always.  (Eric Williams/uuaww)
All  Amen. May it be so!

OR

We give thanks for all that is in the Earth Community;
aware of Sacred Present gifts of the universe
now beyond my imagining.
All   Amen

In the stillness and presence of Great Spirit,
we give thanks for the elements that sustain us:
fire, water, air, earth.
All   Amen

We give thanks for Earth and all her generous gifts:
each tree, each plant, each rock, each bird, each animal.
We intend to do everything in our power 
to tend to the wellbeing of Earth.
All   Amen  (Adapted/Margie Abbott/cs)

Hymn/Song  (Cont). “Our Mother Earth” (Tune: ‘Nun Danket’, 67.67.66.66)                     100(v3-4) SNS
So how can we but grieve 
When we observe pollution, 
And not try to achieve 
Some rehabilitation? 
Repulsive is the sight 
Of dirty, pois’nous slime, 
Of smog that hides the light. 

We must reverse this crime! 
Let us avoid the doom; 
We know that nature’s bleeding; 
We must let flowers bloom; 
We should heed all the pleading 
To change what we all do, 
To stop inflicting harm, 
And so help to renew 
All nature’s fragile charm.  (George Stuart)

OR

“Earth Was Given as a Garden”  (Tune: ‘Hyfrydol’, 87.87D)                                              207(v3) SLT
Bless the earth and all your children, 
one creation: make us whole, 
interwoven, all connected, 
planet wide and inmost soul.
Holy mother, life bestowing, 
bid our waste and warfare cease.
Fill us all with grace o’er-flowing.
Teach us how to live in peace.  (Roberta Bard Ruby)
The people sit                                                

'This Week' at (NN)
Notices
Birthdays and Anniversaries
Significant Events
Journey Candles

Music

Fellowship
Morning tea is now served.
You are invited to share in this time 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

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:
Abbott, M. Cosmic Sparks. Igniting a Re-Enchantment with the Sacred. Bayswater. Coventry Press, 2020
(AA) Alleluia Aotearoa. Hymns and Songs for all Churches. Raumati. New Zealand Hymnbook Trust, 1993.
Binkley, C. G. &  J. M. McKeel. Jesus and his Kingdom of Equals. An International Curriculum on the Life and Teaching of Jesus. Santa Rosa. Polebridge Press, 2001.
(FFS) Faith Forever Singing. Songs for a New Day. Raumati. New Zealand Hymnbook Trust, 2000.
(HH3)  Habel, N. Habel Hymns 3. Songs to Explore ‘The Mysteries’ of Evolution and Ecology. Adelaide: Habel, 2012.
Inclusive Readings. Year B. Brisbane. Inclusive Language Project. In private circulation, 2005.
Macnab, F. A Fine Wind is Blowing: Psalms of the Bible in Words that Blow You Away. Richmond. Spectrum Publications, 2006.
McRae-McMahon, D. Echoes of our Journey. Liturgies of the People. Melbourne. JBCE, 1993.
Neu, D. L. Return Blessings: Ecofeminist Liturgies Renewing the Earth. Cleveland. Pilgrim Press, 2002.
Roberts, E. & E. Amidon. Life Prayers from Around the World. 365 Prayers, Blessings, and Affirmations to Celebrate the Human Journey. New York. HarperCollins, 1996.
Roberts, E. & E. Amidon. Earth Prayers from Around the World. 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations for Honoring the Earth. New York. HarperCollins, 1991.
Seaburg, C. (ed). The Communion Book. Boston. UUMA, 1993.
(SLT) Singing The Living Tradition. Boston. UUA, 1993
(STJ) Singing The Journey. Boston. UUA, 2005.
(SNS) Stuart, G. Singing a New Song. Traditional Hymn Tunes with New Century Lyrics. Sydney. CPRT Sydney, 2006.
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.

Banquet of the Cosmos shaped from the various published writings of:
• Margie Abbott. Cosmic Sparks. Igniting a Re-Enchantment with the Sacred. Bayswater. Coventry Press, 200
• David Bumbaugh. Selected Communion Liturgies published in (ed) Carl Seaburg. The Communion Book. Boston. Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association, 1993, plus “Toward a Humanist Vocabulary of Reverence”. Boulder International Humanist Institute, Fourth Annual Symposium, Boulder, Colorado. (22 February 2003). <http://www.uua.org/sites/live-new.uua.org/files/documents/bumbaughdavid/humanist_reverence.pdf>
• Elizabeth Johnson. “Deep Incarnation: Prepare to be Astonished”, UNIFAS Conference, Rio de Janeiro, (7-14 July 2010). <https://sgfp.wordpress.com/2011/02/15/deep-incarnation-prepare-to-be-astonished/>
• Bruce Sanguin. “Cosmic Sacrifice” and “Feast of the Cosmos” in If Darwin Prayed: Prayers for Evolutionary Mystics. Vancouver. ES Press, 2010
Plus Thich Nhat Hanh, Gretta Vosper, Matthew Fox, Thomas Berry, David Galston, and others… with grateful thanks.

Web Sites/Other:
Norman Habel Creation Liturgies. <www.seasonofcreation.com>
Refreshment Station. Words by Nan Fink Gefen, taken from an Evolutionary Passover Haggadah by Tree Bressen.
V Arnold. Eureka Street eZine 20, 23. 23/11/10.
Elizabeth  Johnson. “Deep Incarnation: Prepare to be Astonished”, (Edited). UNIFAS Conference, Rio de Janeiro, (7-14 July 2010). <https://sgfp.wordpress.com/2011/02/15/deep-incarnation-prepare-to-be-astonished/> Accessed 4 October 2016
David Galston. Quest Learning Centre for Religious Literacy. http://www.questcentre.ca/