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”

11 February 2024.  Colour: Green/Rainbow
Religion and Science Weekend
“Religion, Science and the Common Good"

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 (N) 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 available from 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 gather regardless of
race, creed, age, cultural background or sexual orientation

GATHERING

Gathering Music

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

Entry into the Celebration
The gong is sounded three times

Look to the salutation to the dawn,
Look to this day for it is life, the very life of life.  (Adapt.Sanskrit/ep)

Let us celebrate the richness and diversity of life.

Lighting of the Community Candle
The Community Candle is lit

We light this candle for the web of life which sustains us,

For the sacred circle of life in which we have our being,

For the Earth, the Sky, Above and Below, and

For our Mother Earth, and for the Mystery. (Paul Sprecher/uuww)

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 that 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
"We Celebrate the Web of life" (Tune: CM)                                                                     175 SLT
We celebrate the web of life
its magnitude we sing;
for we can see divinity
in every living thing.

A fragment of the perfect whole
in cactus and in quail,
as much in tiny barnacle
as in the great blue whale.

Of ancient dreams we are the sum;
our bones link stone to star,
and bind our future worlds to come
with worlds that were and are.

Respect the water, land, and air
which gave all creatures birth;
protect the lives of all that share
the glory of the earth.  (Alicia S Carpenter)

OR

“When Earth Wakes from Out of Sleep” (Tune: ‘Lucerna Laudoniae’, 88.88.88)
When Earth wakes from out of sleep
With a terrifying shake,
Does our faith lie torn apart
Like the dwellings we forsake?
Cosmic God, each process shows
Parts of wisdom Earth well knows.

Once we thought that earthquakes came
From a god to punish wrong;
Now we know they place Earth’s plates
Where for now they should belong.
Cosmic God, each process shows
Parts of wisdom Earth well knows.

If we think that all that comes
Is made solely for our good,
We have placed ourselves above
Cosmic ways and livelihood.
Cosmic God, each process shows
Parts of wisdom Earth well knows. 

If Earth’s plates now need to move,
Its great need exceeds our own,
And it does not take account
Where we choose to make our home.
Cosmic God, each process shows
Parts of wisdom Earth well knows. 

For the answers we return
To the Cosmos and its ways,
Ways that humble all our pride,
Ways that fill our hearts with praise.
Cosmic God of everything,
Your great mystery now we sing. (William L Wallace)
Remain standing after the hymn/song

Opening Sentences
v1 A morning mist, the gleam of a new day,
faintly we discern the possibilities
that are before us.
All Energy rising, plans turning to action,
we build our every yesterday
from the living of our days.

v2 May we live our hope into tomorrow.
All May we wrap our lives around
the challenges of today.

v1 And in the quiet of the sacred space,
may we listen at the centre of our being
for the truth of our inner voice
v2 that sets before us the purpose of this day. (Adapt.Gretta Vosper/ab)

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:
Steadfast God, you visit us in our aloneness
but we express you best in our togetherness.

May our time together express
that quality of fellowship, which is a
true expression of your presentness. (Adapt.D S Harrington/owos)

Hymn/Song  “The Celebration of Life”  (Tune: ‘Von Himmel Hoch’, LM)                       55 SSCL
Life is our reverence and good;
Our dances voice the body’s praise;
Our temples house life’s theme and mood;
Our songs and poems tell its ways.

Now welcome every living hour;
Delight in every‘ newborn day.
Life is our fame; death has no power
Unless our fear gives death its way.

The pliant muscle fills and bends;
The flesh is soft and will not break,
And healing patiently amends
Endurance for the future’s sake.

The seed will fill the emptied spire,
And ebbing clear the sweep to thrive;
The ashes grow the woods to fire,
And death is food to all that live,

We have eternity in full
In this quick sample of our days;
No terror, then, can render null
The joy of all our life and praise.  (Kenneth L Patton, 1967)

OR

“Nature’s Beauty” (Tune: ‘Regent Square’, 87.87.47 Extend.)                                        4 SNS3
Nature knows her sounds and movements
Heard and seen each day and night;
All her life in rich abundance
Fills my heart with great delight;
Celebrate with adoration;
Thankful for the world so bright.

Fearsome winds cause trees to whimper;
Storms can force the clouds to cry;
Raindrops, snowflakes dance together;
Sun and moon wink in reply;
Celebrate with adoration
All the wonders of the sky.

Celebrate all hidden textures;
Value all the roots below;
Celebrate all covered spendour;
Value beauty not on show;
Celebrate with adoration;
Thankful for the world we know.

Creatures bold and creatures timid
Offer beauty, each unique;
Trees and flowers paint a picture
On the plain and mountain peak;
Celebrate with adoration;
All revealed for those who seek.

We are blest with such profusion;
Beauty bursts out everywhere;
If we take the time to ponder
We may find a thankful prayer;
Celebrate with adoration
Thankful for the world we share.  (George Stuart).
People sit after the hymn/song

Welcome 
Or in your own words

A warm welcome is extended to all.
Especially those who are gathering here 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

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 be still for a few moments and co-create a space for
more gratitude,
greater compassion,
sensitive understanding,
soft human emotions,
and honesty…
(Silence)

Draw your deep breath, knowing
you are welcomed and valued now, here.

Be at peace and at one with yourself
and with those close by…
(Silence)

Music of Reflection

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:  Let the horizons of our minds encompass
All   Those who came before us,
All those with whom we now share our planet,
All  And those who will come after us.

• Wisdom 7: 17-22

Simply I learned about Wisdom…
the design of the universe,
the force of its elements,
beginning and end of time,
changes in the sun’s course,
variation of seasons,
cycles of years,
positions of stars,
natures of animals,
tempers of beasts,
powers of winds,
thoughts of humanity,
uses of plants,
virtues of roots.

Such things as are hidden
I learned, for Wisdom,
the artisan of all,
taught me.

• “Religion in the Ecozoic Era”
By Thomas Berry. The Sacred Universe/95

We discover the Earth in the depths of our being through participation, not through isolation or exploitation.
We are most ourselves when we are most intimate with the rivers and mountains and woodlands,
with the sun and the moon and the stars in the heavens;
when we are most intimate with the air we breathe, the Earth that supports us, the soil that grows our food,
with the meadows in bloom.
We belong here. Our home is here. The excitement and fulfillment of our lives is here. 
However we think of eternity, it can only be an aspect of the present.
The urgency of this psychic identity with the larger universe about us can hardly be exaggerated.
Just as we are fulfilled in our communion with the larger community to which we belong,
so too the universe itself and every being in the universe is fulfilled in us.

OR

• “Our Wonderful World”
An edit of several texts based on
SueEllen Campbell, et.al. The Face of the Earth. Natural Landscapes, Science, and Culture. Berkeley. University of California Press, 2011.

Besides being an incredibly beautiful image,
the Pale Blue Dot [photo from space] gives us some perspective on the scale of our world.

What’s more, we all share that same Pale Blue Dot.
And we carry in our bodies the products of an alchemy, forged in stars billions of years ago. 

Earth is a special planet.
But that same Earth is changing all the time.
It is dynamic.
It is our home and one that we should treat with reverence, care, and respect. 

Especially in the face of the climate crisis.
The more we understand our Earth and its part in the 14 billion-year old cosmos,
the more reason we have to stand in awe and reverence
at the process which lured and shaped its evolution,
our evolution, wherein our existence is rooted…

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…

This—this wonderful moving kaleidoscope—is earth.
Our world.
And this world invites our endless wonder.

OR

• Proverbs 108. “Nature: 1-10.”
By A C Grayling. The Good Book/386-387

To know nature, consult nature.
It cannot be nature, if it is not sense.
Nature is the true law.
Nature obeys necessity.
Nature pardons no mistakes.
Two command nature one must obey it.
The volume of nature is the book of knowledge.
Wisdom and nature never say different things.
Nature always returns.
Nature does nothing in vain.

OR

• “Embracing the Mystery”
By Marcelo Gleiser

Science is the grand narrative we construct to make meaning out of the mystery of existence. Its power resides in its methodology, which aims, albeit imperfectly, at a universality across tribal divides, be they political, religious, or cultural.

Visit a place like CERN, the high energy particle physics laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland, or the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, and you will see hundreds of people from different countries working together toward a common objective: figuring out how Nature works in the best possible way.

There is, however, much more to science than the pursuit of knowledge about the material world. True, this is its main identity, the one we learn about when we study physics or chemistry or biology in school. But as it confronts some of the deepest questions of existence —the origin of the Universe, of matter, of life, of mind—science joins hands with traditions that go much deeper in time, religious and philosophical musings about the nature of reality. Seen this way, science joins religion and philosophy as one of the three pillars of human existential questioning.

There are, obviously, essential distinctions of methodology and goals. When I write a mathematical paper on the stability of a neutron star using information theory, I am not directly reporting on the spiritual quest of humanity. However, the very act of wondering about the behavior of the world, and how our minds can make sense of what we are able to see, is, as Einstein once remarked, an act of veneration, inspired by what he called the “cosmic religious feeling.”

Why is it important to bring this out? Because science is often seen as a cold, detached endeavor, that cares little about the human condition. Nothing could be further from the truth. Scientists engage in their research for a variety of reasons, as diverse as their research interests are. But at its core, we see the same sense of awe and wonder that inspires spiritual ways to look at the world. “Spiritual,” here, must be understood as a driver of wonder, a visceral intuition that there is more to the world than we can capture, that we are part of something much bigger than we can comprehend. To be spiritual is to embrace a sense of mystery at the heart of existence.

Science is a flirt with the unknown, a recognition that we know little of the world around us, which we can perceive only imperfectly. Yet, as it embraces the quest for knowledge, it lifts the human spirit and brings, through the joy of discovery, a touch of the magical in our lives.

Contemporary Exploration

Silence for Personal Reflection

AFFIRMING

A Celebration of Faith  (Optional)
The people stand as they are able

“The Web of Life”
By Robert T Weston. Day of Promise: Collected Meditations, Vol. 1 (Ed. Kathleen Montgomery)

There is a living web that runs through us
All   To all the universe
Linking us each with each and through all life
On to the distant stars.

Each knows a little corner of the world, and lives
As if this were his all.
All   We no more see the farther reaches of the threads
Than we see of the future, yet they’re there.

Touch but one thread, no matter which;
The thoughtful eye may trace to distant lands
All   Its firm continuing strand, yet lose its filaments
as they reach out,
But find at last it coming back to him from whom it led.

We move as in a fog, aware of self
All   But only dimly conscious of the rest
As they are close to us in sight or feeling.

New objects loom up for a time, fade in and out;
All   Then, sometimes, as we look on unawares, the fog lifts
And then there’s the web in shimmering beauty,
Reaching past all horizons.

We catch our breath;
Stretch out our eager hands, and then
All   In comes the fog again, and we go on,
Feeling a little foolish, doubting what we had seen.

The hands were right.  The web is real.
All  Our folly is that we so soon forget.

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
“The Vast Expanse of Time and Space”  (Tune: ‘Chrysalis’ LMD)
The vast. expanse of time and space
outruns the reach of human mind.
Not years, but eons mark this place,
this earth, the home of human-kind.
What quantum particles emerged
in light years far beyond our ken?
What strands of matter first converged,
in time becoming rock and wren?

What pulsing forces formed the stars
and led their fiery cosmic dance?
Then Earth and Saturn, Venus, Mars—
what plucked them out of random chance?
What pow’r brought forth this universe
among the many that could be,
caused form and substance to disperse,
evolving into you and me?

New universes may appear
to which my life and death give birth.
The self same pow’r that brought me here
gives life to all—and gives it worth.
Though other worlds and wonders wait,
though time and space may cease to be,
God’s love for me will not abate,
for it enfolds eternity.  (Barbara Hamm © 2020)

OR

“From Atoms to Planets” (Tune: ‘Kemeza’, 12.11.12.11)                                                      108 WNC
From atoms to planets eternity changes;
the hues and the colours that cover the earth,
through seasons and cycles, the world rearranges,
but sure is the love that has brought us to birth.

The wind and the weather distort vegetation,
the breakers are pounding and shaping the shore.
Our lives are spun round as each grief re-determines
the things that are doubtful and those that are sure.

Amid all this turmoil, this change and mutation,
the strained intertwining of living and strife,
one thing remains constant, relentless, determined:
that God goes on loving in death as through life.  (© Andrew Pratt)
People sit

CELEBRATING

In Solidarity
Care Candle:
We are people of all ages who enter this safe space
bringing our joys and concerns.
Joys and Celebrations; Griefs and Concerns shared

Focused Thoughts:

Listening Response:
From all the world that we have seen
All   From all the life that we have known
We here claim all that has been
All   And name tomorrow for our own.  (Kenneth Patton/sscl)

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 and within 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  Our Mother, whose body is the Earth,
Sacred is thy being. Thy gardens grow.
Thy will be done in our cities,
as it is in nature.

Thanks be this day
for food, and air, and water.

Forgive us our sins against Earth,
as we are learning to forgive one another.
And surrender us not unto extinction,
but deliver us from our folly.

For thine is the beauty, and the power,
and all life, from birth to death,
from beginning to end. Amen.
So be it.
Forever.
Blessed be.  (Henry Horton/lp)

Offerings

Presentation
In a world so full of what is wonderful,
ever changing, ever surprising us with life’s
power and beauty, may we accept with gratitude,
all that gladdens us, and with fortitude
all that brings us grief.

Let us be learning always,
from all that we see and do, and
from all that happens to us.  (Adapt.A Powell Davies/lth)

If celebrating a liturgy in the tradition of the Meal…

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…

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/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

PARTING

Hymn/Song  People stand as they are able, to sing
“Blue Boat Home”  (Tune: ‘Hyfrydol’, 87.87D)                                                                     207(v1-2) 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

OR

“Earth is our Homeland”  (Tune: ‘Symphony’, 11.11.8.6.5)                                                  309(v1-2) SLT
Earth is our home-land: a song of stars, a grace
wrought of the ages, an opal spun in space!
Dawn’s far blue hill, soft night-time still,
dark ocean depth, smooth stone — 
for gifts sublime that hallow time
we’ll sing, making deep thanks-giving known.

Word is our glory, our breath of air, our cry!
Parables, letters, or star-names in the sky,
or myths that play as poets pray
bring meaning to our lives.
For ev‘ry praise that hones our days
we'll sing till the final day arrives.
Remain standing

Parting Words
The Community Candle is extinguished

v1  Let us be thankful for the universe which is our home:
For its grandeur, beauty, and abundance.

v2  Let us be thankful for our senses,
by which we see the splendours of morning and evening,
hear the laughter of children and songs of birds,
and taste the richness of life.

v1  And let s be thankful for our fellow human beings,
with whom we share love, loss, celebration, sorrow:
the sacred deepness
of our interconnected lives.  (Dennis McCarty/tga147)

OR

Let us join with the Earth and with each other.
To bring new life to the land
To restore the waters
To refresh the air

To protect the animals
To treasure the trees
To gaze at the stars

To cherish the human community
To heal the Earth
To remember the children.

Let us go forth to put our words into action. (Diann L Neu/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. Blessed be.

OR

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.  (William L Wallace/wb)
All   May it be so with us.

Hymn/Song  (Cont). “Blue Boat Home”  (Tune: ‘Hyfrydol’, 87.87D)                                    207(v3) STJ
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.)

OR

“Earth is our Homeland”  (Tune: ‘Symphony’, 11.11.8.6.5)                                                   309(3-4) SLT
Music is wonder, an alchemy of art,
love's pure enchantment, communion for the heart!
From chants to Psalms, from jazz to Brahms,
no soul may stay at rest.
For starry choir in sky a-fire
we'll sing, joined with them in an-them blessed.

Hope is our high star, the certitude love brings,
silence our center, our living water’s spring.
Though aching heart know self apart from
Whole and Mystery,
for gatherings of strengthening
we'll sing, through-out human history.  (Mark Belletini/Helen Picket)
The people sit after the hymn/song

'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
Davies, A. P. The Language of the Heart. A Book of Prayers. Washington, DC: All Soul’s Church, 1956.
Duncan, G. (ed). A World of Blessing. Benedictions From Every Continent and Many Cultures. Norwich. The Canterbury Press, 2000.
Grayling, A. C. The Good Book. A Secular Bible. London. Bloomsbury, 2011
Harrington, D. S. Outstretched Wings of the Spirit. On Being Intelligently and Devotedly Religious. Boston. UUA, 1980.
Neu, D. L. Return Blessings: Ecofeminist Liturgies Renewing the Earth. Cleveland. Pilgrim Press, 2002.
(SSCL) Patton, K. Services and Songs for the Celebration of Life. Boston. Beacon Press, 1967.
(WNC) Pratt, A. Whatever Name or Creed. Hymns and Songs. London. Stainer & Bell Ltd., 2002.
Roberts, E. & E. Amidon. Earth Prayers from Around the World. 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations for Honoring the Earth. New York. HarperCollins, 1991.
Roberts, E. & E. Amidon. Life Prayers from Around the World. 365 Prayers, Blessings, and Affirmations to Celebrate the Human Journey. New York. HarperCollins, 1996.
(StJ) Singing The Journey. Boston. UUA, 2005.
(SLT) Singing The Living Tradition. Boston. UUA, 1993.
(SNS3) Stuart, G. Singing a New Song. Traditional Hymn Tunes with New Century Lyrics. Volume 3. Toronto. G Stuart, 2011.
Vosper, G. Another Breath. Prayers for Celebration and Reflection. Brisbane. The Centre for Progressive Religious Thought Brisbane, 2009/2010.

Web sites/Other:
Williams, Sprecher. UUA Worship Web. Boston. <www.uua.org/spirituallife/worshipweb/>
Wallace, W. L. One of several Worship Resources available from ProgressiveChristianity.Org  < https://progressivechristianity.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/0.-CELEBRATING-MYSTERY-Index-with-Links-New.pdf>
David Galston. Quest Learning Centre for Religious Literacy. http://www.questcentre.ca/

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, 2020
• 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>
• 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.