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 August 2024.  Pentecost 12B. (Green).

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 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

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning is a new arrival.  (Rumi/lp)

Let us celebrate the richness and diversity of this life.

Lighting of the Community Candle
The Community Candle is lit

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
“Playful God”  (Tune: ‘Joyful God’. 77.87)                                                                         75 RP
Playful God, you laugh and dance
at every indication
that we have caught a glimpse, a glance
of magic in creation.

Tearful God, you weep and mourn,
you share our desolation;
in every doubt, in pain and grief,
we need your consolation.

Joyful God, we praise your name
in every situation.
Your love will even live through death,
you promise resurrection.

Mighty God, creative heart
and source of our elation,
accept our praise, our lives, our all,
our ceaseless adoration.  (Andrew Pratt)

OR

“Seek Not Afar for Beauty”  (Tune: ‘Sursum Corda’, 10.10.10.10)                                  77 SLT
Seek not afar for beauty; lo! it glows
in dew-wet grasses all about your feet;
in birds, in sunshine, childish faces sweet,
in stars and mountain summits topped with snows.

Go not abroad for happiness; behold
it is a flower blooming at your door.
Bring love and laughter home, and evermore
joy shall be yours as changing years unfold.

In wonder-workings, or some bush aflame,
we look for Truth and fancy it concealed;
but in earth's common things it stands revealed,
while grass and flowers and stars spell out the name.  (Minot Judson Savage)
Remain standing

Opening Sentences
Sing to Life a new song!
All  Sing to Life, all Creation!
Sing of compassion and
temper your deeds with kindness.
All  Sing to all the world and tell
of the miracles that sustain us daily.  (Rami M Shapiro/lp)

Words of Awareness
In all our living, may we be freed
to see things afresh,
to be more fully alive,
and have the courage to keep faith in
the future of humanity.

OR

We pray:
May the spirit of wisdom, comfort and inspire us.
The symbols of life are all around us:
light and noise,
infants and adults,
birds and animals,
colours and movement,
words of goodwill,
songs of joy.

May we be helped to recognise the symbols of life.
May they be renewed everyday,
as we are inspired to share them generously.
May it be so with us.

Hymn/Song  “No Number Tallies Nature Up”  (Tune: ‘Resignation’, CMD)                          79 SLT
No number tallies nature up, 
no tribe its house can fill, 
it is the shining fount of life 
and pours the deluge still. 
And gathers by its fragile powers 
along the centuries 
from race on race the rarest flowers, 
its wreath shall nothing miss.

It writes the past in characters 
of rock and fire and scroll, 
the building in the coral sea, 
the planting of the coal. 
And thefts from satellites and rings 
and broken stars it drew, 
and out of spent and aged things
it formed the world anew.

Must time and tide forever run, 
nor winds sleep in the west? 
Will never wheels which whirl the sun 
and satellites have rest? 
Yet whirl the glowing wheels once more, 
and mix the bowl again; 
seethe, Fate, the ancient elements, 
heat, cold, and peace, and pain.

Blend war and trade and creeds and song, 
let ripen race on race, 
the sunburnt world that we shall breed 
of all the countless days. 
No ray is dimmed, no atom worn, 
the oldest force is new, 
and fresh the rose on yonder thorn 
gives back the heavens in dew.  (Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882, rev.)

OR

"World Without End" (Tune: ‘Slane1’, Irreg.)
Praise to the Lord for the joys of the earth:
Cycles of seasons and reason and birth,
Contrasts in outlook and landscape and need,
Challenge of famine, pollution and greed.

Praise to the Lord for the progress of life:
Cradle and grave, bond of husband and wife,
Pain of youth growing and wrinkling of age,
Questions in step with experience and stage.

Praise to the Lord for his care of our kind:
Faith for the faithless and sight for the blind,
Healing, acceptance, disturbance and change,
All the emotions through which our lives range.

Praise to the Lord for the people we meet,
Safe in our homes or at risk in the street:
Kiss of a lover and friendship’s embrace,
Smile of a stranger and words full of grace.

Praise to the Lord for the carpenter’s son,
Dovetailing worship and work into one:
Tradesman and teacher and vagrant and friend,
Source of all life in this world without end.  © Iona Community

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

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 silence be placed around us now, like a mantle.

Let us enter into it,
as through a small secret door;
stooping,
to emerge into
an acre of peace,
where stillness reigns
and the Sacred is present.
(Silence) (Adapt. Kate McIlhagga/ghs)

Music of Reflection

EXPLORING

Wisdom from theWorld/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)

• "Taking Stock" --A Reflection
By Dennis McCarty. Thoughts from a Gentle Atheist/19

To every one of us, there come those times
We need to clean the disheveled closets
Otherwise known as our lives.
Pull out the old anxieties, antagonisms, disappointments,
And if we don't completely throw them in the trash,
At least re-examine them. Re-stock, re-store,
So they are no longer in the way
Of all those items we can actually put to use.
Those most beloved to us--
Loved ones,
Gifts we find most joy in sharing,
Little bits of wisdom
We must surely have acquired along the way--
Store those in front.
There's only so much shelf space.
Let us not waste it
With the worn-out refuse of our lives.
Pull out those necessaries proven useful:
All the best
We have to offer to ourselves and to the world.

• John 6: 41-51 (Inclusive Text)
The Jewish people were complaining to one another about Jesus, because Jesus had said, 
I am the bread that came down from heaven.

'Surely this is Jesus son of Joseph and Mary', they said.
'We know his father and mother.  How can he now say:
‘I have come down from heaven?'

Jesus said in reply,
'Stop complaining to one another.

'You can not come to me unless drawn by the One who sent me,
and I will raise you up at the last day.

'It is written in the prophets:
They will all be taught by God, and to hear the teaching of God, 
and learn from it, is to come to me.
Not that anybody has ever seen God,
except the one who comes from God.

'I tell you most solemnly, everybody who believes has eternal life.

'I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert and they are dead, 
but this is the bread that comes down from heaven,
so that one may eat it and not die.

'I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.’

Contemporary Exploration

Silence for Personal Reflection

AFFIRMING

In the Southern Hemisphere
A Litany as We Prepare for Early Spring (Optional)
The people stand as they are able

v1 The icy frosts of winterGive way to springtime dew.Frost-bitten fuchsias
Struggle to burst forth in new bud.
All  Thanks be to Creativity God.

v2  Early morning dew on cobwebs,
Hangs like crystal on the weeds
along the roadside,
Reminding us of creations's plan
for all creatures; great and small.
All  Thanks be to sacred all around and within.

v1  The winter has been short and dry;
Cold wind never quite giving way to needed rain
Driving its clouds on towards the coast;
But the seed lying in the thirsty ground
Has still burst forth.
All  Thanks be to creativity.

v2  We cannot hold you in the spider's web, O God;
We cannot hold you in the winds that drive the windmill;
All  For you are also in the thirsty ground,
The budding fuchsia, and the struggling seed.

v3  Daffodil and jonquil 
Filling fields and lining driveways,
Cheer the heart;
Perfumed daphney awakens dulled senses;
And songbirds declare the joy of living.
All  Thanks be for life - all of life.

v1 We cannot hold you in the daffodil or daphne;
All  For you are also in the air we breathe 
And in the magpie's song
v1 Reminding us again of creation's surprises.
All  Great is the harmony, Creativity God. (Adapt. Pam Wyley/grpe)

OR

Litany: Heart of Matter
Blessed be you, harsh matter, barren soil, stubborn rock:
you who yield only to violence;
All  You who force us to work
if we would eat.

Blessed be you, perilous matter, violent sea,
untamable passion:
All  You who unless we fetter you will devour us,

Blessed be you, mighty matter, irresistible march of evolution, reality ever new-born;
All  You who, by constantly shattering our mental categories,
force us to go ever further and further
in our pursuit of the truth.

Blessed be you, universal matter, unmeasurable time,
boundless ether, triple abyss of stars
and atoms and generations; 
All  You who by overflowing and dissolving
our narrow standards of measurement
reveal to us the dimensions of God.  (Teilhard de Chardin/slt)

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

Offerings

Presentation
May our sharing and our giving be blessed.
May all that we give today and all that we receive,
be for the enrichment of our life
and the lives of others.

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)

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

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  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)

SCATTERING

Hymn/Song  People stand as they are able, to sing
“Faith is a Forest”  (Tune: ‘Mo-Li-Hua’, Irreg)                                                                     194(v1-2) SLT
Faith is a forest in which doubts play and hide,
insight can hear the still small voice deep inside.
Web of Life, may this thread I weave
strengthen commitment to all I believe.
Vision be my guide as I seek my way,
lead me into this tender day;
speak through me in all I do and say.

Seeds of both meek and strong are scattered in air
dignity shines undimmed by bigotry’s glare.
Web of Life, may this thread I weave
help me hear witness to all I believe.
Justice be my guide as I seek my way,
lead me into this tender day;
speak through me in all I do and say.

OR

“God Who Carved... Landscape” (Tune: ‘Dansey’, 87.87)                                                 31(v1-2) 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.
Remain standing

Parting Words
The presentness of God reaches beyond this place…
The Community Candle is extinguished

Blessed is the One within the many.
All  Blessed are the Many who make one.  (Arthur Waskow/lp).

Words of Blessing
Walk softly.
Speak truthfully.
Love gently.
Breathe deeply.
Live wisely.
Go in peace.  (EGehrmann)
All  Amen. May it be so!

Hymn/Song  (Cont). “Faith is a Forest”  (Tune: ‘Mo-Li-Hua’, Irreg)                                  194(v3) SLT
Fortune and famine ride the swift winds of change;
sorrow and pleasure seem united in dance.
Web of Life, may this thread I weave
mingle compassion with all I believe.
Mercy be my guide as I seek my way,
lead me into this tender day;
speak through me in all I do and say.  (Shelly J Denham)

OR

“God Who Carved... Landscape” (Tune: ‘Dansey’, 87.87)                                                 31(v3) FFS
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.  (Denham Grierson)
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:
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.
Inclusive Readings. Year B. Brisbane. Inclusive Language Project. In private circulation, 2005.
Liebelt, P. & N. Nicholls. (ed). Gentle Rain on Parched Earth. Worship Resources for Rural Situations. Melbourne. JBCE, 1996.
McIlhagga, K. The Green Heart of the Snowdrop. Glasgow. Wild Goose Publications, 2004.
Macnab, F. A Fine Wind is Blowing: Psalms of the Bible in Words that Blow you Away. Richmond. Spectrum Publications, 2006
(RP) Pratt, A. Reclaiming Praise. Hymns from a Spiritual Journey. London. Stainer & Bell Ltd, 2006.
Roberts, E. & E. Amidon. Life Prayers from Around the World. 365 Prayers, Blessings, and Affirmations to Celebrate the Human Journey. New York. HarperCollins, 1996.
Sanguin, B. Darwin, Divinity, and the Dance of the Cosmos. An ecological Christianity. Canada: Kelowna. CopperHouse, 2007.
(SLT) Singing the Living Tradition. Boston. UUA, 1993.
Vosper, G. With or Without God. Why the Way we Live is More Important than what we Believe. Canada: 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.

Web sites/Other:
Gerhmann. UUA Worship Web. Boston. UUA. www.uua.org/spirituallife/worshipweb/>
"World Without End". Iona Community, Scotland.
David Galston. Quest Learning Centre for Religious Literacy. http://www.questcentre.ca/