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”
7 July 2024. Pentecost 7B. (Green).
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 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
Found in Affirmation/Manifestoes on this site
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
Life is an indescribable gift.
Our gathering together in this sacred place
is a celebration of that gift.
So let us celebrate the richness and diversity of life.
(Silence)
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
“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. (George K Beach)
OR
“Come, Teach Us, Spirit of God” (Tune: ‘Educare’) 11 FFS
Come, teach us, Spirit of God,
the language of your way,
the lessons that we need to live,
the faith for every day.
Excite our minds to follow you,
to trace new truths in store,
new flight paths for our spirit space,
new marvels to explore.
Engage our wits to dance with you,
to leap from logic’s base,
to capture insight on the wing,
to sense your cosmic grace.
Inspire our spark to light from you,
to catch creation’s flair,
new artistry to celebrate,
new harmonies to dare.
Delight our hearts to worship you,
to learn compassion’s code,
to live in context of your love,
great teacher who is God. (Shirley Erena Murray)
Opening Sentences
We give thanks for the life that pulsates within us
All breath and heartbeat, joy and sorrow, dance and stillness.
We give thanks for the life that ebbs and flows between us
All loving, understanding, creating, embracing and letting go.
We give thanks for the web of life that surrounds and sustains us
All feeding, protecting, teaching, inspiring mutual care.
We give thanks for the source of all life,
All this living universe, of which our lives are an expression. (Ian Lawton.c3Exch)
Words of Awareness
The thought manifests as the word.
The word manifests as the deed.
The deed develops into habit.
And habit harden 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:
God of the important and the common place,
may our hearts be opened to be attentive:
that seeing, we may perceive,
and hearing, we may understand,
and understanding, we may act.
May it be so.
All May we make it so with us.
Hymn “Here Stands A Stranger, Who Is She?” (Tune: ‘Saffron Walden’, 88.86)
Here stands a stranger, who is she?
We do not know. What do we see,
someone who threatens you and me?
Is she a foe, or friend?
Here stands a person, young or old,
seeking asylum, so we're told.
How does he fit your frame or mould?
Is he your foe or friend?
Here stands a child: assess her need.
What should we offer so we heed
her cry of hunger, so we feed
this child? This foe? This friend?
Here stands a person, this time, you.
The choice is yours. What will you do
to ask this stranger in, or sue
this foe, who could be friend?
Here is a mirror, see your face.
What do you offer; hatred, grace,
now in this very time and place,
to Christ you call your friend. (Andrew Pratt/ssb)
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
Reflection
"Love"
By Anna Compston. Dare to Dream/127.
Love is a whisper,
Not a tornado.
Love is a drift of petals,
Not a mighty oak tree.
Love is the song of a flute,
Not the blast of a trumpet.
Love is a beckoning finger,
Not a pair of handcuffs.
This is its strength.
It invites,
It does not force.
It’s like a camp fire.
We gather round,
And are warmed.
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
Gathering as we do in this sacred place,
we pause again to reflect, to feel, and to commit
to thoughtful and mindful intention.
(Silence)
We wonder again about the ebb and flow
of this living, breathing, expanding universe…
And of this community.
(Silence)
We give our attention right now
to each other,
to new beginnings,
to this time,
to this season.
OR
Let us now be ‘gathered round’ and allow this sacred space,
to offer its ‘warmed’ care to us.
Let us rest in its quiet, away from the
hustle and demands of everyday life.
And let us lay down our concerns
and matters for decision. (Adapt. Dorothy McRae-McMahon/ith)
(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 Into this day will break moments of awareness,
tiny shards of light that illumine
the whole reality of existence.
All May these readings be such a moment
and may we be blessed by their gift. (Gretta Vosper/ab)
• "Homeless in Egypt"
By John Johansen-Berg. Entertaining Angels/121.
When people flee from scenes of war and carnage,
when people know terror because of violent rage,
where is the place of sanctuary?
When families are split by conflict,
when wounded victims escape from bloodshed,
where will they find a refuge?
Wounded Healer,
you inspire us to welcome the asylum seeker,
you encourage us to open our hearts and homes
to the refugee.
When we offer sanctuary to such as these,
we open the door to the child whose family fled to Egypt.
• Mark 6:1-13 (Inclusive Text)
Jesus went to his hometown, accompanied by the disciples.
With the coming of the sabbath Jesus began teaching in the synagogue,
and most of them were astonished.
They said,
'Where did this one get all this?
What is this wisdom that has been granted him,
and these miracles that are worked through him?
'This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary,
the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simon?
'His sisters, too, are they not here with us?’
And they would not accept him.
And Jesus said to them,
'Prophets are only despised in their own country
among their own relations and in their own house.'
And he could work no miracle there,
though he cured a few sick people by laying hands on them.
Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith.
Then Jesus went to other villages, teaching.
Jesus summoned the Twelve
and began to send them out in pairs
giving them authority over the unclean spirits.
And Jesus instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff,
no bread,
no haversack,
no coppers in their purses.
They were to wear sandals, but Jesus added,
'Do not take a spare tunic,' and said to them,
'If you enter a house anywhere, stay there
until you leave the district.
'And if any place does not welcome you
and people refuse to listen to you,
as you walk away shake off the dust from under
your feet as a sign to them.'
So they set off to preach repentance.
And they cast out many devils,
and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.
Contemporary Exploration
Silence for Personal Reflection
AFFIRMING
If in Southern Hemisphere
A Litany Celebrating ‘Winter’ (Optional)
People stand as they are able
Winter, a time of snow and wetness.
All The days are short and cold,
the deciduous trees are bare.
Winter, a time for cutting away
dead wood from roses,
All and pruning unwanted branches
from grape vines.
Winter, a time of shaping things
All and tying up the waste,
a time for clearing, cool and passionless.
v1 Yet, in this time, there is still growth:
the flower withers to form the seedcase,
just as souls need to be empty
before they can be filled to overflowing.
v2 Under the earth, tubers shrink
and turn inside out, sending up
the shafts of stem and sending down
the anchoring roots.
All Underneath everything, in the darkness,
new life is seething, yearning
to break through the surface.
v1 The husks fall away from the seed
All and the ticking kernel starts to shoot. (Adapt.Trish Watts/s).
Silence
v2 There is a modern Jewish Seder service, which celebrates
the regeneration in the world of trees and plants.
It is held at this time – at mid-winter.
Likewise, nuts and fruit, used in this service, being the rebirthing aspects
of a plant's life-cycle, are the only foods
that require no death,
not even the death of a plant.
Our living trees send forth their fruit and seeds
in such profusion that they overflow
beyond the needs of the next generation.
In honour of that celebration, during The Peace this morning,
nuts and fruit will be distributed, symbolizing
the promise of mid-winter in our time and place.
If Northern Hemisphere:
"The Summer Day”
By Mary Oliver
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean -
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth
instead of up and down -
who is gazing around
with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms
and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
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
“I Will Talk To My Heart” (Tune: ‘Stillness’) 69 HoS
I will talk to my heart in the stillness,
I will talk to my heart when I pray,
I will let go of all my resentment
till compassion is my inner Way.
Refrain:
Trust the stillness,
trust the oneness,
trust the Way on inner prayer;
trust the stillness
trust the oneness,
trust the life of God we share.
I will watch all my thoughts in the stillness
I will watch all my thoughts when I pray,
I will watch all the stream of my thinking
till compassion is my inner Way.
Refrain:
I will dwell in the space of my oneness,
I will dwell in that space when I pray,
I will let go of all my divisions
till compassion is my inner Way.
Refrain: (William L Wallace)
People sit
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 & McKee/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 joy and in sorrow
All We do not walk alone. (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 Life-Giver, Pain-Bearer, Love-Maker.
Source of all that is and that shall be.
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo
through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed
by all peoples of the world!
Your heavenly will be done
by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom
sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
now and forever. Amen. (UIW2)
CELEBRATING
Offerings
Presentation
O God, life-giving Spirit,
Spirit of healing and comfort
we commit ourselves to work with you and renew our world.
CELEBRATING COMMUNITY IN THE TRADITION OF THE MEAL
Introduction
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 Invitation
Jesus invited all to the feast of peace and new life.
Jesus risked everything in compassion.
Jesus promised to make himself known in the breaking of the bread.
Thanksgiving
"A Winter Great Thanksgiving"
The warmth of God is among us
All The spirit of love is here.
Be encouraged in your heart.
All Our courage is in God.
We gather here.
We gather with bread and drink,
with friends and friends-to-be
longing once more to be nourished,
to find the means to repair
not just the tears in our own lives
but the tears of the earth,
the tearing apart of relationships.
Even in the midst of winter
life is sustained and renewed.
All We gather with bread and drink,
with friends and friends-to-be
longing once more to be nourished.
We gather here in memory of Jesus
herald of forgiveness
All balm for our wounds
guide to wisdom
All prophet of peace
rejected by the religious
All crucified by the empire
companion of our soul
All host of our becoming…
All We gather with bread and drink,
with friends and friends-to-be
longing once more to be nourished.
We gather here in memory of Jesus
who was torn and yet whole,
who was afraid and yet did not falter,
who was one of us and is still within us:
a zephyr of hope
a rebel for justice
subversive of conformity
a burr of love in a world of fears.
All We gather with bread and drink,
with friends and friends-to-be
longing once more to be nourished.
With his friends at table on the night he was betrayed
our tradition says Jesus blessed the bread and said,
All ‘This is my body, broken for you.’
With his friends at table on the night he was betrayed
our tradition also says Jesus blessed the wine and said,
All ‘This is my lifeblood, poured out for you.’
Come, brooding spirit of winter,
and help us see that in these simple things
-bread, memory, and friendship -
they are the ingredients of hope for the world.
All Knit together with vitality, once again,
our bonds of faith, hope, and love,
and our capacity for daring deeds.
Ready us for the springtime of change. (Glynn Cardy/wpgt)
The Bread and White Wine are shared
OR
We give thanks for the wonderful gift of reflective awareness
that allows us to recognise and name
the presence of a Creative Spirit
beyond all imagining, in our universe.
All Yes, we join together in giving our thanks.
Everything we have
Everything we see
Everything we do
Everyone we love and everyone who loves us
reveals this sustaining Presence
and our total dependence on it.
We marvel and wonder at the size and complexity of our universe.
We marvel and wonder at the development of life on this planet.
We give thanks for the creative Presence
that 'energises' this life and all that exists.
We recognise that human life gives this Presence
a particular way of coming to expression,
and that in us the Presence can
sing and dance,
speak and write,
love and create.
Conscious that we live, move, and have our being in this Presence,
we give thanks for people throughout history
who have affirmed this loving presence in all people.
Especially we give thanks for Jesus of Nazareth.
All He loved so greatly and taught so clearly and courageously,
he was able to set people free
from images and ideas and religious practices
that bound them into fear
and a false sense of separation from the Spirit of all Life.
Through him we have learned
how our loving is a sharing in the life of this Spirit.
All In him we see this Presence urging all of us
to make its creativity on earth more visible. (Adapt.Michael Morwood/pns)
We also remember the night before he died Jesus again shared a meal with his friends.
Through grain and grape, bread and wine,
and in fellowship together,
Jesus spoke of his enduring love for each of them.
So we take this bread and this wine
mindful of the Presence at work in our lives,
All in the ordinary, in the everyday,
and in our desire to love as generously as Jesus loved.
Bread and White Wine
Bread broken. White wine poured out.
Bread... the very stuff of life. Broken.
Wine... fruit of the vine. Cup full.
Communion
The Bread and the White wine served.
SCATTERING
Hymn/Song People stand as they are able, to sing
“From Atoms to Planets” (Tune: ‘Kemeza’, 12.11.12.11) 108 (v1-2) 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.
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
For the blessings we each bestow on one another
with our energy, compassion, and prayer,
we give thanks.
All For the blessings we become to others in need,
we give thanks and remember
that we are not alone. (DTaylor/fal)
Words of Blessing
Go in hope to discover the fragile and strong hopes which lie around you.
And may the Spirit of God dance in your path,
the Creator rise in life in surprising places,
and every turn in the road bring new possibilities.
All Amen! May it be so! (Dorothy McRae-McMahon/ith)
Hymn/Song (Cont). “From Atoms to Planets” (Tune: ‘Kemeza’, 12.11.12.11) 108 (v3) WNC
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).
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.
Duncan, G. (ed). Entertaining Angels. A Worship Anthology on Sharing Christ’s Hospitality. Norwich. The Canterbury Press, 2005.
Duncan, G. (ed). Shine On, Star of Bethlehem. A Worship Resource for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. Norwich. The Canterbury Press, 2001.
Duncan, G. (ed). Dare to Dream. A Prayer and Worship Anthology from around the World. London. Fount/HarperCollins, 1995.
(FFS) Faith forever singing. Songs for a New Day. Raumati. New Zealand Hymnbook Trust, 2000.
(HoS) Hope Is Our Song. New Hymns and Songs from Aotearoa New Zealand. Palmerston North. New Zealand Hymnbook Trust, 2009.
Hunt, R. A. E. When Progressives Gather Together. Liturgy, Lectionary, Landscape… And Other Explorations. Northcote: Morning Star Publishing, 2016
Inclusive Readings. Year B. Brisbane. Inclusive Language Project. In private circulation, 2005.
Iona Community. Iona Abbey Worship Book. Glasgow. Wild Goose Publications, 2001.
McRae-McMahon, D. In This Hour. Liturgies for pausing. Thornbury. DesBooks, 2001.
Morwood, M. Praying a New Story. Richmond. Spectrum Publications, 2003.
Pickett, H & E. (ed). For All That Is Our Life. A Meditation Anthology. Boston. Skinner House Books, 2005.
(WNC) Pratt, A. Whatever Name or Creed. Hymns and songs. London. Stainer & Bell Ltd, 2002.
(SLT) Singing the Living Tradition. Boston. UUA, 1993.
The St Hilda Community. The New Women Included. A Book of Services and Prayers. London. SPCK.
Uniting in Worship 2. Sydney. Uniting Church Press, 2005.
Vosper, G. Another Breath. Prayers for Celebration and Reflection. Brisbane. The Centre for Progressive Religious Thought Brisbane, 2009/2010.
Vosper, G. With or Without God. Why the Way we live is More Important than what we Believe. Canada: Toronto. HarperCollins, 2008.
Watts, T. & G. Lord. Sanctuary. Where Heaven Touches Earth. A group resource for those seeking simplicity, silence, and nurture. Canada: Kelowna. Wood Lake Books, 2005.
Web sites/Other:
Ian Lawton. C3Exchange. Spring Lake. MI. <http://www.c3exchange.org/>
David Galston. Quest Learning Centre for Religious Literacy. http://www.questcentre.ca/