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”

21 July 2024.  Pentecost 9B. (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 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

v2  Come into this sacred space. 
Come in bringing all of who you are. 
Rest and quiet your week-worn spirit, 
for you are here to touch again 
eternal springs of hope and renewal.  (C Owen-Towle/adapt)

v1 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
"God of our Every Day"  (Tune: ‘Jansen')                                                                               52 AA
God of our every day,
friend who will walk our way,
light who can change the
focus of our seeing:
capture our heart and mind,
be in the work we find,
till all we do becomes
your mode of being.

Speak to the spirit's void, 
 hands that are unemployed, 
lives that are lived 
without a true direction: 
gifts that are hid, unearth, 
 lift us to know our worth
 that in ourselves
we see your own reflection.

Shine through our winter's grey,
break through depression's day,
live in the little deaths
we die in growing:
meaning for whom we grope,
home of our strongest hope,
power and peace, through all
creation flowing.   Shirley Erena Murray

OR

“God Who Fills the Universe” (Tune: ‘Francis David’. 77.66.7)                                           37 SLT
God who fills the universe
from the atom to the stars,
make firm my changeful heart
so I may do my part
and bring joy to all the earth.

God who webs the universe
with amazing mysteries,
make glad my fragile soul
so I can see life whole
and bring hope to all the earth.

God who keeps the universe
by the truths of living love,
make strong that love in me
so I can set it free
and bring peace to all the earth.  (Carl G Seaburg)

Opening Sentences
Like wind swaying through the trees on the (local hills)
or surging through thickets of wattle,
All so, is God's presence with us.
We rejoice in your presence
All Creator Spirit, Life-giving Spirit, Nurturing Spirit.

OR

The chorus of suns and planets announce
the beginning of a new day.
All  Each morning births new possibilities
and beckons fresh challenges.

The cycle of morning music and starry silence
promise second chances.
All  Each day provides new vistas
and promotes further exploration.

The laughter of oceans and the wailing of winds
reflect the human condition.
All  Each week declares we are in the world
and determines we are of the world.

The praises and prayers of all living things
affirm our connectedness.
All  Each month begs for our nurture
and betrays our own nature.

What can ever separate us?
Only the self-imposed isolation
of arrogance or ignorance.
All  What can draw us homeward?
Only the self-possessed compassion
of radical hospitality.
It begins with us.
It begins right now.
All  It embraces morning.
It bursts forth in music.  (George Stewart)

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:
In all our living, may we
be freed to see things afresh,
be more fully alive,
and have the courage to keep faith in the future of humanity,
Creator Spirit, Life-giving Spirit, Nurturing Spirit.
May it be so.

Hymn/Song "We Celebrate the Web of Life" (Tune: 'Wiltshire', 86.86)                                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)
People sit

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
“Hopes”
Kevin Gillan.

hope isn't blue or loose or lost.
hope is full.

hope isn't tearful or funny

or berserk.


hope is cumulus and shag pile.
hope isn't

mood or diameter or pinned.

hope is hinge

hope is note

and bottle and flotsam and found.

hope isn't

pulpit or coal fired or concave.
hope is spinifex and singing.
hope is rain

OR

"Gathering"
By Rosemary Mitchel. Birthings and Blessings/94.

God speaks!
with excitement!
with enthusiasm!
with new life!

God is present!
God is with us!
nothing can separate us!

Even when we feel unsure,
unclear,
confused,
even when we feel broken to the core of our being -
We hold fast to God's love,
God's acceptance,
we are always welcome in God's household.

We will each, once again, 
feel like a well-watered garden.
Full of life!
Radiant in the sun!
It will be good.
It is good.

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 let silence of this place once again gently enfold us.

(Silence)

Let us centre our minds and our hearts.
We are one with the universe.
We are one with the sun and the stars.
We are one with the earth.
We are one with the One who is mystery…
(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:   Now I don’t know if it happened this way or not,
but I know this story is true... (Native American Storyteller)

• "Just a Housewife"
By Cordelia Baker-Pearce. Celebrating Women/44.

I packed five cakes of bread and two small fishes,
Sent him off, my youngest lad,
To take his father's dinner to the field.

Came back alone he did, all goggle-eyed.

My fresh-baked bread that varmint gave away
To some young travelling preacher out of Galilee.

It fed five thousand people.
What a tale!
It can't be true... but if it is.

What kind of dough did these hands knead
This morning?

• Mark 6: 30-34 (Inclusive Text)
The apostles rejoined Jesus and told all they had done and taught. 

Then Jesus said to them, 
‘You must come away to some lonely place
all by yourselves and rest for a while';
for there were so many coming and going
that the apostles had no time even to eat.

So they went off in a boat to a lonely place
where they could be by themselves.

But people saw them going, and many could guess where; 
and from every town they all hurried to the place on foot
and reached it before them.

So as Jesus stepped ashore, he saw a large crowd,
took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, 
and began to teach them at some length.

Contemporary Exploration

Silence for Personal Reflection

AFFIRMING

A Celebration of Faith (Optional)
In response to the word reflected on, let us stand
and share a celebration of faith.
The people stand as they are able

We are a cloth of diverse colours
made from many gifts and graces.
All  We are the people flowing forth from Creator God,
surprising ourselves with the things which can be done.

We are raw material for rewarding relationships as our lives interweave,
All  contributing one to the other,
holding each other firm when one is weak or breaking.

We are each worthy of being respected and cared for 
All  essential to the pattern,
skilled in our appointed tasks,
sources of laughter and sharers of tears.

We commit ourselves to work together,
All  that one day, this world may be a place
where all people live in justice, freedom and peace.  (Adapt.Dorothy McRae-McMahon/bst)

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
“Celebrate the Bush and Cities” (Tune: ‘Brookside’, Melody: William L. (Bill) Wallace 
Harmony: Graham Hollobon Alternative Tune: ‘Abotts Leigh’
Musical Score: www.methodist.org.nz/resources/othernzhymns/Aotearoa hymns songsandchants

Celebrate the bush and cities,
Honour people and the land,
Weave their many diverse cultures
Till they form one golden strand.
Let the people bring together
All their many cultured ways
Finding deepest thoughts and feelings
Resonate in songs of praise.

Think of how the fearless migrants
Came in waka, ship or plane.
Each would claim this place as homeland,
Space they called their own domain.
Honour all who made the journey
Chasing dreams that surged ahead;
Celebrate each pioneer spirit
Whether living or long dead.

Let us reverence plants and creatures, 
Birds and fish of sea and stream,
Viewing bush as sacred temple,
Holding air in high esteem.
Then our children will inherit
More than family wills can bring;
They will share the world of Nature,
Drinking from life's sacred spring.
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 & 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 illumed measure from the earth this day.

Forgive us when we trespass against others,
human and other than human,
as we forgive others who trespass against us.
Keep us on the path of wisdom
when we are tempted to take the selfish path.

May it be your rule we follow,
your power we exercise,
and your radiance that allures.

May this be the truth that guides our lives,
the ground from which our future will grow,
until we meet again.  (Bruce Sanguin/dddc)

CELEBRATING

CELEBRATING COMMUNITY IN THE TRADITION OF THE MEAL
Offerings

Presentation
Love kindness, humbly walk with God
and, through compassion, trace
the person we are called to love
in each and every face.  (Andrew Pratt/ea)

OR

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.

So let us share both the food and the friendship,
with thankfulness and expectation.

Introduction  (Optional)
Members of the Jesus movements regularly ate a meal together
when they met as a community.

It was a characteristic that they had in common
with virtually every other social group in their world.
It was considered primary to the early developments
in the movements’ meal liturgy.

These meal traditions were not about personal salvation or payment for sin.
Instead, they were about actions and offering hospitality, social identity,
and being in solidarity with those around us.

The liturgical movements centred on celebration, presence, and joy.
I invite you into the spirit of those meals…

Thanksgiving
May it be well with you.
All  And also with you.
Life is a gift and we its celebration.
All  May we rejoice in the beauty that we are.  (Gretta Vosper/wwg)

We give thanks and praise for all that is good in the world.
For that mystery we name God…
For the sage we name Jesus…
For the renewing strength and freedom of the Spirit…
(Silence)

God of winter, the unpopular, slandered season;
God of lightning, wind and 
God of brisk winter mornings, frosted back lawns
and stark hillsides; of warm socks, coats and gloves,
raincoats, umbrellas and warm fires,
we open ourselves to all the possibilities life offers us.

So we join in the canticle of the cosmos, saying:
All  Holy, holy, holy, re-creating God,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Bread and White Wine
We remember the times when Jesus faced
difficult decisions and destructive forces:
- in the days and nights of his searching,
- in finding ways to free others from images and ideas
that kept them captive and dependent and fearful of God,
- in breaking down social and religious barriers,
- in facing failure,
- in facing death.  (Michael Morwood/pns).

When we too experience the winter of our lives
may we find the courage to let go
and trust in your guiding, warming light.
(Silence)

And as we eat together at this table
we remember 
the importance and the words of many sages…and
the actions of all meals
 in the tradition of Jesus.

As our tradition says… He took bread, gave thanks, broke it,
and gave it to his friends.
Bread is broken

He poured a cup of wine, offered thanks for it,
and gave it also to his friends.

Bread and wine,
a pouring out of his very being in the service of life,
a self-donation
inspired by the way of the cosmos
(the sun burning four million tons of hydrogen every second
in the service of the great procession of life.)  (Adapt.Bruce Sanguin/idp).
White wine is poured out

Response
In sharing this meal, we enter a new covenant,
with the Sacred, with all creation, and with one another,
All  a promise to walk gently upon this planet,
to raise our voice in the service of life,
to love kindness,
and to seek justice.  (Bruce Sanguin/idp).

Communion
The Bread and White Wine is served

SCATTERING

Hymn/Song  People stand as they are able, to sing
"God Given Energy, Flaring and Fiery" (Tune: ‘Spean’, 11.10.11.10)                                  2(1-2) RP
God given energy, flaring and fiery,
stellar collisions of fury and pace;
shafts of the light from the cosmic conception
searing to earth from infinity's space.

Stars from eternity, driven by forces
formed at the birthing of matter and time;
mystical sinews restraining the planets,
elegant science and God's hidden rhyme;

OR

"God Gives Us a Future"  (Tune: ‘Camberwell’ 65.65D)                                                       687(v1-2) TiS
God gives us a future
daring us to go
into dreams and dangers
on a path unknown.
We will face tomorrow
in the Spirit's power
we will let God change us
for new life starts now.

We must leave behind us
sins of yesterday
for God's new beginning
is a better way.
Fear and doubt and habit
must not hold us back:
God gives hope, and insight
and the strength we lack.
Remain standing

Parting Words
The God we worship is never confined to this holy place.
So go and travel with the God who is found
in ordinary and surprising places.
The Community Candle is extinguished

May the quality of our lives be our benediction.
All  And a blessing to all whom we touch.  PRGiles

Words of Blessing
He who has called you will not leave you without encouragement.
Let the great God be between your shoulders,
to look after you at your coming and going.
Let the Son of Mary be very close to your heart.
And the lovely Spirit be poured upon you...

Yes, the lovely Spirit be poured all over you!  (From a Celtic blessing)
All  Amen. May it be so!

Hymn/Song (Cont). "God Given Energy, Flaring and Fiery" (Tune: ‘Spean’, 11.10.11.10)             2(v3) RP
These are the visions of wonder and rapture,
signs of significance, pointers to place,
drawing us out from our narrow discernment,
windows to love and God's infinite grace.  © Andrew Pratt

OR

"God Gives Us a Future"  (Tune: ‘Camberwell’, 65.65D)                                                     687(v3) TiS
Holy Spirit, teach us
how to read the signs
how to meet the challenge
of our troubled times.
Love us into action
stir us into prayer
till we choose God's life, and
find our future there.  Elizabeth J Smith.
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: 
(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.
Duncan, G. (ed). Entertaining Angels. A Worship Anthology on Sharing Christ’s Hospitality. Norwich. The Canterbury Press, 2005.
Holy Bible. NRSV. Nashville. Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989.
Inclusive Readings. Year B. Brisbane. Inclusive Language Project. In private circulation, 2005.     
McRae-McMahon, D. The Glory of Blood, Sweat and Tears. Liturgies for Living and Dying. Melbourne. JBCE, 1996. 
Mitchell, R. C. & G. A. Ricciuti. Birthings and Blessings. Liberating Worship Services for the Inclusive Church. New York. Crossroads, 1992. 
Morwood, M. Praying a New Story. Richmond. Spectrum Publications, 2003.
(RP) Pratt, A. Reclaiming Praise. Hymns from a Spiritual Journey. London. Stainer & Bell Ltd., 2006.                                   
Sanguin, B. Darwin, Divinity, and the Dance of the Cosmos. An Ecological Christianity. Canada: Kelowna. CopperHouse, 2007. 
Sanguin, B. If Darwin Prayed. Prayers for Evolutionary Mystics. Vancouver: EOS, 2010. 
(SLT) Singing the Living Tradition. Boston. UUA, 1993. 
(TiS) Together in Song. Australian Hymn Book 2. NSW: Sydney. HarperCollins Religious, 1999. 
Vosper, G. With or Without God. Why the Way we Live is More important than What we Believe. Canada: Toronto. HarperCollins, 2008.
Web sites/Other:
Owen-Toole, Giles. UUA Worship Web. Boston. UUA. <www.uua.org/spirituallife/worshipweb/>
Kevin Gillan. Eureka Street eZine. 16 January 2012
George Stewart. Unitarian Church of San Francisco. <www.uusf.org>
David Galston. Quest Learning Centre for Religious Literacy. http://www.questcentre.ca/