Details on the availability of my books, supporting progressive religious thought, HERE
Suggestion: ’Refresh’ each page before reading to make sure to get my latest edition
‘The Other Lectionary’ - 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
“Landscape is an incredible, mystical teacher, and when you begin to tune into its sacred presence,
something shifts inside you”
18 June 2023. Pentecost 3A. (Green).
Winter (Southern Hemisphere)
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 called “Uluru Statement from the Heart” HERE
A Response from Common Dreams5 Conference of Religious Progressives,
Australia/South Pacific 2019 HERE
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)
Multi-sensory artwork OR Floral/Symbols display (cloths, candles, stones, wood, leaves, flowers, earth, water) OR projection of Film/Slides
Gathering Music
Entry into the Celebration
The gong is sounded three times
v1 Life is a journey with others;
we travel as a people, on a winding road.
v2 We share our lives, our experiences, our hopes, our fears.
v1 So as we gather, let us celebrate the richness and diversity of life.
Lighting of the Community Candle
The Community Candle is lit
We light this flame and give praise for
the gifts that lift and inspire our living:
music, art, creativity and all beauty.
Note: (i) A suggested process for introducing new hymns, called Hymn of the Month, can be found HERE
(ii) Additional Special Purpose Hymns that cover major international events or themes can be found HERE 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) Some specific resources on Terrorism HERE
(iv) On Wonder, Awe, and Nature HERE
Hymn/Song The people stand as they are able, to sing
“God is Surroundly Inherent" (Tune: "Wunderbarer Konig", 668D 33. 66) 14 SNS2
All the cosmos beaming;
All creation gleaming;
So we stand in awe and silence.
Galaxies are dancing;
Stars, the night enhancing;
Constellations claim our reverence.
God's own heart
Seen in part,
Shines in all the brilliance;
Shows forth God's transcendence.
Microscopic sources
Hold such mighty forces
In the atom's sacred magic.
Germs can be our masters;
Makers of disasters;
So minute, yet cause 'the tragic'.
Smaller still
Genes, with skill,
Breed God's inborn presence
In our human essence.
God is all, surrounding;
Source of life abounding;
Ground of being, spirit swelling.
Inmost at our centre,
There we all encounter
God as love and grace indwelling.
We adore
Evermore
Worshipped down through history,
God the wondrous mystery. (George Stuart)
OR
“Morning, So Far To See” (Tune: ‘Schonster herr Jesu’, 66.96.68) 42 SLT
Morning, so fair to see,
night, veiled in mystery –
glorious the earth and resplendent skies!
Pilgrims, we march along,
singing our joyous song,
as through an earthly paradise.
Tall are the verdant trees;
deep are the flashing seas;
glorious each wonder the seasons bring.
Brighter is faith’s surmise,
singing in pilgrim eyes,
from which our waking spirits spring.
Age after age we rise,
‘neath the eternal skies,
into the light from the shadowed past:
still shall our pilgrim song,
buoyant and brave and strong,
resound while life and mountains last. (Vincent B Silliman)
Remain standing
Opening Sentences
We are met in the presence of the Sacred
All And we do not meet alone.
With the angels in highest heaven,
All We gather to worship this present God.
With the saints of every age,
All We gather to celebrate this present God.
With the church throughout the world,
All We gather to honour this present God.
We are met in the presence of the Sacred we name God
All And we do not meet alone.
OR
v1 In darkness seeds are drawn to germinate,
flowers prepare to bloom and our dreams unfold.
All Darkness is gift.
v2 In darkness, the edges blur.
Boundaries between reality and fantasy,
between friend and stranger become fluid,
opening new possibilities.
All Darkness is gift.
v1 In darkness, when our eyes rest, our ears
become more attentive to the sounds
of story, of lullaby, of wind, of loved ones breathing in the night.
All Darkness is gift.
v2 In the darkness, we find space for reflection;
for deep, dream filled and refreshing sleep.
We are bidden to journey into the unconscious.
All Darkness is gift.
v3 In the darkness of the womb, we were formed in great complexity.
Under the cover of darkness, many creatures have their being.
Only in the deepest darkness, can we see the star- studded sky.
All Darkness is a gift of grace.
As we celebrate the shortest Winter day,
may we also celebrate the many gifts of darkness. (Adapt.Nancy L Steeves/st.pn-t)
Words of Awareness
The earth turning…
Exploding orb of helium and hydrogen,
firing our lives into existence.
We are here.
We mindfully take our places in life again.
Imagine… we are one, connected, human family.
Be and know that you are the ones the world awaits.
Each of you here and now:
a difference,
a beautiful presence.
Each… of you. (Adapt.Bob Kleinheksel/C3Exch)
OR
We pray:
Surprising God, as you lead us into new experiences,
help us to be open to your presence among us and within.
Let us sense your glory
in the sights and sounds of this winter day.
May it be so.
Hymn/Song “We Are Many” (Tune: ‘Hamilton’) 67 FFS
We are many, we are one,
and the work of Christ is done
when we learn to live in true community,
as the stars that fill the night,
as a flock of birds in flight,
as the cluster of the grapes upon the vine;
as the branches of a tree,
as the waves upon the sea,
as the cluster of the grapes upon the vine.
All division is made whole
when we honour every soul,
find the life of God in every you and me,
as the fingers of a hand,
as the grains that form the sand,
as the cluster of the grapes upon the vine;
as the threads upon a loom,
as a field of flowers in bloom,
as the cluster of the grapes upon the vine.
We will join creation's song,
make a world where all belong,
build as one in peace and loving harmony,
as the voices of a choir,
as the flames within a fire,
as the cluster of the grapes upon the vine;
as the snowflakes in the snow,
as the colours of a bow,
as the cluster of the grapes upon the vine. Colin Gibson
The people sit
OR
If in the Southern Hemisphere
“Through Winter Cold” (Tune: ‘Chilcombe’) 139 HoS
Through winter cold and drifted snow,
through bitter wind and biting frost
the silent seeds of spring will grow
and buried dreams will not be lost.
Within God’s world, as seasons turn,
we sleep and grow, with changing need
to shed old concepts and to learn
the faith that sprouts like mustard seed.
It is compassion warms the day
and hugs the lonely or the cold,
speaks out for justice, come what may
when people’s lives are bought and sold.
And as in winter, as in grief
the frozen heart of things in numb,
compassion melts our unbelief
and all is changed, for spring has come. (Shirley Erena Murray)
Welcome
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 there now be a silence among us…
(Silence)
In the stillness of early morning,
In the heat of the mid-day sun,
In the cool of the evening,
In the dark of night… (Alex Ruth/worship-rcl)
God’s presentness can be seen and felt.
And we are blessed.
(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: May we open ourselves to the seeds of wisdom
that lies dormant in this/these reading/s.
All And may our minds be fertile soil
in which it/they may grow strong and true. (Gretta Vosper/ab)
• “White-Eyes”
By Mary Oliver
In winter
all the singing is in
the tops of the trees
where the wind-bird
with its white eyes
shoves and pushes
among the branches.
Like any of us
he wants to go to sleep,
but he's restless—
he has an idea,
and slowly it unfolds
from under his beating wings
as long as he stays awake.
But his big, round music, after all,
is too breathy to last.
So, it's over.
In the pine-crown
he makes his nest,
he's done all he can.
I don't know the name of this bird,
I only imagine his glittering beak
tucked in a white wing
while the clouds—
which he has summoned
from the north—
which he has taught
to be mild, and silent—
thicken, and begin to fall
into the world below
like stars, or the feathers
of some unimaginable bird
that loves us,
that is asleep now, and silent—
that has turned itself
into snow.…
OR
• “Winter. A Southern Hemisphere Reflection"
By Rex A E Hunt. When Progressives Gather Together.
It’s official.
Winter has arrived.
No more dull, bare waiting.
It is.
Actually it is more than ‘is’.
It is well advanced.
June into July.
Boxed August beckons.
Winter Solstice is behind us.
Gone in an instance.
Along with the full moon
that coaxed itself into our lives.
No one says much good of Winter.
It is the unpopular, slandered season.
Made up of wind and storm.
And stark hillsides.
House-bound apathy greets the neighbourhood.
Welded to brisk mornings, and
frosted back lawns.
No one says much good of Winter.
Except as something hard that exaggerates
the too-much-green of Spring reprieve…
When house-free folk chat over back fences
and call across lawnmower handles
recalling how it was
when Winter was.
In this wide dry land of
drought and flooding plains,
Winter is not a shutting down.
Brown land does not fight an induced white death.
There is a slumber.
Yet there is a stirring beneath
the gardeners Autumn
compost.
Winter just is.
If it be anything Winter is a time of… silence.
A time to put aside the getting of too many things.
Selecting out forgotten fragments
and New Year resolutions let slide.
The clock on the study wall
may tick off the hours and days.
But inner clocks keep a different chronos
at differing speeds.
Life is what you have done and
time was how you feel about
what was.
Remembering… on the edge of time.
But also a Yeshua bar Yosef what-was time.
In the Winter of his solo days.
Nights of his searching.
Days of his breaking down
social and religious barriers.
Seeking wisdom.
Facing failure.
Death.
A Winter’s dead-leaf death…
When we too experience the Winter of our lives
may we find the courage
to seek the green coming-out
of brown mud.
Like waking up.
To live in life.
In truth the year is a balance.
For every Spring, an Autumn.
For every Summer, a Winter.
For every sorrow, a laugh.
For every noise, a silence.
Prologue and epilogue.
Things balance out.
If we give them time.
A silence.
A Winter silence.
This time.
Winter time.
It just is.
Life.
(Inspired by and borrowed from, the writings of Max Coots, Seasons of the Self, Abingdon, 1971)
• Matthew 10:16, 24, 34-39 (NRSV, adapted)
Jesus continued to instruct the Twelve as follows:
'I am sending you out [into the world] like sheep into the midst of wolves;
so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves…
'A disciple is not above the teacher,
nor a slave above the master;
it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher,
and the slave like the teacher…
'Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth;
I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
'For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.
'Those who prefer father or mother to me are not worthy of me.
Those who prefer son or daughter more to me are not worthy of me.
Those who do not take up the cross and follow in my footsteps are not worthy of me.
'Those who find their life will lose it,
and those who lose their life for my sake will find it’.
Contemporary Exploration and HERE
Silence for Personal Reflection
AFFIRMING
A Celebration of Faith (Optional)
In response to the word reflected on
let us stand and share together a celebration of our faith.
The people stand as they are able
"A Credo for Progressive Christians"
All We worship and adore God,
source, essence, and aim of all things,
spirit that enlivens all beings.
We follow the way of Jesus, who found God in himself
and shared a way for others to find God in themselves.
He was born through love,
He lived for love,
He suffered for love,
He died for love,
But love never dies.
We submit ourselves to the leadings of the love that is God,
that we may be compassionate to all beings,
that we may live and serve in community with others,
that we may ask for and offer forgiveness,
that we may praise and enjoy God forever. (Jim Burklo/b&b)
OR
Winter: A Litany
v1 Winter is the season when everything is hidden,
sheltering, hibernating, enfolding,
lying fallow, looking inwards,
using what is stored.
Wm It is a time to draw together, keeping the dark at bay.It is a time for comfort.
All We are the garden, and we are the gardener.
We are the tree, and we are the pruner.
We are the winter, and we are the promise beyond winter.
v2 Winter is the season when nothing is hidden.
The flourishing of flowers and fruit is gone.
We see only the bare bones of our lives,
spare, stark, of the essence.
Mn It is a time for recognition,It is a time for change.
All We are the garden, and we are the gardener.
We are the tree, and we are the pruner.
We are the winter, and we are the promise beyond winter.
v1 Winter is the season for testing the limits,
striding full tilt into the wind,
trudging through the rain,
gulping in the icy air.
Wm It is a time for boldness and resolve.It is a time for courage.
All We are the garden, and we are the gardener.
We are the tree, and we are the pruner.
We are the winter, and we are the promise beyond winter.
v2 Winter is the season of opportunity.
To prune and shape and throw away,
to open up, to let the light in,to feel the new air circulate.
Mn It is a time to let the new buds form.
It is a time to wait with eagerness for spring.
All We are the garden, and we are the gardener.
We are the tree, and we are the pruner.
We are the winter, and we are the promise beyond winter. (Jill & Ian Harris/el2)
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.
CELEBRATING
Hymn/Song People stand as they are able, to sing
“Touch the Earth, Reach the Sky” (Tune: ‘Touch the Earth’, 6.7.9.8) 301 SLT
Touch the earth, reach the sky!
Walk on shores while spirits fly
over the ocean, over the land,
our faith a quest to understand.
Touch the earth, reach the sky!
Children ask the reasons why.
In our lives the answers show,
and by our love they learn and grow.
Touch the earth, reach the sky!
All are born and all shall die;
Life’s the time left in between,
to follow a star, to build a dream.
Touch the earth, reach the sky!
Hug the laughter, feel the cry.
May we see where we can give,
for this is what it means to live.
Touch the earth, reach the sky!
Soar with courage ever high;
spirits joining as we fly,
to touch the earth, to reach the sky. Grace Lewis-McLaren.
People sit
OR
“In The Midst Of All Our Living” (Tune: ‘Nettleton’, 87 87D) 2 SiF
In the midst of every blessing
may my heart be filled with grace.
Streams of goodness, ever flowing
call for songs of highest praise.
May my words be filled with gratitude;
may my glad heart humble be.
As a holder of a blessing
May I share it gratefully.
In the midst of every trial
may my heart be filled with grace.
Streams of comfort, ever flowing
call for songs of highest praise.
May I find the strength within me;
may I sense it everywhere.
As I face what must be handled
may I find truth I can share.
In the midst of all our living
may our hearts be filled with grace.
Streams of goodness ever flowing
call for songs of highest praise.
May we seek and find encouragement;
may our choices worthy be.
As we journey on together,
may we know integrity. Words © Scott Kearns 2008, inspired by those of Robert Robinson, 1758
Offerings
Presentation
God of all times and places,
may our offerings reflect confidence and inclusiveness.
And may the programs and concerns we undertake
build up the church among us
and far beyond us.
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:
As one heart is lifted
All May we share its celebration
As one heart is burdened
All May we share the pain it knows. (Gretta Vosper/wwg)
And so we take a 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 the 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 that is appropriate
All Indwelling God,
infused throughout all existence,
we honour you with many names.
Your realm is within the human heart.
We accept life for all that it can be,
on earth as throughout all creation.
May we continue to draw sustenance from this earth,
and may we receive forgiveness equal to our own.
May we ever move from separation toward union,
to live in grace, with love in our hearts,
forever and ever. Amen. Fred F. Keip
SCATTERING
Hymn/Song People stand as they are able, to sing
“Celebrate the Cosmic Birthing” (Tune: ‘Hymn to Joy’)
Celebrate the cosmic birthing,
Flash of primal energy:
Swirling gases, densing matter
Stuff of galaxies to be.
Celebrate the life-force pulsing
through these 15 billion years,
Trillion, trillion stars emerging
From the cradle of the spheres.
Celebrate the white-heat furnace-
life evoking mother sun;
Celebrate her planet-offspring
Nine, in cosmic dance as one.
Celebrate her favoured daughter,
Earth, in cloak of fragile green;
Cragging rocks, and sounding ocean-
Surface-lashed, beneath serene.
Remain standing
Parting Words
As we prepare to leave this sacred space
where we have worshipped together,
let us return to our work, our home, our school,
enlivened and renewed...
The Community Candle is extinguished
May this ending be our beginning.
All Let us begin, again and again,
to wonder, and to cherish, and to act,
so that at day's end we will be content
knowing that we have given our all to life. M Hachten-Cotter
Words of Blessing
May God's love sustain, comfort and uphold you
this day and every day.
All Amen. May it be so.
Hymn/Song (Cont) “Celebrate the Cosmic Birthing” (Tune: ‘Hymn to Joy’)
Join the mystic dance of species,
Chaining, weaving, circling, one
Strong-competing, close depending,
Life swift ending, new begun.
Sing our senseful keen awareness-
Form and sound, scent, taste and hue.
High achieving, passing, transient-
Living, dying born anew. (Ian Cairns)
The people sit after the hymn
'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.
Burklo, J. Birdlike and Barnless: Meditations, Prayers, and Songs for Progressive Christians. Saint Johann Press, 2008.
(FFS) Faith Forever Singing. Songs for a New Day. Raumati. New Zealand Hymnbook Trust, 2000.
Harris, J. & I. (ed). The Ephesus Liturgies. Vol. 2. Eastbourne: Makaro Press, 2015.
Holy Bible. NRSV. Nashville. Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989.
(HoS) Hope Is Our Song. New Hymns and Songs from Aotearoa New Zealand. Palmerston North. New Zealand Hymnbook Trust, 2009.
(SiF) Kearns, S. (ed). Sing it Forward. Traditional Hymns Recast and Rewritten for Non-Exclusive Communities. In circulation from the author, 2009.
(SLT) Singing the Living Tradition. Boston. UUA, 1993.
(SNS2) Stuart, G. Singing a New Song. Traditional Hymn Tunes with New Century Lyrics. Volume 2. Toronto: G Stuart, 2009.
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.
Web sites/Other:
Keip, Hachten-Cotter. UUA Worship Web. Boston. UUA. < www.uua.org/spirituallife/worshipweb/>
Alex Ruth. [w-rcl] Liturgy web site.
Nancy L Steeves. One of several non-theistic resources found at: https://cloudfront.ualberta.ca/-/media/ststephens/publication-photos/ssc-ntlr-winter-2018.pdf
B Kleinheksel. C3Exchange, Spring Lake. MI. <http://www.c3exchange.org/
David Galston. Quest Learning Centre for Religious Literacy. http://www.questcentre.ca/