We had a Table of Remembrance
that people brought photos and other mementos to be our Opening ritual.
Our
opening song was, "Bring Him Home" by The Piano Guys. https://youtu.be/5mJ08-pyDLg During this time people came to the Table of
Remembrance and lit a candle.
Signposts on the Way to
God - from Henri Nouwen's Bread for the Journey
How do we know about God's love, God's generosity, God's kindness, God's forgiveness? Through our parents, our friends, our teachers, our pastors, our spouses, our children ... they all reveal God to us. But as we come to know them, we realise that each of them can reveal only a little bit of God. God's love is greater than theirs; God's goodness is greater than theirs; God's beauty is greater than theirs.
At first we may be disappointed in these people in our lives. For a while we thought that they would be able to give us all the love, goodness, and beauty we needed. But gradually we discover that they were all signposts on the way to God.
How do we know about God's love, God's generosity, God's kindness, God's forgiveness? Through our parents, our friends, our teachers, our pastors, our spouses, our children ... they all reveal God to us. But as we come to know them, we realise that each of them can reveal only a little bit of God. God's love is greater than theirs; God's goodness is greater than theirs; God's beauty is greater than theirs.
At first we may be disappointed in these people in our lives. For a while we thought that they would be able to give us all the love, goodness, and beauty we needed. But gradually we discover that they were all signposts on the way to God.
(Henri Nouwen)
When I am down and,
oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still
and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.
You raise me up,
so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up… To more than I can be.
If You Love Me, Do Not Cry
(St. Augustine)
If You Love Me, Do Not Cry
Don’t cry if you love me
If you know God’s grace
And what Heaven is like,
If you were able to listen
To the angel songs
And you see me among them,
If you were able to think for awhile
About the beauty
That no other beauty can match,
Wipe your tears and do not cry,
If you love me.
Death is nothing.
It is just having moved to the other side.
I am still what I am and you are still what you are.
What we used to be for each other is still the same.
Call me by the name you used to.
And talk to me as you have done before.
Do not use a different tone.
Do not be rigid or sad.
Continue to laugh about what used to make us laugh.
Pray for me.
Smile.
Think of me and pray
with me.
Let my name be mentioned at home as before.
Without any exaggeration or distress.
Life continues to mean what it always did.
And it is still the same
The thread did not break.
Do you feel I have become outside of your thoughts
Because I am far from your sight?
No.
I am not far from you.
I am just on the other side of the road,
And everything is fine.
You will find my heart and my love pure.
Wipe your tears and do not cry.
If you love me
Let my name be mentioned at home as before.
Without any exaggeration or distress.
Life continues to mean what it always did.
And it is still the same
The thread did not break.
Do you feel I have become outside of your thoughts
Because I am far from your sight?
No.
I am not far from you.
I am just on the other side of the road,
And everything is fine.
You will find my heart and my love pure.
Wipe your tears and do not cry.
If you love me
Homily 10/25/15
As we planetary pilgrims enter the darkest time of
the year, it seems right and holy to descend and process the dark and troubling
parts of our own souls. The leaves are
falling in a beautiful dance. What might
we let fall away from our own lives? In
conversations I've had recently, I have heard the need that so many of us have
for healthy grieving. This is one area
in my life that I have had some profound experiences. As I've often mentioned, I suffered my whole
life from clinical depression. One of
the most healing things that happened during my time in psychotherapy was the
realization that I needed to mourn the loss of my mother. The woman who had been a loving mother to me
descended into mental illness when I was 9.
I was nearly 40 before I realized I needed to grieve that. The tears were so healing and the feeling of
liberation made me feel like an eagle soaring.
Church should be a safe place to do grief work and we are going to have
an opportunity to do that today. I hope
we all feel free to cry here as well as laugh. Psalm 30 says God will turn our
mourning into dancing. But first the
tears... I remember back to a time in
church, St. Peter's, that I had tears of mourning. It was shortly after we moved here and I was
sad about leaving our previous home. I
dashed into the bathroom to cry.
If
that's where you need to go, that is fine.
If you need to go outside that is fine, if you want to go sit in your
car that is fine too. I have an exercise
that I am offering as part of our celebration today. It comes from my spiritual director's
training program. We will take a few
moments to do this and then come back together to share if anyone wishes to do
that. If this isn't for you just take this time to do as you please. If this is
too much for you to do here, you may take it home with you to try later. I am sure any one of us can be a listening
ear for your sorrow, if you feel more comfortable doing this one on one. And of course the Holy Spirit will be with
you if you prefer to do it one on one with Her in some other place and some
other time. To me this is the beauty of
this model of church. We take
responsibility for our own growth. You
participate here to your own comfort level, no judgment, only acceptance and
compassion.
Grief Exercise:
GOD IS WITH US ON OUR
GRIEF JOURNEY: QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
1. What memories do you hold dear about the
person or persons you are remembering today?
2. What legacy(ies) did he/she/them leave with
you?
3.How have you felt
God's perceived presence or absence or both as you grieve?
4. What Scripture verses bring comfort to you as
you grieve?
5. What lessons have you learned from God as you
grieve?
6. What would you offer in the way of suggestion
to someone who is newly grieving?
Sara O. Vale, Ph.D. (2006)
Simple Eucharist
An Invitation
All: The table of bread and wine is now to be made
ready.
It is the table of company of Jesus, and all who love him.
It is the table of sharing with the poor of the world,
with whom Jesus identified himself.
It is the table of communion with the earth,
in which Christ became incarnate.
So come to this table,
you who have much faith
and you who would like to have more;
you who have been here often
and you who have not been for a long time;
you who have tried to follow Jesus,
and you who have failed; Come.
It is Christ who invites us to meet him here.
It is the table of company of Jesus, and all who love him.
It is the table of sharing with the poor of the world,
with whom Jesus identified himself.
It is the table of communion with the earth,
in which Christ became incarnate.
So come to this table,
you who have much faith
and you who would like to have more;
you who have been here often
and you who have not been for a long time;
you who have tried to follow Jesus,
and you who have failed; Come.
It is Christ who invites us to meet him here.
Iona Abbey Worship Book, Wild Goose
Publications,
The Iona Community, www.ionabooks.com.
The Iona Community, www.ionabooks.com.
Eucharistic
Prayer
Presider: When the hour had come, Jesus took a place at
the table and said to them, "I've longed to eat this Passover with you
before I suffer. Jesus took bread, gave
thanks for it, broke it and gave it to them saying:
All: "This is my body which will be given for
you. Do this in remembrance of me".
Presider:
Then taking the cup of wine Jesus gave thanks and said:
All: "Take this and share it among you. This cup is the New Covenant in my blood
which will be poured out for you". (Luke
21)
I give you a new
commandment: Love one another the way I
have loved you. This is how all will
know that you are my disciples, that you truly love one another. (John 13)
Litany for the Breaking
of the Bread
All:
Loving God, you call us to life, a new life, abundant life
Loving God, you call us to be
transformed by the Life of the Spirit
Loving God, you call us to join with
you in creating the world anew!
Presider: (lift bread and cup) Through the sharing of
this bread and wine may we awaken to the sacredness of our lives and the beauty
all around us. May we experience your
divine presence, O Creator God, so deeply, that our lives become reflections of
Jesus. Amen
All: This is the body of Christ for the Body of
Christ.
Communion Song:Table of Plenty
Blessing
Presider: May the Love that passes all understanding be
our guide. Take what you have received
and share it lovingly with all you meet.
All: Amen
Dismissal
Presider: Christ has no body now but yours. Go be the eyes, ears, arms and feet of Christ
Sophia. All: Thanks be to God!
Recessional: "When the Saints Go Marching In".
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