The Good Friday passion narrative (John 18:1-19:42) proclaimed in many Christian churches today is familiar to most worshipers. However, the story that is missing from this version or any other account is one of the most touching scenes along the way of the cross: “Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.” This moving and tender act, the sixth station of the cross, is not reported in the bible. Most scholars agree it is a Medieval addendum. This omission does not mean it did not happen. Grieving for him, Veronica and other women of Jerusalem surely followed Jesus on his way to Golgotha. The name Veronica in Greek means “she who brings victory.” The derivation from Latin is “true image.” Both of these translations are valuable and can help us dwell on what Veronica did as we replay the passion story and “the victory of the cross.”
The cross was the end of the road for Jesus of Nazareth. His crucifixion, according to scholar Reginald Fuller, marked the “culmination of the intensely personal mission of Jesus as a whole.” Catholic doctrine holds that what we do in the name of Jesus is made possible because of what Jesus did for us. Fuller suggests that a good way to understand what is expected from Christians is to think of ourselves, as being so caught up in (“obedient to”) the life of Christ that we are compelled to carry out acts of mercy and tenderness as he did.
In his lifetime Jesus broke down the borders that prevented people from living with dignity. For this itinerant rabbi, all people, regardless of who they were, deserved to be treated equally. In doing so Jesus modeled a new way of living. To this day the cross is a powerful symbol of what Jesus of Nazareth lived and died for.
The COVID-19 virus has caused us to see in the deaths of others our own mortality. Elizabeth Palmer, an editor at Christian Century magazine wrote, “Being forced to envision our own mortality can strip us bare of all pretenses and reveal who we really are.” No matter how hard we try to go about daily affairs our lives and normal routines have been disrupted. We ask: how will some people ever survive this pandemic and bounce back? On this Good Friday we contemplate more emphatically what it means to bear not only our crosses but those that weigh down others.
Mindful of the origins of Veronica’s name we too reflect the “true image” of Christ. The cross stands in our midst not only as a reminder of what Jesus suffered. It also beckons us to grasp and carry it as many individuals, congregations and other groups have done. The cross continues to be a grim reminder that the task Jesus set out to do — to free people from the chains of captivity — is far from being accomplished. We’ve named these atrocities before but the list continues to grow. Who among us is ready to step up to wash the face of the earth clean of immoral acts?
What then do we do in a world ravaged by a pandemic, nativistic autocrats, immigration camps, prisons along borders, and, the lack of a health care safety net for all? The Coronavirus has exposed yet again societal and economic inequities. We are overwhelmed with unanticipated responsibilities for ourselves, families and neighbors and also for those who are more vulnerable than others. They include young children, parents, homeless and hungry people, unemployed personnel, prisoners, and so many others who do not have the means or abilities to survive the pandemic.
Just reading or hearing the passion today is not enough. The cross Jesus died on belongs to all of us. Veronica knew this. Like her name suggests we can be the true image of Christ. Together we can raise each other up. That is what Jesus died for.
Presider 1: Welcome to our MMOJ Easter Liturgy on Zoom! We invite you to pray the liturgy and respond where it says, all. All participants will be muted during the liturgy except for the presiders and readers. During the shared homily we ask you to raise your hand if you would like to contribute. Please have bread and wine/juice in front of you as we pray our Eucharistic prayer.
Presider 2: Let us begin now with our gathering song:
For lo, the winter is past and the rains are over and gone.
Arise, my love, my fair one.
The flowers appear on the earth and the time of singing has come.
Arise, my love, my fair one.
The voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land.
Arise, my love, my fair one.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
Communal Reconciliation Rite
Presider 1: We pause now to remember the times we have not born fruit in loving service to others. Recall one missed opportunity, one broken or damaged relationship. Now imagine this person or situation in the light of healing love as we ask for forgiveness.
(Pause briefly. Then Extend arm over community)
All: Please forgive me, I am sorry, I love you, I thank you.
Opening Prayer
Presider 2: Risen One you called Mary of Magdala to proclaim the goodness of our humanity. We rejoice in Your presence within around and among us. We pray for those who are sick and suffering and for all health care workers and care givers. With you, we rise up in love to bring new life to our world!
When the Blessed One had said these things, he greeted them all saying, “Peace be with you! Bear my peace within yourselves! Beware that no one lead you astray saying , ‘Look over here!’ Or ‘Look over there’ for the Child of Humanity is within you. Follow it! Those who seek it will find it. Go then and proclaim the good news of the realm. Do not lay down any rules beyond what I determined for you, nor give a law like the lawgiver lest you be confined by it.” When he said this, he departed.
Then Mary stood up. She greeted them all, and said to her brothers and sisters, “Do not weep and be pained, nor doubt, for all his grace will be with you and shelter you. But rather let us praise his greatness, for he has prepared us and made us Humans. When Mary said this, she turned their heart to the Good and they began to discuss the words of Jesus, the Teacher.
(4:1-11, 5: 4-8)
The good news of the Gospel of Mary, apostle to the apostles.
All: Thanks be to God!
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 4: (Adapted from Psalms for Praying by Nan Merrill)
Holy One, your face shines in us
You answer me when I call, O Beloved of my heart.
You embrace me in love when I am in dire distress.
You are gracious to me, You hear my prayer.
Response: Alleluia
You dwell with all who are filled with love.
and cry out within us
You move through us when we feel anger and do not give into fear.
You love in us, Heart of our hearts
As we rest in silence and in all of our encounters.
Response: Alleluia
Your love fills us with joy.
In peace we will spend our days and sleep at night.
For you teach us the way of wisdom
And the path to justice.
Response: Alleluia
Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-4
Since you have been resurrected with Christ, set your heart on what pertains to higher realms, where Christ is seated at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things of earth. After all, you died, and now your life is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ- who is your life- is revealed, you too will be revealed with Christ in glory.
Early in the morning on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance, so she ran off to Simon Peter and the other disiple- the one Jesus loved- and told them “The Rabbi has been taken from the tomb! We do not know where they have put Jesus!”
When Simon Peter arrived and entered the tomb, he observed the linen wrappings on the ground and saw the piece of cloth that had covered Jesus’ head lying not with the wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. The disciple who had arrived first at the tomb went in. He saw and believed. And yet, they did not understand the scripture that Jesus was to rise from the dead.
Meanwhile,Marystoodweepingbesidethetomb.Evenasshewept,shestoopedto peerinside,andthereshesawtwoangelsindazzlingrobes. One wasseatedatthehead and theotheratthefootoftheplace where Jesus’body had lain.
“They asked her, ‘Why are you weeping?’
“She answered them, ‘Because they have taken away my Rabbi, and I don’t know where they have put him.’
“No sooner had she said this, than she turned around and caught sight of Jesus standing there, but she didn’t know it was Jesus. He asked her ‘Why are you weeping! For whom are you looking?’
“She supposed it was the gardener, so she said, ‘Please, if you’re the one who carried him away, tell me where you’ve laid him and I will take him away.’
“Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’
“She turned to him and said, ‘Rabboni!’—which means ‘Teacher.’
“Jesus then said, ‘Don’t hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to Abba God. Rather, go to the sisters and brothers and tell them ‘I’m ascending to my Abba and to your Abba, my God and your God!’
“Then Mary went to the disciples. ‘I have seen the Teacher!’ she announced. Then she reported what he had said to her.”
The Gospel of Mary, (most likely Mary Magdalene) was written in Coptic around the time many scholars date the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Although it disappeared for fifteen hundred years, a single fragmentary copy translated in Coptic was found in the nineteenth century. Two additional fragments of this sacred text were found in the twentieth century.
The good news of the Gospel of Mary is that divine love is embodied in our humanity and everything in our created universe is good! In this ancient Gospel Jesus teaches people how to welcome true humanity into themselves. The focus is on becoming real human beings. Jesus is the Child of Humanity and Jesus’ primary purpose is making us “human beings. For Jesus, in the Gospel of Mary, sin is an illusion. “If one rejects the notion of sin, the Savior says, one allows the good to come forward and take its rightful place as guide to how to become a true human being.”
He advises them to focus on the soul’s orientation to God, not on external laws as the source of salvation and wholeness. In other words, Jesus advocates a theology of blessing, not sin, that appeals to spiritual seekers from many faiths and no faith today. Just think how different our Church’s teachings, theology and spirituality would have been had we integrated the wisdom of the Gospel of Mary over 21 centuries. But it is not too late to reclaim our spiritual authority is rooted in our humanity and divinity, the goodness of God within us and within all living beings. Let us rise up to reclaim our lost treasure this Easter season.
Homily Starter – Part 2: Rev. Janet Blakeley
The Gospel of Mary, teaching that creation is good, comes as no surprise. Having attended how many? Easter Vigils we always remember the beloved reading from Genesis – “God created the heavens and the earth and everything else and pronounced that it was good. In fact, it was very good!” Maybe because we see things as not good right now – especially the state of our human race – we doubt our goodness. Still – the message is heard again, thousands of years later – and we cannot deny it. Creation, God says, is good, and we are good. We learn, furthermore, that God’s love – therefore God’s essence – is embedded within us and it is this, says Mary of Magdala, that makes us fully human. A human being is human and divine. Therein lies our joy at Easter, for that which is God in us is already risen in a mysterious way, outside of time and space, hidden in God, but still a part of us.
That which is risen must first die, as Jesus showed us. His was a complete letting go, a relinquishing of life in all its aspects, willingly given. Most of us find our deaths to be many, sometimes seemingly overwhelming, other times small, with one thing in common – a letting go, a letting it be, a recognition that what is, is. These deaths are what bring about the gradual rising of the divinity within us
Today we are experiencing a rapidly increasing struggle with death, as individuals, as a society, and as one with the Earth. We may soon be pushed to the limit of our willingness to accept what this death is calling for – to let go of life as we have known it. We will either act out of denial by seeking distractions of all kinds (our culture’s customary way), or we will plunge into the unknown, trusting our inner divinity to guide us.
If we choose to avoid the deaths offered us, we will still be loved by God and seen as good, but we will have missed opportunities to deepen in our knowing of God and we will be under-developed human beings. We will have been a drag on evolution and will have slowed the coming of God’s realm. If we follow Jesus’s example and accept the deaths that are offered, we will be true Easter people, raised, a light to the nations, a comfort to the people. Through us the Body of Christ may be healed by the Body of Christ. That which was good, will be verygood!
Reflection Question:
What is the good news that you heard and want to proclaim in our Easter Liturgy readings?
Shared Reflections
Presider 2: Profession of Faith
All: We believe in the Holy One who loves passionately, embraces all and forgives everything.
We believe in Jesus who accompanies us on our journey and shows the way to the fullness of life.
We believe in the Divine Spirit, the breath of Wisdom Sophia, who energizes us as co-creators of caring communities that challenge oppression, exploitation and injustice.
We believe that we are radiant images of God called to live fully, love tenderly, and serve generously.
We believe in the communion of saints, our heavenly friends, who support us on life’s journey.
We believe in the partnership and equality of women and men in our church and world.
We believe that we are one in the Heart of God.
Prayers of and for the Community
Presider 1: Aware that the Holy One is present within us and works through us, we bring to the table our intentions
All:We remember and we pray.
Presider 2: For all health care workers who are bringing healing to the suffering,
All:We remember and we pray.
Presider 1: For wisdom for government leaders in this world-wide pandemic,
All:We remember and we pray.
Presider 2: For those who have lost their health, jobs and homes,
All:We remember and we pray.
Presider 1: For all those who need our prayers. Please speak your intentions now. (pause)
All:We remember and we pray.
Presider 2: We can do all things in the power of the Spirit working through us.
All: Amen
PREPARATION OF THE GIFTS
Presider 1: Blessed are You, O Holy One, through Your divine providence we have this bread to offer, it will become for us the Bread of Life.
All: Blessed are You forever.
Presider 2: Blessed are You, O Holy One, through Your divine providence we have this wine to offer, it will become our spiritual drink.
All: Blessed are You forever.
Presider 1: Nurturing One, we are united in this sacrament by the love of Jesus in communion with all who proclaim the liberating power of your Spirit, rising in our midst.
All: Amen.
Presider 2:O Heart of Love, You dwell in us,
All:And we dwell in You.
Presider 1:O Pursuer of Justice, You speak truth through us.
All:In service to our sisters and brothers.
Presider 2: O Source of All Life, in you we live and move and have our being,
All: All the days of our lives.
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
Presider 1:Your Spirit, who raised Jesus from the dead, is rising up in all who work for humanity’s healing and well being. With thankful hearts, in the company of Mary of Magdala and all holy women and men, your liberating Spirit rises up within us and works through us.
Presider 2: O Heart of Love,Your Spirit moved through Mary of Magdala and the Easter women as they stood by the broken body of Jesus and encountered the Risen One. Your Spirit moves through us as we serve the broken body of Christ rising up in our world today.
Presider 2:Please extend Your hands in blessing.
Presider 1: You pour out Your spirit anew upon this bread and wine and upon us as we become more deeply the Christ Presence in our world.
On the night before he died, Jesus came to table with the women and men he loved.
Jesus took bread blessed and broke it, saying,
“Take, eat, this is my body. Do this in memory of me.”
(pause)
Presider 2: After supper, Jesus poured a cup of wine and shared it with his friends, saying,
“This is the cup of the covenant of my love. As often as You drink of it, remember me.”
Presider 1: Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died in all those who have passed away in the Coronavirus.
Christ is rising in all those working for the well being of humanity.
Christ comes each day in our work for a renewed world with justice for all.
Presider 2: Embracing Presence, we remember all the companions who have gone before us: Mary, Mother of Jesus, Mary of Magdala, and all holy women and men who are rising up in loving service to heal our world. For it is through living as Jesus lived,
and loving as he loved,
that we awaken to Your Spirit
empowering us to work for justice. All: AMEN.
COMMUNION RITE
The Prayer of Jesus
Presider 2:Let us pray as Jesus taught us. Our Father and Mother…
Sign of Peace
Presider 1: Jesus said to his disciples, “My peace I leave You. My peace I give You.”
The peace of the Holy One is also with You.
Let us share a cyber hug!
Presider 2: Please join in praying the Litany for the Breaking of the Bread: Holy One, You call us to speak truth to power; we will do so.
Holy One, You call us to live the Gospel of healing and justice; we will do so.
Holy One, You call us to be Your presence in the world; we will do so.
Presider 1:This is the bread of life and the cup of blessing. Blessed are we who are called to the table.
All: We are the Body of Christ.
Communion
Presider 2: Pease share Eucharist now.
Communion Meditation Song: “God is holding Me Now”
Presider 2: Please extend You hands as we pray our final blessing.
May we be the face of God to each other. May we call each other to extravagant generosity! We go forth with the energy of Spirit within us to heal and transform our church and world.
We are grateful to Brother Micky McGrath for his art work and also to the Benedictine Sisters of Erie for permission to use Joan Chittister's work. We are most grateful to the members of the Upper Room who provided us with the beautiful meditations for each station. We are attaching a list of additional resources for each station.
We will be praying these stations together on Good Friday through Zoom Video Conferencing. The program is one hour in length and the same program will be presented at noon, 3:00pm and 5:30pm.
Here is the Zoom link to join. Please join five at least 5 minutes before the program begins.
Holy Thursday: Eucharist In Action: A Living Presence - 2020
Welcome. A few weeks back we had a reading called “Dangerous Words”. That reading and the gospel that Sunday reminded us what Jesus expected of us. He told us to “turn the other cheek”, walk the extra mile, love one another, and even love our enemy. Tonight, we celebrate Holy Thursday. It is Holy because Jesus gathered with his friends one last time, he washed their feet, and fed them. Jesus’ words had become dangerous actions. How will we put our Eucharistic gathering into action?
Jesus, like all Jews, began his prayers with the Shema. We will do the same tonight.
Opening Prayer- Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. Blessed be the name of his glorious kingdom forever and ever. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today will be in your heart. And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall speak of them when you sit at home, and when you walk along the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up. (Deut. 6:4-7)
Please join in singing our Opening Song: The Summons
Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same?
Will you let my love be known? Will you let my name be known?
Will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?
Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?
Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen?
And admit to what I mean in you and you in me?
Would your summon echo true when you but call my name?
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.
In your company I’ll go where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll move and live and grow in you and you in me.
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: A Reading from It’s Time: Challenges to the Doctrine of the Faith
The human reality is that Jesus, the Jew, had a Passover meal with his Jewish friends. In a movement of friendship with Jesus, try to understand what might have been moving in his mind and heart as he came to the end of his life, knowing his ministry had failed. Let us take on board the image of a man who when he came to Jerusalem for the last time, broke down and cried over what might have been. Let us imagine Jesus considering the small group of men and women gathered around him thinking that the future of his dream and everything he was ready to die for rested with them. Only when we meet Jesus heart to heart in this way will we really understand and appreciate the true story of "Eucharist."
Jesus took bread, broke it, and identified the gesture with himself. The point of the gesture was not to raise questions about how the bread was Jesus or became Jesus. Rather, it was Jesus' powerful way of expressing symbolically, this is what it is like to be me. What Jesus wanted his friends to see in the gesture was his willingness to give his all for what he believed, someone blessed and broken and given. Jesus wanted his friends to remember him this way. But, more than that, he asked them to eat the bread. The point of eating the bread was not to raise questions about what they were actually eating. That question would not have risen in the minds of Jews sharing a Passover meal that was permeated with the power of symbol. No, the obvious question here is: To what were those present committing themselves if they took the bread from Jesus and ate it? They would have realized that Jesus was symbolically asking for their commitment to carry on his ministry. He was asking if they, too, were willing to be blessed, broken and given.
These are the inspired words of Michael Morwood, theologian, and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Spirit of the Living God-Fall fresh on me. (x2) Melt me, Mold me, Fill me, Use me.
Spirit of the Living God-Fall fresh on me.
A Reading from the Gospel according to John
JN 13:1-15
Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to his beloved, the Holy One.
So, during supper, he rose and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Master, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well." Jesus said to him, "Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all." For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, "Not all of you are clean."
So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, "Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me 'teacher' and 'master,' and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”
These are the inspired words from John a disciple of Jesus. AMEM
Homily
We know that Jesus ate with his disciples many times, and they most likely ate bread and fish, and drank wine. We know that Jesus fed his disciples just as he fed the crowds. We do not know Jesus’ exact words this night. The words of consecration were attributed to him. These words were not magic words but dangerous words in action. Take and eat, this is my body, take and drink, this is my blood.
The use and misuse of Jesus’ words have caused arguments, persecutions, schisms, massacres, crusades and wars. Michael Morwood tells us Jesus was speaking metaphorically and in real time was asking his disciples and us for a commitment. A commitment to love. Jesus’ whole life right up to the last moment asked for our commitment to love one another. Not just in words but in actions. Will you and I agree, to commit, to be Blessed, Broken and Given?
True Eucharist began when Jesus bent down and washed the disciple’s feet. Washing feet was a sign of hospitality. Hospitality was much more than being welcoming, saying hello, offering a cup of coffee. Hospitality meant taking care of each other. In those days, hospitality could mean life or death. Today I think of Mother Teresa when I think of the original definition of hospitality. She took care of the marginalized. She literally picked them up out of the gutter, gave them something to eat and drink and washed them. Mother Teresa put Jesus’ words into actions. She provided life-saving hospitality. Okay, maybe you and I do not have the strength or opportunity to live out our commitment like Mother Teresa. Instead of being on the streets of Calcutta we are here in the middle of a global pandemic. Although we may feel powerless, overwhelmed, frustrated and lonely, our quality of hospitality for some may be life or death. How are we caring for one another, comforting one another while we have to shelter in place? You and I already know some of the answers to this question.
Washing of Hands-Imitating Jesus as we Shelter at Home.
Presider: We normally would rise and wash each other’s hands now. Tonight, I ask you to briefly share how you or others you know are imitating Jesus, putting his words into actions, taking care of one another during this difficult time. We are not powerless. We can do “small things with great love.” (Mother Teresa)
Song: Namaste. We cannot touch one another with our hands but we can send the loving sign of Namaste to one another.
The Divine in me blesses and honors the Divine in you.
The beauty of God stands before me, expressing uniquely as you.
The spirit of goodness within you shines forth in all that you do.
Namaste, Namaste, Namaste.
The Divine in me blesses and honors the divine in you.
Statement of Faith
Presider: Please join in praying our Statement of Faith:
All: We believe in one God, a divine mystery
beyond all definition and rational understanding,
the heart of all that has ever existed,
that exists now, or that ever will exist.
We believe in Jesus, messenger of God's Word,
bringer of God's healing, heart of God's compassion,
bright star in the firmament of God's
prophets, mystics, and saints.
We believe that we are called to follow Jesus
as a vehicle of God's love,
a source of God's wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of God's peace in the world.
We believe that God's kin-dom is here and now,
stretched out all around us for those
with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it,
and hands to make it happen.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Presider: We bring to this table our blessings, cares, and intentions. Please pray these intentions in the silence of your hearts. Amen.
Presider: Holy One, you have been called by many names by many people in the centuries of our planet’s life. Yet, no name truly defines you or describes you. We celebrate you as the marvelous, loving energy of life who caused us and our world to be. We celebrate you as the Source of light and life and love, and we celebrate your presence and all-ways care.
Presider: Please join with open hearts and hands in praying the Eucharistic prayer together: (written by Jay Murnane)
All: Great Spirit of the wonder-ful expansion and evolution of creation, we come together with joy and amazement in this season of grace and rebirth.
We join together in an open, hopeful circle of life, to bring courage out of the heart of our fear, to bring a gentle acknowledgement of communion out of the alienation of the illusion of our separations.
Joined consciously with the fire and wind of your Spirit, with the emerging buds of spring’s regeneration, with the laughter of children this precious world ‘round, we sing out a simple song of thanksgiving:
We thank you for Jesus, our way to the truth about living.
On the night before he faced his own death and for the sake of living fully, Jesus sat at the Seder supper with his companions and friends. He reminded them of all that he taught them, and to fix that memory clearly within them, be bent down and washed their feet.
When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat; this is my very self.
Receive your bread
Then he took the cup of the covenant, spoke the grace, and offered it to the saying:
Take and drink. Whenever you remember me like this, I am among you.
Receive your cup
ALL: What we have heard with our ears, we will live with our lives; as we share communion, we will become communion, both Love’s nourishment and Love’s challenge.
Since you for-ever breathe forth your Spirit, we will, like Jesus, be opened up wide and filled and given in love.
For it is through learning to live as he lived,
and why he lived,
that we awaken to your Spirit within, moving us to worship you truly, life-giving God, at this time and at all time, and in all ways.
You support us in our power, and we act with courage.
For you are the dwelling place within us, and the
empowerment around us, and the celebration among us,
now and forever. Amen.
Presider: In the beginning, Your Spirit was poured into the void, and there came to be universes. We, people of your Spirit, can be poured into the chaos of our world’s blindness, for the sake of life. This is the springtime of the earth and we are one with all creation.
All: Glory be to God! As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen.
BLESSING
Let us raise our hands and sing our final blessing.
