Christmas
Liturgical Celebration 2015 - God With Us
Receiving the
stole: All present are invited to wear a stole during this liturgy.
Welcome and
Theme
Presider: Welcome
to our Christmas liturgy. Today we
celebrate the birth of Jesus, human like us, who reveals God always with us in
our everyday loving. We celebrate Jesus, human like us, who challenges us to
let his story be our story, too.
Opening Prayer
Presider: O Holy One, we are
thankful for our brother Jesus who led us to see the sacred in the ordinary.
Through his teaching, we believe that we live in You, and You live and come to
a wonderful expression in us. Amen.
Please join in singing our opening song:
Opening Song: # 59 Glory to God by Marty Haugen
Refrain:
Glory to God, in the highest (3x)
And peace to God’s people on earth.
We sing praises to you,
God of life, God of wonder,
Hearts filled with joy,
let our voices be thunder.
Refrain
Sing to Jesus the Christ,
Word of life to the nations,
Raised up in glory
As our hope and salvation.
Refrain
In the Spirit we come
For the feast and the stories,
Speaking of God
In the pain and the glory.
Refrain (2x)
LITURGY OF THE WORD
Reading 1: A
reading from In Search of Belief by Joan Chittister
I believe that in
the humanity of Jesus lies the glory of us all.
If Jesus is the Breath of the Spirit, if the Spirit can work through the
humanity of Jesus, then the Spirit can work through our humanity,
as well.
The Jesus who was “conceived by the Holy Spirit” not only reminds us
of the Spirit within but shows us the character of the life
we shape by opening ourselves to the impulse of God who, daily, leads us
beyond ourselves. As Jesus responded to the Spirit in his own life, so we
realize, can we. As Jesus was formed by it, we now know we are.
The awareness of the Spirit within us is the awareness of the Cosmic,
created by God and embodied in Jesus.
The Spirit opened Jesus to a world beyond his own. The Spirit does
the same for us, if only we allow ourselves to become bigger
than the limitations of a humanity in which the divinity has
never been unleashed.
We tie ourselves to the religions of the world: to national
chauvinism, to religious intolerance, to racist conclusions
and sexist structures and call it fidelity to the law of God.
But all the while, the conception of Jesus leads us to
reach out to the Samaritan Woman, the Roman soldier,
the needy in our midst, where the Holy Spirit is also working,
also struggling to bring life to the full.
The conception, the impulsion, the kindling of Jesus
by the Spirit of the Holy calls us to become less concentrated
on sin and more on grace, less concerned with the restrictions
of law and more with the limitless possibilities of love,
less obsessed by the limitations of being human more in awe of its potential.
It is humanity that is the womb of the divine in us."
If Jesus is the Breath of the Spirit, if the Spirit can work through the
humanity of Jesus, then the Spirit can work through our humanity,
as well.
The Jesus who was “conceived by the Holy Spirit” not only reminds us
of the Spirit within but shows us the character of the life
we shape by opening ourselves to the impulse of God who, daily, leads us
beyond ourselves. As Jesus responded to the Spirit in his own life, so we
realize, can we. As Jesus was formed by it, we now know we are.
The awareness of the Spirit within us is the awareness of the Cosmic,
created by God and embodied in Jesus.
The Spirit opened Jesus to a world beyond his own. The Spirit does
the same for us, if only we allow ourselves to become bigger
than the limitations of a humanity in which the divinity has
never been unleashed.
We tie ourselves to the religions of the world: to national
chauvinism, to religious intolerance, to racist conclusions
and sexist structures and call it fidelity to the law of God.
But all the while, the conception of Jesus leads us to
reach out to the Samaritan Woman, the Roman soldier,
the needy in our midst, where the Holy Spirit is also working,
also struggling to bring life to the full.
The conception, the impulsion, the kindling of Jesus
by the Spirit of the Holy calls us to become less concentrated
on sin and more on grace, less concerned with the restrictions
of law and more with the limitless possibilities of love,
less obsessed by the limitations of being human more in awe of its potential.
It is humanity that is the womb of the divine in us."
Presider: Please join in praying our response:
Response: We are birthing a new creation.
What are we
birthing?
Wisdom and
justice,
Peace and
compassion,
Concern for all
God’s little ones,
For the homeless
and the destitute,
The hungry, and
all who bear the brunt
Of indifference
and oppression.
With joy we say:
We are birthing a new creation.
What are we
birthing?
A deep respect for
our planet ,
Its windsong and
its waters,
Its topsoil and
its forests,
And a oneness with
the wilderness
That is image of
our soul.
With joy we say:
We are birthing a new creation.
What are we
birthing?
An unbreakable bond
in the Spirit
That binds as one
- all brothers and sisters,
Transcending
class, color, culture,
Religion, race and
gender.
With joy we say:
We are birthing a new creation.
(adapted from
A Psalm of Bringing to Birth by Miriam Therese Winter in WomanWord (1990.)
Alleluia
Gospel: A
reading from the Gospel of John. (John 1: 1-9)
In the beginning
there was the Divine word and wisdom.
The Divine word
and wisdom was there with God,
And it was what
God was.
It was there with
God from the beginning.
Everything came to
be by means of it;
Nothing that
exists came to be without its agency.
In it was life,
And this life was
the light of humanity.
Light was shining
in the darkness,
And darkness did
not master it.
There appeared a
man sent from God named John.
He came to testify
– to testify to the light –
So everyone would
believe through him.
He was not the
light; he came only to attest to the light.
Genuine light the
kind that provides light for everyone
Was coming into
the world.
Followed by:
Cosmic
Silent Night
Homily
Statement of
Faith
Presider: Please
join in proclaiming 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.
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.
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.
Presider: We pray
acknowledging God’s Spirit here with us. Standing in solidarity with our
sisters and brothers, we bring our many needs and concerns to the table. Please feel free to voice your concerns
beginning with the words, “I bring to the table….”. (at conclusion) We pray for
these and all unspoken concerns. Amen.
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
Presider: Please
join in praying our Eucharistic Prayer: Oneness
All:
O Holy Wisdom enfolding us, we lift up our hearts and proclaim that our spirits
are one.
You
are, and we are in your presence. You are with us and we live.
Everything
lives because of you, and everything is one.
Your
Spirit moves among us like the wind, and we are blessed.
With
joy, we enter into the oneness and attune ourselves to this harmony as we sing:
Holy,
Holy, Holy
(Words and
music by Karen Druker)
We are holy, holy,
holy,
We are holy, holy,
holy,
We are whole.
Spirit Divine, Come to Me,
healing Love, healing Me.
Open my heart, allow me to see,
Beauty and love, lives in me.
You are holy,
holy, holy…
All:
O, Holy One, we wish to be more fully alive, children of wisdom and of oneness;
we wish to drink deeply of your spirit.
We
thank you, O Holy One, for those who have come among us pointing to your
wisdom, those who have come as our mirrors, our advocates, our friends.
We
thank you for Jesus, our brother, so full of life and generous love. We find
you and our truest selves in him.
Before
he walked towards his greatest challenge, he called his friends together around
a table and he reminded them of oneness and the fullness of life.
At the Seder meal, they sang
together the psalms of liberation, and then carefully he went among them, to
wash their feet.
Presider: (lifts bread) Please
extend your hands in blessing over these gifts.
All: Back at the table, Jesus
took bread from the meal into his hands, said the grace and shared it with
them, saying,
Come, eat this bread;
it is my life. (pause)
Presider: (lifts bread)
All: Then he took a cup of wine,
said the grace and shared it, saying,
Come, share the cup of my life,
which makes the covenant new again for you and for everyone,
so that you might be truly free.
Whenever you do all this, you
are what I am. (pause)
All:
We remember our brothers and sisters who have gone before us and all the saints
who have done your will throughout the ages.
We
praise you in union with them, and give you glory through Jesus, our brother.
For it is…
Through
him, we have learned to how to live.
Through
him, we have learned how to love.
Through
him, we have learned how to serve.
Great
AMEN (sung)
Presider 1: Let us pray together the
prayer of Jesus:
Creator
of All
(Written by the Monks of Weston Priory)
Creator
of all,
You
are with us.
Holy
is your name.
May
Your kin-dom come,
Your
will be done
by
all who share the work of your creation.
Give
us bread for the world’s hunger
And
forgiveness in your mercy
As
we forgive those who are in debt to us
For
You are compassion, justice and love
Forevermore.
amen!
PRAYER FOR THE BREAKING OF BREAD
Presider: Please join
in our prayer for the breaking of the bread.
All:
Loving God, You call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice. We will live justly.
Loving God, You call us to be Your presence in the world. We will love tenderly.
Loving God, You call us to speak truth to power. We will walk with integrity in your presence.
Loving God, You call us to be Your presence in the world. We will love tenderly.
Loving God, You call us to speak truth to power. We will walk with integrity in your presence.
COMMUNION
(Presiders lift the bread and wine)
Presider: This is
Jesus, the Bread of Life. How blessed are we who are called to the table.
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.
Presider: Please pass the bread and wine with the greeting: You
are the face of God.
Communion Song: Instrumental
Communion
Meditation Song: # 92 O Little Town by Over the Rhine (p.32)
Songwriters LINFORD DETWEILER
O
little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy dark and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
How still we see thee lie
Above thy dark and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in
thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight
The everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight
The
lamplit streets of Bethlehem
We walk now through the night
There is no peace in Bethlehem
There is no peace in sight
We walk now through the night
There is no peace in Bethlehem
There is no peace in sight
The
wounds of generations
Almost too deep to heal
Scar the timeworn miracle
And make it seem surreal
Almost too deep to heal
Scar the timeworn miracle
And make it seem surreal
The
baby in the manger
Grew to a man one day
And still we try to listen now
To what he had to say
Grew to a man one day
And still we try to listen now
To what he had to say
Put up
your swords forever
Forgive your enemies
Love your neighbor as yourself
Let your little children come to me
Forgive your enemies
Love your neighbor as yourself
Let your little children come to me
O
little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy dark and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
How still we see thee lie
Above thy dark and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
ANNOUNCEMENTS
(Presider begins announcements and recognition of
special events during the month, etc.)
BLESSING
Presider: Please raise your hands as
we bless each other.
“May today there be peace within.
May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities
that are born of faith in yourself and others.
May you use the gifts that you have received,
and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content with yourself just the way you are.
Let this knowledge settle into your bones,
and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us." ...”
Amen.
~ Saint Terese of Liseaux
May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities
that are born of faith in yourself and others.
May you use the gifts that you have received,
and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content with yourself just the way you are.
Let this knowledge settle into your bones,
and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us." ...”
Amen.
~ Saint Terese of Liseaux
Presider: Please join in singing our closing song and wish each other a Christmas
blessing of peace.
Closing Song: #11. Blessing Song
© Jan Phillips 2012
May the blessing of peace be upon you
may peace be all you know
may the blessing of peace be upon you may it follow wherever you go.
may the blessing of peace be upon you may it follow wherever you go.
Shalom, salaam, shaanti, pacem May
peace prevail on earth
Shalom, salaam, shaanti, pacem May
peace prevail on earth.
(continue with joy, love, light)
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