Mary Mother of Inclusive Catholic Community Celebrates Liturgy on 4th of July in Sarasota, Fl. , Co-Presiders Lee Breyer and Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP

left to right:Lee Breyer and Bridget Mary Meehan, Co-Preside with MMOJ Community
Marilyn Jenai, Janet Blakely, Sherry Robertson, Sally Brochu

Kevin and Judy Connelly , Kevin shares during Dialogue homily

Lee Breyer, Bridget Mary Meehan, Marilyn Jenai pray Eucharistic Prayer

www.marymotherofjesus.org

www.arcwp.org

"Be Prophetic" A Homily for 14th Sunday of July, 2014 by Judy Lee, RCWP

https://judyabl.wordpress.com/2015/07/03/be-prophetic-a-rc-woman-priests-homily-for-the-fourteenth-sunday-in-ot-july-52015/

Immigrant Detention Vigil by Silvia Brandon Pérez, ARCWP

July 4, 2015, 11am-12pm

West County Detention Facility

5555 Giant Highway, Richmond, CA

This vigil is dedicated to Jim Forsyth, who passed from this life on July 4^th, 2013, and who attended our vigils and meetings from their inception.  Jim Forsyth, presente!

Welcome – Bienvenida – Silvia Brandon Pérez

Most of us know the story of a child born to a poor family in a forgotten village in occupied land. A family forced to flee persecution, seeking asylum in a neighboring country as so many other so-called “illegal aliens;” a family living the life of the poor, the anawîm. The child, grown to be a man, speaking for the poor and against the excesses of empire, tortured and killed as a political criminal.  Today we are experiencing the excesses of empire as perhaps never before, torturing and killing with new technology, but always with the approval of the state, justifying our deeds with the seal of the so-called “law.”  It is time to turn the tables and rid our world of the merchants of greed and death by our constant nonviolent witness. 

·        Psalm 121

I look up to the mountains;
    does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God,
    who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.

·        I welcome all of you who have come to this event to a very short introduction.

·        Exodus 2 

A man from Levi’s family married a Levite woman.  The woman became pregnant and had a son. She saw how beautiful he was and hid him for three months. When she couldn’t hide him any longer, she took a basket made of papyrus plants and coated it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in it and set it among the papyrus plants near the bank of the Nile River. Pharaoh’s daughter opened the basket, looked at the baby, and saw it was a boy. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. She said, “This is one of the Hebrew children.”

Today, women and men from other shores are sending their children away to save their lives.  They come to us, wanting safety and food and the love of the stranger. 

·        1 Kings 8:41-43

We are like foreigners, O God, who have come from a distant land because of your great name, because of your mighty hand, your outstretched arm.  Enfold us now, O God, not as strangers, but as beloved children. Amen.

"When strangers sojourn with you in your land, you shall do them no wrong, the strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as natives among you, and you love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt."  —Leviticus 19:33-34

Hymn: Here I Am, Lord

Now we will hear Carolyn Scarr recite her beautiful poem about the immigration interview, more than 2000 years ago, of that poor family.  The text of the poem is in our song sheet.

·        Sharing by Iris on the fourth of July:

Thank you all for coming to this morning’s vigil on the 4th of July - the day of this nation’s independence. The US prides itself in freedom, liberty, and justice for all, but today, we ask ourselves - justice for whom? As we listen to these testimonies, let’s keep in mind that these narratives are often told, but not often really heard. My prayer is that we be able to listen with our ears, minds, and hearts to the ways these unjust immigration laws have affected those in our community, because when one part of the body hurts, we all hurt.

·         The poem The New Colossus, by Emma Lazarus, stands permanently inscribed in the Statue of Liberty, which we remember on this 4^th of July:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

·        Sharing by Jake: Pride & LGBTQ immigrant detention

·        From the Responsive reading based on the DECLARATION OF IMMIGRANT RIGHTS from Annunciation House, El Paso, TX

L:      We are a nation of immigrants. We come together from the four corners of the earth.

R:      We come from Mexico and the Philippines, from Central America, Ireland, Ethiopia and Iraq. We come to escape poverty and violence, fear, war, discrimination, political suppression and economic hardship.

L:      We leave behind parents and children and the skies of our homelands. We bring with us languages, photographs, telephone numbers, backpacks, stories, and hopes.

R:      We have walked day and night through the desert to cross the frontera. We have waited on the far side for papers to go through. We have hopped trains, seen companions fall, have put our trust in and been abandoned by coyotes—human smugglers. We are the ones who have arrived.

L:      We have been called illegals, mojados, aliens and terrorists. We are rounded up at work, leaving our children stranded. We are imprisoned and deported from the cities where we have lived for decades.

R:      We are math teachers and dishwashers, carpenters, translators, painters of portraits and of houses. We pick the apples in Yakima, Washington. We wash your dishes in restaurants in Minnesota. We rebuild houses in Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. We pay taxes out of our salaries.

L:      We send our children to school, wanting them to learn and succeed and to be safe. Neither do we forget the family members we have left in our birth countries: we work hard to support them as well. In some places we are invisible. But look for us—we are here. We are twelve million strong.

R:      We contribute our labor, our children, the rich textures of our cultures, and a chance for each of us—we and you—to learn compassion and wisdom through encountering the stranger. But we must be strangers no longer.

All:     We are your grandparents and your sons- and daughters-in-law, your past and your future. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we affirm our humanity, dignity, and value. As children of one God, as heirs of one earth, we assert our rights. 

ADDITIONAL READINGS:

·        We are a motley crew of people from many faiths, colors, creeds, lands.  All the sacred books constrain us to welcome the stranger in our midst.

"[Lord,] when did we see you a stranger and invite you in?" The King will reply, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."
—Matthew 25: 38, 40

"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."
—Hebrews 13:2

"For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
—Galatians 5:13-14

"...you are no longer strangers and sojourners but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God."
—Ephesians 2:11-21

"And let not those who possess dignity and ease among you swear not to give to the near of kind and to the needy, and to refugees for the cause of God. Let them forgive and show indulgence."
—Qur'an 24:22

"And do good unto your parents, and near of kin, and unto orphans, and the needy, and the neighbour from among your own people, and the neighbor who is a stranger, and the friend by your side, and the wayfarer, and those whom you rightfully possess. Verily, God does not love any of those who, full of self-conceit, act in a boastful manner..."
— Qur'an An-Nisa 4:36

"Those who believed and adopted exile and fought for the Faith, with their property and their persons, in the cause of Allah, as well as those who gave (them) asylum and aid—these are (all) friends and protectors, one of another."
— Qur'an Al Anfal 8:72

Prayers from the Stranger for the Stranger to the Stranger (the Tikkun community)

O God, remind us that we are part of a whole, part of the land or our ancestry and your future, that we are both bordered and unbordered people, national and trans-national, wound and unwound people. Let us be citizens of a globe, where love and respect have just borders. Amen.

We pray to the Spirit and the Forces that created the globe. No matter whether our tradition began with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Sara, or Ishmael and Hagar, or the immigrants standing at the manger, or in a manifestation as deep as the heart’s longing for understanding, still, hear our prayer for the displaced and misplaced. We are each hosts and guests, strangers and friends, on an increasingly small globe that has its source in you. Bind us together in the arts of mutual welcome and understanding. Amen.

Let us get by through the kindness of strangers, and help us make sure we know who the stranger really is. Teach us to think globally from the safety of our own back yard – so that we may learn to be truly safe. Amen

Prayer for Our Immigrant Sisters and Brothers, from Pax Christi

Blessed are You, Lord Jesus Christ.
You crossed every border
between Divinity and humanity
to make your home with us.
Help us to welcome you in newcomers,
migrants and refugees.

Blessed are You, God of all nations.
You bless our land richly
with goods of creation
and with people made in your image.
Help us to be good stewards and peacemakers,
who live as your children.

Blessed are You, Holy Spirit.
You work in the hearts of all
to bring about harmony and goodwill.
Strengthen us to welcome those
from other lands, cultures, religions,
that we may live in human solidarity
and in hope.

God of all people, grant us vision
to see your presence in our midst,
especially in our immigrant sisters and brothers.
Give us courage to open the door to our neighbors
and grace to build a society of justice.

Song: Paz y libertad

·        Witness by any people who want to share experiences of immigration detention

·        Prayers of the people to be answered by:  Lord, hear our prayer

·        Noise

Ending hymn:  Amazing Grace

This vigil was brought to you by the Ecumenical Peace Institute and the South Hayward Parish, with the help of our musicians, Patti Connors,

José Daniel Pinell, Daniel Zwiekel ben Avrám and myself, and the collaboration of EBASE/FAME interns, David, Iris and Jake.  Thank you to all who attended!

"THE GIFT" by Terese Kasper, ARCWP "Blessed are . . . those who mourn: for they will be comforted."

Morning brought mourning

With more in the night.

Sadness and sorrow

Defined my plight.

Deep tears* of the heart

Of everything dear.

Grieving and longing

Segued straight to fear.

Writhing and groaning

Unbearably hurt.

My dark companion

Agony my mate.

Questioning, “Why, why

Just not let me die?”

“Where’s there any good?”

To heaven I’d cry.

Then being quite still

God revealed true grace;

Our hearts in His hands,

Our image Her face.

For love never dies

It’s stronger in death.

Creator gifts us

Our very own breath.

Comfort surpassing

Anything yet known

With heavenly Love

We’re never alone. (*rip, shred )

   

"A Follow Up Game Changing Encyclical" by Jennifer Marie Marcus, Esq., Deacon, ARCWP

 Undoubtedly, Francis's encyclical " Laudato Si [Praised Be]: On the Care of Our Common Home" is historic and will have an impact on the global community and its economy. The encyclical's emphasis on how climate change has a direct negative  impact on the global poor is laudatory and apparent. 

 Since the global poor are  comprised of primarily  women and children ,if Francis is really serious about making significant inroads into  eradicating poverty it would behoove him to issue  a follow up historic encyclical  elevating the status and role of women commencing with taking action  in his own Church. He could start by placing women in leadership roles and recognizing their Divine call to Holy Orders and the Episcopate. This would be sign to the rest of the world that women are, according to scripture, equal to men in source divinity and it would be consistent with the Vatican II Documents. 

The encyclical should state  in clear unequivocal terms that because women are equal children in the eyes of our Creator they can no longer be  morally ,culturally, and legally viewed as subservient to men ,nor are they property ,or second class citizens.. Women are to be  treated with dignity and respect ,have wage parity with men for the same work they perform and are to be  free of practices and laws that are misogynistic, patriarchal, bigoted , discriminatory  oppressive and  result in all forms of emotional and physical violence. Behavior, actions or laws falling short of those prohibitions would be viewed as grave sins .

It is my belief that such an encyclical would challenge backward cultures, secular and religious institutions and governments to improve the lives of women and reduce the number of poverty stricken peoplein the world. At the minimum it would invite serious global discourse of the scourge of gender inequality and its connection to poverty, misogyny, patriarchal oppression, discrimination and violence, and overtime be a  segue for positive social change and justice.

www.arcwp.org

Homily for Holy Spirit Catholic Community, 14th OT, July 5, 2015 by Beverly Bingle, RCWP

At baptism we are marked with oil
as a sign that we are consecrated to God
and anointed by the Spirit as prophets,
just as Jesus was,
so that we might “bring good news to the poor.”
Yes, each of us is called to be a prophet:
a messenger of God’s word.
______________________________________
In today’s reading from Ezekiel God tells the prophet that,
whether people listen or not,
they will know that a prophet has been there.
In the Gospel, Jesus comments
that no prophet is without respect
except at home, with his own kin, and in his native place.
Do people know that we are here,
whether they listen to our message or not?
________________________________________
When the United States declared independence from Great Britain
239 years ago this week,
voting was the privilege of white male landowners.
Slaves were considered property,
not human beings with equal rights and equal dignity.
On June 4, 1843, Isabella Baumfree,
who spoke Dutch but used English as a second language,
told her friends of her prophetic call:
"The Spirit calls me, and I must go," she said.
She changed her name
and left her New York home
to preach about the abolition of slavery.
Isabella Baumfree was a prophet for her time.
She herself had been a slave;
we know her as Sojourner Truth.
It was 84 years after the Declaration of Independence
that the law declared slaves free in the land of the free,
and more than a hundred years more after that
before free people of color
began to find equal protection
under the Voting Rights Act of 1965
and the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
Today, as Michelle Alexander writes in The New Jim Crow:
Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness,
our criminal justice system operates
as a means of enslaving young black men
and insuring their fall to the bottom of our society.
She is a prophet speaking out for what’s right,
standing in a long line of people
who have stood up to the bias and hatred of the status quo,
prophets like Rosa Parks and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
and many lesser known prophets like the Rev. Bruce Klunder,
who was crushed to death by a bulldozer
as he protested the building of a segregated school.
_________________________________________
This past week I was honored to be invited
when Toledo Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson
hosted a Clergy Prayer Breakfast at Warren AME Church,
beginning a conversation about Charleston
and how to make Toledo a place of love
and not a place of hate.
The prayers and speeches were inspiring,
but I remember most two words Rev. Bob Culp spoke
as he talked about the President’s eulogy
for Emanuel AME pastor Clementa Pinckney:
he referred to him as “Pastor Obama.”
And every one of the clergy in that room
understood what he meant:
a prophet is among us, our President himself,
speaking God’s message of grace and forgiveness.
__________________________________________
We know many prophets of equality, some closer to home,
people who stand up and speak out
when they see people treated with indignity or derision
because they are different.
Some of them are local clergy,
like Bob Culp and Karen Shepler and Marty Donnelly.
But most are ordinary people,
like the members of the Dialogue-to-Change group
that is raising money to fund
a WGTE town hall event against racism,
and like the Northwest Ohio folks
who showed so much compassion
that our community came in second in the world
in last year’s Compassion Games.
We know people who are prophets for the planet,
tackling the environmental degradation
that hurts the poorest among us,
the ones on the margins who are already suffering and dying
from the thoughtlessness and waste
of those who have and want more.
We know the famous climate prophets
like Rachel Carson, Al Gore, Thomas Berry, and Pope Francis.
But most are ordinary people,
like families that actually do reduce/reuse/recycle;
and people who make environmentally friendly choices
and work at forming good ecological habits;
and, of course, our Tree Toledo folks.
____________________________________
The most important prophets are right here at home.
In our own words and actions,
we are the ones who speak God’s message
of love and peace and grace.
At the dinner table or in a restaurant,
we talk about current events
and pipe up with our own convictions,
but if we hear hate and bigotry,
we speak out and get it off the table.
On the job, we hear a racist comment and counter it.
When we hear one of the neighborhood kids
teasing someone because they’re different,
or bullying a classmate or a sibling,
or saying something unkind about another kid,
we take them aside and talk to them about it.
Prophets of the Golden Rule, that’s what we are.
I can’t count the number of times
I’ve heard a parent or a grandparent or a teacher ask a child,
“Would you like it if he did that to you?”
______________________________________
Yes, we are called to be prophets.
It’s not always easy, but we can’t hold it in.
We are sent to live God’s message, and we have to do it.

--
Holy Spirit Catholic Community
Saturdays at 4:30 p.m.
Sundays at 5:30 p.m.
at 3925 West Central Avenue (Washington Church)

www.holyspirittoledo.org

Rev. Dr. Bev Bingle, Pastor
Mailing address: 3156 Doyle Street, Toledo, OH 43608-2006
419-727-1774

Article by Mary Hunt to Catholic Theologians and Educators on Ordination for Men and Marriage for Heterosexuals Only

http://religiondispatches.org/for-men-and-heterosexuals-only-a-memo-to-catholic-theologians-and-educators/?utm_source=Religion+Dispatches+Newsletter&utm_campaign=da366810af-RD_Daily_Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_742d86f519-da366810af-42419521
 Feminist theologiansMary Hunt once again, hits the nail on the head in her challenge to Catholic theologians and educators. Enjoy!
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP, www.arcwp.org

"Heaven in Cali" by Judy Lee, RCWP

https://judyabl.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/three-roman-catholic-women-priests-celebrate-in-cali-colombia-where-rivers-and-gentility-flow-together/

The Ecumenical Table of Peace with Aida Soto, ARCWP

http://youtu.be/KXGmXYmoUu4 

Liturgy For Naming and Claiming Racism-A Call To Repent by Mary Weber, ARCWP

                    Liturgy For Naming and Claiming Racism-A Call To Repent

 Quieting, Centering with Psalm 23, Bobby Mc Ferrin’s Version on You Tube

Voice 1:   In the name of our Provident God who shares divinity with us, our Provident God who shares humanity with us, in the name of our Provident God, Spirit who inspires and unsettles us.  ALL:  Amen.

Voice1:  My sisters and brothers, God is with you!  ALL:  And also with you.

 Let us light a candle in memory of the Charleston 9.

PENITENTIAL RITE

Voice1: We are all painfully aware of the massacre of nine African Americans in church in Charleston, South Carolina recently. Our hearts go out to the families, friends and the Charleston community. Let us name each victim at this time and hold them in silent prayer:

Cynthia Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lance, Rev. Dr. DePayne Middleton-Doctor, The Honorable Rev. Clementa Pinckney, Tywanza Sanders, Rev. Daniel Simmons .Rev. Sharonda Singleton, Myra Thompson

  

Voice 1:  While acknowledging this shameful tragedy, the senseless loss of life, the hate driven actions of a young white man, we also affirm his need for redemption, and forgiveness. We pray for Dylan Storm Roof, his family and friends.

All:  Wrap Dylan in the arms of Peace, teach him the way of love, and free him from the bondage of hate and evil. Come to his assistance, O God.

  

Voice 1:  We ask for the grace to continually acknowledge our need to grow in goodness and caring for ourselves and for others. We renounce in ourselves all vestiges of racism, superiority, and entitledness.   ALL:  We accept your love and forgiveness for the frailty of our human nature.  We leave here at this altar all that holds us back from the unity that you desire.

.

Voice 1:  And we join with you, Jesus the Christ, believing the strength and insight of the Holy Spirit will lead us to deeper dedication to justice, equality and peace in our world.    ALL:  Amen.

LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading: Wisdom: 1:13-15 2:23-24

Responsorial Psalm 30:  REFRAIN: At nightfall weeping enters in, but with the dawn rejoicing! ( Selected verses from Nan Merrill’s Psalms)

Second Reading: A Reading from Rev. Dr. Nancy Wilson, Metropolitan Church Leader.

Third Reading: From Rev. Elder Darlene Garner, Metropolitan Church Leader

Gospel Acclamation:  Jesus the Christ Destroyed Death and brought Light to life through the Gospel!

Gospel; Mark: 5:21-24, 35 to 43

Reader:  A reading from the Gospel according to Mark

ALL:  Glory to you O God.  

After the Gospel: This is the Good News of the Gospel

All: Glory to you Jesus the Christ

Homily (The Public Statement of Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton on the Murders of the Charleston 9)

 Statement of Faithfulness  

I believe that the Source of Creation

radiates through the cosmos as Supreme Intelligence,

absolute love, ineffable beauty.

I believe that the Source from which we come is alive in us

as our breath, and as we speak and sing and breathe,

we released the beauty of the Creator into the world.

I believe that the universe is unfolding through me,

and that it is through my being that it is becoming self-aware.

I believe that the greatest challenge for humans is to free ourselves

from religious trappings and cultural constraints that perpetuate

our powerlessness and dependence on external forces.

I believe that healing the wounds of the earth and its people

is a holy act that, in itself, heals us.

I believe that our worldviews create the world we experience,

and as we alter them, we alter our lives in the world.

Amen. Adapted from An Apostles Creed © 2012 Jan Philipps

Voice 2: Let us pray: Loving God, we are mindful that we belong to one human

family, a family of all the peoples of the earth, a circle of astounding diversity of cultures.  Enrich our lives by ever -widening circles of companions and show us your presence in those who differ most from us. All: Amen

   

Prayers of Naming and Claiming and Repenting

      

For the racism which denies dignity to people of color.   Response: Merciful God, forgive us. 

For the racism which recognizes prejudice in others but never in ourselves. R. Merciful God, forgive us.

For the racism that will not recognize the work of your Spirit in other cultures. R.

Forgive those of us who have been silent and apathetic in the face of racial intolerance and bigotry, overt and subtle, public and private. R. Take away the arrogance and superiority which infect us.

Break down the walls and barriers that separate us. R. Help us to find the unity that will enable us to become your beloved community reflecting unconditional love, affirmation and acceptance.

Empower us to speak truth to power, to interact with one another with respect and forbearance. R. May we embody justice and equality in all of our actions and bring about your kindom here!

Intercessions:  And for what else shall we pray?

Let us pray: O God of unconditional love, you show no partiality in respect to people or nations, we have heard this good news and rejoice in the human family. Knit us into a people, a seamless garment of many colors reflecting your very self.

May we celebrate our unity, made whole in our diversity. Gift us with the necessary courage and wisdom to change our racist structures and systems. Be with this nation as we journey on to become a united country which values freedom and justice for ALL!   Amen

PREPARATION OF THE GIFTS

Voice 2:  Blessed are you, gracious God of all creation, through your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made.  It will become for us the bread of life. 

ALL:  Blessed be God forever. 

Voice 2: By the mystery of this water and wine, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity.  Blessed are you, gracious God of all creation, through your goodness we have this wine to offer, fruit of the vine and work of human hands.  It will become our spiritual drink.   ALL:  Blessed be God forever. 

Voice 2:  God is always with you.  ALL:  And also with you. 

Voice 2:  Together, we lift up our hearts.  ALL:  To God and one another we lift them. 

Voice 2:  Together, we give thanks to our gracious God.  ALL:  Indeed it is right to constantly give thanks and praise.   Let us pray together our Eucharist Prayer.  (adapted by Jay Murnane)

Alternate readers around the room:

Blessed are you, gracious God of all creation. Through your goodness, you made this world and called us to be your co-creators.

We thank you for the universe, this good planet, all the wonderful diversity and beauty of life around us and within us.

We thank you for our freedom, for the dreams of the young and the visions of the elders. /

We praise you, for you call us to build the earth into a community of love rooted in justice.

You have placed confidence in us, for you have made us and you know that we are good.

In joy and in thanksgiving for your call to us, we join with all creation as we say:

Holy, Holy, Holy, God of wonderful life;

Heaven and earth are full of your glory, Rejoice! Rejoice!

Blessed are they who come in the name of the God of wonderful life.

Rejoice! Rejoice! /

Gracious God, we do not always understand what you would have us do; it is difficult to grasp the mysterious depths of your love.

That is why Jesus lived among us, to show us who we are. He challenged us to know you as parent, and taught us not to be afraid.

He showed us how to forgive and taught us the strength of compassionate love.

On the night before he died, so that he and all of us could really live, Jesus gathered for the Seder supper with the people closest to him. Like the least of household servants he washed their tired and dusty feet, and said, "When you do this, you remember me."/

Back at the table he took the Passover bread, spoke the grace, broke the bread and offered it to them: “Take and eat, this is my body.”

Then he took the cup of blessing, spoke the grace, and offered them the wine:

“Take and drink the covenant renewed in my blood,

for you and for everyone, that all captivity may cease.

When you do this you remember me.”/

 Therefore

Gracious God, you breathe your own spirit into us, and it is by your spirit that we live. This attunes us to your wisdom and your call whenever we listen carefully and helps us to see beyond the barriers of our blindness./

All:

THEREFORE, WE ASK THAT YOU SEND YOUR HOLY SPIRIT AFRESH UPON US AND UPON OUR GIFTS THAT THEY MAY BECOME FOR US AND WE FOR THE WORLD, THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS THE CHRIST AT WHOSE INVITATION WE CELEBRATE THIS EUCHARIST!

Alternate readers around the room:

We will do the work of compassion and justice so that all women and men can approach each other as equals, living in the light of your constant care.

We make our prayer as Jesus did:

Gracious God, creating all around us;

Respectfully, we celebrate our mutual existence.

Beautiful earth life happens here and everywhere./

Since we have everything we need right here, we can share with each other

And our earth life can be less painful and more healing.

For it is through us, with us, in us, in our unity, creating with you, Gracious God, today and always.  Amen. /

Voice 2: Let us share the deep reality of universal communion. Let us eat and drink deeply of the Bread and Cup of Life and Love Give glory to the living God whose covenant with us we have experienced in Jesus.

All: Glory to God! As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

ALL RECITE

When bread is on every table,

All will know that Jesus is risen.

Then the poor of the world will feast,

And their children will sing Alleluia.

From Bread on Every Table9Monks of Weston Priory

THE PRAYER OF JESUS

ALL:  Our Father and Mother . . .

Voice 3:  Deliver us, God, from every evil and grant us peace in our day.  In your mercy keep us holy in your sight and protect us from all anxiety and fear.  We watch and wait; we search and find all the signs that You are continually with us, calling us to new life. 

ALL:  For the kindom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.  Amen.

THE SIGN OF PEACE

Voice 3:  Jesus, You said to your disciples, “My peace I leave you.  My peace I give you.”  Look on the faith of all and grant us the peace and unity of your kindom where you live forever and ever.  ALL:  Amen.  

Voice 3:  May the peace of our gracious God be always with you.  ALL: And also with you 

Voice 3:Let us offer each other a sign of peace.

 Communion

LITANY FOR THE BREAKING OF BREAD

ALL:  Fountain of Life, You call us to spirit-filled living; guide us by your Spirit.  Fountain of Life, You call us to spirit-filled service; strengthen us to serve with compassion.  Fountain of Life, You call us to be Your spirit in the world, grant us peace

Voice 1:  This is Jesus, who liberates, heals and transforms our world.  All are invited to partake of this sacred banquet of love.   ALL:  We are the Body of Christ. 

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Voice 1:  Gracious God, may the Eucharist that we celebrate bring us to share Christ’s healing  power with one another.  May we continue to be faithful to the mission and ministry of spreading the Good News of God’s faithful love.  May we accept the liberating power of the Holy Spirit who is with us still.  This we ask in the name of Jesus, the Christ. 

ALL:  Amen. 

CONCLUDING RITE

Voice 1:  May God be with you.  ALL:  And also with you. 

Voice 1:  Let us call upon our gracious God as we share blessings with each other.  We bless one another and pledge to live the beatitudes of Christ.  ALL:  Amen.

Voice 1:  We bless one another and pledge to manifest unconditional love in all our actions. 

ALL:  Amen. 

Voice 1:  We bless one another and pledge to bring the service of the Gospel to all we met.  ALL:  Amen. 

BLESSING

(Everyone please extend your hands in mutual blessing.)

ALL:  May our gracious God, bless all here gathered in the name of God our Creator, in the name of Jesus our

Liberator, in the name of the Holy Spirit, our Sanctifier as we care and minister to one another in love, for we are the people of God.  Amen.

DISMISSAL

Voice 1:  Go in the peace of Christ.  Let our service begin! 

ALL:  Thanks be to God. 

You Tube: Make Me a Channel of our Peace

Some of this content was taken from The United Church of Christ’s Prayers for Racial Justice Sunday. Much was taken directly or adapted from Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s “ A Service of Repentance and Mourning “ with permission. Bridget Mary Meehan, Dotty Shugrue, Mary T. Streck and Mary Weber contributed to the liturgy.