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Theme: Understanding
and Peace
Opening Hymn: “We
Are Called” #628 all verses, (using God for Lord)
Opening Prayer
Presider: We begin our liturgy in the name of God, the
Source of all being, and of the Son, eternal Word, and of the Holy Spirit,
Sofia Wisdom. ALL: Amen
Presider: Gracious and Gifting God, may
we be aware of your presence with us, as we gather once again in this MMOJ
community, much like the first followers of Jesus, after the Resurrection.
May our eyes, ears and hearts be
open to your truth in the words and stories we will share this day. May we be
nourished by this simple meal of bread and wine to stand tall with conviction
and courage to be keys that open the way to all who desire to live in union
with You.
May it be so. ALL:
Amen
Community Reconciliation (Brief
Pause for reflection.)
Presider: Creator God, to you all
hearts are open, no desires unknown, and no secrets are hidden. We ask you to
send us your Spirit so that we may live more fully according to your will.
Presider: Christ Jesus, we ask for the grace to realize our continual need
to grow in understanding, compassion and caring for ourselves, all of humanity
and for our planet earth. We ask for your forgiveness for our failure to extend
compassion, understanding and caring to all your children, our brothers and
sisters regardless of beliefs, nationalities, races and actions, for we are all
worthy to be called your sacred people.
ALL: (with an outstretched arm):
God, our Father and Mother of Compassion, through Jesus’ life, he
revealed that nothing can separate us from your unconditional love. He sent the
Holy Spirit who gives us the understanding, willingness and courage to love one
another. We ask you to grant us the grace of pardon and peace so that we may –
in turn- forgive each other our failures to care for one another and for our
earth. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our brother and of the Holy Spirit
Sofia, our healer and comforter. Amen.
Glory to God, glory, O praise God, alleluia. Glory to God,
glory, O praise the name of our God.
Liturgy of the Word
First reading:
A reading from: “An invitation to the Spiritual Journey “
There are many ways to become open to our Divine source so that we may be healed. There is life itself. Clearly the Divine Mystery can touch us in people, in nature, in music, in art…… Whatever spiritual disciplines we undertake, they are no band aid. The heavy and stubborn patterns which overlay our souls don’t magically go away. Spiritual practice is essential, not for its own sake, but to link us up to God and to God’s health which lives at the center of each of us. There is no way we can get away from God’s love or away from the deep-seated health. We have resources available to us that are mightier than all the powers of the world, even that in us which is resistant to the light and the best interest of our own souls. What is needful is not perfect spiritual practice but our willingness to let God’s gift of deep health come out of its hiding place and become the operative principle of our lives.
This reading was taken from “An Invitation to the Spiritual Journey” written by John P. Gorsuch
And we all say: Thanks be to God
ALL:
Thanks be to God
Psalm 103 ALL: Bless the Beloved O my soul, and all
that is within me, Bless God’s
Holy Name
Psalm 103 as interpreted by Nan Merrill
Response: Bless the Beloved, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless God’s Holy Name
Through You comes peace and justice for all who are oppressed.
You make known the pathway of truth and guide us on the Way.
Response: Bless………
For You understand us, requiting us not according to our ignorance and error.
As far as the heavens are high above the earth. So great is your loving response toward those who are humble.
Response: Bless………
As parents are concerned for their children, so You come to those who reach out in faith.
For our ways are known, our weaknesses seen with compassion.
Response: Bless………
The Beloved’s home is in our hearts, as we discover in the Silence. Bless the Beloved,
O you angels, you faith-filled ones who hear the Word, following the Voice of Love.
Bless the Beloved all you people, those who abandon themselves into Love’s hands!
Response: Bless……….
2nd Reading:
A reading from 1 Corinthians 15:45-49
The first Adam, as scripture says, “became a living soul,” but
the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit. That is, the
natural comes first, not the spiritual, after that comes the
spiritual. The first, being from the earth, is earthly by nature;
the second is from heaven. As this earthly one was, so are we
of the earth; and as the One from heaven is, so are we in
heaven. And we, who have been modeled on the earthly,
likewise will be modeled on the One from heaven.
This is the word of God as written by Paul to the Corinthians.
And we all say: Thanks be to God
Gospel acclamation: ALL:
Alleluia (Celtic version)
Gospel: Luke 6: 27-38
Homily Starter:
Homily Starter:
CREATING THE BELOVED COMMUNITY
By
Pat MacMillan
Today, I’d like to talk about creating the Beloved Community.
Bless the Beloved, O my soul, and remember the goodness of Love.
Through You comes peace and justice for all who are oppressed.
You make known the pathway of truth and guide us on the Way.
John 4:7-8 says Beloved, let us love one another,
for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Who are the beloved? We are the Beloved of God. Through God’s love we are asked to love one
another as ourselves and ensure that what God has given us is shared with our
brothers and sisters equally and without bias.
As many of you know over the last several weeks, the
Venice Interfaith Community Association, of which I am a member, has been
sponsoring a series of lectures on American Racism with the goal of creating
the Beloved Community, God’s Kin-dom here on earth.
You know when VICA first started discussing and
planning this series, I didn’t think racism was an issue for me. Maybe you’re thinking that right now. I know
most of you and don’t believe any of you support racism. But the question isn’t,
“are we racist” the question is “what can we do about racism?”
For most of us, activists, especially those who grew
up in the 60’s, we went to marches and rallies.
Back then, we looked to the leaders of the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, the NAACP, and other black organizations to identify the issues and
plan the events. But times have changed;
racism isn’t as overt as it once was. Racism
today is subtle, no more signs over the water fountains or places of employment
“For Whites Only, “Colored Need Not Apply.
Systemic racism has been carefully crafted by white people and it
affects our education system, judicial system, financial system, healthcare
system, housing, hiring practices and on and on. Let’s just look at a few.
Public school funding in the United States comes from federal, state, and local sources,
nearly half of those funds come from local property taxes, which creates
large funding differences
between wealthy and impoverished communities. If education resources were allocated according to student needs, a
quality and equitable education would be provided to every student. I cannot stress how fundamental a good
education is to the health and success of every human being and every society. This issue alone affects all of the others. If
we could chip away at this issue we could potentially reduce many systemic
problems especially those in the judicial system. Let’s talk about the judicial system; America is home to five percent of
the world’s population and nearly 25 percent of all prisoners. In 2015, African
Americans and Hispanics made up approximately 32% of the US population and 56%
of all incarcerated people. This is morally wrong and not sustainable. The history of discrimination in the financial
system goes back to the birth of this nation. We don’t have time to talk about all of the
other areas like the healthcare industry, housing, employment, voting access, but
we see and hear about these practices every day.
I’d like to read a piece from the American author
and poet, Scott Woods
The problem is that white people see racism as
conscious hate, when racism is bigger than that. Racism is a complex system of social and
political levers and pulleys set up generations ago to continue working on the
behalf of whites at other people’s expense, whether whites know/like it or not. Racism is an insidious cultural disease. It is so insidious that it doesn’t care if
you are a white person who likes black people; it’s still going to find a way
to infect how you deal with people who don’t look like you. Yes, racism looks like hate, but hate is just
one manifestation. Privilege is another. Access is another. Ignorance is another. Apathy is another. And so on.
So while I agree with people who say no one is born racist, it remains a
powerful system that we’re immediately born into. It’s like being born into air: you take it in
as soon as you breathe. It’s not a cold
that you can get over. There is no anti-racist
certification class. It’s a set of
socioeconomic traps and cultural values that are fired up every time we
interact with the world. It is a thing
you have to keep scooping out of the boat of your life to keep from drowning in
it. I know its hard work, but it’s the
price you pay for owning everything.
Where do we start? Dr. Catherine Meeks, a
Distinguished Professor from Wesleyan College and the Diocese of Atlanta chair
of the Beloved Community: Commission for Dismantling Racism, she tells us, it
is the process of listening, discovering, and learning together that helps to
mitigate lingering trauma and to empower people to begin creating a new story
together.
So my questions are:
How can we learn to see the world
through the lens of a person of color?
How can we listen to their voices
?
The Good News attributed to Luke 6
Jesus said to his disciples: Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit does that do you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. If you do good only to those who do good to you, what credit does that do you? Even ‘sinner’ do as much. If you lend to those you expect to repay you, what credit does that do you Even ‘sinners’ lend to other ‘sinners’ expecting to be repaid in full. Love your enemies and be good to them. Lend without expecting repayment, and your reward will be great. You’ll rightly be called children of the Most High, since God is good even to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be compassionate, as your loving God is compassionate. Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Pardon and you’ll be pardoned. Give and it will be given to you a full measure- packed down, shaken together and running over- will be poured into your lap. For the amount you measure out is the amount you’ll be given back. ”
This is the Word of God as found in the Gospel attributed to Mark.
And we all say: Amen
ALL: Glory and praise to our brother Jesus
the Christ
Homily Starter/ Community Reflections
Profession of Faith
ALL: We believe in you O God, Creator
of the universe, whose divinity infuses all that exists, making everything
sacred. Jesus, we believe in You,
messenger of the Divine Word, the bringer of healing and the heart of
Compassion. We believe in you Holy Spirit, the breath of our innermost life,
and the Sustainer who heals and energizes us when our spirits grow weary in our
journeys. We believe that You are here with us today in this gathering, calling
us to be a loving and just people. We believe the poor have a priority in your
plans and we are called to do our best to serve them in your name. We believe
you are offering us freedom and grace to become our true selves, so that we can
turn from false, worldly securities and look to You for our true identity as your children We believe that as You were anointed by God
to do God’s will, through our baptism, we too are called to be a sign of God’s
Kingdom on earth where we are all sisters and brothers. Amen
Prayers of the Community
Presider: We are a
people of faith. We believe in the power of prayer. We are mindful of God’s
unconditional love and care for each one of us. And so we bring the needs of
the people to our merciful and gracious Creator.
Presider: We are one in you and
all that we do affects the whole.
All: Make us aware of
our power to seed the world with good or ill by every thought, word and
deed. Compassionate God hear our prayer.
Presider: Our hearts are torn by
the realization of the sufferings of others.
All: Grant that we may never be a stumbling block to others or a
culpable cause of their pain.
Compassionate God hear our prayer
Presider: Jesus you chose laborers and tax collectors to be
your companions.
All: Preserve us from
deciding what people are by what they do, and let us see the worth of every
person and the value in every kind of work.
Compassionate God hear our prayer
Presider: Bless those who have lost their life companion
through death or divorce.
All: Let the people
of God be a saving support and comfort to them.
Compassionate God hear our prayer
Presider: And what other concerns do we bring before
God? (After each intercession please respond) Compassionate God, hear our
prayers
Presider: Healing God, you
faithfully listen to our prayers. We ask You to strengthen us in our concern
for one another here and throughout the world. We ask You to support us in our endeavors
for justice and equality so that, with our sisters and brothers, we may promote
cultures of peace without
violence in our world. We ask this in the name of Jesus and Holy Spirit Wisdom.
All: Amen
Offertory Procession/Song
“Blest Are They”
# 631 – all verses
Preparation of the Gifts
Presider: Blessed are You, God of
all creation. Through your goodness we have this bread to offer, this grain of
the earth that human hands have prepared for our use. It will become for us the
bread of life.
ALL: Blessed be God forever
Presider: Blessed are you God of
all creation. Through your goodness we have this wine to offer, this fruit of
the vine that human hands have prepared for our use. It will become for us our spiritual drink.
ALL: Blessed be God forever.
Gathering of the Gifts
Presider: Our brother Jesus, who
has often sat at our tables, now invites all of us to join Him at his family
table. Everyone is welcome to share in this meal.
(The whole community is invited to gather around God’s family table)
ALL: Loving and caring God, we, your people are united in this
sacrament by our common love of Jesus. We are one with all beings in the
community of creation and with all those who share your gift of compassion,
especially toward those who are marginalized and oppressed. May we love
tenderly, do justice and walk humbly with you in solidarity with our sisters
and brothers. May we strife to live as prophetic witnesses to the Gospel of our
brother Jesus, supported by the wisdom that directed him and by the Wisdom of
the Spirit who supports us. Amen.
Presider: Let us give thanks to
the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists.
ALL: With hearts full of love, we give God thanks and praise.
Presider: Holy Spirit, we realize
your presence among us as we gather at the family table.
ALL: Fill us with reverence for you, for one another, and for all of
creation.
Presider: Let us lift up our
hearts.
ALL: We lift them up to the Holy One who lives in us and loves other
through us.
Presider: God dwells in each one
of us. ALL: Namaste!
Eucharistic Prayer
Presider: Ever present and always
caring God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks. In you we live and move and have our being. Your Spirit dwelling in us gives us the
assurance of unending peace and joy with you. That Spirit, who raised Jesus
from the dead, is the foretaste and promise of the paschal feast of
heaven. And so we sing in thankful
praise:
All (sing): We are Holy, Holy, Holy…(3x) You are Holy, I am Holy, We are Holy…
Voice: We thank you, God, for the gift of Jesus in history – and the
gift of Jesus in faith. Through him, you breathe life into us. He was moved by his vision of your constant
presence in everyone, everywhere he went.
He revealed you in everything he did in his life well lived. And he showed us, through his example, not
only how we should live, but also for what we may die.
Voice: When his time on earth had come, Jesus – aware of and
accepting his destiny – gave up his life for the values that he deeply
believed, lived and taught…his conviction that love is stronger than
death. And then, providing an example of
this insight for the understanding of ages to come, he opened wide his arms and
died. Then the Spirit of God, who raised
Jesus from the dead, showed us that life is eternal and love is immortal. Jesus is with us today as he will be through
the end of time.
All: O God, let your Spirit of life, healing and wholeness come upon
these gifts that we brought from your fields and placed on our table – this
simple wheat and wine. May she make them
holy so that they will become for us the Body and Blood of Jesus, our brother.
(With an outstretched arm, we pray the consecration together.) We remember the gift that
Jesus gave us on the night before he died.
He gathered with his friends to share a final Passover meal. And it was at that supper that Jesus took the
bread, said the blessing and shared it with them saying: take this, all of you
and eat it. This bread is you; this bread is me. We are one body, the presence of God in the
world. Do this in memory of me. [Pause]
In the same way, Jesus took a cup of wine, said the blessing and gave
it to his friends saying: take this, all of you, and drink it. This wine is you; this wine is me. We are one blood, the presence of God in the
world. Do this in memory of me.
Presider: Jesus, who was with God “in the beginning of the creation of the
heavens and the earth,” is with us now in this bread. The Spirit, of whom the prophets spoke in
history, is with us now in this cup. Let
us proclaim the mystery of faith.
All: Christ has died. Christ is
risen. Christ lives in us and through us in the world today.
Voice: In memory of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, we offer
you, God, this living-giving bread and this saving cup. May all who will share in this sacred meal be
brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit.
And may that Spirit, that Wisdom, that moved in Jesus move as freely in
our lives as She did in that of Jesus.
Voice: God of blessing and
peace, we remember your church throughout the world; help us grow in love,
together with Francis, our Pope, Bridget Mary, our Bishop, and your whole
family everywhere – especially those who live on the margins of church and society. We remember the victims of recent floods and
earthquakes, and those struggling to reconstruct their homes and lives from
these devastating events. We remember
the communion of saints both living and
dead, who touched our lives and
left footprints on our hearts. We
remember especially… (pause to mention
names).
All: Through Christ, with Christ,
and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours,
Creator God, forever and ever… and
let everyone sing… Great Amen (3X)
All (holding hands): Our Father and Mother, who is in heaven,
blessed is your name...
All:
God, we have just prayed that your kingdom may come among us. Grant that we can open our ears to hear it,
our hands to serve it, and our hearts to make it real. Amen.
The Sign of Peace
Presider: Jesus, you said to your
disciples, “My peace I leave you; my peace I give you.” Look on the faith of those gathered here
today and …
All:
…grant us that peace. O Loving
God, following the example of Jesus and with the strength of the Spirit, help
us spread that peace to everyone, everywhere, with no exceptions. Amen.
Presider: May the peace of God be always with
us, and let us extend that peace to one another as we join hands in a circle of
love and sing:
“Let there be
peace on earth” #532 using the following substitutions…(with God as creator, family all are we... and “With every breathe I take, let this be…”)
Litany for the Breaking of the
Bread
Presider: Loving
God…All: you call us to Spirit-filled
service and to live the Gospel of non-violence for peace and justice. We will live justly.
Presider: Loving God…All: you call us to be your presence in the world and to be bearers of
understanding and compassion, forgiveness and healing everywhere in your
name. We will love tenderly.
Presider: Loving God…All: you call us to speak truth to power. We will walk humbly with you.
Pre-Communion Prayer
Presider: This
is Jesus, who called women and men to be
partners and equals, and who liberates, heals and transforms us and our world. All
are invited to partake of the sacred banquet of love.
Presider: Jesus,
you invite us to receive you and become you for others. We are the Body of Christ. May the Source of Life whose power now at
work in us can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine, be given glory
through all generations. All:
We are the Body of Christ.
All Sing:
God prepare me, to be your Sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true.
With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living,
sanctuary for you. 3x
Distribution of Bread and Wine
“You are the Body of Christ.” “You
are the blood of Christ.”
Communion Song:
Instrumental and moment of silence
After Communion Song
“We Are Many Parts” # 585 - All
verses
Prayers of Gratitude, Introductions,
Announcements
Final Blessing
(Everyone
please extend your hands in mutual blessing.)
Presiders: As we go forth from this sacred space, let us
purposefully look with new eyes and hearts to recognize Christ within all who
we meet. Let our service continue.
All: Thanks be to God. Let it be so!
Closing Hymn
“Sing a New Church” # 413 – Verses
1,4,5
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