Members of ARCWP attended the Women's March in Sarasota, FL, Schenectady, NY and Saratoga NY.
back row, Karen, Stephen Winners, Seth Winners, Joan Chesterfield ARCWP, Mary Theresa Streck ARCWP, Kathryn Shea ARCWP- Sarasota, Florida, with banner- Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP
Click here for SNN television interview with Bridget Mary Meehan, Kathryn Shea and Mary Theresa Streck
Leader: I welcome and invite you to join me in prayer, song & blessings for Our 2020 Women’s March Pilgrimage.
Refrain: We are marching...
We are marching...
We are marching in the light of God,
We are marching....
We are marching....
We are marching in the light of God! (Repeat)
(Poem Adapted from: Stacey Zisook Robinson)
Leader:
May all who march,
be embraced & enveloped,
with Eternal Kairos Time,
encircling,
the struggles of our linear time!
All:
Who would have the strength
to stand, and speak truth to power -
a tightrope walk
against the wind,
with no net below
except for the hand of God?
-We are marching...
-we are marching...
Leader: Who would walk the road
less taken, the one of
rocky crags and razor wire?
Who will lay down the false powers of gloom and doom?
Who will rise up,
Marching towards
Our glorious sunrise?
-We are marching...
-We are marching...
We are taking,
the road that curves into a
perilous wood and we are
still looking up with hope!
Who would join us and
sing the song of dissonance
when it is easier - far easier!
to slip into the stream
and be carried
by its current?
-We are marching in the light of God!
-Together we rise towards
Our glorious sunrise!
Leader:
Who would continue to dare
to demand justice,
show mercy,
offer comfort
shout defiantly -
who would love
in the face
of hate?
-We are marching...
-We are not giving up!....
Reader 1:
In the Hebrew tradition,
our sister, Puah stood, and Shifra
by her side, choosing life
and the cry of babes over
one man's harsh decree.
And Miriam, the one of
timbrel and drum
she danced across a river
and sang a song
of freedom's call!
-We are marching...
-We are marching....
Reader 2: A reading from the book of Isaiah.
“Learn to do good; seek justice, challenge oppression; bring justice to those without a parent and plead the cause of the poor & marginalized. (Isaiah 1:17). “ (pause)
“Our Beloved God has promised, O human ones, to do what is good! ...
And what does God require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).
Hear what The Spirit is saying to the churches.
Listen....
Keep marching!
-we are marching!
-we are not giving up!
-we are marching!
Reader 1: In The Christian tradition, who will stand and stay with The Mother of Jesus, her sister and Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross, as empire ordered execution? The men had dispersed.
-We are standing....
-We are standing in the breach
with God and each other!
Leader: Who will walk before the dawn, defiant of the guards of empire and witness resurrection? Who will be sent to proclaim; The Good News of post-gloom & doom, a glorious sunrise?
-We are marching in the light of God!
Reader 2: As we continue to companion Cleopas on the road to Emmaus, we are opening our lives to the stranger walking along with us.
Although we are overwhelmed by all that has been happening, these past few years, can we recognize The Divine, even in the brokenness?
Can we recognize The Divine’s Presence in each other?
-Yes we can!
We are marching
in the light of God.
-we are not giving up....
-we are marching....
Leader: Who will stand
now, if not me? Who?
who will rise
now and march
now and sing a song
of freedom's call
now? Who,
if not for me.
Once more, and
yet again
if not now,
When?...
Let us pray:
Gather it all up, blessed ones; let it feed us like manna.
Allow the crowds’ electric thrum to seep into us,
knitting itself into courage;
into holy boldness;
into fuel for the journey back, and for the journey forward. (Pause)
Leader: Please raise your hands in a blessing gesture.
May we be safe.
May we be free from all harm.
As the road or skies carry you toward your fellow pilgrims,
may we sense the presence of those who travel with us in spirit,
whose hopes and hearts are tucked into our pockets,
who name our journey’s purpose as sacred.
We are Blessing every word and action in, an ever expanding companionship of empowerment!
We are now sending you forth on
your transformative
Women’s March Pilgrimage.
March on!
-We are marching in
the light of God!
-Together we rise towards
Our glorious sunrise!
BLESSING FOR THE WOMEN'S MARCH
Amen
FYI: I attached Pastor Dawn Hutchings’ sermon from last Sunday. I believe there is significant resonance between her Sermon & hopes for The Women’s March and other Social Justice Actions.
..."It's bias for equality and respect for the concerns of the other that makes a democracy work. Without them, there is no such thing as democracy. It is a fact, for instance, that the House has impeached the president. It is not true that every senator intends to participate in the process objectively if partisanship has already sealed the process.
From where I stand, it seems that we must become awake to the fact that democracies can die, have died, are dying and that we are not immune from that political plague ourselves. That's the miserable truth of this time. Take it seriously. "
They wanted freedom and self-determination, a way to break out of the shackles of Roman rule. They longed for the Messiah, a strong ruler sent by God to set them free. Then Jesus comes. He announces that God’s in charge. God’s reign is at hand. As a faithful Jew, he preaches the Pentateuch— love of God and love of neighbor. And he tells parables about what God is like, and they’re revolutionary stories, like the one about the “Good Samaritan,” a parable that teaches not only love of neighbor but love of enemies. And Jesus goes about doing good. Even though the powers-that-be end up killing him, his followers still experience his presence with them as they continue to follow his teachings. They call him “talya” [tale-YAH], a Galilean Aramaic word. The first syllable has several meanings, so the Jewish Christians would have understood that Jesus was being called CHILD, and SON, and SERVANT, and LAMB. Its second syllable, “yah,” is Yahweh. So “talya” would have identified Jesus to them as “servant of God,” the new Moses. They also would see Jesus as “son of God” and “child of God,” the expected Messiah who would save them from tyranny and oppression. And they would have understood “talya” to refer to the crucified Jesus as the innocent paschal lamb sacrificed for the sins of the people. _______________________________ Today’s reading from John’s gospel, written 60 to 80 years after Jesus died, has John the Baptist call him “the Lamb of God,” a description that eventually led to what’s called “atonement theology,” the belief that God required the brutal murder of Jesus to make up for our sins. The theory goes like this: Adam’s sin offended God, so God requires restitution. Because God is God, and humans are just humans, the sin is too big for any of us to make it up to God. By the Middle Ages Anselm of Canterbury was saying that sin is an insult to God’s honor, so it would take a being of infinite greatness, acting as a human on behalf of humans, to restore what humans took away. About a hundred years later, Thomas Aquinas wrote that Jesus, the innocent lamb, suffers and dies to pay for our sin. He is able to atone for our sin because he is the “talya,” the SON of God. Jesus, the “talyah,” the innocent LAMB of God, was sinless, so he didn’t owe anything to God, and therefore his death is able to make up for the sin of every human being. _______________________________ That atonement theology, which comes from a culture that demands reparation and retribution, is still with us today in the official teaching and practice of our church… and in our criminal justice system. But it’s seriously flawed. If we accept it, then we would have to say that the death of the innocent is the only way to pay God for our sins. We would have to say that God is a God of anger and vengeance. But we’re followers of the way of Jesus, the child of God, fully human like us. We are followers of the Jesus who teaches us to love God, love neighbor, and do justice. That doesn’t have very much to do with atonement theories. We see God as a God of love. We know ourselves and all of creation to be expressions of God’s love. We believe that God did NOT send Jesus to die for our sins. _______________________________ What was his life purpose and why was he killed? For the same reason that Martin Luther King lived and died: he challenged the powers that subjected people to injustice and oppression. Why DID Jesus die? For the same reason that Oscar Romero, Ita Ford, Maura Clare, Dorothy Kazel, and Jean Donovan lived and died: they loved God and neighbor and did justice by helping the downtrodden and speaking truth about the wrongs they saw in El Salvador. Why DID Jesus die? For the same reason that hundreds of thousands of people are dying of hunger around the world and in our back yards: we don’t love our neighbors enough to cut back on our excesses so they can live in peace and have enough to eat. We have heard their voices crying out in the deserts of our lifetime, calling us to make God’s way straight by the way we live. So we have to listen to their cry and answer them with our lives. We have to go about protesting on street corners, sending letters to elected officials, giving our extras to the guests at Claver House, planting trees, voting our conscience, smiling at strangers, forgiving the wrongs done to us… in short, we have to keep on living in ways that show that we believe our purpose in life is to go about doing good. Amen!
https://youtu.be/ God of love, your gift of peace is planted deep within our hearts
Refrain: Make me and instrument of your peace. (2x)
God of peace, wherever there is hatred, may be bringyour love.
Refrain: Make me and instrument of your peace. (2x)
May we bring your hope and gladness where despair and sadness are:
Refrain: Make me and instrument of your peace. (2x)
May we seek to understand another with a patient heart:
Refrain: Make me and instrument of your peace. (2x)
Faithful God, wherever there is darkness, may we bring your light:
Refrain: Make me and instrument of your peace. (2x)
God of mercy, help us to forgive when there is injury done:
Refrain: Make me and instrument of your peace. (2x)
Gracious God, whenever people unger, may we fill their need:
Refrain: Make me and instrument of your peace. (2x)
Set us free from all our fear and anger; set us free to love:
Refrain: Make me and instrument of your peace. (2x)
3. Litany –A Prayer for Peace
(Adapted from: David L. Bartlette, Barbara BrownTaylor & Kimberly Bracken Long. Feasting on Word Advent Companion: A Thematic Resource for Preaching and Worship (p. 125). Westminster John Knox Press.)
1. Let us pray for the world in which the Prince of Peace took flesh and form, saying, Hear us, O God; your mercy is great.
We give you thanks, Holy One,
for the light that has come into the darkness of our world, for the truth illuminated, for the pathway that has opened, for the rejoicing of your people. Hear us, O God; your mercy is great.
2. We give you thanks for the feet of those who bring good news, friendship, comfort, food, shelter, and medicine for healing. Hear us, O God; your mercy is great.
1. We give you thanks for the church of Christ Jesus and for all people of faith whose attention to the way of peace tears down walls that keep us apart. Hear us, O God; your mercy is great.
2. We give you thanks for this country and for every nation where wisdom reigns, where leaders work for the well-being of the poor, so that no one is hungry or homeless, and every child is valued and nourished. Hear us, O God; your mercy is great.
1. We pray for the knowledge and courage to be good stewards of all that you have given us: ourselves, our neighbors, the strangers among us, the oceans and rivers, the air and soil, creatures large and small, that we may continue to be blessed with health and life. Hear us, O God; your mercy is great.
2. We pray for those whose flesh is harmed by poverty, sickness, and cruelty of any kind, that the Word-made-flesh may so fill your world with the power to heal that all people would be made strong and whole. Hear us, O God; your mercy is great. 1. We commend all these things to you and offer our thanksgiving, trusting that what we have left unsaid, your holy wisdom can unearth; in the name of the One who came among us in the power of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Theme: “We are not just
humans having a God experience. The Eucharist tells us that , in some
mysterious way, we are God having a human experience.” (The Universal Christp. 137)
Presider: We
pause now to get in touch with our personal moral compass. Our inner spiritual
authority is “an actual participation with Someone inside of us; the love of
God that has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5).
We reflect on how our lifestyle promotes God’s
work on earth of liberty and justice for all.
(Quiet
meditative music plays)
Presider1:
(Please extend arm over community)
All:
We, as a community, stand up to challenge corporate evil by actions that reflect
corporate goodness.
Presider: Holy One, this day, we explore your presence in us and in the entire
universe. We reflect on a cosmic notion of Christ and a non-tribal notion of
Jesus that will expandour capacity for
presence to see things in their depth and in their wholeness. ( Universal
Christ, pp. 284-285)
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: 1 Corinthians 11
Jesus on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given
thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, broken for you. Do this to
remember me.”
After supper, he did the same thing with the cup;
“This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you.
Each time you drink this cup, remember me.”
So, my friends, when you come together to the Table, be reverent
and courteous with one another. If you’re so hungry that you can’t wait to be
served go home and get a sandwich. But by no means risk turning this Meal into
an eating and drinking binge or a family squabble. It is a spiritual meal- a
love feast.
These are the words of the Apostle Paul and we affirm them by
saying. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial
Psalm: 116 Ubi Caritas et amo , Deus ibi est. (Taize)
When Jesus spoke the words “This is my Body,” I believe he was
speaking not just about the bread right in front of him, but about the whole
universe, about everything that is physical, material, yet also spirit filled.
Many mystics and liberation theologians have further recognized that inviting
us to drink wine as his blood is an invitation to live in bodily solidarity” with
the blood of every person whose blood has been unjustly shed on this earth.”
Wherever there was and is suffering, there is the sympathy and the empathy of
God. This is all my blood!” Jesus is saying.
Women shedblood monthly
for the sake of life and also give blood and water at birth, just as Jesus did
on the cross (John 19:34). How daring and shocking it was for Jesus to turn the
whole tradition of impure blood it its heels and make blood holy- and even a
point of contact with the divine.
Jesus says, my body “given for you,”, “broken for you,” and my
blood “poured out for you.” Anyone who has ever enjoyed lovemaking knows that
the thrill comes not just from the physical sensation but from the other person’s
desire to be specifically with you, to be naked for you, to delight in you, to
pleasure you. You always want to say, “But why me?” And you hope the other
says, “Because I love you!”
These are the inspired words of spiritual author Richard
Rohr, and we affirm them by saying. Thanks be to God. (The Universal Christ,
pp. 133-135)
Gospel: John 13:1-15 A Reading from the Holy Gospel according
to John
(Washing of the Feet, Inclusive
Bible – Priests for Equality)
Gospel Acclamation: Spirit of the Living God by Michael Crawford
(repeat)
Homily
Statement
of Faith
Presider
: Let us pray together our Statement of Faith
We believe in the Holy One, 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 the Divine Word,
bringer of healing, heart of Divine compassion,
bright star in the firmament of the Holy One's
prophets, mystics, and saints.
We believe that We are called to follow Jesus
as a vehicle of divine love,
a source of wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of peace in the world.
We believe in the Spirit of the Holy One,
the life that is our innermost life,
the breath moving in our being,
the depth living in each of us.
We believe that the Divine 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.
Prayers of The Community
Presider 1: As we prepare for the
sacred meal, we bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns.
Our response is: Holy One, You hear us.
At the end of prayers:
Presider 2: We pray for these and all
unspoken concerns. Amen.
Presider
1: Blessed are you, God of all life, through your goodness we
have bread, wine, all creation, and our own lives to offer. Through this sacred
meal may we become your new creation as we respond to your call to use our
gifts in loving service to our sisters and brothers.
All: Blessed be God forever.
Presider
2: All are welcome to join us around the table.
Voice: We celebrate with people everywhere the dynamic Presence of Christ in
every human being who has ever lived and loved tenderly and passionately. With
St. Paul we believe that there is a real transfer of human and spiritual
identity from Christ to Creation, to the Elements of bread and wine, and
through them to human beings. (The Universal Christ, p. 137)
Voice: We contemplate
our divinity immersed in our humanity. We encounter the Christ Presence in the evolving
universe in “everything that is physical, material and yet also spirit-filled.”
(The Universal Christ, p. 132)
In gratitude for all that is, we raise our
voices in praise and sing:
We are holy, holy, holy We are holy, holy, holy We are holy, holy, holy We are whole...
Spirit divine Come to me Feeling love Healing me
Open my heart Allow me to see Beauty & love Lives in me
You are holy, holy, holy You are whole (Repeat)
I am Whole Spirit divine Come to me I am holy, holy, holy Feeling love I am whole Healing me
Open my heart Allow me to see Beauty & love Lives in…
Voice: We
especially thank you, Holy One, for Jesuswho “came to undo our notions of scarcity and tip us over into a world
view of absolute abundance” as we share the Bread of Life and the Cup of
Blessing. (The Universal Christ, p. 185)
(Extend hands in blessing toward bread and wine for Invocation of the
Holy Spirit)
All: We deepen our awareness of Your Spirit within all creation
and in these gifts of bread and wine. We keep eating and drinking the Mystery,
until it dawns on us that we are what we eat! We are the Body of Christ. (pause) (The Universal Christ,
p. 136)
Presider: (lifts
the bread as community prays the following:)
All: On the night
before he died, Jesus gathered with his friends to share a banquet of love. He
took break, spoke a blessing, broke the bread and shared it with them
saying:
“Eat this.”
Whenever you remember me like this
I am among you.
(pause)
Presider: (lifts the cup as community prays the
following:)
All: Jesus then
raised a cup of blessing and offered it to them saying,
“Take and drink of the
covenant
Made new again through
my life in you.
Whenever you remember me
like this,
I am among
you. (pause)
All: “As we absorb the
divine desire for us- and for Itself,” we proclaim Christ dies in our
suffering, , Christ rises in our loving, and Christ comes again in our serving.
(The Universal Christ, p. 138.)
Voice: Holy
One, You inspire us to feed the hungry, comfort the lonely andchallenge injustice in our world. We know
that we are the Body of Christ, blessed,
broken and shared with our sisters and brothers. (The Universal Christ, p. 132)
ALL: …for you are
the Love that dwells in our depths, the Wisdom of the Ages that speaks within
us and through us, and the Divine Connection that makes us all
one.
ALL: Amen.
ALL sing: Prayer of Jesus (“Our Fatherand Mother”)
Sign of Peace: Peace is flowing like a River by Carey
Laundry
Litany for the
Breaking of theBread:
All: Christ of the Universe, we live in solidarity with everyone treated
unjustly.
Christ
ofthe Universe, we work to change
unjust structures
Christ of the
Universe, we care for the earth because it is the Body of God. (The Universal
Christ,
p. 134)
Communion:
Presider:
Allare invited to partake in this
banquet of love andto celebrate our oneness with living
beings everywhere.ALL: We are the Body and
Blood ofChrist loving and
serving all.
Communion :Room at the Table for Everyone. Carrie Newcomer
Presider: Compassion One,
all suffering is both our suffering and your suffering. We are connected to one
another as we live in right relationship, work for justice and equality and
walktogether in love. ALL: Amen (The Universal Christ,
p. 168)
Gratitude,
Introductions, Announcements
Concluding Rite:
Presider: Beloved Community, we are partners in an evolving divine dance with all
creation. Let us bless one another!
Blessing:
(with
hands extended inprayer):
ALL: The blessing of the
Holy One flows through us every day. Let us kick up our heels and leap for joy!
Presider: Go in the creative energy
of the Universal Christ, let the service continue!
