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Saturday, May 9, 2020

Upper Room Inclusive Catholic Community - Mother's Day Liturgy - May 10, 2020 - Presiders: Dennis McDonald, ARCWP, and Margaret Dilgen

Mother’s Day Liturgy – May 10, 2020

Welcome and Theme:  Mother’s Day – a time to remember the women in our lives who have had a profound impact on us, leading us to become the person we are today.  We celebrate and are thankful for women throughout the world who bring to life new creation, born of divine grace and beauty.

Margaret: Source of Life, we thank you for the gift of motherhood. We thank you for the many examples of faithful mothers in scripture, like Sarah, Hannah, and Elizabeth, and of the many women, whether our actual mother or another woman who touched our lives with love, encouragement, and support. We thank you for the women who celebrate with us today, recognizing the gifts they share with our community.  May all of us gathered here today emulate these examples of faith. And may they model for all the rest of us what it means to be your disciple. Bless them on this special day; in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Opening Song: I and the Mother are One – Jan Phillips

I and the Mother are one,
Like the sky and the moon and sun
Like the ocean and stream,
Like the dreamer and dream,
I and the Mother are one.

I and the Mother Are One
Like the sky and the moon and sun
Like the blizzard and snow,
Like the river and flowI and the Mother are one.

I and the Mother Are One
Like the sky and the moon and sun.
Like the earth and the sea,
Like the branch and the tree
I and the Mother are one.

I and the Mother are one,
Like the sky and the moon and sun,
Like the blanket and warm
Like the thunder and storm
I and the Mother are one.

LITURGY OF THE WORD

1st Reading: When God First Saw His Mother by Jan Phillips
When God first saw His Mother, He cried.
Astonished by her Radiance
He fell to his knees
witnessing a wonder beyond All-Knowing.
She appeared on the shoulders of seven galaxies.
The Milky Way spun a halo around her head..
Andromeda and Centaurus circled her wrists,
bangles from the heavens for the Mother of All.

Orion dropped his shield when she appeared.
Pegasus reared and spread his wings.
A roar from Ursa Major shattered the silence.

"I never knew," God said,
an old man now, aloft on a nebula.

"Look what I made, so I wouldn't be alone,"
he said, pointing everywhere
with his fingers of Light.

Hoping for Her approval, He began His litany:
"Fire, water, wind, stars, planets, creatures."

God's Mother beheld the heavens
delighted at the dance of binary stars,
impressed with the wonder of stellar winds,
moons and tides,
galaxies in the trillions with no beginning or end.

"Is it as you intended?" She asked Her Son.

"Except for Earth, where they are slow to learn.
They fight day and night and poison their young
in all manner of ways."

"Do you not intercede?" the Mother inquired.

"I do not," God said, "for they are born to create.
They are makers of everything,
though they deny this is true."

"What do you think will come to pass?"

"It's in their hands, though by their songs
you would never know."

"Do you not have power over their sun and moon?"
"Yes, but the affairs of earth belong to them.
The infinite is mine, the finite, theirs."

" I see," She said, as she shifted in space,
the galaxies swirling and shining beneath Her.
"You have done well," She praised, then dissolved into dark:
The Mother of Everything returning to Naught.

God entered the deep space of silence and awe,
then broadcast to the cosmos His bulletin of joy:
I and the Mother are one this day.
I and the Mother are One.

These are the inspired words of Jan Phillips, and the community affirms them by saying, Amen.

2nd Reading: A reading from Kate Wallace Nunnelly

In recent years I have been struck by how feminine communion is. At the Last Supper Jesus says, “This is my body broken for you” & “This is my blood shed for you” and all of it is to bring about new life. How similar to what a mother can say to the baby she just birthed. For a mother’s body is also broken and her blood is also shed to make way for new life.

Did these words first find their origin on the lips of Jesus’ mother, as she cradled her newborn baby, telling him of all she went through to bring him new life?

Did they find their way back to her lips as she shouted in anguish, holding the nail-pierced & broken body of her son at the foot of the cross?

In many church traditions women are not allowed to preside over the communion table, or to help serve communion to the congregation. There are a few different reasons given, but I believe the story of Mary shows us that God had a different plan in mind.

After all, it was Mary who first presided over the body & blood of Jesus as she carried him in her womb for 9 months.  And it was Mary who delivered his body & blood into the world, for the benefit of all creation.

Yes, in recent years I have been struck by how feminine communion is. And every time I get to receive communion from a woman at church, I am reminded that my God isn’t afraid of being perceived as having feminine characteristics and doesn’t stray away from showing sacrificial, motherly love.
These are the inspired words of Kate Wallace Nunnelly, adapted from the work of Samuel Wells & Abigail Kocher
Homily Starter by Dennis McDonald

Imagine, God having a mother. Not so far-fetched when you think that humankind has for millennia viewed God as a man in the sky amongst the clouds, in a place called heaven.  So, why not a mother for this entity.  And what of his reaction, sheer joy knowing that there was someone, his mother, who he could impress and seek approval from for all that he had done.  Sounds somewhat familiar as I think about myself and others growing up, loving mommy, seeking approval, wanting to impress her and win her love.  And what joy, what happiness when, like God, our mother said, “you have done well”. But there is a difference. Unlike God’s mother, who praises, says well done and then disappears back into the darkness from which life began, our mothers aren’t always approving, aren’t always supportive, aren’t always perfect.  There are any number of reasons for this including lack of interest in what we are doing, or lack of knowledge, or an inability to offer what we are seeking.  As we celebrate Mother’s Day today, we celebrate not just birth mothers, but women who have been significant in our lives, offering support and encouragement, urging us onward, challenging us to be who we are created to be.  It is one of the beauties of being human, the ability to provide nurturance to another person who is seeking approval as they come into their own, no matter what age.
God, in our story does not intercede in human relations, “for they are born to create. They are makers of everything”.  St. Hildegarde of Bingen said it this way: "Humankind, full of all creative possibilities, is God’s work. Humankind alone is called to assist God. Humankind is called to co-create. With nature’s help, humankind can set into creation all that is necessary and life-sustaining.” It is up to us to create a world where love is primary, where approval and praise are at the forefront of all of our interactions. 
Our second reading speaks of the body broken and blood shed by a mother, in this case Mary, when a child is born.  Those who are mothers can attest to this. I can only attest to what I witnessed at the birth of our daughter, and what my wife endured.  And yet, at the same moment, the sheer joy she exhibited at the birth of her child.  It is in this moment of birth that a communion is consummated, new life comes into being in the breaking and the bleeding, leading to a connection that is never fully broken. 
Jesus, at his final meal with his disciples, both men and women, used the symbolism of a body broken and blood shed to invite them to bring new life to a broken and bleeding world.  This is what we, as followers of Jesus, are asked to do, to bring a new way of loving, healing the hurt and the pain that causes some to not be approved, supported, or encouraged. Kate Wallace Nunnelly expresses concern in the inability of women in some faith traditions to offer the body and blood of Jesus to their community.  Women who understand body broken, blood shed, are kept from delivering the new life that emerges from this symbolism given to us by Jesus. 
Similar to individuals who seek others as nurturing companions, the Roman Catholic Women Priest Movement, hasn’t just accepted Mother Church’s denial and non-support of their call to be life-bearers to the world.  Instead, they have birthed an alternative path that encourages and supports women called to priesthood.  As the Upper Room Community we celebrate those women in our lives who have nurtured and sustained us over the years, and we, in particular recognize the women among us who have embraced the call of the Divine Mother to be life-bearers, bringing, in this Easter season, and throughout the year, the message that out of brokenness, out of darkness, new life emerges.  For all women who have touched our lives with love and compassion, we say, “You have done well”. 
What or who do you celebrate today? Where have you found support and approval? When have you been a source of new life to another?   
Margaret: Let us continue our liturgy by reciting 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. 

Dennis:  As we prepare for the eucharistic meal, we recognize that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. We pray today, this special litany of intentions in honor of Mother’s Day
To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you
To those who lost a child this year–we mourn with you
To those who experienced loss through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you
To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment—we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We don’t mean to make this harder than it is

  • To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms–we need you
  • To those who have warm and close relationships with your children–we celebrate with you
  • To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children–we sit with you
  • To those who lost their mothers this year–we grieve with you
  • To those who did not have a positive experience of being mothered – we offer solace
  • To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother–we acknowledge your experience
  • To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year–we grieve and rejoice with you
  • To those who placed children up for adoption–we commend you for your selflessness and remember how you hold that child in your heart
  • To those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising–we anticipate with you
Please voice your own silent intentions

Dennis: Divine Mother, loving us with a sweeter and deeper love than we have ever known, hear our prayers this day, Amen.
(Source: By Amy Young, and Carol Penner )

LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

Margaret: Please join in praying the Eucharistic Prayer.

Loving Mother, who gives life and breath to everyone and everything in our world, let us find life, breath and meaning for ourselves and our world.
We celebrate and give thanks, together, for the women in our communities.
That women and men are different invites us into partnership, invites us to share the burdens and the joys of life.

In the gentle care of the Holy one we find our home. And in the living Spirit we are united this day in offering praise as we sing: 
https://youtu.be/9LKivUf48AA

Blessed be our God
Blessed be our God!   
Joy of our hearts, source of all life and love!   
God of Heaven and Earth!  
God of Heaven and Earth!  
Dwelling within, calling us all by name!   
Alleluia, sing! Alleluia, sing!  
 
Gift of love and peace!  
Gift of love and peace! 
Jesus Christ, Jesus our hope and light!  
A flame of faith in our hearts! 
A flame of faith in our hearts! 
Proclaiming the day, shining throughout the night!  
Alleluia, sing!  
Alleluia, sing! 
(Alleluia Sing by David Haas)  

Great Mystery with a mother’s heart, you gather us as your children. You comfort and hold us in your warm embrace. Eternal and loving Source of Life, we thank you this day, for being part of your family.

Great Mystery, with a mother’s heart, love surrounds and supports us, in good and difficult times, in the midst of joy and pain, always and everywhere. We are never left alone nor abandoned.

When we hurt we are held in love’s embrace. When we are afraid we are surrounded with compassionate care. When we are hungry we are nourished with the bread of life.

Please extend your hands as we pray the prayers of consecration

We are grateful for Sophia Wisdom at our Eucharistic Table and for this bread and wine which reminds us of our call to be the body of Christ in the world, standing in solidarity with the oppressed and the broken.  



All: On the night before he faced his own death, 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 with them, he bent down and washed their feet.  
 
All lift their plate as the community prays the following: 

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. 
 (consume bread and pause)  
 
All lift their cup as community prays the following: 

Then he took the cup of the covenant, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying: 
Take and drink. 
Whenever you remember me like this, 
I am among you. 
(drink and pause) 

ALL: We share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace. 

For those who have been blessed with an awareness of mothering care, who have looked to be guided and nurtured, we give thanks, and we pray for unity of the human family.  May we be a nurturing influence on others, that they too may enjoy a life of nurturance and acceptance.
For those who hunger and thirst, who are lost and alone, who yearn to be given new direction, new hope and new life, we pray that they experience through us care, compassion and love. Let us be seen and known as faithful followers of Jesus the Christ through this community of faith. Help us to uphold the teachings of Jesus, our brother, as we seek to bring justice and peace to the world.
For the many strengths of women, their gifts of peace-making, nurturing, education, entrepreneurship, healing, wisdom, creativity, endurance, collaboration, physicality –
and so much more, we are grateful.

So, we trust that the Spirit of Sophia Wisdom will continue to beckon us to live out the Gospel values of compassion and equality, bringing peace and justice to the world in which we live. 

Let us pray the Prayer of Jesus:
Our Mother who art within us,
Each breath brings us to you.
Thy wisdom come,
Thy will be done,
as we honor your presence within us.
You give us this day all that we need.
Your bounty calls us to give and receive
all that is loving and pleasurable.
You are the courage that moves us to be true to ourselves
and we act with grace and power.
We relax into your cycles of birth,
growth, death and renewal.
Out of the womb, the darkness, the void, comes new life.
For you are the Mother of All Things.
Your body is the Sacred Earth and our bodies.
Your love nurtures us and unites us all.
Now and forever more.
“Our Mother” by Dale Allen

Communion Meditation: Woman Spirit by Karen Drucker
Upper Room Tribute to Mothers 2020



Margaret: Let us pray together our Closing Prayer

Go now in the comfort and peace of the One who gave birth to us.
Go in the assurance that the Comforter is with us always.
Go to give comfort and peace to others.
Divine Wisdom guide us as we go forth on Her paths of peace.
May She give us blessings more precious than silver or gold (Prov. 3:13-15, 17).
May we find joy in sharing these blessings with others.
May Wisdom empower us to change our world! Amen.

Closing Song: We Will Rise Again by David Haas

The Eucharistic Prayer used within this liturgy was modified from the writings of Jann Aldredge-Clanton (www.jannaldredgeclanton.com ), Christine Sine (https://godspace-msa.com/ ), and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).


Podcast- Join Hands and Hearts to Heal Our World, Episode 8 with Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP

https://anchor.fm/bridget-m-meehan/episodes/Join-hands-and-hearts-in-prayer-to-heal-and-transform-our-world-edghks

Episode 8



Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community - Liturgy for Fifth Sunday of Easter - Presiders: Katy Zatsick, ARCWP, and Cheryl Brandi









Mary, Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community
May 9, 2020

Fifth Sunday of Easter

                                                  Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
Readers: Jim Brandi, Elena Garcia ARCWP, Joan Meehan.
Theme: With Jesus, We Build our Heavenly Dwelling Place

Welcome and Gathering

Presider 1:  Welcome to our Zoom liturgy at Mary Mother of Jesus, an inclusive Catholic Community where all are welcome.  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. Our readers are Jim Brandi, Elena Garcia and Joan Meehan. Thanks to Mary Theresa for being our IT for this liturgy.
During the shared homily we ask you to unmute yourself (red mic to white.) and then remember to mute yourself when finished. If two begin to speak at the same time, one please defer to the other.
Please have bread and wine/juice in front of you as we pray our Eucharistic prayer.
If anyone has visitors they would like to introduce to our community, please do so now. Raise your hand, unmute to do so.    

Let us begin now with our gathering song: Sing a New Church
by Michelle Sherliza and Delores Dufner

Opening Prayer

Presider 2:   Loving God, you promise eternal life to your beloved daughters and sons. As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, open our minds and hearts to his message. Make of us the good earth that bears fruit a hundredfold. Grant this through Jesus, who lives with you in unity of Sophia, Holy Spirit, now and always. Amen.

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 and reconciliation.

(Pause briefly. Then Extend arm over community)

All: I love you, I am sorry, Please forgive me, I thank you.

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading: (Jim Brandi) A reading from “We Were Made for These Times” by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

My friends, do not lose heart. We were made for these times. I have heard from so many recently who are deeply and properly bewildered. They are concerned about the state of affairs in our world now. Ours is a time of almost daily astonishment and often righteous rage over the latest degradations of what matters most to civilized, visionary people.

I urge you, ask you, gentle you, to please not spend your spirit dry by bewailing these difficult times. Especially do not lose hope. Most particularly because, the fact is that we were made for these times. Yes. For years, we have been learning, practicing, been in training for and just waiting to meet on this exact plain of engagement.
  
Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good.

There will always be times when you feel discouraged. I too have felt despair many times in my life, but I do not keep a chair for it. I will not entertain it. It is not allowed to eat from my plate.

The reason is this: In my uttermost bones I know something, as do you. It is that there can be no despair when you remember why you came to Earth, who you serve, and who sent you here. The good words we say and the good deeds we do are not ours.

They are the words and deeds of the One who brought us here. In that spirit, I hope you will write this on your wall: When a great ship is in harbor and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But that is not what great ships are built for.  The inspired words of Clarissa Pinkola Estes. We All Respond “AMEN”

(American poet, post-trauma specialist and Jungian psychoanalyst,
author of Women Who Run With the Wolves.”

Psalm 90 adapted from Nan Merrill (Jim Brandi); 
Response: All: You welcome us home to your Heart, to the city of Light.

When our days on earth are ended, you welcome us home to your Heart, to the City of Light, where time is eternal and days are not numbered. You gather those who love You as friends returning from a long journey, giving rest to our souls, you anoint us with oil with the balm of understanding, healing wounds of the past.
All: You welcome us home to your Heart, to the city of Light.

For our days on Earth are a mystery, a searching for You, a yearning for the Great Mystery to make itself known. The years pass and soon the Harvest is at hand, a time to reap the fruit of one’s life. Who has lived with integrity? Who will reflect the Light, who can bear the radiant beams of Love?
All: You welcome us home to your Heart, to the city of Light.

Awaken us, O Holy One! Too long have we been asleep! Help us to wait in Silence listening for your gentle Voice; Strengthen us with courage to face the fears within.
Let the grace and gentleness of the Holy Spirit be upon us, guiding our feet upon paths of Love Consciousness. Increase your Light within us---O Beloved hear our prayer!
All: You welcome us home to your Heart, to the city of Light.

Second Reading: “Ventilator” a reflection
I have two lungs/4 lobes.
I can share my breath with my sisters and brothers who struggle to breathe. Healthy lungs are more powerful than any man-made ventilator. Jesus you were not always physically present at a healing. You are the air we breathe in. You assured us that we would be able to do what you did “and even greater” I can join the front lines from my “safe at home” Jesus, I hear your call to join the front lines.  I will share You, Your Strength, Your Peace, Your Love.
I will share the air from one lung to my sisters and brothers who need to take another breath, who need to experience Peace, who need to relax and let you. If one man-made ventilator can be used for two, this God-made ventilator can share with many more.
Thank you, Holy One, for putting all this in my heart this morning. I spent 20 minutes deep breathing, sharing from my giving lung and trusted that You decide who gets it. I hope to be able to do these two or three times a day while I am safe at home. You are never out done in generosity. A sense of Peace came over me and I look forward to sharing my lung power again and again and again.
This is an inspired meditation shared by Elena Garcia, ARCWP.
All: Amen
Alleluia


Gospel our Reading is from John 14:1-12 (Joan Meehan)
Jesus teaches, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith in me as well. In God’s house there are many dwelling places, otherwise, how could I have told you that I was going to prepare a place for you? I am indeed going to prepare a place for you, and then I will come back to take you with me, that where I am there you may be as well.

“You know the way that leads to where I am going.” And some of us replied, “But we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?”  Jesus replies, “I myself am the Way---I am the truth, and I am Life.  No one comes to Abba God but through me. If you really knew me, you would know Abba God also. From this point on, you know Abba God and you have seen God.”

“Rabbi” one asked, “show us Abba God, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus replies,
“Have I been with you all this time and you still do not know me?” Whoever has seen me has seen Abba God.  How can you say, “Show us your Abba? Don’t you believe that I am in Abba God and God is in me? The words I speak are not spoken of myself; it is Abba God, living in me, who is accomplishing the works of God. Believe me that I am in God and God is in me, or else believe because of the works I do. The truth of the matter is, anyone who has faith in me will do the works I do--- and greater works besides.  Why? Because I to Abba God, and whatever you ask in my name I will do, so that God may be glorified in me.  Anything you ask in my name I will do. We respond to the inspired words of John. All: Amen

Homily Starter: Katy Zatsick ARCWP
We are in the midst of Covid 19; some are saying the beginning of a two-year experience until we achieve immunity via a vaccine or herd immunity. We have all experienced changes emotionally, spiritually, physically, socially in our lives because of this plague. Clarissa Estes, we heard this reading a few weeks ago, but I chose to use it again reminds us of all the ages through history when we could have been born; we were born to experience the Time of Covid and its aftermath. We are called to experience it fully with our faith and souls; our minds and bodies; our knowledge, experience, skills and life wisdom. We are participating in human evolution to the consciousness of our Oneness in Holy Mystery and truly what we do to another we do to ourselves. We are experiencing our inner journey to the deep within where our God of truth, lives and gives each of us life.
The Time of Covid presents us with daily choices to be angry, frustrated, fearful or to turn away from belief. Or we can answer the call to use this time wisely growing spiritually and come to consciousness of our role in the human evolutionary story, to become the Body of Christ in service to Truth and to Life. Jesus teaches us in today’s gospel “I myself am the Way---I am the truth, and I am life” He continues, “In God’s house there are many dwelling places, otherwise, how could I have told you that I was going to prepare a place for you?” We are called to be the Compassion of Jesus Christ in the Time of Covid and to create a new future for evolutionary humanity after.
We know Jesus is not talking of a physical structure but a spiritual dwelling place in Holy Mystery’s Unconditional Love for us. How do we follow his Way and the Truth? How do we participate with Jesus in preparing a heavenly dwelling place for ourselves? As Clarissa writes; we do not have to “fix the entire” world. But to stretch “…out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach.” She continues, “Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely.” Elena has given us an inspiriting experience of one way we might prepare our dwelling place with Jesus as we follow the Way. Elena knowing, we are ONE with our sisters and brothers in Holy Mystery, in prayer stands in solidarity and with Jesus’ Compassion lifts up their needs (her bread and wine) to our Loving God. Elena stands in Solidarity and Healing Love with all those needing to breathe.
Let us take a few minutes and visit our dwelling place where “Jesus and I” in the Time of Covid are creating my eternal home in God’s Unconditional Love.
Please lay down your liturgy; put your feet on the floor, close your eyes and get comfortable. If your mind wanders from my words, stay with a Spirit given image, but if not let it go and come back to my words
Gently breathe in and out, in and out.
In your mind’s eye, leave your room and see a path before you. Take the path to a sacred safe space…. You know this is the dwelling place being prepared by and for you… Jesus, a wisdom figure or Holy Mystery is waiting for you…
Tell Jesus about your experience in Covid Time…Have you received a gift during this time? An insight into who you are?  Speak to him, listen to his reply…What is Jesus calling you to do after you are permitted to leave “safer at home?” Ask Jesus about anything your soul wants to know in Covid time?
Knowing you can return to this place any time you desire, please say goodbye, return to the path home, and when you have returned to your room, open your eyes. Please share from your meditation experience, response to our readings, or your heart during the Time of Covid.
Communal Statement of Faith

All: We believe in You, Holy One, Love poured out through all of creation, calling us to humanity’s future.
We follow our brother, Jesus whose Path is Compassion
We believe in Your Sophia within us,
Your Wisdom Presence calling us to evolve here and now
Creating a sustainable and just society for all
across Mother Earth.
Amen.

Prayers of and for the Community

Presider 1: We now remember all those who need our prayers.
Our response is All: Jesus we trust in you. Your Love sustains us.

Jim B: God of Compassion, be with the doctors, nurses, researchers and all medical professionals who seek to heal and help those affected by Coronavirus and who put themselves at risk in the process.
All: Jesus we trust in you. Your Love sustains us.

Elena G: God of Compassion, heal those who are sick with this virus. Be with those who have died and now dwell with you. Be with those who worry, who grieve. May they know your comfort and peace.
All: Jesus we trust in you. Your Love sustains us.

Joan M: God of Compassion and Wisdom, be with the leaders of all nations and States. Give them the foresight to act with charity and true concern for the well-being of the people they are meant to serve.  Give them the wisdom to invest in long-term solutions that will help prevent and prepare for future outbreaks. Across the world, may leaders work for a just, equal and sustainable future for all.
All: Jesus we trust in you. Your Love sustains us.

Presider 1: And for what else should we pray for…

Presider 1: During this time when we may not be able to physically wrap our arms around each other, let us yet find ways to be God’s loving embrace for all our neighbors.  Amen.
Adapted from “A Prayer for the Coronavirus,” by Kerry Weber, March 2, 2020.

Preparation Of The Gifts

Presider 1:  Blessed are You, O Holy One, through Your divine providence we have this bread of Jesus’ Compassion and Solidarity to offer, it will become for us the Bread of Life. 

All: Blessed are You Holy Mystery forever.  

Presider 2:  Blessed are You, O Holy One, through Your divine providence our community has this wine of desire to heal all those who have Covid19 and their suffering families and friends as we offer it to you, it will become our spiritual drink. 

All: Blessed are You God of Unconditional Healing Love forever.

Presider 1: O Source of All Life and Creation, past, present and future; in you we live and move and have our being,

All: All the days of our lives.

Eucharistic Prayer

Presider 2: Sofia, your Holy 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 all holy women and men, your liberating Spirit rises up within us, works through us and we sing:

All:  Holy, Holy, Holy (adapted from Holy, Holy, Holy by Karen Drucker)

We are Holy, Holy, Holy…3x , You are Holy, Holy, Holy, I am Holy, Holy, Holy, We are Holy, Holy, Holy

Presider 1: 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 moved through your disciples as they joined with you after you ascended to be eternally with the Holy One.  Your Spirit moves through us as we pray and follow the Way of Compassion of Jesus our Wise Brother.

Presider 1:  Please extend Your hands in blessing.

Presider 2:  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.

All: 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,
All: “This is the cup of the Covenant of my Love. As often as You drink of it, remember me.”

Presider 2:  Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:
All: Christ has died in all those who have passed away because of the Coronavirus and in those who have given their lives as they cared for these patients. 
Christ is rising in all those working for the well-being of humanity.
Christ comes each day in our ministry for a healthy, sustainable world with justice, peace and equality for all including Mother Earth. Amen.

Presider 1:  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 and equality and a healthy sustainable world. 
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 2:  Jesus said to his disciples, “My peace I leave You.  My peace I give You.”  The peace of the Holy One is within You. 
All: And with all of us.

Presider 1: Please join in praying the Litany for the Breaking of the Bread
All: Holy One, You call us to speak truth to power; we will do so.
Holy One, You call us to live the Gospel of reconciliation, healing and justice; we will do so.
Holy One, You call us to be Your Compassionate Presence in the world; we will do so.

Presider 2:  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 1: Pease share Eucharist now. 

Concluding Rite

Presider 1:   The Holy One is within You. 

All:  And also within You.
Blessing

Presider 2: Please extend Your hands as we pray our final blessing.

All: May we be the face of God for each other.  May we call each other to extravagant generosity!  May we use our hands as Jesus did to reach out to one another with Compassion, support, and healing for our human family and our Earth.  May we go forth with the energy of Sophia, Holy Spirit within us to heal and transform our church and world, knowing we are also building our heavenly dwelling place. Amen.

Closing Song: Anthem by Tom Conry