Homily:“Soggy Bread” by Annie Watson ARCWP, Mary Magdala Community, Indianapolis,

Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15; John 6:24-35

August 2, 2015

Annie Watson, ARCWP

Apparently, God is a fan of bread. No low-carb diets for the Creator! If God didn’t like bread, God wouldn’t have created so many different types of bread. It is the most basic food staple there is.

Bread is a common food item in the biblical writings, from the unleavened bread that the Israelites ate on Passover to the bread Jesus broke with his disciples claiming it was his “body.”

One of the interesting things about the Bible is that it will often take something very common and mundane, like bread, and elevate it by attributing spiritual qualities to it. Our two readings from Exodus and John highlight the “spirituality of bread.”

In the first story from the book of Exodus we read about a bread-like substance called “manna.” The Israelites had escaped from Egyptian slavery and now they find themselves in a desert with little or no food. They complain to their leader, Moses, that as slaves in Egypt they fared better. They would prefer to go back to Egypt.

Who wouldn’t? Have you ever been hungry? Of course you have, and yet few of us have missed many meals due to a lack of food. We’re talking about real hunger here, that which is experienced these days by nearly 15% of the people who live in developing nations.

According to the story in Exodus, God supplied the stomach-grumbling Israelites with manna in the morning and quail in the evening. If we were dieticians we might call this carb/protein combination the Wilderness Wandering Diet. Probably not highly recommended!

What was the manna? We don’t know. The writer introduces it by claiming that God said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you.” A few verses later we discover a few more details about it: “In the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground.” Sounds yummy . . . and soggy.

We don’t know what the manna was, but we know what the writer is trying to say: Something needed was supplied unexpectedly. In fact, the word “manna” is occasionally used for anything that is needed and supplied unexpectedly. Have you ever received a monetary gift from someone at just the right time? Have you ever received a kind or encouraging word from someone at the moment it was needed most? Manna from heaven.

Before you start thinking that the Israelites got a raw deal with soggy bread in the morning, have you ever had an Italian beef sandwich dipped in au jus sauce or a French Dip roast beef sandwich? Soggy bread can be a spiritual experience!

Our second “bread” story is found in John 6, which comes on the heels of the story of the Feeding of the Five Thousand, which featured fish and bread on the menu (there’s that protein/carb diet again!).

The people know a good thing when they see it (or eat it) so they go looking for Jesus again. They even go so far as to get in boats and sail across the Sea of Galilee looking for him. Full stomachs don’t stay full for long.

When they find Jesus, he quickly understands their motive for finding him, and says to them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” In other words, you are missing the point, which is bigger than your stomachs. He then tells them, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life.”

Those are nice words, but I imagine they fell on hollow ears with people who had hollow stomachs. We should never use this passage to tell hungry people, “All you really need is Jesus,” or “Man cannot live by bread alone.” That would be cruel.

Nevertheless, John’s Gospel is trying to prod us to think beyond our physical stomachs, to think about how we might nourish our spiritual stomachs. We are spiritual beings, which means that it is possible for us to focus on things other than our material and physical needs. John’s Jesus reflects our spiritual needs where he says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry” (or thirsty).

What we find in both the manna in the Exodus story and the “bread of life” in John’s Gospel is the notion that something needed is received unexpectedly. No one can claim that this is always true, and yet I don’t think many of us would be here today if our spiritual needs were not being met on some level.

Both stories have something else in common: soggy bread. We understand the sogginess of the manna in the book of Exodus, but where do we find soggy bread in John’s account?

The answer is: In Jesus himself. The late Marcus Borg refers to Jesus as a “God-intoxicated” person. This is Borg’s way of saying Jesus was “Spirit-filled.” Jesus, the bread of life, was soggy. He was drenched in the Spirit. He spent so much time swimming in the “living water” that he started to resemble a big prune (spiritually speaking of course).

Sogginess is a great metaphor for the God-soaked life. As Christians, we begin our journeys with a ritual bath called “baptism,” and although most of us are not fully immersed in the water, it does serve as a wonderful sign about life in the Spirit. As Christ followers we should be bathed in the waters of baptism, soaked in scripture, and saturated in the Spirit.

Maybe it’s time for the inauguration of a new Christian symbol: soggy bread. Reflect on these words:

Soggy bread is a symbol of God’s grace, dripping in unconditional love. Soggy bread represents the peace of God which spills over in terms of our ability to understand it. Soggy bread is served alongside the overflowing cup of goodness and mercy that follows us all the days of our lives. Soggy bread points to the justice that rolls down like waters—an ever-flowing stream of righteousness. Soggy bread is a picture of those who have been anointed—drenched in the spirit—to bring good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of God’s favor. Soggy bread is a metaphor for the fullness of God, filled to overflowing, soaked to saturation. 

Homily for Holy Spirit Catholic Community on 19th Ordinary Time, Aug. 9, 2015 by Beverly Bingle, RCWP

We started reading this long “bread of life” discourse
in Chapter 6 of John's Gospel the last week of July,
and we'll continue reading from it through the end of August.
Each piece of it is full of theology and spirituality for us to consider.
This week John puts words in Jesus' mouth to tell us
that we have to go through Jesus to get to God.
We can't get to God any other way.
Later, in Chapter 14, verse 6, John has Jesus saying it straight out,
“No one comes to the Father except through me.”
__________________________________________
But we all know people who are not Christians
who are good people, following their conscience,
some of them followers of religions like Islam or Hinduism,
some of them following no religion at all.
If we believe the Gospel of John, they cannot get to God.
The German theologian Karl Rahner tried to solve the problem
with the notion of “anonymous Christianity.”
Here's how he put it:
"Anonymous Christianity means that a person
lives in the grace of God and attains salvation
outside of explicitly constituted Christianity…
Let us say, a Buddhist monk…
who, because he follows his conscience,
attains salvation and lives in the grace of God;
of him I must say that he is an anonymous Christian.”
The way Rahner sees it is that,
if he did not call this good Buddhist an “anonymous Christian,
he would have to say that there is a path to salvation
that has nothing to do with Jesus Christ.
But, Rahner writes, “I cannot do that.”
So he ends up defending the proposition that
“outside the Church there is no salvation.”
Not only is Jesus the only way to God in this theology,
but the Roman Catholic Jesus is the only way.
____________________________________
On the other hand, the Swiss theologian Hans Küng
has a problem with the idea of “anonymous Christians.”
He says, "It would be impossible to find anywhere in the world
a sincere Jew, Muslim, or atheist
who would not regard the assertion
that he is an 'anonymous Christian' as presumptuous."
Other theologians have called
Rahner's “anonymous Christian” notion
paternalistic and denigrating.
__________________________________________
A look at history shows
how this kind of presumptive self-righteousness
has provided fuel for the slaughter of innocents—
the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisitions,
conquest of the Americas, the pogroms, the Holocaust.
Even though we know
that wars are mainly about power and money,
we also know that fanning the flames of religious hatred
has been used as a tactic, a weapon of war,
a way to fire up a population for political or cultural goals.
Globally we're very much aware of various followers of religions
who claim that their way is the only way.
We know about the Sunnis and the Shias.
We know about ISIL
and their massacre of both Christians and Muslims.
Here in the USA we notice some people
reacting with suspicion of people who are Muslims
or look like Middle Easterners.
Since 9/11 our own government's security forces
have practiced profiling, to the extent that
people are stopped, questioned, and detained
because they “look like” Muslims.
______________________________________
We have to read the scriptures carefully and with a loving heart,
so we will notice that, while John's Gospel
sows the seed for holy wars,
the other three canonical Gospels sow seeds of cooperation,
with Jesus teaching the exact opposite
of this passage from John.
Jesus' message is inclusive in Matthew, Mark, and Luke:
everyone can get to God;
you don't need a priest or a religious authority at all.
___________________________________
What this theological-scriptural discussion has to do with us
becomes clear when we look at our own community.
Some Christians continue to select and interpret scripture passages
in a way that condemns or excludes,
setting up excuses for them to discriminate
or, in the extreme, do harm to others.
Three years ago a man set fire to the mosque here
out of hatred for Muslims,
saying he was upset because Muslims are terrorists.
Some who purport to be Christians find grounds for hatred
on the basis of race, or gender identity, or sexual orientation.
_________________________________________
Our scriptures can be read to call for much violence
or much love.
In every generation we are challenged to live
by the best and highest principles.
For today's Gospel passage,
we can embrace, as we did last week,
the “bread of life”
as John's way of expressing the impact
of Jesus' teaching and his inclusive table fellowship
on his followers.
We must be careful, though,
not to fall into taking literally the exclusion from Godliness
of people who find another path to God.
___________________________________
For us, Paul's advice to the Ephesians has a clear message,
echoing the best of our Christian tradition.
He says, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.”
Put away bitterness and wrath and anger
and clamor and slander and malice.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted and forgiving.
Walk in love.”

--
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

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Sign Up Now for Retreat on Sophia Wisdom: Rediscovering the Feminine Face of the Divine, Led by Roman Catholic Women Priests: Mary Sue Barnett ARCWP and Debra Meyers, ARCWP at Transfiguration Spirituality Center, Cincinnati, May 13-15, 2016

Poem in response to Ordination of Barbara Billey ARCWP written by Suzanne Woitowich, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

I am the cloud

I am floating with the wind with my feet bare in the wet grass of the morning

my eyes dazzled by sunlight on the glimmering tips of leaves holding pools

and droplets in the eyes of flowers...

moved by the sound of God in the visions seen on the screen of my minds garden

moved by song, in the voices, in the smiling eyes seen in singing songs and chants

drumming drums and dancing dances-

In the chapel for the ordination of the first woman Catholic priest in our town.

What a momentous occasion with reverberations of hope

 in this morning of beginnings and letting go of endings-

to be a part of ---in unison with other grateful souls- dressed for the occasion.

You and I make the same note, but who is louder and who has the purest tone

the bass or the soprano, the alto or the tenor

the ego rears its ugly head of arrogance and is satisfied by the disruption!

Our need to compete --men and women-

Who is louder and who has the clearest tone,

reveals your fear and my fear and our vulnerabilities and sameness!

My desire for the soft note the reverent harmony is also your desire

I yearn for the awe that comes when brought to our knees in prayer-

an old sound that rattles in my heart breaking open in reverence.

The crack of tears that cry out from me to God

opening my heart of hearts just like yours,

erupting spontaneously with cascades of warm chills

that rattles cages long locked in chains of hurt against dangers,

the crust fragmenting now by trust in love and hope in justice

the earth of my heart quakes

and I let go momentarily in the moment

adoring the disarming- the laying bare of the clear ringing crystal bowl

the balanced note of equality rising to meet the day

my beating heart sings a song of celebration

clear and clean as the bell in the steeple of my church.

Can you hear the sound of the church bells ringing there?

The birds singing in the voices?

The waves washing through our minds in rhythmic breath?

carrying all the debris away away

healing the struggles of yesterday

clearing the way for the morrow

when women walk as Catholic priests!

The bass tenor alto and soprano brought into balanced harmony

and now our voices lighten as we listen to each other...

as we sing

I know when you are softening and when you rise

I hear your bass bravado

mixing with my soprano

sweet balance and harmony is heard and known

my voice lost in yours

dissolving into spirit

resolving the illusion of separation

resolving the illusion of our outward appearances

as men and women

the loudness of the masculine decreases to include the softness of the feminine

and the chorus repeats

All our hearts are heard by God

All our hearts are heard by God

and for today

Grace descends upon the one in our focus

The woman who receives the challenge and chalice

to stand alongside the men in robes

and minister in love and in confidence

with God's blessing...

and now with man's blessing... as well!!!

 

Poem 7/18/2015 by Suzanne Woitowich, a member of the choir
at Barbara Billey’s Ordination, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Member of the choir at Barbara Billey’s Ordination, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

In 1979 Sister Theresa Kane Invited Pope John Paul 11 to Open All Ministries to Women, In 2015 Women Priests Lead the Church in Inclusive, Egalitarian, Empowered Communities

http://ncronline.org/news/people/legacy-beyond-catholicism

Women Priests Co Presiders: Kathryn Shea, ARCWP, Sally Brochu, ARCWP, and Pastor Phil Garrison St. Andrew UCC
Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Liturgy on Aug. 1, 2015  at St. Andrew UCC in Sarasota Florida

Advocacy for women's equality existed before Kane gave her address at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. At the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) meeting in 1975, a resolution for women to be in all ministries passed almost unanimously, and two years later, the Sisters of Mercy of the Union endorsed a similar statement.

By the time Kane, as LCWR's president, welcomed the pope, she knew what she would say. Visible glints of support were present in the crowds that day; a group of sisters wore blue armbands to signify advocacy for women's ordination.

Bridget Mary Meehan:  I was there and witnessed Sister Theresa Kane's unforgettable address. The atmosphere was electric, filled with Spirit energy and anticipation. On that day, new hope for gender equality filled my soul  when I heard Sister Kane's prophetic words, and saw nuns wearing the blue armbands promoting women's ordination. Wow, talking about being outside my comfort zone, and challenged to move in a different direction than anything I had known as an IHM Sister.  Some of the nuns even stood on the pews to get a better view of the Pope as he processed in to the Shrine. 

"That's where I became alive," Kane said. "It has become a vision, a passion, a focus for my life, and a priority. My greeting was considered a commencement. It was not the end of my responsibilities. ... For me, it has been a lifelong journey."

Bridget Mary Meehan:  In 1979, I was on a leave of absence from the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters in Philadelphia. My dear friend, Sister Regina Madonna, a nun also on leave of absence and I went early to the Shrine to secure seats, never dreaming of the seismic shift we were going to become part of as Sister Kane addressed the pontiff. 

As the spokeswoman for LCWR, Kane was also conscious of herself as "a voice in the desert," she said. "I needed to speak not just for women religious, but for all women. That particular moment was somewhat of an inclusive mindset that deepened solidarity."

Bridget Mary Meehan: On July 31, 2006, I was ordained a priest in the first U.S. ordination. When I returned to Florida, a group gathered with my Dad and me for house church liturgies. Our close-knit community grew and flourished and became known as Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community. Now we are a dynamic community with presiders that include married priests, women priests and  community members. Each week we celebrate liturgies where all are welcome to receive sacraments on Sat. at 4 PM at St. Andrew UCC.  www.marymotherofjesus.org

When LCWR gave Kane the Outstanding Leadership Award in 2004, her speech at the ceremony mentioned what she calls the "colonizing spirit" -- the idea that as long as there is no gender equality, women, without meaning to, take a secondary role and fail to recognize their own power.

Bridget Mary Meehan: The Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement is a holy shakeup! We are no longer asking for permission from the institutional church. We are leading the way, united with all the baptized as a companionship of empowerment.  

It is Kane's belief that until the church achieves radical equality, "we have a sacred responsibility as women to pursue this vision. We really can stand strong and stand firm and say gender equality is a gift from God. As martyrs of old, we're willing to die for it, but more importantly, I'm willing to live for it."...

Bridget Mary Meehan:While Pope Francis promotes an economy of inclusion, the entire church must promote a church of inclusion with the full equality of women in all areas of ministry including ordination.  Woman Spirit is rising up in love for justice now!

Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP, www.arcwp.org The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests, (ARCWP) will ordain 3 women bishops on Sept. 24, 2015 in Pendle Hill to grow our movement. Communities are calling forth women as deacons and priests. We need more bishops to keep up with our growth. The primary mission of our bishops is to ordain women to serve inclusive Catholic Communities in a discipleship of equals. Our new bishops-elect are Olga Lucia Alvarez of Colombia, South America, Mary Collingwood of Hudson, Ohio, USA, Michele Birch Conery of Windsor, Ontario, Canada.  I am a bishop in the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests. I was ordained a bishop in 2009.

Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community Liturgy, Homily, Photos, Movies: Goodbye to Pastor Phil Garrison and Wife, Patricia, and Interment of Ashes of our Beloved MMOJ Leader, Carol Ann Breyer

Roman Catholic Women Priests: Kathryn Shea, ARCWP, Sally Brochu, ARCWP and Pastor Phil Garrison, St. Andrew UCC co-preside at liturgy

Pastor Phil Garrison and Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP

On August 1st, 2015, Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community celebrated liturgy with Pastor Phil Garrison and his wife Patricia. Women Priests: Kathryn Shea, ARCWP and Sally Brochu, ARCWP co-presided.

Kathryn Shea, ARCWP, Sally Brochu, ARCWP, Phil Garrison, Pastor St. Andrew UCC

We gave thanks for Pastor Phil Garrison, who welcomed us to St. Andrew UCC in 2009 and offered us a sacred space that we now call our spiritual home in Sarasota among God's faithful people where love in action is a daily experience of living Gospel inclusion, hospitality and justice. Pastor Phil and Patricia are leaving St. Andrew UCC for a new assignment in Michigan. 

Sally Brochu leads MMOJ Community blessing of Pastor Phil and Patricia

We are deeply grateful for their spiritual leadership and pastoral support of our Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community. At. St. Andrew UCC, we have been given wings to fly and flourish! Deep appreciation to Pastor Phil and St. Andrew UCC for their witness to Gospel equality! 

MMOJ Community prays Eucharistic Prayer around Banquet Table where all are always welcome

Today, we also gathered to inter the ashes of our dear Sister, Carol Ann Breyer, who died in September 2014 in St. Andrew Memorial Garden. St. Andrew UCC Leadership Council  have recently approved the burial of ashes of our community members in this sacred and blessed garden. Carol Ann is the first member of our community to be buried here.
 Pastor Phil co-presided with Lee Breyer, Carol Ann's beloved husband at our prayerful tribute and goodbye to our beloved Sister, Carol Ann. The community shared their fond memories and expressed deep appreciation for her passionate witness to justice and equality in our church and world.

Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP, www.arcwp.org, www.marymotherofjesus.org
See homily starter by Kathryn Shea, ARCWP priest and co-presider below

Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time – August 1, 2015

Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community

Shared Homily - Kathryn Shea, ARCWP

While reflecting on today’s Readings, several themes or thoughts came to me.  The first, being the importance of bread.  The word “bread” is mentioned 360 times in the Bible; 280 in the Old Testament and 80 in the New Testament.  In the Old Testament, as we see in our reading from Exodus today, the people were worried about not having enough food to eat and worried Moses led them to starve in the wilderness.  So God made bread rain down upon them so they could be fed.  In our Gospel Reading, the people followed Jesus wondering when he arrived in Capernaum.  Jesus responds to them (and he’s sort of a feisty Jesus here), confronting them, challenging them, saying, they really weren’t there looking for signs that Jesus was the Messiah, but wondering when they were going to get their next meal.  He tells them they should not be working for “perishable food,” that food will not last long.  They should be looking for life-giving food that lasts for all eternity.  This is the food he can give them as the Chosen One sent by Abba God. In John 4, Verse 31, the disciples are urging Jesus to eat, but Jesus told them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”  We say in The Prayer of Jesus, “Give us this day our daily bread.”  Are we praying for physical bread, spiritual bread, or both?  So “bread” has both a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning in the Bible. 

So the second sort of message here is that we need not be focused of the material things of this Earth, they are all temporary and we cannot take them with us.  In the second Reading we are told “we must stop living in the kind of life the world lives.”  “You must put aside your old self, which is being corrupted by the following illusory desires.”   Just look at the world around us.  We are being consumed by materialism and for many they can never have a big enough house, a new enough car, enough money in the back.  Or as we watched in horror and disgust this week, we need one more animal trophy head to mount on our wall, the head of a magnificent and majestic lion; a creature of God.  All of this materialism, while millions go hungry. 

And the third theme is a lack of Faith and a belief in the Chosen One.  There was a lack of Faith by the people of Israel that God would provide food for their physical survival.  In the Gospel Reading, the people lacked faith.  They asked for a sign so they could believe in Him.  They asked what they must do to perform the works of God.  The answer is pretty simple: “to believe in the One whom God has sent.”  They again ask for more bread, and Jesus again says “I Am the Bread of life”, spiritual survival. 

So in this crazy world we live in, how do we stay “spiritually full?”  How often do we turn to Jesus only when we need something?  And how often do we come to Jesus just to be in relationship with him so that our soul can be fed?   What keeps us anchored in knowing that the overwhelming love of Jesus rises like the bread and bakes within us so that we may never be hungry or thirsty?  

And finally, our dear Seth could not be here with us today, and we all know he is the perpetual co-presider.  And you all know if he was here, he would be taking the microphone about now.  I read him the Readings and my homily starter and asked him what he thought and if there was anything he wanted to add.  Of course he did.  His words:  “What the HECK?  Why do people have a hard time believing and KNOWING Jesus?  I don’t get it.  It’s so easy!”  AMEN!

Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community

Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time – August 1, 2015

Co-Presiders: Kathryn Shea, ARCWP, Sally Brochu, ARCWP & Pastor Phil Garrison

Music Minister:  Mindy Lou Simmons

Our theme today is – “No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, No one who believes in me will ever be thirsty. “

GATHERING SONG AND GREETING: “All Are Welcome” #414, verses 1,2,3,5

Presider:  In the name of God, our Creator, of Christ, our liberator, and of the Holy Spirit, our Sanctifier. 

ALL:  Amen.

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

PENITENTIAL RITE

Presider:  Creator God to whom all hearts are open, no desires unknown, and from whom no secrets can be hidden, cleanse our hearts by the inspiration of Holy Wisdom. 

ALL:  We take your Word into our minds and hearts. Open them to new understanding.

Presider:  We ask for the grace to continually acknowledge our need to grow in goodness and caring for ourselves, for others and for our earth. 

 ALL:  We accept your love and understanding of the frailty of our human nature.  

Presider:  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.

 (All raise hands extended in prayer)

Presider: God, the Father and Mother of Mercy,

ALL:  through his living, dying and rising, Jesus has revealed that nothing can separate us from the infinite love of God, May God give us pardon and peace, and may we forgive each other our failures to care for one another and our earth in the name of God our Creator, and of Jesus, our brother, and of the Holy Spirit, our wisdom. Amen.

Presider:  Glory to God in the highest,

ALL:  and peace to God’s people on earth.  God, our Creator, Liberator and Sanctifier, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.  Jesus, Child of God, Healer God, Teacher God, you free us to live in your love.  You make us strong; you show us your mercy and love.  You are one with the Creator, you hear our prayer.  You are the Holy One.  You are united with us.  You are our faithful friend.  We are one with you, Jesus the Christ, with the Holy Spirit.  We are created in God’s image giving Glory to God our Creator.  Amen.

LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading   Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15      

Responsorial Psalm  78 (Sung) .

Second Reading    Ephesians 4:17, 20-24  

Gospel Acclamation:  ALLELUIA!  (sung)

Gospel Reading:  A reading from the Gospel according to John 6:24-35

SHARED HOMILY

Profession of Faith:

 ALL:  I believe in God, the creator of heaven and earth.  I believe in Jesus Christ, child of God, born of Mary, human like us.  I believe Jesus came to teach us God’s love, to heal our minds, our bodies, our spirit, to bring hope and a new vision, to show us how to live in the fullness of grace.  I believe that Jesus threatened the establishment.  Jesus called for God’s people to focus on the kin-dom within.  I believe because of the message that Jesus proclaimed, Jesus was condemned to die.  Jesus was put to death through crucifixion, buried in a borrowed tomb.  I believe that the women, faithful to Jesus, went to the tomb to anoint his body.  I believe that the body of Jesus was gone, and Jesus overcame death through the resurrection.  I believe in the Holy Spirit, eternally living in our hearts, present in our world, in our universe.  I believe the holy Catholic Church is the people of God gathered in worship and song.  I believe that all God’s children will one day be with God experiencing life everlasting.  Amen.

GENERAL INTERCESSIONS

Presider:  We are people of faith.  We believe in the power of prayer.  We believe that we send blessings to those who are struggling and who need to experience hope; to those who are grieving and need to be comforted in their loss, to those who are facing medical challenges that they be granted hope and healing. We bring the needs of people throughout our world to our gracious God.

After each intercession, the response is:  Loving God, hear our prayer.

For what else shall we pray?

Presider: Healing God, you faithfully listen to our prayers. Strengthen us as we strive to respond to the needs of your people. We make this prayer in the name of Jesus, the Christ, Amen.

Offertory Procession: “One Bread, One Body” #348

PREPARATION OF THE GIFTS – (Please join us around the altar)

Presider:  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. 

Presider: 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. 

Presider:  Pray my friends that as we celebrate this breaking of bread and blessing of wine we accept more fully the mission as People of God by actively living our response to God’s call. 

ALL:  May our gracious God accept these gifts for the praise and glory of God’s name, for our good, and for the good of all the People of God. 

Presider:  God is always with you.  ALL:  And also with you. 

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

Presider:  Together, we give thanks to our gracious God.  ALL:  Indeed it is right to constantly give thanks and praise. 

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER

Voice 1:  Gracious God, source and sustenance of life, redeeming presence to the pain and brokenness of our world, Holy Spirit who enlivens all that exists, we beseech your healing power upon us and all for whom we pray today.  We join together with our community, with all creation everywhere, with all those who have gone before us and live in the eternal now as we sing:

ALL:  We are holy, holy, holy X3, we are whole.

           You are holy, holy, holy X3, you are whole.

            I am holy, holy, holy X3, I am whole.

            We are holy, holy, holy X3, we are whole.  

                                                      By Karen Drucker

Voice 2:  We ask you to enliven anew in our hearts the empowering grace of your abundant Spirit, who infuses us these gifts of bread and wine with the transforming energy of life, to nourish and sustain us in all times and especially in times of need.

  

(Please all extend hands as we recite the consecration together.)

ALL:  Before he was given up to death, a death he freely accepted, Jesus took bread and gave you thanks.  He broke the bread and gave it to his disciples and said:  take this, all of you, and eat it; this is my body which will be given up for you. 

ALL:  When supper was ended, Jesus took the cup.  Again he gave You thanks and praise, gave the cup to his disciples, and said, take this all of you, and drink it; this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant.  It will be shed for you and for all.  Do this in memory of me.

Presider:  Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:

ALL:  Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

Voice 3:  (Please place your hand on the shoulder of the person to your right)

As we gather around this Eucharistic table, we recall God’s blessing and love from ages past, and we celebrate anew the gift we share among us at this Eucharistic feast. May the Spirit of life and wholeness, who transforms the gifts we present, transform us too, that we may be refreshed in our inner being and be empowered to bring mercy, love and healing to those whose lives we touch.

Voice 4:  Remember gracious God, your Church throughout the world; make us open to receive all believers.  We join with all God’s people, with our community, with Bridget Mary our Bishop, and with Francis our Pope.

Voice 5: So grant, that in union with all peoples, living and dead, we may strive to create a world where suffering and pain are diminished, where justice and peace are restored, and where all people can live in health and wholeness, united in acclaiming the God of Life, whose abundance is offered to each and to all, ‘til the Kin-dom arrives in the fullness of time.  

ALL:  Through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is Yours, gracious God, forever and ever.     Amen (sung). 

THE PRAYER OF JESUS

Presider:  Let us join hands and raise our voices as we say the Prayer Jesus taught us:

ALL:  (Spoken)  Our Father and Mother…….

Presider:  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.

ALL:    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 all and grant us the peace and unity of your kin-dom where you live forever and ever.  ALL:  Amen.  

 Presider:   May the peace of our gracious God be always with you.  ALL: And also with you.   Let us offer each other a sign of peace as Mindy plays: “Peace Is Flowing like a River”

LITANY FOR THE BREAKING OF BREAD

Presider: Loving God,

ALL:  You call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice. We will live justly.

Presider: Loving God,

ALL:  You call us to be your presence in the world. We will love tenderly.

Presider:  Loving God,

ALL:  You call us to speak truth to power. We will walk with integrity in your presence.

Presiders:  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. 

Communion: Instrumental

Communion Song: “Bread Blessed and Broken” #329, verses 1&3

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Presider:  May wonder and thanksgiving fill us, may compassion fully fill our beings, that you may heal the numbness that continues because of our society’s  injustices. May you know that you are loved and may we continue to be the face of God to each other. Amen. 

Prayers of Gratitude/Thanksgiving?

Announcements?

CONCLUDING RITE

Presider:  May God be with you.  ALL:  And also with you. 

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

BLESSING

(Everyone please extend your hands in mutual blessing.)

ALL:  May our gracious God, bless us all gathered here, 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 face of God to the world.  Amen.

DISMISSAL

Presider:  Go in the peace of Christ.  Let our service continue!  ALL:  Thanks be to God. 

CONCLUDING HYMN: “Go Make a Difference”  # 504 verses 1,2,3

Catholic Nun Explains Pro-Life In A Way That Will Stun Many

In one simple quote, Sister Joan Chittister, O.S.B. sums up the hypocrisy in the 'pro-life' movement:

"I do not believe that just because you're opposed to abortion, that that makes you pro-life. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed. And why would I think that you don't? Because you don't want any tax money to go there. That's not pro-life. That's pro-birth. We need a much broader conversation on what the morality of pro-life is."

.

__,_._,___

ARCWP Tribute to RCWP Ordination on St. Lawrence Seaway on July 25, 2005 - Slide Show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjVy41v6KPc

"Will Pope Francis stand strong on ordaining women? ", Op. Ed in Lexington Herald Leader by Donna Rougeux, ARCWP

"As the United States prepares for the first visit from Pope Francis in September, the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests is preparing to ordain three new bishops due to the growth in the movement. This peace-and-justice pope is rekindling the spiritual fire of Vatican II that has been stifled by his predecessors. There is an important question ARCWP asks him to answer when he makes his visit here: Will he put actions to his words about primacy of conscience? Pope Francis spoke about the primacy of conscience, resurfacing a Vatican II teaching that past popes have suppressed and ignored. In a Sunday Angelus address on June 30, 2013 that aired on Vatican Radio he said, "May Mary help us to become more and more ... free in our conscience, because it is in conscience that the dialogue with God is given — men and women able to hear the voice of God and follow it with decision." Pope Francis also said, "Jesus wants neither selfish Christians, who follow their egos and do not speak with God, nor weak Christians, without will, 'remote-controlled' Christians, incapable of creativity, who seek ever to connect with the will of another, and are not free. Jesus wants us to be free, and this freedom - where is it found? It is to be found in the inner dialogue with God in conscience." As ordained Roman Catholic Women Priests, we have listened to our informed consciences and have heard God calling us to be priests. On part of his tour, Pope Francis will come to Philadelphia a few days after our new bishops will be ordained there on Sept. 24. This act of ordaining women has been called by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith "a grave offense against the faith" and has been put in the same category as pedophilia. Women who follow their consciences by answering God's call to the priesthood are also excommunicated by the church. People who attend the liturgies and/or ordinations of women priests are threatened with excommunication. When Pope Francis visits Philadelphia and sees the news of the ordinations of our new bishops will he consider lifting these excommunications? If he really means what he says about primacy of conscience it would seem like a very wise and fitting action. " Donna Rougeux of Lexington is a priest in the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests. Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2015/07/24/3958821/will-pope-francis-stand-strong.html#storylink=cpy   As the United States prepares for the first visit from Pope Francis in September, the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests is preparing to ordain three new bishops due to the growth in the movement. This peace-and-justice pope is rekindling the spiritual fire of Vatican II that has been stifled by his predecessors. There is an important question ARCWP asks him to answer when he makes his visit here: Will he put actions to his words about primacy of conscience? Pope Francis spoke about the primacy of conscience, resurfacing a Vatican II teaching that past popes have suppressed and ignored. In a Sunday Angelus address on June 30, 2013 that aired on Vatican Radio he said, "May Mary help us to become more and more ... free in our conscience, because it is in conscience that the dialogue with God is given — men and women able to hear the voice of God and follow it with decision." Pope Francis also said, "Jesus wants neither selfish Christians, who follow their egos and do not speak with God, nor weak Christians, without will, 'remote-controlled' Christians, incapable of creativity, who seek ever to connect with the will of another, and are not free. Jesus wants us to be free, and this freedom - where is it found? It is to be found in the inner dialogue with God in conscience." As ordained Roman Catholic Women Priests, we have listened to our informed consciences and have heard God calling us to be priests. On part of his tour, Pope Francis will come to Philadelphia a few days after our new bishops will be ordained there on Sept. 24. This act of ordaining women has been called by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith "a grave offense against the faith" and has been put in the same category as pedophilia. Women who follow their consciences by answering God's call to the priesthood are also excommunicated by the church. People who attend the liturgies and/or ordinations of women priests are threatened with excommunication. When Pope Francis visits Philadelphia and sees the news of the ordinations of our new bishops will he consider lifting these excommunications? If he really means what he says about primacy of conscience it would seem like a very wise and fitting action. Donna Rougeux of Lexington is a priest in the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests. Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2015/07/24/3958821_will-pope-francis-stand-strong.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy