THE UNITING CHURCH OF ST JAMES, CURTIN
Manager, St James Wellbeing Centre: Amelia Peisley
Ph/Fax/Ans: 6282 3363 (office) 0408 674 762 (m)
Email:
http://www.stjames.unitingchurch.org.au/
Chairperson, Congregation: Shukry Sahhar
Chairperson, Church Council: Helen Sahhar
LITURGY FOR THECELEBRATION OF LIFE
SOCIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY
SEASON OF CREATION
28 September 2014
Presiders: Kate McLoughlin and Merilyn Tandukar
Reader: Gerard McDonnell
Music: Aaron Harper
Acknowledgement
(An act towards reconciliation)
For thousands of years Indigenous people have walked
in this land, on their own country.
Their relationship with the land is at the centre of their lives.
We acknowledge the Ngambri and Ngunnawal People and their stewardship of this land throughout the ages.
St James is a safe place for all people to worship regardless of race, creed, gender, cultural background or sexual orientation
GATHERING
Entry into the celebration
As people enter they are given a sea shell; the sound of the ocean is playing.
The gong is sounded three times
L1.St James is a place of peace.
Together we celebrate that our lives are a continually evolving web of relationships:
All: with our families, with our friends, with our Church, and with our Community.
L1. We will strive to protect and, where necessary, restore:
All: The integrity of humanity,
Of all of Earth’s creatures,
And of the Earth itself,
To bring about the reign of peace.
(Based on The Canberra Affirmation)
Lighting of the candle
The community candle is lit in silence.
CELEBRATING
Hymn People stand as they are able, to sing
Song of the Waters
Tune: Praise My Soul the King of Heaven, TIS 134
1. Watch once more the windswept storm clouds;
Suddenly the sky has wings!
God has come to rain among us,
Giving hope to all dry things.
Sing a song of splashing waters,
Pulsing through the veins of Earth.
2. Taste the moisture of the morning,
Smoother than the best red wine;
Toast the lifeblood of the planet:
Here’s to God’s wild wet design!
Sing a song of flowing waters,
Pulsing through the veins of Earth.
3. View anew the dark blue ocean,
Whales cavorting, spraying foam;
God at play with deep sea monsters,
Feeling very much at home.
Sing a song of laughing waters,
Pulsing through the veins of Earth.
4. Feel the breath of God move softly,
Gentle mists that brush the skin;
Earth is breathing God’s own spirit,
Life renewed from deep within.
Sing a song of living waters,
Pulsing through the veins of Earth.
Words: © Norman Habel 2001
Opening Prayer
L2. We invite the oceans to worship with us.
The deep currents and the coral reefs,
the mountain peaks on the ocean floor.
L2. We call the surging seas to celebrate with us.
The icebergs that break off from the South Pole,
the calm waters that caress the equator.
L2.We join all ocean life in songs of praise,
Wales and Dolphins dancing on the surface,
and choirs of angel fish assembled below.
L2. We summon the seashore to magnify God.
The pelican, the stingray, the silver gull,
the white caps and waves that splash
L 2. Oceans, seas and watery deeps,
Celebrate with all that lives within you
and roar in praise with us today.
Welcome
L1. A warm welcome is extended to all.
Today’s service is inspired by the St James Social Justice and Inclusiveness Group, who continue to work modestly for social justice and inclusiveness aims.
We will be participating in the SpringOut Fair and selling cards for Uniting Care at the Christmas stall. We welcome new members, or occasional participants. See Merilyn, Kate, Evan, Piers…
An especially warm welcome to those who are worshipping at St James for the first time, or who have returned after an absence.
Your presence both enriches us
and this time of celebration together.
· Refer to printed liturgy.
· Fellowship hour following worship.
· Those visiting, please sign our Visitors book.
Remembering
L1.As you entered to the sound of the sea hitting the shore, you were given a sea shell. Hold the shell in your hand, and think of the memories of the sea that it conjures. Share with the person next to you a special memory of times at the beach or in the ocean that stirred your spirit or sense of wonder.
………………………………
L1.We remember the sea with amazement.
We remember the splash of waves on our feet,
The sand between our toes
And the mystery of an endless horizon
Stretching out across the ocean.
L1.We remember and rejoice.
Thank you, god, for the oceans,
living waters that are part of who we are.
Hymn People stand as they are able, to sing
Here I Am, Lord
Danielle Schutte
Tune: Here I am, Lord, TIS 658
Verse 1
I, the Lord of sea and sky,
I have heard my people cry,
All who dwell in dark and sin
My hand will save.
I who made the stars of night
I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear my light to them?
Whom shall I send?
Refrain
Here I am, Lord;
Is it I, Lord?
I have hear you calling in the night.
I will go Lord,
If you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.
Verse 2
I, the Lord of snow and rain,
I have borne my people’s pain;
I have wept for love of them.
They turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone,
Give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak my word to them.
Whom shall I send?
Refrain
Verse 3
I, the Lord of wind and flame,
I will tend the poor and lame,
I will set a feast for them.
My hand will save.
Finest bread I will provide,
Till their hearts are satisfied.
I will give my life to them.
Whom shall I send?
Refrain
With The Children
L2. Children gather on the conversation mat.
CENTERING
Meditation
L1. Our meditation today is from Kenneth Slessor’s poem, Five Visions of Captain Cook, describing Cook’s encounter with Australia, written in 1931
Flowers turned to stone! Not all the botany
Of Joseph Banks, hung pensive in a porthole,
Could find the Latin for this loveliness,
Could put the Barrier Reef in a glass box
Tagged by the horrid Gorgon squint
Of horticulture. Stone turned to flowers
It seemed - you'd snap a crystal twig,
One petal even of the water-garden,
And have it dying like a cherry-bough.
You are now invited to close your eyes, to centre yourselves, and enter a period of quietness.
[Sounds of the Sea for reflection]
L1.Some readings from the our religious tradition and the broader world will be read by Gerard McDonnell and Evan Mann.
Genesis 2, 4 b) – 9
Psalm 104, 24 – 25
Luke 8, 22-25 Jesus calms a storm
CONTEMPORARY WORD
Merilyn
An excerpt from the poem Hieroglyphic stairway, by Drew Dellinger, read by Evan Mann.
Silence for personal reflection
AFFIRMATION
Voice 1: We believe that Creation is a gift of God,
An expression of our Creator’s goodness.
Voice 2: We believe that as human beings we are part of this creation
And that we share in a special way in the creative power of God.
Voice 3: We believe that the resources of our land and waters and air
Are precious gifts of our Creator,
To be used and looked after with loving care.
Voice 4: We believe that there is a rhythm to God’s creation, like a drum beat: When we lose the beat or the drum is damaged, the music is out of tune.
Pacific Women’s ‘consultations on Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation’. From Prayers and Poems, Songs and Stories, World Council of Churches 1988
Hymn People stand as they are able, to sing
In the Darkness
Margret Rizza
In the darkness of the still night
In the dawning of the day light,
In the mystery of creation,
Creator God, you are there.
In the breath of every being,
In the birthing and the growing,
In the earth and all its fullness,
Creator God, you are there.
In the homeless and the hungry,
in the broken and the lonely,
in the grieving of your people,
Creator God you are there.
In the tears and in the heartache,
in the love through which we serve you,
in the anguish of the dying,
Creator God, you are there.
In our hearts and in our thinking,
in the longing and the dreaming,
in the yearning of our heartbeat,
Creator God, you are there.
In the love for one another,
in the sharing of our being,
in receiving and forgiving.
Creator God, you are there.
In our joys, our hope, our healing,
in awakening to revealing,
in your call and our responding,
Creator God, you are there.
In our prayer and in our service,
in our praise and in our worship,
in your love that is eternal,
Creator God, you are there.
THE PEACE
God makes peace within us. Let us claim it.
God makes peace between us. Let us share it.
Let us greet another as a sign of God's peace.
The peace of God is here... to stay. (Iona)
All Thanks be to God.
You are invited to share the peace with your neighbours.
CARING FOR ONE ANOTHER
Care candle
We are people of all ages who enter this space
bringing our joys and concerns.
Joys and concerns shared, each followed by a responsive refrain:
This is my prayer
This is our prayer.
Concluding response:
In the light and beauty of day
All We give thanks in awe and wonder.
In the dark and stillness of night
All We dream of healing and hope.(GVosper/wwg)
And so we take this flame and light our special care candle.
The Care candle is lit
Pastoral Prayer
All God - heart ofthe world:
revealed through every aspect of creation:
understood through our awareness.
May we honour the holiness of creation and act accordingly
so that your love is reflectedin the way we live.
May we always be thankful for the food we eat
and the friends we have.
May we forgive those who transgress against us
and be forgiven for our own.
In the freedom of love may we live as your heartbeat
and not be compromised by hesitation.
Through our freedom, may your justice
be seen and heard and experienced
forever and ever. Amen.
SJWeinberg
SCATTERING
Parting Words
L1 The time has now come for us to leave this sacred place.
As we do, may we embrace the challenges
of our lives and our world...
L2. Taste the salt on your tongue,as you go forth into this week.
Will you care for creation?
All We will care for creation!
We will respect and nurture the oceans!
We will celebrate life!
L1 This we know, the earth does not belong to us,
All We belong to the earth.
L2. The presence of God reaches beyond this place...
The candle is extinguished
The Blessing
All: Bless to us, O God
The moon that is above us,
The earth that is beneath us,
The friends who are around us,
Your image deep within us,
The day which is before us
(Celtic blessing, from Prayers from a Colomban House)
Hymn People stand as they are able, to sing
Wake Now My Senses
Thomas Mikelson/Gretta Vosper
Tune: Slane
Wake, now, my senses and hear the earth call;
feel the deep power of being in all;
keep, with the web of creation your vow,
giving, receiving as love shows us how.
Wake, now, my reason, reach out to the new;
Join with each pilgrim who quests for the true;
Honour the beauty and wisdom of time;
suffer thy limit, and praise the sublime.
Wake, now, compassion, give heed to the cry;
voices of suffering fill the wide sky;
take as your neighbour both stranger and friend,
praying and striving their hardship to end.
Wake, now, my conscience, with justice thy guide;
Join with all people whose rights are denied;
Take not for granted a privileged place;
Our love embraces the whole human race.
Wake, now, my vision of ministry clear;
Brighten my pathway with radiance here;
Mingle my calling with all who will share;
Work toward a planet transformed by our care.
COMMUNITY
'This week' at St James
Notices
Birthdays and anniversaries
Significant events
Journey candles
Fellowship
Morning tea is now served.
You are invited to share in the moment of fellowship.
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