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https://zoom.us/j/93473708926?pwd=VHFKZGJ5N3ljbzZtVU1qQVRZY1lodz09
Meeting ID: 934 7370 8926
Theme: We Are All Called to Be Saints
Welcome
Dotty: Today we celebrate All Saints Day, a day when we remember those beautiful people who used the gifts given to them by the Holy One to make the world a better place. It is also a day to remember that “we are all called to be saints” and so we pray:
Opening Prayer
Joan P. Source of All Being, Holy One, You call us in every age and every place to reveal your love in the world. On this feast of All Saints, we remember those whose lives have shone with your light—mystics and prophets, poets and healers, and the quiet saints who walk beside us each day.
May we hear your call to holiness as a call to deep engagement with the sacredness of all life. Like the saints who have gone before us, may we bring mercy to the brokenhearted, justice to the weary, and hope to the world you love.
Amen.
Opening Song: All Saints Day
https://youtu.be/GQefafxbS9E?si=m6q7_1_aT6sjKxDW
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading
Jane S: From The Love of Thousands by Christine Valters Paintner
St. Paul writes that we are all “called to be holy” (1 Cor 1:2). We all know people in our lives who are loving, kind, generous and patient. They are the visible presence of the Holy One in our world. These are the everyday saints we honor. They may be our neighbors, our coworkers, our aunts, or our brothers or sisters, and their lives show us another way of being in the world. They may have passed on or may still be walking this earth. So we honor the saints; we remember saints such as Francis, Hildegard, Augustine and Teresa. But we also want to include those in our lives who have shown us what it means to love generously in a world that is often hard to love. These may also be people we have not met, but they inspire us through their poetry or music, through their commitment to social justice and the poor, or their love of creation. The saints have both love and humility. Saints are able to set aside their own plans and what they think is the best path forward and listen in their heart to the Holy One. They take risks and follow the Divine’s lead into new ways of serving others.
These are the thoughts of writer and mystic Christine Valters Paintner, and we affirm them with Amen.
Alleluia:
Alleluia by Christopher Walker
https://youtu.be/o1rc7ojQtJU
GOSPEL:
Joan P: A Reading from the Gospel According to Matthew (5:1-12) and The Beatitudes for the 21st Century by Jan Phillips
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the mountainside, and after he sat down and the disciples had gathered around, Jesus began to teach them:
Suzanne B. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Jane S: Blessed be the story-tellers, music-makers, and artists at life, for they are the true light of the world.
Suzanne B.Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Jane S. Blessed be the tender-hearted who mourn and grieve the wars we've fought, the lives we've lost, may peace ride in on the river of their tears.
Joan P; Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
Suzanne B. Blessed be the Earth and those who tend her, for she is the source and sustenance of our lives.
Jane S: Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Suzanne B. Blessed be the children who hunger for food, learning, and homes that are safe, for their future is shaped by our choices today.
Jane S: Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Susanne B: Blessed be the persecuted and wrongly judged, for theirs is a sorrow lessened only by mercy and human kindness.
Jane S; Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
Suzanne B: Blessed be the prophets who speak and write of a world beyond war, for theirs are the words becoming flesh.
Jane S. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Suzanne B: Blessed be those who are calling for freedom, resisting oppression and risking their lives in the struggle for justice, for they are the shapers of a brighter world.
Jane S: Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Suzanne B. Blessed be the refugees fleeing the violence of war and poverty; may they find shelter, peace, and work that sustains them.
Jane S. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great right now in the Kin-dom.”
We affirm these words with, Amen
(Pause for silent reflection)
Homily Starter:
Statement of Faith
Jane S:
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 happ
All: Let it be so
Joan P. As we prepare for this sacred meal, we are aware of our call to serve, and just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. We bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns.
Community Intentions shared
We bring to our table all those people of our world who are suffering as a result of war. We pray that the powerful nations will seek peace and provide food and safe shelter for all those whose lives are being destroyed.
Resp: Holy One, hear our prayer.
Recognizing that we the people in the United States are all immigrants, may we speak in support of people seeking a better life just as our ancestors have.
Resp: Holy One, hear our prayer.
Aware that millions of Americans support a more equitable distribution of wealth by providing tax relief to those in need and holding those with excessive wealth responsible to pay a fair and just income tax, may we as a nation, establish a fair and just system to ensure the necessary support to all those in need.
Resp: Holy One, hear our prayer.
We demand and seek ways to take positive action and advocate for a greater share of the wealth in our country with ALL in need.
Resp: Holy One, hear our prayer.
We bring these and all deeply held blessings, cares, and concerns to the table of friendship and peace.
We are people rooted in the teachings of Jesus and we are committed to faithfully living the teachings of Jesus. Increase our efforts as we seek to serve one another and all life. Recognizing always that every life is sacred. We hold in our hearts all who are in need of our prayer.
AMEN
Dotty: As we prepare for this sacred meal, we are aware of our call to serve, and just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Eucharistic Prayer
Dotty: Please join in praying our Eucharistic prayer together:
Blessed are You, Source of All Being, whose love calls creation into life and fills it with the music of your Spirit.
From the beginning, you have surrounded us with the wisdom of the ancestors,
the courage of the prophets, and the compassion of the saints.
We thank You for those who have gone before us —
for the thousands who loved fiercely and faithfully,
whose prayers, actions, and dreams
still ripple through time and bless the earth.
We remember all the saints —
known and unknown, ancient and new,
the mystics, the healers, the justice-seekers,
and those who reveal holiness in daily acts of love.
With all the saints and angels,
with ancestors and with creation’s great choir,
we join in the song of praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Here in this Place by Christopher Grundy
https://youtu.be/sgkWXOSGmOQ
Dotty:
Together we call on the Spirit of Life, that Spirit that lives and moves in the totality of our being as we bless this bread and wine we have before us, which is blessed by us in the memory of Jesus.
In blessing the gifts of this Eucharistic table, bread of the grain and wine of the grape, they become gifts of wisdom, light and truth which remind us of our call to be the body of Christ to the world.
Dotty: On the night before Jesus faced his own death he sat at supper with his companions and friends. He reminded them of all that he taught them, and to fix that memory clearly within them, he bent down and washed their feet.
All lift their plate and pray the following:
When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the Passover bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat; this is my very self.
All lift cup:
He then raised high 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.
What we have heard with our ears, we will live with our lives,
As we share communion, we will become communion
Both Love’s nourishment and Love’s challenge.
Please receive the bread with the words: I am surrounded by the love of thousands.
Communion Song: Behold Now the Kingdom by John Michael Talbot
https://youtu.be/TWd0OE5jaoA?si=J861_Iph8VpLrw
Prayer After Communion
Joan P. Loving Source of All, we have looked for others to save us and to save our world. Yet, we are called and consecrated and sent into the world to establish justice and show the blessed fulfillment that comes with simplicity and the giving of ourselves in love. We will make new our commitment to the harmony of the original vision of creation.
We will open wide all that has been closed about us, and our small circles. Like Jesus, in all openness, we will be filled with your own Spirit and renew the face of the earth.
For it is through learning to live as he lived,
And why he lived,
And for whom he lived,
That we awaken to your Spirit within,
Moving us to worship you truly,
O Holy One,
At this time and all time and in all ways.
And we say yes to You!
Jane S. Let us pray together the prayer of Jesus:
All: Holy One, who is within, around and among us,
We celebrate your many names.
Your Wisdom come.
Your will be done, unfolding from the depths within us,
Each day you give us all we need;
You remind us of our limits, and we let go.
You support us in our power, and we act with courage.
For you are the dwelling place within us,
the empowerment around us,
and the celebration among us, now and forever. Amen
(Miriam Therese Winter)
Dotty: Introductions, Thanksgivings, Announcements
BLESSING
Dotty: Let us now bless each other.
Go forth in peace, beloved of the Holy One,
surrounded by the love of thousands —
the saints who walk with you,
the ancestors who bless you,
and the Spirit who breathes through you.
May your life shine with compassion
and your heart stay rooted in wonder.
May you listen deeply to the earth,
live gently with all creation,
and awaken to the holiness already within you.
Go now as saints-in-the-making,
bearing light for the healing of the world. Amen
Closing Song: When the Saints Go Marching In (shortened)
https://youtu.be/YRyEsjfzi68?si=NDvnBMSjuTfVUtw8
