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Dotty: Welcome to our Mary Mother of Jesus InclusiveChurch Community Liturgy our “Church Without Walls.” Today we celebrate the Fifth Sunday in the Season of Creation.
Whoever you are.
Where ever you are. Just as you are.
You are welcome at our table
let us pray…
Opening Prayer: We are surrounded by the beauty of Creation. For no more than an hour, give or take a little, as difficult as it may be, let us pause and embrace that we stand in the midst of the beauty of Creation. Let us together, in one voice, give thanks to the Maker of it all.”
Opening Song: What on Earth by Joyce Johnson Rouse (Earth Mama)
https://youtu.be/hML0C2gSGbA
LITURGY OF THE WORD
Joan: First Reading: A reading from The Great Search by John Philip Newell
What is the spiritual vision at the heart of our religious inheritance that we have forgotten or neglected? The Spirit is urging us to remember that we are to do to others, including Earth and every species, what we would most want done to us. This is the teaching of Jesus at the heart of our Christian inheritance, with its equivalent in the ‘Golden Rule’ of nearly every great spiritual tradition in the world. It is the teaching that can lead us into new beginnings.
In our Great Search of today, we are searching for what will bring healing, not only for ourselves, whether as individuals or nations or races, but for all people and for every species. And it is for all things that we are seeking a new sense of home address, not only physically but spiritually. We are longing for a deeper sense of shared origin and spiritual kinship, including a sense of family responsibility for everything that has being.
We are being invited to remember what our souls, at some level, have always known which is that our true spiritual center is not Rome or Jerusalem or Mecca or any of the other places that religion has claimed to hold special authority over us. Our true spiritual center is Earth and the human soul. Rome, Jerusalemand Mecca have occupied a significant place in our faith traditions over the centuries but, essentially, they exist to serve Earth and the human soul, not the other way around.
We are longing for an expanded vision of the Universe, a reawakened love affair with Earth, and a deepened sense of spiritual presence in every moment and encounter of life. We are yearning to grow in awareness, to find wellness, and to delight in love. And we are longing for the recovery of wisdom, for meaning in the both the joy and pain of life, and for a reimagined faith in the immortal light that shines in all things.
These are the yearnings of the Great Search today.
These are the inspired words of mystic, John Philip Newell, and we affirm them by saying, “Let it be so and So it is!”
Second Reading: Galapagos, written by Denis HackertStoner ARCWP
https://youtu.be/gZ2Th3hmHV8?si=_YNJQp29LuIIarup
These are the inspired words of Denise, and we affirm them by saying, “Let it be so and So it is!”
Alleluia Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker
https://youtu.be/o1rc7ojQtJU
Jane: Gospel: A Reading from the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 6, 25-24, adapted from The Message Bible
“If you decide for the Holy One, living a life of reverence, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of the Holy One. And you are as precious.
“If the Holy One gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think the Holy One will attend to you, take pride in you, do the best for you? Relax, do not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to what has been given to you.
“Give your entire attention to what the Holy One is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. The Holy One will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.
These words are adapted from the Gospel of Matthew and we affirm them
by saying, “So be it and So it is!”
Dotty: Shared Homily
What are your thoughts? Please share your wisdom.
Joan: 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.
Jane: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we are aware that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. We bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns. Please feel free to voice your concerns beginning with the words “I bring to the table….”
We bring to the table, all birds, dragonflies, bees, all small creatures of the earth we pray…
All: We will hold them sacred
We bring to the table the wild animals that they will be safe in their natural habitat…
All: We will hold them sacred,
We bring to the table all trees and wild flowers that we keep them safe from destruction so they are protected where they live and grow…
All: We will hold them sacred,
And we bring to the table all human beings all over the world that they be safe, peaceful, protected from powers that are destructive to all life on our planet…
We will hold and keep safe all life on our planet with our faith in Divine Spirit who protects us all.
All: We will hold them sacred.
For what else shall we pray? (Joan Meehan)
We bring to the table all the concerns we hold silently in our hearts….
Let it be and so it is!
Liturgy of the Eucharist
Jane: With open hands let us pray our Eucharistic Prayer together:
O Holy One, you are always with us. In the blessed abundance of creation, we gather to celebrate the nourishing gift of life. May our hearts be open as we participate in the wise and wonderful work of co-creation. May we be ever aware of Spirit within and among us as our world unfolds amid pain and beauty into the fullness of life.
We are grateful for Spirit whose breath inspired the primal waters, calling into being the variety and abundance we see around us. Spirit sustains and animates our every endeavor, inviting us to act in wisdom and in truth.
In gratitude and joy, we embrace our calling and we lift our voices to proclaim a song of praise:
Holy, Holy: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy
https://youtu.be/uXyu57tR2gk?si=DW76N-rNE9cCQXsh
As a community, we gather in the power of Sacred Spirit, refreshing wind, purifying fire and flowing water, for the variety and diversity of Creation. We seek to live as Jesus taught us, wise and holy as Spirit-filled people, courageous and prophetic, ever obedient to your call.
Dotty: Please extend your hands in blessing.
Spirit resides within and around us and all of creation, including the bread and wine on this table. We aregifted with wisdom, light and truth, which remind us of our call to be the body of Christ to the world.
On the night before Jesus faced his own death, Jesus sat at 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. When he returned to his place, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat;
This is my very self.
Jesus then raised a cup of blessing, spoke the grace and offered the wine saying:
Take and drink of the covenant
Made new again through my life in you.
Whenever you remember me like this,
I am among you.
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 communion with the words: We are inspired by the mysteries
of Life.
Communion song: Brother Sun (Giving Glory)-Liz Vice from The Porter’s Gate, Climate Vigil Songs
https://youtu.be/vbLI_8kTyPY?si=VqYPIW4V0JrNF2cB
Prayer After Communion:
Joan: Holy One, sacred transforming energy is always moving within us and working through us. Like Jesus, we will open up wide all that has been closed about us, and we will live compassionate lives,
for it is through living as Jesus lived, that we awaken to Spirit within,
moving us to glorify You, O Holy One,
at this time and all ways.
Amen.
Let us pray as Jesus taught us with an eye toward this Season of Creation:
Generous Creator, the intricate and elegant beauty of our world comes from Spirit’s hallowed autograph on our lives, on our hearts and on the totality of our being.
We yearn for the wholeness of being in harmony with Sacred Spirit and with all
living things.
Each day we draw on the Creative, life-giving energy with gratitude, joy, and awe as we find nourishment in seed and field, river and forest.
May we be stewards and co-creators in caring for the gifts of Creation.
We acknowledge our shortcomings, especially our neglect of the environment. We seek to be reconciled with those we have hurt and we resolve to do better.
With unfailing wisdom and the wind of Sacred Spirit, inspire us that we may reach out and love one another and care for the world, our home.
Strengthen us to work for local and global justice so that we may one day reap a harvest of equality and fairness as if they were wildflowers, propagating spontaneously, unerringly and in surprising abundance. Amen.
Dotty: Introductions, Thanksgivings, Announcements
Dotty: Let us pray our Closing Blessing:
Let us raise our hands and pray our closing blessing:
Go out from this place, ready to hear creation’s call.
Go out, ready to answer, “I am here, standing up for you!”
And as you go, know that the love of Divine Mystery surrounds you,
the peace of Christ empowers you,
and the companionship of the Spirit moves within you
and all of creation, now and always.
AMEN
Closing Song: All You Works of God – Marty Haugen (shortened)
https://youtu.be/vCTyaOcB4xk
Refrain: All you works of God, every mountain, star and tree,
Bless the One who shapes your beauty,
who has caused you all to be one great song of love and grace,
Ever ancient, ever new. Raise your voices, all you works of God!
Sun and moon: Bless your Maker! Stars of heaven: Chant your praise!
Showers and dew: Raise up your joyful song. Refrain
Wells and springs: Bless your Maker! Seas and rivers: Chant your praise! Whales in the deep: Raise up your joyful song!
Please send personal intentions to Joan Meehan. Jmeehan515@aol.com
They will be added in our Community Prayer Book.
PO BOX:
Please send donations to:
Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community
5342 Clark Road #3079
Sarasota, FL 34233
Website: marymotherofjesus.net