HELPING HANDS, LOVING HEARTS
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JONATHAN:
As we gather, those of different faiths and persuasions; on this special
day, we gather to share this act of unity, friendship and hope and
to join our hearts and lives in common purpose to help others and to
commit to helping build a better world. It is time to turn our backs
on the arguments and conflicts of the past and to protect, preserve
and perpetuate life in all its fullness.
|
EVERYONE:
At
times we have offended others
We
have fallen short of our best. May we forgive David:
May God bless, preserve and sanctify us, may the divine look
kindly upon us and be gracious to us; may Love absolve us from
all our sins and grant us the grace and comfort of the divine
Spirit.
And peace to all We praise We bless We adore We glorify We give thanks for all that is good Love, justice, truth and peace Kindness and mercy Good people, from all ages Faiths and cultures Our inspiration and our light Who take away the wrongs of the world Embolden us Who take away the evil of the world Guide us Who are held in the greatest respect Inspire us For you are to be revered Honoured and remembered Shining lights, urging goodness on Through every generation. |
Nick:
On this day that brims
with life, renewal and promise
When the
darkness and the difficulties have been overcome
When we
celebrate the assurance that we can prevail
When our hope
is replenished, and our resolve strengthened
We give
thanks for all those who have risen from the ashes of destruction,
and with wings of love, have soared high, inspiring, leading and
empowering others,
So that we
can all play our part in transforming, enlivening and improving our
world,
For the
benefit of all.
In Love’s
name,
All. Amen.
Mario:
A reading from the Book
of Isaiah -
The spirit of
Love has been given to me, for God has anointed me. God
has sent me to bring good news to the poor; to bind up hearts
that are broke; to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in
prison, and to comfort all those who mourn and to give them for
ashes, a garland; for mourning robe, the oil of gladness; for
despondency, praise.
Mary-Jo:
The Psalm 23 -
Love is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 I
am made to lie down in green pastures: I am led beside the still
waters.
3 My
soul is restored: Love leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for
God's name's sake.
4 Yea,
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort
me.
5 Thou
preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou
anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I
will dwell in the house of Love for
ever.
Rick:
1 Corinthians and 1John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because
God is love.
4 Love
is patient and kind;
love does
not envy or boast; it is
not arrogant 5 or
rude. It does
not insist on its own way; it is
not irritable or resentful;] 6 it does
not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices
with the truth. 7 Love
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all
things.
8 Love
never ends.
13 So
now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of
these is love.
Lee:
A reading from Luke
On
the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took
the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They
found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but
when they entered, they did not find the body of Jesus. 4 While
they were wondering about this, suddenly two others in clothes,
radiant with the early morning dawn. said to them, “Why are you
searching the tomb? Jesus lives among the living.”
9 When they came back from the cemetery, they told all
these things. 10 It was Mary Magdalene,
Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who
reported this. But, no one understood, because they had yet to
experience the meaning of their words.
Penny:
THE SERMON
Fiona:
Love
be with you
EVERYONE:
And also with you.
Fiona:
Lift
up your hearts
EVERYONE:
We lift them high.
Fiona: Let
us be ever thankful
EVERYONE:
It is right to be forever grateful
Andrew:It
is indeed, good, life enhancing and true to celebrate all that is
good and filled with promise and opportunity, in our glorious world.
Therefore
with the company of all who have gone before and those who walk with
us today, we unite our voices in common joy as we say:
EVERYONE:
Our lives brim with wonder at
gifts received, breath imparted and hope instilled. In joy,
affirmation and acclamation we say, sing and declare our grateful
thanks.
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
JONATHAN:
And so we celebrate Life
On this day of
renewal and generation
When the radiant
sun of hope burnishes at full strength
Rays flaring
like the mane of a lion.
David:On
this day we raise the symbols of
life, death and
new life
and share our
solidarity with all who are caught in
the struggles,
suffering and conflicts of the world, doing their best to play their
part in guiding us towards a better dispensation.
Nick:The
warm earth has the potential to burst with creativity
for fruitfulness
and harvest
for celebrating
the fire and passion in our spirits
and finding now
our compasses set at true
we venture on in
our journeys with renewed vigour.
Mario:
But light creates the
shadows
And in them
mischief and malice can lurk
We encounter the
flourishing and the diminishment
And each of us
faces the continual challenges and opportunities
That arise in
the interface between good and evil
And so we
embrace in our thoughts all that is broken in our world and in need
of redemption
Mary-Jo:
All the bereaved, all
living in fear, all who are poor, homeless, refugees, imprisoned,
oppressed, all who are isolated, all suffering domestic or sexual
abuse, all who are blighted by mental health issues. All whose
experience of life is far removed from our own, often a hell to
which they wake daily and from which they look in hope to Love’s
horizon
Rick:
And so we must place
ourselves in the divine rhythm of life, death and new life. For the
human Jesus was born in the milk and moon of earth, pushed from the
dark soupy waters of our mysterious creation into our mixed up and
chaotic world.
Lee:
We saw him with our own
eyes
Touched him with
our hands
We saw road-dust
on his feet, smelt sea-salt in his hair,
Toil behind his
fingernails and sweat upon his brow
Observed his
struggles and confusions
His stumbling
and his determining
Penny:
And then gathered round a
table with those whose faces were like ours
Planted in a
particular time and a place
He took a loaf
in his hands and blessed it
He broke it open
and said “As my body
is to be broken, as so
many other bodies tragically have been and will be broken,
for the sake of all that is good- They
are all given, offered, sacrificed for you…and in sharing in this
collective memory….please always remember and commit yourselves to
Love.”
Fiona:
He took then a pitcher of wine and poured it into a cup.
He blessed it
and said “As my blood will be poured upon this earth, and as so
much blood has been spilt, from so many and will yet be torn, from
those trying to do right, all of it shed for you….and in sharing
in this collective memory….please remember and commit yourselves
to Love”
Andrew:
And there with the song of
the birds
and the
abundance of the fruits and flowers
Amongst the
orchards and the river and the gentle curve of land
There amidst the
fiery forces of nature
This Jesus
person hung alone upon a tree
rooted in the
humus and soil of all that lives
a child of the
earth
a unique gift
radically abused, misunderstood and discarded.
Jonathan:
He gathered all the
silence of the mountain times to himself
And let the
darkness come upon him.
He, his family
and friends plunged down, down and darkly down
through
emptiness and chaos, through formless void.
They plunged so
deeply and so violently, into the places of darkness and
annihilation,
Into the pits of
despair and pointlessness
that
they touched rock bottom
Nick:
And even
then, in this horrendous place of negation
the Divine
Spirit, hovered over the face of the deep
and shone in the
dazzling darkness
and the heavy
mass of all that is unhealed was confronted
resisted and by
grace, rolled away.
David:
And Love provided a space
inside the centre
into which a
voice might speak and be heard
an echo of the
first and deepest sound ever made
still longing
for union
a word issuing
forth from the womb of the eternal
a cry so natural
it calls us to come to our senses, to raise our eyes
to dare to hope
again, to believe anew
to arise to
possibility
to believe that
we cannot be vanquished
that Love cannot
be destroyed
that we can be
reborn
resurrected
from the grave
of hell
to the
unexpected heaven
from the
constriction of evil
into a limitless
world.
Mario:
For as it was then, so now
and here,
Spirit from the
beginning,
breathing
through all,
through flame
and wave
through land and
pore
in the hills and
on the shore
and the dear
ones we have always loved
and the dear
ones we never knew
Come gather and
brood over these earthly things
That they may
become for us the sacrament of deepest love
That constructs
bridges over the abyss
And a pathway
through the morass
And a way that
the estranged may be reconciled
Mary-Jo:
Breathe peace through the
struggle and the
striving
Breathe peace
through our present terrors and anxieties
Breathe joy
through root and star
Breathe love
down to the skin and the sinew,
the blood and
the bone,
For Love spurs
us on to live fully.
Love dwells
within us and among us.
Love is beyond
us and yet
Mysteriously and
marvellously
Love is within
us.
ALL:
Blessing and honour and glory and grace be this gift of life
releasing love. Amen.
THE
ANCIENT PRAYER
EVERYONE:
May
Love be revered
May Unity come
Good will be done
That earth may evolve into heaven
May we work hard today for our daily bread
And may our sins be forgiven
As we forgive those
Who have sinned against us
And may we not fall into temptation
But be delivered from evil
For we believe in justice, truth and peace
For ever and ever
Rick:
May Peace be with you
always and Please now receive the gifts of love, the bread, the wine
or blackcurrant juice as God’s assurance of his love and
indwelling within you.
PRAYER
AFTER COMMUNION
Lee:
We give thanks for life,
for this time together and for each other. Nothing
now need ever defeat us, discourage or deter us.
Strengthened
by our solidarity with the suffering and the
friendship
of all those involved in the quest to achieve
peace
and justice, we will proceed with unlimited reserves of hope, love
and forgiveness to make the dream of universal happiness and freedom
come true and may all that is good come to our aid.
The
Blessing:
Fiona:
May Love lift us from the place of fear, isolation and dread and
release within us a tsunami of hope and positivity, that we may
re-engage with our lives and all life, reborn, renewed, replenished
and restored. Pilgrims of love, generously sharing unconditionally,
the love that has brought us joy and may the God of all Love, bless
each of us, all of our loved ones, and all that lives within this
extraordinary and magnificent created order. Amen.
CHRISTMAS CAROL SERVICE
1.Oh, jingle
bells, jingle bells, Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh
Dashing through the snow,
In a one horse open sleigh
O'er the fields we go,
Laughing all the way,
Bells on bob tails ring,
Making spirits bright
What fun it is to laugh and sing
A sleighing song tonight** Oh,
jingle ...
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2 Once
in royal Davids city,
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her Baby,
In a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ, her little Child.
He came down to earth from heaven,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall:
With the poor, and mean, and lowly,
Lived on earth our Saviour holy.
Not in that poor lowly stable,
With the oxen
standing by,
We shall see
him; but in heaven,
Set at Gods
right hand on high;
Where like
stars his children crowned
All in white
shall wait around.
3.
3. It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you "Be of good cheer"
It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year.
It's the hap -happiest season of all.
With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings.
When friends come to call,
It's the hap - happiest season of all
There'll be parties for hosting,
Marshmallows for toasting.
And caroling out in the snow.
There'll be scary ghost stories,
And tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago.
It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year,
There'll be much mistltoeing,
And hearts will be glowing,
When love ones are near,
It's
The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year.
4.
O
Come All Ye Faithful
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of Angels;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
O Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing all that hear in heaven God's holy word.
Give to our Father glory in the Highest;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
Born this happy morning,
Jesus to thee be all glory
Word of the Father,
now in flesh appearing;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
5.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Ev'rywhere you go;
Take a look in the five-and-ten,
glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Toys in ev'ry store,
But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be
On your own front door.
A pair of hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots
Is the wish of Barney and Ben;
Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk
Is the hope of Janice and Jen;
And Mom and Dad can hardly
wait for school to start again.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Ev'rywhere you go;
There's a tree in the Grand Hotel,
one in the park as well,
The sturdy kind that doesn't mind the snow.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas;
Soon the bells will start,
And the thing that will make them ring
is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart.
6
Hark the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"
Christ by highest heav'n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"
Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"
7.
Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul,
With a corncob pipe and a button nose
And two eyes made out of coal.
Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale, they say,
He was made of snow but the children
Know how he came to life one day.
There must have been
some magic in that old silk hat they found.
For when they placed it on his head
He began to dance around.
O, Frosty the snowman
Was alive as he could be,
And the children say he could laugh,
And play just the same as you
and me.Frosty the snowman knew
The sun was hot that day,
So he said, "Let's run and We'll have some fun.
Now before I melt away."
Down to the village,
With a broomstick in his hand,
Running here and there all
Around the square saying,
Catch me if you can.
He led them down the streets of town
Right to the traffic cop.
And he only paused a moment
when He heard him holler "Stop!"
For Frosty the snow man
Had to hurry on his way,
But he waved goodbye saying,
"Don't you cry,
I'll be back again some
day."
Thumpetty thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
Look at Frosty go. (2)
8.
. While shepherds watched their flocks by night,
All seated on the ground,
The angel of the Lord came down,
And glory shone around.
"Fear not," said he, for mighty dread
Had seized their troubled minds;
"Glad tidings of great joy I bring
To you and all mankind.
"To you, in David's town, this day,
Is born of David's line
A Savior, who is Christ the Lord;
And this shall be the sign:
The heavenly Babe you there shall find
To human view displayed,
All meanly wrapped in swaddling-bands
And in a manger laid. "
Thus spake the seraph,--and forthwith
Appeared a shining throng
Of angels, praising God, and thus
Addressed their joyful song:
"All glory be to God on high,
And to the earth be peace;
Good will henceforth from Heaven to men
Begin and never cease. "
9
Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
had a very shiny nose
and if you ever saw it
you would even say it glows.
All of the other reindeer
used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
play in any reindeer games.
Then one foggy Christmas eve
Santa came to say:
"Rudolph with your nose so bright,
won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"
Then how the reindeer loved him
as they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer,
you'll go down in history!
10.
We
three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts, we traverse far
Field and fountain
Moor and mountain
Following yonder star
Oh,
star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading
Still proceeding
Guide us to thy perfect light
Born
a king on Bethlehem's plain
Gold we bring to crown him again
King forever, ceasing never
Over us all to reign
Oh, star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading
Still proceeding
Guide us to the perfect light
11. When Santa got stuck up
the chimney,
He began to shout.
You girls and boys,
won't get any toys,
If you don't pull me out.
My beard is black,
There's soot in my sack.
My nose is tickly too.
When Santa got
stuck up the chimney, Aaachooo (3)
12O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie,
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep,
The silent stars go by,
Yet in thy dark streets shineth,
The everlasting Light,
The hopes and fears of all the years.
O morning stars together,
Proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King,
And Peace to men on earth,
Are met in thee tonight,
For Christ is born of Mary,
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep,
the angels keep,
Their watch of wondering love.
How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts,
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him still,
The dear Christ enters in.
O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray,
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born to us today,
We hear the Christmas angels,
The great glad tidings tell,
O come to us, abide with us,
Our
Lord Emmanuel
13. Away in a manger,
No crib for His bed,
The little Lord Jesus,
Laid down His sweet head,
The stars in the bright sky,
Looked down where He lay,
The little Lord Jesus,
Asleep on the hay.
The cattle are lowing,
The baby awakes,
The little Lord Jesus,
No crying He makes,
I love Thee, Lord Jesus,
Look down from the sky,
And stay by my side,
'Til
morning is nigh.**
Be near me, Lord Jesus,
I ask Thee to stay,
Close by me forever,
And love me I pray,
Bless all the dear children,
In Thy tender care,
And take us to heaven,
To
live with Thee there
14. Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright,
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child,
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace (x2) **
Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight,
Glories stream from
heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Saviour is born (x2)
Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love's pure light,
Radiant beams from Thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord,
at Thy birth (x2)
15 We wish you a Merry Christmas; (x3)
and a Happy New Year.
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin;
We wish you a Merry Christmas
and a Happy
New Year.
Now, bring us a figgy pudding (x3)
and bring some out here.
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin;
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
And We won't go until we got some; (x3)
so bring some out here.
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin;
We wish you a Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year.
16 I'm dreaming of a white Christmas,
Just like the ones I used to know,
Where the treetops glisten,
and children listen,
To hear sleigh bells in the snow,
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas,
With every Christmas card I write,
May your days be merry and bright,
And may all your Christmases be white,
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas,
With every Christmas card I write,
May your days be merry and bright ,
And may all your Christmases be white