Category Archives: Resources

Resources: The Revised Core Values of Progressive Christianity

Progressive Christianity is an open, intelligent and collaborative approach to the Christian tradition and the life and teachings of Jesus that create pathways into an authentic and relevant religious experience.

Core values are not doctrine, dogma or creed. They are a guide to practice. As such they are kept under review so they remain relevant to the times.

By calling ourselves Progressive Christians, we mean that we are Christians who:

  1. Believe that following the and teachings of Jesus can lead to experiencing sacredness, wholeness, and unity of all life, even as we recognise that the Spirit moves in beneficial ways in many faiths and traditions.
  2. Seek community that is inclusive of all people, honouring differences in theological perspective, age, race, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, class or ability.
  3. Strive for peace and justice among all people, knowing that behaving with compassion and selfless love towards one another is the fullest expression of what we believe.
  4. Embrace the insights of contemporary science and strive to protect the earth and ensure its integrity and sustainability.
  5. Commit to a path of life-long learning, believing there is more value in questioning than in absolutes.

We promote an understanding of Christian practice and teaching that leads to a greater concern for the way people treat each other than for the way people express their beliefs, the acceptance of all people, and a respect for other religious traditions.

We affirm the variety and depth of human experience and the richness of each persons’ search for meaning, and we encourage the use of sound scholarship, critical inquiry, and all intellectual powers to understand the presence of God in human life.

For more information go to: progressivechristinaity.org

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Resource: A Progressive Funeral Service

Rev Dr Margaret Mayman, St Michaels UC Melbourne, has kindly provided the following example to us, with this note to Joy Schloss:

Hi Joy,  Thank you for being in touch. I have an anonymized funeral service which I’ve attached. I have done some adapting over the years so can’t be sure about all of the source material. I have noted where words are closely based on a liturgy by Dorothy McRae-McMahon. All the best for your Explorers session.

Warm regards, Margaret

Celebration of the Life of NN

WELCOME AND OPENING WORDS

As we gather, we acknowledge the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation, custodians of the land on which we meet, honouring their heritage and culture and praying with them for justice and for the recognition of their voice.

Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to St Michael’s Church as we gather to honour and remember the life of Name.

St Michael’s Church is a living faith community and it is on behalf of that community that I welcome you today. In our expression of inclusive hospitality at St Michael’s we say to all who come here, “wherever you have come from, wherever you are going to, whatever you believe, whatever you do not believe, you are welcome here.”

I invite all of you who are gathered here to feel at home in this place and to make it yours for the sacred time we share together remembering Name and sharing our love and care with Name and for Name family and friends.

I have known Name for xx years – details about connection, person’s faith if appropriate.

Name died peacefully last Sunday, the ending of a rich and fulfilling life. Through their illness and in the time leading up to their death, Name was surrounded by the care and love of family, by their beloved partner Name and their children, Name and Name and their families.

Today we have gathered to celebrate Name’s life and to support and show our love to their family and to all the people who will miss them deeply.

Family member names, we know how much you loved Name and can only imagine how much you will miss them. Today, and in the days to come, we offer our sympathy and our care.

May being surrounded by others who loved and admired Name bring you a sense of comfort, and in that comfort may you find strength, and peace, and hope.

All of you present today will have your own memories of Name. Remember them well. Keep talking about them and cherishing the person they were. Give thanks for their life and the place they held in yours.

As we say goodbye to Name,
we claim that all human life is valuable,
and the truth and integrity and hopefulness

which resides in each life, lives on.

Name’s life is joined now with all that is created,
stretching into the past and into the future.

Name lived their Christian spirituality with a focus on living well,

more than on traditional beliefs or creeds.

They were a faithful member of this congregation.

They were an explorer, interested in learning and extending their understanding of the interpretation of scripture and the connections it has to our daily lives.

Name lived as one who embraced the way of Jesus and the truth that life is a gift to be lived fully in the here and now. They felt a deep sense of belonging to the earth and cared passionately about its well-being and the damage done to it by human activity. With this, they held a deep reverence for life, aware of the mystery of the sacred in all of life. They took delight in the wonder, beauty and splendour of creation. They had an appreciation of the arts in music and literature. They found meaning and purpose in living by being honest and open in their relationships with others. They felt compassion for the vulnerable, advocated for the disadvantaged and the oppressed. They lived life well.

The gifts and graces which Name offered in life will not be lost in death.

The creativity which they brought to their life and relationships lies now within the lives of those who loved them and knew them and will travel into the future with them.

 Prayer intro

We recognise the importance of this occasion by encountering the depths of connection and solidarity in prayer. Prayer doesn’t depend on belief in an ‘out there’ interventionist God but rather Prayer is about deep awareness, about being present to our deepest selves and to the world in which we live in the presence of the Sacred, which is within us and among us.

Let us be still for a moment, in the presence of the sacred source of life,
bound by love and sadness, tears and laughter.

Let us hold a silence as we still our minds and hearts as we remember Name and treasure this life which we have shared.

silence

Prayer

Holy One, sacred energy, source of all life,

We gather to celebrate and give thanks for Name’s life.
We come bringing our thoughts, our memories and our feelings.

We come together to recognise the end of Name’s life,
and to remember with dignity their gifts and their struggles.

As we reflect upon the meaning of life and death,
may the assurance of eternal love enrich this experience.

In the shelter of this place,

help us to draw near to you and each other.

We pray for Name’s closest family and friends,
for those who miss them most,
that they may know peace.

May the beauty of life renew our hope.
Strengthen our compassion for each other,
and our mercy and forgiveness.

Help us find the strength we need.

In your many Names, we pray. Amen.

READING – Psalm 121

HYMN        Touch the Earth Lightly

Words: Shirley Murray

Music: Colin Gibson

Touch the earth lightly,

use the earth gently,

nourish the life of the world in our care:

gift of great wonder,

ours to surrender,

trust for the children tomorrow will bear.

 

We who endanger,

who create hunger,

agents of death for all creatures that live,

we who would foster

clouds of disaster,

God of our planet, forestall and forgive.

 

Let there be greening,

birth from the burning,

water that blesses and air that is sweet,

health in God’s garden,

hope in God’s children,

regeneration that peace will complete.

 

God of all living,

God of all loving,

God of the seeding, the snow, and the sun,

teach us, deflect us,

Christ reconnect us,

using us gently and making us one.

 

EULOGY AND REFLECTIONS

READING

Matthew 5: 3-9

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to them. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

NOTICES

PRAYER AND WORDS OF COMMITTAL

Closing Words

As we come to the end of this time of remembering Name, we are reminded that in all reality, we do not know what happens after death and there are a range of understandings and beliefs that people gathered here will hold.

These are all ways that human beings have of making meaning out life and death and at this time it is important to acknowledge and respect our different understandings.

Whatever you believe or hope, I invite you to stand firm in your convictions as I say the final words.

 We respect and admire Name’s journey through life. We have loved who they were, what they offered to others, and we have learnt much from their life.

 As we come to the moment of farewell

part of our grief may be regret

for things done or left undone,

words said, or never said.

This is the time to lay aside those regrets

and to honour the spirit of Name,

who would not want them carried into the future.

 Let us receive that gift of generosity and go forward in peace.[1]

Prayer

In the Christian tradition,

we entrust Name’s spirit to the God we know

through the life of Jesus of Nazareth,

the God who is the source of life and love,

Spirit at the heart of the universe,

who in life and death is with us always.

 

Eternal God, by your creative power you give us the gift of life,

and in your redeeming love, you give us new life in Jesus Christ.

Confident in the love you have for all,

we commend Name into your keeping.

Hold them and let them rest this day in peace.  Amen.

 

Go now in peace, Name.

You are in death

as loved as you were in life –

Travel safely with our love.

 

Committal

In now committing Name’s body to be cremated

we do so with deep reverence,

for their body during life

was the dwelling place of a unique and beloved personality.

 

That body now returns to the living earth

but Name’s spirit lives on.

NN – Loving parent, child, spouse, friend and vocation,

Example to the many people whose lives you touched

Your life in all its fullness is honoured

Your death accepted over time

Your memory cherished always in the hearts of all who love you

In gratitude for your life and the privilege of sharing it with you, with deep reverence, we commit your body to be cremated, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

As the tides flow, may the waves carry you gently

As the new day dawns, may the richness of life be seen in all its beauty.

As the sun sets, may the source of peace rest with you.

HYMN                  often traditional

BLESSING

For the living, it is time to leave.

May you now give to others the love that you can no longer give to Name.

For the lives you lead, are now their honour and their memorial.

 

And now let us go into the world,

glad that we have loved,

free to weep for the one we have lost,

empowered to live life well

and to affirm the hope of human existence.

 

May the blessing of Holy One,

Creator, Liberator and Surrounding Spirit

be with us all this day and forever more.  Amen.

 

Go in peace.

Compiled, adapted or written by Rev Dr Margaret Mayman,
St Michael’s Uniting Church, Melbourne.

[1] This section in italics is from a liturgy By Rev Dorothy McRae-McMahon.

* This is one of the examples we will look at in the Merthyr Road explorers on Wednesday.

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Resource: Progressive Jews – Beyt Tikkun

Thanks to subscriber Janet Dawson for drawing attention to this when we are thinking about the situation in Palestine.

Link to website

MISSION

We believe in a Judaism of love and transformation: We heal ourselves and our world through joyful and meaningful spiritual practice, loving relationships, social activism, and revolutionary consciousness.

Beyt: A House – A welcoming, joyful space for spiritual seekers

Tikkun: Healing, repair, and transformation of ourselves and our world

A Synagogue: A Jewish Renewal community of prayer, ritual, custom, and study. We integrate spiritual and prophetic consciousness with spiritual activism to create a more loving and just world.

Without Walls: You don’t have to be Jewish, religiously observant, or in the Bay Area to pray with us, learn with us, or be a member of our community.

HISTORY

Beyt Tikkun: A Synagogue Without Walls is a spiritual home for politically progressive people, both Jewish and non-Jewish, both local to the Bay Area and throughout the world, incorporating Jewish spiritual wisdom, practices, and rituals. A central theme of Judaism is to heal and repair ourselves and the world. We uplift those parts of our tradition that embody the revolutionary consciousness characterized by love of the stranger, a movement toward freedom and justice, and a critique of imperial power and thinking. The audacity of the Hebrew prophets guides our spiritual and religious practices and mandates us to challenge oppression in all its manifestations.

This is the core of what our founder Rabbi Michael Lerner envisioned when he started Beyt Tikkun in 1996. Rabbi Lerner was mentored by Abraham Joshua Heschel at the Jewish Theological Seminary and received rabbinic ordination from a rabbinic beyt din directed by Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, the founder of Jewish Renewal. Rabbi Lerner has shaped the religious life of Beyt Tikkun and empowered us to continue his legacy.

Rabbi Lerner’s prophetic vision infuses our liturgy, our rituals, our inclusive, egalitarian, and loving community, our advocacy, and our social action. Through his involvement in social justice work and as a psychologist studying the psycho-dynamics of working people, Rabbi Lerner became deeply aware of the isolation many people experience in their day-to-day lives and recognized the centrality of creating religious communities that nurture its members. At Beyt Tikkun, we strive to co-create the community and the world we want by manifesting love and care for each other,  the stranger, and the planet. We show up for each other and for those in need.

We use traditional liturgy infused with Hasidic joy, spiritual depth, feminist wisdom, and a critical consciousness which allows us to continually innovate while retaining the core of traditional Jewish worship. We support those in Israel and Palestine who seek justice and security for all and an end to the occupation. We are aware that for peace and justice to prevail, we have to challenge the global capitalist ethos of domination, selfishness, and materialism and replace it with a new ethos of love and caring for each other and the planet. Our liturgy, our rituals, our services, and our community embrace this loving and caring ethos.

Rabbi Cat Zavis is an accomplished lawyer, spiritual social justice activist, and visionary leader with over 20 years experience in empathic and people-centered leadership and collaboration. She has served as co-editor of Tikkun magazine and executive director of the Network of Spiritual Progressives, where she has trained over 1,000 people in Prophetic Empathy and Revolutionary Love. To learn more about Rabbi Cat Zavis and listen to her teachings, click here.

As Rabbi Cat Zavis rises to the rabbinic leadership position, we accept the challenge to grow in response to this evolving and challenging era, bringing continued renewal to the expression of our faith and philosophy.

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Active responses: Questioning the Media

Theology and the Media

When I was a teenager, I was taught that you should study Scripture with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. In many ways an excellent teaching as it highlighted that the Bible was as relevant to our everyday lives as was the newspaper.

Unfortunately, the quality of newspapers in Australia has declined disastrously, as has the mainstream media in general. This has become painfully clear in the recent coverage of the war in Gaza, though the decline has been underway for many years. While in Australia, the Murdoch media is the major culprit in terms of replacing legitimate news with infotainment and right-wing propaganda, it is not alone in failing in its responsibility to inform Australians on the important issues of the day. Even the ABC, in part because of the ongoing funding cuts, cannot be trusted in the way it was some decades ago.

In reaction, many people have taken to social media to try to understand the world round them. Unfortunately, social media is subject to the same pressures to provide misinformation. The recent transformation of Twitter to X highlights the transformation of a rather benign social media platform into one that is toxic.

All this has theological implications for the progressive Christian. How are we as 21st century Christians to engage in the unfolding Kingdom/Reign/Estate of God if we are not aware of the current situation in the real world? If all we see is a distorted and limited view served up to us by the mainstream media? How are we to pray? How are we to act? How are we to understand the movement of God’s spirit in the actuality of our experience?

I could exhort readers to do the extra work of getting behind the stories served up to us daily by the mainstream media. However, I know this is difficult. I have to do it, because of my role as a facilitator with Against the Wind. It takes time and effort and a certain amount of skill in research and sifting various accounts.

As an aid for people who want to get beyond the misleading mainstream media reporting, I have created a webpage entitled Questioning the Media. It is a simple guide to some of the important stories that haven’t appeared in the mainstream media as well as some suggestions for the better sources of information within the media. It is not meant to be comprehensive – that would be too time consuming to do. Rather it is a brief guide, that anyone can quickly check out.

You can access the page here https://woden-valley.uca.org.au/groups-and-activities/questioning-the-media/

The page is relatively new and so I would love to have feedback from readers, including suggestions for articles or sources to include.

Feedback can be given to againstthewind.wvuc@gmail.com

Len Baglow, Facilitator, Against the Wind

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Resources: Another progressive communion liturgy

The most recent gathering of the Merthyr Road New Farm (Q) Explorers was able to examine closely two great examples of HC in the progressive mode. This is the second one and comes from the Pilgrim People Congregation that meets every Sunday at New Farm at 2pm, courtesy of its architect, Adel Nisbet. Dr Steven Nisbet OAM, Organist, Pilgrim People Brisbane and Secretary, Organ Society of Queensland has provided a number of suitable hymns shown below.

***

The Sacrament of the Common Meal

COMMUNION HYMN

INVITATION

Leader:             Everyone is invited to this symbolic meal. We have come from different places and experiences; we have travelled different spiritual journeys. This table is a meeting place, where reconciliation and restoration are possible, where we open our hearts to the Spirit’s call on our lives.

We come as we are – those who can affirm their worth, and those who are yet to do so, those whose hearts and minds are admirable, and those still struggling to make them so, those who are most like us, and those who are least like us.

Through the all-embracing Spirit, everyone is welcome at this table in the warmth of generous hospitality. We gather at this table, together with all those who have gone before us, and set apart this time, to give thanks for these sacred moments that can bridge all differences and open all hearts.

A time of silence is kept for personal preparation …

Leader:    May the Divine Spirit be in you –

People:             And also in you.

 PRAYER AT THE TABLE:

People:             As we meet at this communal table, we acknowledge the responsibility that is ours – to seek inspiration to live in love and peace with one another and all creation, to be joined in one common, spiritual union with all people throughout this good earth.

HYMN            Now to your table spread                    Shirley Murray (Tune: Love Unknown)

Verse 1

Now to your table spread we come, each one in faith

that you alone provide the words of life and death:

in wine and bread, in promised food

we find your loving heart, O God.

 SHARING THE PURPOSE

Leader:             We believe the Spirit of Love draws us together and wills us to be in communion with one another. Jesus offered us two signs: reminding us of the union of body and spirit, Jesus first took bread and broke it, just as we too are often broken in our relationships with one another.

People:             Jesus showed us the way of reconciliation by asking us to share bread with one another in remembrance of his own life, lived to the full.

Leader:             Source of life and of creation, through your goodness we have this bread to offer, which the earth has given and human hands have made. In this sacred time and place, set aside for remembrance, bread symbolises life.

People:             Through the breaking of bread, we commit to reconciliation, to becoming the real presence of Love in the world.

Leader:             As the second sign, in like manner Jesus held the cup filled with the fruit of the vine. The vine joins us to one another and sustains us; and the fruit of the vine nourishes the spirit that abides within and between each of us.

People:             Jesus asked us to drink of that same unifying spirit of loving-kindness and harmony that was in him.

Leader:             Through the goodness and blessings born from creation, we have this wine to share, which the earth has given and human hands have made. In this sacred time and place, set aside for remembrance, the fruit of the vine symbolises blessing.

People:             Through the cup of blessing, we claim rebirth for our lives and restoration for the world.

HYMN               Now to your table spread                              Shirley Murray

Verse 2

Hands of the world stretch out

your mystery to touch in longing

to believe a truth beyond our reach,

to sing in joy, to cry in grief,

to know your meaning for our life.

 Leader:             In the sharing of this sacred communal meal, we recognise the great mystery which engenders authority to renew, reinvigorate and make us whole. This is ours to employ through the eternal generosity of the Creator’s goodness and power, both seen and unseen.

People:             We offer our thanks and praise for such seen and unseen goodness that blesses our lives.

Leader:             As we open ourselves to such blessing, we remember the open and generous life of Jesus, who even unto death, remained faithful to his calling, and revealed the divine presence in whom with faith we live and move, and have our being.

People:             We dedicate ourselves to make the Life and Spirit of Jesus real in this world, as members of this community of faith, committed to upholding the sacred values revealed in his life, even unto death.

 HYMN:           Now to your table spread                 Shirley Murray

                        Verse 3

Here is our common wealth.

in sharing what is good,

As though all humankind around one table stood,

this bread to brake, this wine to taste;

One people in the name of Christ.

The assisting Elders join the Leader at the table during this verse.

 COMMISSIONING OF THE ELEMENTS

Leader:                 The Wheat becomes Bread

People:                 This is a symbol of Life.

Leader:                 The Grapes become Wine

People:                 This is a symbol of Blessing.

Leader:                 Life and Blessings are gifts of God for the people of God.

People:                 Thanks be to God.

Leader:                 Recognising its deep symbolism, let us now share this meal.

 

The Leader and the Elders partake.

 DISTRIBUTION OF The ELEMENTS

During the playing of the music, the elements are distributed throughout the Congregation either in silence or with the words –  The Bread of Life.  The Cup of Blessing

 COMMUNION ANTHEM OR ORGAN MUSIC

 PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Leader:        In the sharing of bread and wine, our relationship with each other and with the ground of our being is renewed. May our striving never cease – to be more loving, forgiving, courageous, faithful and hopeful; to be peaceful, to do justice, to offer kindness and mercy. These are the virtues we would nurture, as we walk humbly in this world, committed to living the vision of God revealed in Jesus, reaching out with compassion to feed, to forgive and to love.

People:        Love is the Word for us to speak; Love is the Truth for us to tell; Love is the Light for us to shine into the darkness; Love is the Bread of Life and the Cup of Blessing for us to share. What we have enacted here in this holy space, we make real through our actions when we go from this place.

Leader:        May the Spirit inspire and enable us, today and every day,

People:        Amen.

 POST COMMUNION HYMN

***

‘Progressive’ Communion Hymns

Together In Song

507 Come, Spirit blest (Charles Wesley)

511 Let us break bread together (Spiritual)

530 Now let us from this table rise (Frederick Kaan)

531 Sent forth by God’s blessing (O. Westendorf)

533 I come with joy to meet my Lord (Brian Wren) (Set tune Bramwell or Kilmarnock 247)

536 An upper room (Frederick Pratt Green)

537 Let us talents and tongues employ (Fred Kaan)

538 Feed us now (Robin Mann)

539 You satisfy the hungry heart (v.1 As when the shepherd calls) (Omer Westendorf)

540 Christians, lift your hearts & voices (J. Bowers)

544 Since the world was young (J Bell & G Maule)

545 Shout for joy (John Bell)

Songs of Grace (Carolyn Winfrey Gillette)

40 We come to this table

Tune: The Ash Grove (TIS 531) 

In Every Corner Sing (Shirley Murray)

7 Christ, we come to you
Tune: Wroslyn Grove

 21 For the bread and wine and blessing

Tune: Weck

52 Now to your table spread

            Tune: Love Unknown

Singing a New Song Volume 1
(George Stuart)

94 Invitation to the sacrament
Tune: St Peter (TIS 485)

The invitation is announced

To greatest and to least;

For all are welcome. “Come with us;

Share this symbolic feast.”

This simple food of bread and wine

Reminds us of the one

Who lived his life with strength and grace;

Fought evil and he won.

There’s plenty here for all to share,

So do not be subdued;

The only thing you need to be

Is hungry for this food.

Come now the table is prepared;

You are a cherished guest;

With Christ, as host, you are affirmed;

You are upheld and blest.

95 We are welcome
Tune: Praise my soul (TIS 134)

Our communion with each other

Is enhanced with bread and wine;

Jesus is the host and servant

In this sacrament and sign.

We are welcome at this table;

Called as branches of the vine.

 

Jesus ate with common people,

Breaking laws he knew were built

On the customs that excluded,

On laws that engendered guilt.

We are welcome at this table;

By such laws his blood was spilt.

 

At this meal there’s no exclusion;

We may come, there’s no demand;

Jesus ate with his disciples;

Even Judas was not banned.

We are welcome at this table;

This is what was always planned

 

All are welcome at this table;

Every culture, every race;

We experience the Presence

Of the Christ. Amazing Grace!

We are always very welcome,

And held fast in God’s embrace.

 

96 Remembering in bread and wine
Tune: Belmont (TIS 524)

Remember in the bread and wine

That meal so long ago,

When Jesus said his last farewell

Before he faced his foe.

 

Remember in the bread and wine

The brokenness of one

Whose dream was shattered by the world

That crushed what he’d begun.

 

Remember in the bread and wine

He poured out all his life

In service and humility,

Amidst advancing strife.

 

Remember in the bread and wine

His bold integrity;

He would not compromise himself;

He went to Calvary.

 

And as we take this bread and wine

Remember Jesus gives

A challenge, now, to be God’s love;

To show that Christ still lives.

oOo

 

 

Resources: A Progressive Holy Communion Liturgy

Our Merthyr Road Explorers considered two forms of a progressive communion liturgy this morning. Here is one of them written and used by Rev Dr Lorraine Parkinson. Lorraine took us through the details and we had an excellent open discussion to follow. You are welcome to use this script.

 Holy Communion

INVITATION TO THE TABLE

Minister:     Wherever you are on life’s journey,

you are welcome at this table.

Holy Communion realises the grace of God,

revealed for us in the self-giving love of Jesus.

The elements of bread and wine become for us

the bread of life;

the cup of God’s faithfulness.

 

All:              In company with all who seek God’s grace,

                   we believe that through this life-giving sacrament

                   we are fed by God’s love.

 

THE PEACE

Minister:     The peace of God be always with you.

People:        And also with you.

Minister:     I invite you to share the sign of God’s peace with your

neighbours to your left and right.

 

COMMUNION HYMN (Seated)

 

PRAYER AT THE TABLE:

All:              Holy God, we come to this table as we are:

                   some with great hope and faithful dreams;

                   some stumbling from uncertainty and doubt.

                   We call to mind those who suffer;

                   we confess our own imperfection.

                   We come, trusting in your acceptance and forgiveness,

                   as Jesus did.

AMEN

 

THE PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

Minister:     God is with you

People:        And also with you.

Minister:     Lift up your hearts.

People:        We lift them up in praise.

Minister:     Let us give thanks to our God.

People:        It is right to give our thanks and praise.

 

 

Minister:     Eternal Presence,

we give thanks:

for life in its richness;

for the earth and its abundance;

for Jesus of Nazareth, revealer of the sacred;

for this community of faith, gathered in his name;

for our unity as followers of Jesus;

for our call to transform the world in his name.

 

And so we praise you

with the faithful of every time and place,

joining with the whole creation in the eternal hymn:

All: (sung)   Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might.

                   Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

                   Hosanna in the highest.

                   Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

                   Hosanna in the highest.

 

REMEMBRANCE

Minister:     God of Love,

Through Jesus we acknowledge the power

of love;

through him we are inspired by your Spirit of

compassion;

through him we are reconciled with you,

and with each other.

As he shared bread and wine with his friends,

we share this meal in remembrance of him.

AMEN

 

COMMISSIONING OF THE ELEMENTS

Minister:     As grain once scattered

comes together in one loaf,

we come together to share this bread:

symbol of our community as followers of Jesus,

symbol of God’s nourishment for our life.

The bread of life, given for you.  (lift bread)

 

SUNG RESPONSE

Eat this bread, drink this cup, come to God and never be hungry.

Eat this bread, drink this cup, trust in God and you will not thirst.

 

The cup we share is the cup of God’s faithfulness;

revealed in the self-giving love of Jesus, even to death.

We share this cup in remembrance of him.

The cup of God’s faithfulness, given for you.   (Lift cup)

 

SUNG RESPONSE  TIS714 (Taize)

Eat this bread, drink this cup, come to God and never be hungry.

Eat this bread, drink this cup, trust in God and you will not thirst.

 

PRAYER FOR THE SACRAMENT

Minister:     Eternal God, as we eat and drink,

we celebrate the mystery of our faith.

We open hearts and minds to your Spirit,

within us and within this bread and wine.

Through this holy sacrament,

may we know you in Jesus who reveals you,

in one another, and in the needy of this world.

AMEN

 

Come now to this table, for all is prepared.

 

DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS

The bread of life.   The cup of God’s faithfulness.

 

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Minister:     God of all,

we give thanks that we have been nourished

by these symbols of your love for us.

Through them may our faith be strengthened;

may we grow in love for each other;

may we go into the world with courage

and in peace,

as followers of Jesus.

AMEN

oOo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Resource: The Uluru Statement from the Heart

Thanks to the UCA Queensland Synod for supplying this link:

The Statement – Uluru Statement from the Heart intro video

Professor Megan Davis, member of the Referendum Council, reads out the Uluru Statement from the Heart for the first time in history on the floor of the First Nations Constitutional Convention:

The Statement – Uluru Statement from the Heart content  and scroll down to LISTEN.

oOo

Resource: An Easter Reflection – from Rex Hunt

Thanks for this timely input to our posts Rex. For personal or public use at Easter.

© Rev Rex A E Hunt, MSc(Hons)

9 April 2023

RESURRECTION PROVES LITTLE.  A ‘PASSIONATE’ LIFE

WELL LIVED, DOES…

(Background) Today is Easter Day.

Today we celebrate life over death.

This day we celebrate changed possibilities.

And give thanks for the Spirit of Life visible in Jesus,

visible in each one of us,

visible in people in all walks of life…

As we do celebrate, we also acknowledge that all we have

are the stories, shaped and reshaped and told orally,

by people of faith from generation to generation.

No logical, scientific proof of a ‘bodily’ resurrection.

No videotape of an empty tomb.

No seismograph of an Easter earthquake.

Just the stories.

That in the midst of brokenness, healing stirs.

That in the midst of darkness, a light shines.

That in the midst of death, life is breaking forth.

That when all seems gone, hope springs eternal.

oo0oo

Easter Day is traditionally regarded as the most important day

in the liturgical life of the church.

Christmas doesn’t hold a candle to Easter!

But mention the ‘R’ word—’resurrection’—and immediately those

familiar with this term will assume we are referring to Jesus’ resurrection.

This is because we only ever hear about resurrection in relation to Jesus.

Well, maybe I had better modify that claim.

There have been sitings of Elvis out Parkes way, each year,

and for several years now!

Stephen Patterson, a biblical scholar, and from whose writings I have often quoted,

picks up this general notion when he says:

“The resurrection is unequivocally Jesus’ resurrection for us. This is because most of                         us do not really believe in resurrection from the dead, except, of course, in the                                   case of Jesus. He is in a class by himself.” (Patterson 2004:104)

But then Patterson goes on to suggest that this way of thinking places us in a completely different mindset from those ancients.

“For ancients, resurrection is quite possible… The hard part would have been                                    believing that Jesus, a nobody, had been raised from the dead…” (Patterson 2004:106)

Now over the years much ink and blood, sweat, and tears, has been spilt

over ‘what is’ and ‘what is not’ considered

to be meant by the term ‘resurrection’.

And that includes all the problematic stuff argued by a bloke we call Paul!

And the thousands of trees chopped down in the name of an empty tomb!

And whether or not the ‘resurrection’ was a ‘bodily’ event in the life of Jesus!

All this, while noting none of the gospel storytellers

provide an unambiguous, totally convincing account!

Now according to the laws of averages,

you have probably heard much, if not all, of this before.

From others.

And now from me.

Which makes crafting sermons on Easter morning difficult to preach,

because I always feel there may not be much that can be said on this day,

that hasn’t already been said before.

So at some personal risk let me offer some of my thoughts.

Maybe they will gel with some of yours.

Maybe they will conflict with yours. Challenge you to the core.

But they are mine, gleaned over time, as a result of serious study.

And in the company of a group of 21st century biblical scholars

whom I trust and respect.

Indeed, some I am proud to call friends!

I invite your careful listening.

oo0oo

Jesus died.

He was killed—murdered—because of what he said and for what he stood for.

Those close to him, we would claim, were both surprised and shattered.

Stricken with fear and grief, they were in no mood to be

looking for that ‘silver lining’

that supposedly comes with every cloud.

But some people did think about his death.

And all we have of that time and that thinking, are the stories,

shaped and reshaped and told orally by people of faith

from generation to generation.

Yet it is in those stories, I would also claim, they were saying something important,

not about his death,

but about his life.

True, his death mattered to them.

But only because his life mattered more…

Especially when they heard him say something,

or do something, that moved them, deeply.

So they began to speak of his death in ways that affirmed his life.

And they came to see he stood for something so important

he was willing to give his life for it. (Patterson)

That something was the vision of life called the realm or empire of God.

And they came to reaffirm their own commitment

to the values and vision stamped into his life

by his words and deeds.

They believed that “in his words were God’s words.” (Patterson 2004:127)

          And that his vision of a new empire,

cultivated by him among them long before he died,

no executioner or cross could kill.

Jesus was dead.

But he was not dead to them.

His spirit was still coursing through their veins. (Patterson)

Likewise, when we believe in this vision of a possible new empire,

we too can reaffirm our commitment

to the values and vision, and a ‘resurrection’ invitation,

to live life deeply and with zeal.

To be embraced by life, not scared of it.

In all its particularity.

Because life can not remain visionary!

It must be concretely practised.

It must be ‘a way of life’.

Because resurrection is not just a collection of stories

about a so-called once-only event in the past.

Resurrection can and does happen every day!

oo0oo

 

Easter.

Resurrection.

          Not in what happens after death, but what the knowledge of the

words and deeds and the way of the one we call Jesus,

does for our lives… before death.

Easter is all around us. We need Easter.

In the midst of a world and of humanity hanging on by a thread,

we need some Easter hope.

It isn’t hard to see, if we will see.

And in memory of a former colleague—who died way before his time, due to Covid—

let me share some of his Easter comments written nearly fifteen years ago…[1]

 

I see Easter in those who daily battle the bureaucracies

on behalf of our creeks and old-growth forests.

They sometimes succeed.

 

I see Easter in those who make music, art and dance

and who draw out the creativity in others.

I see Easter in those who take time to notice the beauty of nature

and who invite others to notice as well.

I see Easter in those who use their minds to unlock the secrets

of our amazing planet and vast universe.

I see Easter in those who struggle with illness

yet engage life in the moment, as it is.

I see Easter in those who grieve deeply the loss of a loved one,

and through grief witness to the gift of love

that is more powerful than the grave.

I see Easter in those who despite the daily grind of it all,

educate our children and open their minds and hearts.

I see Easter when spirits are re-energised, commitments renewed,

and when we can see just enough light to take another step.

I see Easter in children who love bunnies and eggs.

Yes, Easter is also about bunnies and chocolate eggs and Easter lollies—in moderation.

oo0oo

 

Easter.

Resurrection.

          And whatever it might mean to say today, ‘Jesus is alive in our midst’,

as traditionalists are won’t to aggressively claim,

“it must above all else mean that he somehow still offers us the vision of a new Empire, into which we are still invited in a real way… a real invitation into a way of life we can           see reflected in his own life. When the life of Jesus no longer matters to those who                                    would claim him as Lord and Savio[u]r, then the life that changed the lives of many                                  finally will have come to an end.” (Patterson 2007:80)

Bibliography

Patterson, S. J. “Killing Jesus in (ed) R. J. Miller. The Future of the Christian Tradition. Santa Rosa. Polebridge Press, 2007.

Patterson, S. J. Beyond the Passion. Rethinking the Death and Life of Jesus. Santa Rosa. Polebridge Press, 2004.

Shea, J. The Challenge of Jesus. Chicago. Thomas More Press, 1975.

(In memory if John Shuck… RIP mate.)

[1] John ‘Andy’ Shuck (1961 – 2021)

oOo

Navigating the Scholarship of Religion Together

Westar Institute | Home of the Jesus Seminar

Publications

Events

Membership

Seminars

Upcoming Event:

The Christmas Stories with John Dominic Crossan: A Westar collaboration with Homebrewed Christianity

Nov 28, 2022
2:00 p.m. EST

Asynchronous 4 week Open Online Class from Homebrewed Christianity

The Christmas Stories – Celebrating, Questioning, & Explaining the Biblical Narratives

More information.

oOo

 

Resources: Poem – “Love is the Answer”

Love is the answer                                                                                                                                  by Bev Floyd

‘Love is your last chance.

There is no other reason for living.’

said my 92-year-old friend.

Yes. Love is the only answer

to this weary world’s woes.

 

Love that does not blink

when faced with all the

silly nonsense people think

but carries on regardless…

giving a helping hand…

saying a kind and thoughtful word

as if it hadn’t heard.

 

Yes. Love is the best answer

for an angry child…

a spiteful woman or a raging man…

deep strong, unwearying love…

that helps them to be calm

and settle down. Just love.

 

Just love… when all the forces

of hatred and injustice

swarm about like killer bees

intent on retribution.

Only love can heal the anger and dismay…

take the pain, the guilt away.

 

Only love is strong enough

to do what must be done…

to persevere

and hope the best

will soon appear.

 

Love, which does what must be done

without a thought of self…

love, so tough it won’t be bent

but does what it is meant

to do… for others.

 

Yes. Love.  Just love…

which brings the sinner

and the saint together.

For even sinners can learn to love

and saints are sometimes weary.

oOo