liturgy
A collection of some the pieces we have written and used as liturgy in Grace services.
confession
'confession' was written as a prayer for the grace service at reimagining worship in hackney. The service was about the senses, and this prayer about the misuse of the senses. we had linked images, eg advertisements, up whilst it was read.
white lines
blowing through my mind
and all the while i think of you
you said
hello boys are you pleased to see me?
we said
lord, when did we see you naked
and not rewind the video
you said
some people bleed internally
for lack of anyone to touch them
and pronounce them clean
we said
some people are just asking for it
you said
it's a lovely day
come outside and smell the flowers
we said
there was a drunk on the train tonight
we could hardly breathe
don't these people ever wash?
you said
hey baby
we could make beautiful music together
you said
you could at least phone
we said
we're sorry there's no-one here to receive your call at present
please leave your name and telephone number
and we will get back to you as soon as possible
you said
if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off
If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out
with the remaining hand
because you can't, you won't, and you don't stop
you said
take, eat - this is my body
drink it all of you - this is my blood
we said
this product will only aid weight loss
as part of a calorie-controlled diet
you said
the eye cannot say to the hand "i don't need you"
or how are you going to reach out?
you said
the head cannot say to the feet "i don't need you"
or how are you going to dance?
we said
we are the body of christ
but it's not quite nice to talk about bodies
especially in church
if you wanted us to be holy
why did you invent sex?
you said
i gave up my body
to murder and resurrection
to put all this mess right
i can start changing things right now, if you want
we said
yes please
Do you turn to Christ?
Grace Participate - Do You Turn To Christ?
Let's all gather in close around the table...
We have been exploring the ethos of grace over the last few weeks -
creativity - we love being creative
participation - grace is not something to consume but to get involved in
and engagement - the spirit gives us an outward impulse to engage in mission life, the world, culture and in our local communities.
If you are involved in grace we hope you won't be able to help being creative, involved and engaged - these things will rub off on us all. Or else thy are just empty words.
We began the first service dramatically smashing a mirror and plates to suggest that as God beckons us into the future there may be things that we need to let go of in order to move on. Well here we are. We have explored our values and this is it. We stand on the threshold of the future. God is beckoning us into the future.
We are changing the way we do things and the future is up for shaping. The basic structure is in place on these postcards. Take some if you haven't had them already. At the heart of the change is the opportunity for more involvement and to create space for things other than creating worship. So if you have ideas, passions, interests, mission ideas then get one or two others with you and make them happen.
I have put a few symbolic items on the table.
Bread is the body of christ - this isn't consecrated. but as we move from here i invite you to eat bread as a symbol of your participation in the life of God and God's kingdom.
The cross is the symbol of christ's passion - his self giving love. to follow in the way of christ is to live a passion-ate life. Christ is re-inviting us to be passion-ate, to follow in the way of self giving love. I'm going to pass the cross around - hold it and in your heart recommit to the way of the cross, the way of passion, the way of self giving love.
The candle is the light of the world - Christ has ignited a spark or a fire in us, i invite you to take a candle and light it as a sign that you recommit to being a godbearer, to carry God's light into the world.
We have this nice inward facing circle. This is part of our grace problem. We seem close to God when we are facing inwards. We have fallen for the trap of thinking God is in here. But God is out there. A Great Reversal needs to take place. When we talked about our ethos, one word kept coming up that never made it in to the three but perhaps undergirds them all - risk. Following God is a risk. So finally I'm going to ask you a simple question from the baptism service 'do you turn to Christ?'. As I do respond 'I do' if you'd like to. And as you do turn and face outwards. Then stay for a minute or two in silence facing outwards asking God to lead you and us into the future
Do you turn to Christ? I do
Doors liturgy [3]
Doors [3] - New Year 06
We will not allow our gifts and talents to be hidden
WE WILL ENTER THE KINGDOM THROUGH THE DOOR MARKED "CREATE".
We will encourage all to contribute. Our ideas are a gift offered to God
WE WILL ENTER THE KINGDOM THROUGH THE DOOR MARKED "PARTICIPATE".
We will be hospitable and supportive to one another, to visitors and to the wider church. We will engage with everyday life and connect with culture:
WE WILL ENTER THE KINGDOM THROUGH THE DOOR MARKED "ENGAGE".
We will not be afraid to fail but will push at our boundaries and try new things:
WE WILL ENTER THE KINGDOM THROUGH THE DOOR MARKED "RISK".
WE WILL GO THROUGH THESE DOORS IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT, KNOWING THAT JESUS HAS GONE THROUGH THEM ALL FIRST.
Ethos confession
When our thoughtless criticism stifles the creativity of others,
Lord, have mercy
Lord, have mercy
When we keep a tight hold on power and deny others the chance to participate.
Christ, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
When we prefer the safety of our holy huddle to the wideness of God’s world.
Christ, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
When we decline to take risks for fear that we might fail.
Lord, have mercy
Lord, have mercy
But when we praise the gifts of others,
share the power that we are given,
engage with communities beyond the boundaries of our comfort,
and risk everything we have for the sake of others,
then, God rejoices in us.
Almighty God,
who forgives all who truly repent,
Have mercy upon us,
pardon and deliver us from all our sins,
confirm and strengthen us is all goodness,
and keep us in life eternal,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
eucharist@greenbelt99
Text from the order of service for the 1999 Greenbelt communion service.
Before the service begins there will be a chance to learn the new songs in the service.
Words in bold are spoken or sung by all. Words in light are spoken or sung by the leaders.
welcome and opening sentences
Welcome to our worship, we're celebrating the eucharist.
God the creator is a gracious, abundant and generous host.
You are invited to be guests at his table
Grace and peace to you from him who was and is and is to come
and from the seven spirits before his throne
and from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness
the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth
On the Lord's day I was in the Spirit
and there before me was a door standing open in heaven
and a voice like a trumpet said
'Come up here and I will show you what must take place after this'
opening prayer
Eternal God,
fling open the doors of our hearts
to the weather of your Spirit.
Lead us out beneath the dancing sky and wind
across the stumbling ground of our reality
to where the sound of worship never ceases
and the view stretches further than the human eye can see.
Through Christ the faithful witness,
Amen
Relax
God is here
There will be some space and quiet music to prepare our hearts for worship.
praise
Angel
Seven golden lamps are shining ANGEL
Where the Son of Man goes walking ANGEL
Calling out for us to hear him ANGEL
Calling out to seven churches ANGEL
Sing praise to Christ our God
Sing praise to Christ our God
Sing praise to Christ our God
Sing praise to Christ our God
Eyes that burn like fire flying ANGEL
Words that sound like rushing rivers ANGEL
In his hands are seven bright stars ANGEL
In his face the sun is shining ANGEL
I am Alpha and Omega ANGEL
I was crucified and broken ANGEL
Now I am alive forever ANGEL
Death can never stop my living ANGEL
Do you understand the mystery ANGEL
What is now and what will happen ANGEL
Seven stars are seven angels ANGEL
Seven lamps are seven churches ANGEL
Holy holy holy
Holy holy holy, Lord God Almighty
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee
Holy holy holy, Merciful and mighty
God in three persons, blessed Trinity
Holy holy holy, all the saints adore thee
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee
Who were and are and evermore shall be
Holy holy holy, though the darkness hide thee
Though the sinful human eye thy glory may not see
Only thou art holy, there is none beside thee
Perfect in power, in love and purity
Holy holy holy, Lord God Almighty
All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea
Holy holy holy, merciful and mighty
God in three persons, blessed Trinity
(Reginald Herber 1783-1826, tune John Bacchus Dykes 1823-76)
confession
Please sit or kneel.
After each section the following Kyrie is sung:
Kyrie eleison
Christe eleison
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
gloria
Glory to God in the highest
Glory to God in the highest
God's peace on the earth
God's peace on the earth
Lord God, Heavenly King, Almighty God and Father
We worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory
Lord God, Heavenly King, Almighty God and Father
We worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory
Lord Jesus Christ only Son of God
Lord Jesus Christ only Son of God
Lord God lamb of God
Lord God lamb of God
You take away the sin of the world - have mercy on us all
You sit at God's right hand on high - receive our prayer today
You take away the sin of the world - have mercy on us all
You sit at God's right hand on high - receive our prayer today
For you alone are the holy one
For you alone are the holy one
You are the only Lord
You are the only Lord
You alone are God most high - you are Jesus Christ
You are with the Holy Spirit in the Father's glory
You alone are God most high - you are Jesus Christ
You are with the Holy Spirit in the Father's glory
Glory to God in the highest
Glory to God in the highest
Amen Alleluia
Amen Alleluia
readings:
Revelation 21:1-8, Isaiah 25:6-9
address
creed
We believe in God the Father Almighty
We believe that he made the earth and heavens
We believe in Jesus born of a woman
We believe that he is the Son of God
We believe
We believe We believe We believe We believe We believe
We believe We believe We believe We believe We believe
We believe in Jesus teacher and healer
We believe that his life was poor and simple
We believe he died betrayed and rejected
We believe that he fought the power of evil
We believe the holy life giving Spirit
Is a gift of the Son and Father to us
We believe the three are one and united
We believe in his healing and forgiveness
We believe that Jesus died and was buried
We believe that he rose to life again
We believe that he was taken to heaven
We believe that he reigns at God's right hand
We believe that he will come back in glory
We believe he will judge the dead and living
We believe the resurrection of body
We believe in the life that's everlasting
gospel: storytelling of the last supper
from 'The Book of God' by Walter Wangerin
eucharistic prayer
The Lord is here
God¹s Spirit is with us
Lift up your hearts
We lift them up to God
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
It is right to give God thanks and praise
O Lord our God, sustainer of the universe,
at your command all things came to be:
the vast expanse of interstellar space;
galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses,
and this fragile earth, our island home.
By your will they were created and have their being.
Redeemer God, word become flesh,
we remember you in bread and wine;
your body, your blood,
broken so we with all creation may be made perfect.
Through your sacrifice death is nulled.
Through your resurrection we have a future.
Thankyou
Therefore with angels and animals,
microbes and mountains,
and all that lives for you
we proclaim how wonderful you are,
we pour out our thanks to you
in song that never sleeps:
Holy holy holy lord
Holy holy holy lord
God of power and might
God of power and might
Heaven and earth are full of your glory
Heaven and earth are full of your glory
Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna in the highest
And now we ask that by the power of your Holy Spirit
this bread and wine may be to us Christ's body and his blood;
who, on the night that he was handed over to suffering and death,
took bread, thanked you and broke it
He gave it to his friends saying
'Eat this, it is my body given for you. Do this in memory of me.'
Later after supper he took the cup,
thanked you, and gave it to them saying
'Drink this all of you, this is my blood of the new covenant
which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this whenever you drink it in memory of me.'
Christ has died, Christ is risen
Christ has died, Christ is risen
Christ will come again
Christ will come again
In this place where heaven and earth meet
under the rainbow of God's promise,
in this sharing of bread and wine
future hope becomes reality now
So bring your scorched earth
bring your harvest
bring your open sky
bring your restless guilty waters
bring your swift unbending road
bring your urgent inner city
to the table where your host says
'I make all things new'
Lamb of God you take away the sin of the world
Lamb of God you take away the sin of the world
Have mercy, mercy on us
Have mercy, mercy on us
bread and wine are shared
One person in each group stands to get bread and wine.
Bread and wine is shared in groups.
I will receive you now
Come and be here
Steal past my fears
O wounded healer
O humble leader
Show me your hands
Show me your side
O holy victim
O crucified
I will receive you now
I will receive your love
I will believe in you
I will go on with you
Speak to my heart
Bring me your peace
O broken Saviour
O gentle fighter
Breathe on my face
The breath of life
O my Christ let me
Share in your life
Bring to my lips now
Your blood and body
O bread of heaven
O hope of glory
Send me in love
Into the world
O faithful teacher
Wisdom of God
after-communion prayer
All-saving God,
Thank you for feeding us with the body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ
whose death and resurrection have purchased the future healing of all things
We who have tasted the coming Kingdom
offer ourselves as its bearers and signs in the power of your Spirit
and as lovers and guardians of all that you have made
until you come
Amen. Come Lord Jesus.
intercession
Prayers led by Christian Aid with a particular focus on Jubilee 2000
Breastplate
I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the trinity
By invocation of the same
The three in one and one in three
I bind unto myself today
The great love of the living word
The wisdom of my God to teach
His hand to guide his shield to ward
I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven
The glorious sun's life giving ray
The fruits of earth so freely given
I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead
His eye to watch his might to stay
His ear to hearken to my need
I bind unto myself today
The way of Christ in life and death
The call of God to jubilee
In broken chains and cancelled debt
I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the trinity
By invocation of the same
The three in one and one in three
(Words attributed to St Patrick, translation Mrs C F Alexander, 1889, except v.5)
blessing
Music and words from Grace, Host, Late Late Service, Third Sunday Service and Sanctuary.
'Eucharist' has been specifically written for Greenbelt 1999.
It is available on CD, from Proost
Thanks to everyone who has specifically written or contributed material to make 'Eucharist' happen.
go back the way you came
Go back the way you came
After going through the desert, through discouragement and fear, after receiving refreshment Elijah is told to go back the way he came to finish the task of anointing the next king and prophet. It's a long way back!
(We used this over the movie sequence from Plant Earth of deserts where the desert is suddenly filled with gushing water and where the desert blooms)
Go back the way you came...
The desert and the parched land will be glad
Go back the way you came...
Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert
Go back the way you came...
The burning sand will become a pool and thirsty ground bubbling springs.
Go back the way you came...
You're not the only one
Go back the way you came...
Build in time for rest, food and drink
Go back the way you came...
What are you doing here?
Go back the way you came...
The wilderness will rejoice and blossom, like the crocus it will burst into bloom
Go back the way you came...
Be strong. Do not fear. Your God will come.
Go back the way you came...
May gladness and joy overtake you and sorrow and sighing flee away
Go back the way you came...
God of broken people and places (far i have come far i must go) - Sept06
God of broken people and broken places
We confess to you our love of comfort,
of the known and predictable,
of the safe and secure.
We recognise that you call us into liminal space
To leave what we know and venture with you into desert and wilderness, into blindness and discomfort
We want to follow you, but it’s hard to leave what we know
Help us to trust you, and to set out.
On the journey of faith,
Far I have come, far I must go
God of broken people and broken places
We thank you for all that Grace has been to us and to many others
We thank you for the space to listen, to grow, to create, to be challenged
We recognise that you are calling us on
To leave what we know and venture with you into new things, into engagement and participation, into creativity and risk, into new structures and opportunities
We want to follow you, but it’s hard to leave what we know and we’re not sure where we’re going
Help us to trust you, and to set out.
On the journey of faith,
Far we have come, far we must go.
God of rebuilt people and rebuilt places
You have plans for deserts and wilderness
‘Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
The burning sand will become a pool,
The thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
Grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness.’
God of transformation we look forward to what you will do
With our lives and with Grace
On the journey of faith,
Far we have come, far we must go.
hagar blessing - feb 08
[in spite of being a foreigner and a nobody, in spite of being both the agent and the victim of a moral mess, in spite of not being the mother of the chosen one, hagar is one of the few people in the bible to be able to say, "i have seen god!"]
when we are enslaved in a foreign country
you are the god who sees
when we are the victims of domestic strife
you are the god who sees
when we give birth to disputed children
you are the god who sees
when we are thrown out of our homes
you are the god who sees
when we mock other people's sorrows
you are the god who sees
when our familes reject us
you are the god who sees
when we cannot provide for ourselves
you are the god who sees
when we despair of life itself
you are the god who sees
so may the god who sees hagar and ishmael
the god who sees outsiders and mistakes
the god who sees the ones who are not chosen
watch over us and provide for us
through our wanderings, exiles and errors
this lent and always
amen
How good are we at listening to other people? - Nov 06
I am listening to you, honestly,
But I’m also thinking about what I’m going to say next
I hate embarrassed gaps in conversation when no one knows what to say
I want you to think that I’m interesting, funny, witty
So I’m lining up my response, getting it ready
I am listening to you, honestly,
But I hope you don’t go on too long
I want to catch the final scores, to find out how my team has done
And I need to ring my friend before he goes out for the evening
Then ‘I’m a celebrity’ is on TV and I don’t want to miss that
So make it quick and you don’t need to repeat yourself
I am listening to you, honestly,
But I’m also thinking about what happened at work this week
And what I’ve got to do next week
I’m going to be in trouble if I don’t get that report written
And I need to work out why my colleague isn’t talking to me
So it’s quite hard to hear what you’re saying
over all this internal noise
I am listening to you, honestly,
But that group over there looks like they’re having a much better conversation
They’re laughing and joking
I’d really like to get to know some of them
Not that you’re not important – of course you are
I just wish I had the chance to speak to them too
I am listening to you, honestly,
But to be honest, I wish you’d really listen to me
Just for once, to pay attention to what I have to say
without jumping in with your experience and your solutions
I don’t want you to solve my problems
I just want you to hear me
To hear the me behind the words
To really listen
iconic candle kit
we have had a DIY iconic candle as part of the communion by numbers services (see 2006 | 2007).
in the envelope is...
a night light candle
box of matches
an acetate strip with iconic images printed on it
a paper clip
make the candle by looping the strip and clipping with the paper clip and place over the night light and light the candle. you can get acetates to print on with an ink jet printer from any stationers such as rymans.
you can download a pdf file of the acetate strip we used for the emmaus road communion by numbers (5mb). cut round the strip of images but leave the overlap one end so that you have some blank acetate to fold over when you clip the loop.
identity
Who are you when your job and place in society are taken away - what's left
that can't be taken away? What is the irreducible hardcore you? What is the
you of you?
Is all we have the identities that society has given us - our style tribes,
our clothing labels, our jobs, our cars, our political choices? Are these
like clothes that we pull around our naked selves? Will we shiver and catch
cold without them, or be arrested for indecent exposure of the soul?
So who are you going to be today? We're lost in a world full of choices. In
the past, who you were was given to you by birth and occupation, and few
escaped their place. Now 'who am I?' is a decision we have to make for
ourselves every day, and a lot of the time we don't know where to begin...so
we drift through identities, always acting, reinventing ourselves on the
outside but never able to change ourselves on the inside; or we live and die
by who other people say we are. We don't know how to define ourselves except
by the categories that our society offers us, so we shoehorn ourselves in,
grateful for the security of a label, grateful to belong, even if we have to
cut off bits of our inner selves to fit in the box...
A lot of us are told we're worthless, and that becomes our identity,
tainting everything we do with the stench of failure, making even our
virtues or successes seem provisional and temporary in the face of our
fundamental loserdom.
Those that have success find that it isn't enough to fill a heart, unless
you shrink it...
and when the rest of us find that we don't have the talent for the premier
division, or the head office, or the A-levels, we know that we are failures,
because success is the only success, and we live out our lives knowing that
we were not good enough...
At the beginning of his public ministry, after he had been baptised by John
the Baptist, Jesus went into the desert to find out who he was if he wasn't
going to be a carpenter anymore. Interestingly Luke, in his gospel, puts in
Jesus' genealogy, his family tree, at this point - this is how Jesus' fellow
Jews defined who he was - later, when Jesus starts preaching in the
synagogue in Nazareth, his fellow Nazarenes are outraged at his presumption
- who does he think he is, they say, isn't he just Joseph's son? In their
society, where family defines who you are, they think they know all about
him by knowing his family.
So Jesus goes out into the desert, away from the pigeonholes of job and
family, to ask God who he really is. And by the end of the 40 days, Satan's
repeated question 'if you are the son of God...' tells us that Jesus had
found out.
So who does God think you are?
In the desert all the things that we use to define our identities are
missing, and we are left with nothing except what we have inside. A lot of
us fear that we would find we had nothing inside, or only fear and pain, and
so we never venture into the desert. In the desert there is nowhere to hide,
if God comes to us, as he came to Jesus, as he came to Moses, as he came to
Jacob, to show us who we really are to him. And we clutch our thin rags of
identity to us like armour, and shrink back from his touch - better the
little we have, we say, than risk even that being taken away as well.
But those who try to save their life will lose it all, and God needs to
strip us naked, in spite of our fear and embarrassment - and if we let him
remove these filthy rags, and wash the festering wounds, he will reclothe us
as something we never imagined, or only caught glimpses of in dreams and ran
after down the High Street, but found that the things we bought could never
quite get us there, because we were still wearing the same old stinking
underwear underneath - and when we put on the identity God offers us - the
one he sewed himself, until his hands bled - we will know that we have
become our real selves at last, we have found out who we really are, that we
are free, and need never search, lost, through the world again...
and maybe the desert turns out to be a beach, after all, so we make a
bonfire of those old rags and watch the sun rise over the ocean...
If we slow down... - aug/sept 04
originally part of the slow service a reflection by steve:
reality is a static image, rolling past at 24 frames per second
if we slow the movie down, what will we see?
slow the projector in your head and lose the fluidity
embrace the flicker, the jerkiness
allow the frames of your life to disconnect and stop
now your life lies still in front of your eyes, what do you see?
play 'spot the difference' with each frozen moment
now you have time to examine carefully each corner and shadow
what details are revealed, that you always move too fast to see?
fleeting expressions and imperceptible gestures
betraying a truth not discerned
a turning you didn't take
another universe of futures, vanishing from sight
to us the stars stand still
but ancient eyes could not navigate by our skies
the north point of the sky moves in a circle 28000 years around
the north star we know is not the north star of our ancestors or descendants
they will see other constellations
does god see our lives the way we see the stars?
innumerable slow movements plotted and understood on charts long before the event
constellations drawn that serve for a while and break up
how slow is reality for god?
what do fast and slow mean in eternity
where every tiny moment and endless age are available for detailed inspection
a day like a thousand years, and a thousand years like a day
if we slow down do we see more like god sees?
see all the details
creation's crazy minutiae
who would have time to see all that stuff except god?
is that why there's so much of it?
how quickly does salvation come?
if we slowed our lives down would we see every step and progression?
or would its detail still evade us
a blur of motion in the shadows of a static frame
a frozen block in the centre of the movie?
if we slow down will we see what god sees?
will we see what god is doing?
have you ever tried?
Ignation Examen
Julie Dunstan led grace through an Examen for the January 2005 service.
This is the text of her explantion and mediation.
It is the beginning of a new year and, perhaps, following the tragedy of the Tsunami we might approach it with a sense of gratitude and humility for the privilege of life still before us. How, then, can we be more open to God's invitation to live a wholesome holiness....
Finding God in all things is the catch phrase of Ignatian spirituality... It is a key concept in the return to a more grounded, more experiential faith. And it characterises Ignatian spirituality - from which we get the Examen.
Many of us are no longer satisfied with a God who sits above us, aloof - requiring a radical departure or denial of our everyday realities - inner and outer. Though we must certainly accept that God cannot be reduced to our realities ( he is always also utterly other!) we are it seems, reclaiming the incarnational God - the God revealed in human form - vulnerable, ordinary, desiring, suffering, transformed.
The Examen is a prayer practice, articulated and made popular by a man who came to be known as Ignatius of Loyola - born in the late 15th C in Northern Spain. It is, in short, a way of listening to our selves and to God. It is a practice of listening contemplatively to our own lives. It is a tool for discerning the presence and absence of God in our lives.
God is constantly revealing himself to us in our experience. It is because God is present and available to human experience that we have a divinely inspired story to tell. Someone has called it - reading the scripture of our life...
St Ignatius, in his teaching of the Examen expected that God would speak through our deepest feelings and yearning, what he called consolation and desolation. Consolation is whatever helps us to connect in love to ourselves, others, God and the universe. In his language - whatever leads to an increase in faith, hope and love. Desolation is whatever blocks that connection...
So what follows is this - if we can reflect upon what in our life connects us to Life, love, faith, hope, peace... the qualities of the spirit... we can track where it is God is most available to us - or, more precisely, where we are most available to God. And the opposite - if we can see where it is we are being drained of life - and then think about how we block God in those areas... This is not the same as feeling merely good or bad.
The point is - to discern God's presence and will is no longer a case of looking 'out there' - but inside...
The Examen is traditionally done on a daily basis - but can usefully be applied to all sorts of other times -
I'd like to lead you in an Examen of the last year as a way of entering this New year with more awareness of where God is speaking to you in your life...and where you find yourself being drawn away from God's love.
I invite you, then, to read the scripture of your life...
Examen of the Year
Stillness
Take a moment to find a comfortable position (the great masters of prayer never neglected the body!) Find a position which is relaxed but alert... A simple and longstanding technique at the beginning of meditation is to use the noticing of our breath to gently bring our awareness and focus inwards.
Isaiah 48
(slightly paraphrased)
Come near and listen to this:
from the beginning I have never spoken to you obscurely,
and all the time these things have been happening, I have been present
Thus says Yaweh, your redeemer, the Holy One:
I, your God, teach you what is good for you,
I lead you in the way that you must go.
If only you had been alert...
Become more fully aware now of being in the presence of God: in the presence of love...
You are precious in my eyes and honoured and I love you...
How are you in your body? Let your body be before God
How are you in your mind? Let your mind be before God
How are you in your feelings? Let your feelings be before God
In God we live, and move and have our being...
Thankfulness
Give thanks for the presence of God in our humanity. In our physical, intellectual, emotional realities.
The word became flesh and dwelt among us...
Give thanks for the reality of God loving and living in us and through us...
Light-Seeking
Ask God now to help you to see and to understand how her love has been working within you over the last year. Ask God's spirit to enlighten and guide your thoughts.
Cleanse the thoughts of our heart by the inspiration of your holy spirit...
Reflection
Begin to let yourself remember the last year... don't try too hard... At first, just scan the year and get a sense of it... Christmas and the time leading up to it... Autumn...... Summer...... Spring..... the year beginning 2004.....
Now let come what comes at first when you ask the questions:
When did I feel best able to give and receive love?
What caused in me an increase in faith, hope and love?
Where was I drawn to God?
In fears, in joy, in pain, in creativity?
In prayer, in liturgy, scripture, creation?
In work or leisure?
In family, friend, colleague, church community, neighbour?
Did I feel myself being nudged or prompted in any particular way?
Out of all the year's experiences, is there one experience, that I feel most grateful for?
Relish these moments of consolation - of revelation...
Give thanks.
Sorrow and Regret
Look again back over the year. When was I aware of God's absence?
When did I feel least able to give or receive love?
What caused in me a decrease in faith, hope and love?
When did I fail to respond to His love at work in me?
Without harsh judgement, just let yourself look at that experience.
In the light of God's love - what would you like to say to God about that time, event, experience? What does God want to say to you?
Hope for the Future
And now, coming back into the present:
What insight, revelation, grace do I receive from the experiences of the last year?
Having reviewed the last year - what gift do I hold for the new year?
What would I like to bring into the new year.
Find a word or a phrase or an image to represent what you'd like to bring into the New Year...
Keep that word or phrase or image in your heart over the next year. You might like to adapt this examen for use everyday or weekly.
This is what I shall tell my heart and so recover hope:
The favours of the Lord are not all past,
his kindnesses are not exhausted
his mercies are new every morning
Great is his faithfulness...
Yaweh is good to those who trust him
To the soul that searches for him...
Let's pray for the grace to move into this new year with love, faith and hope... for the grace to bring more of what gives us life... for the grace to continue to recognise God in our daily life...
TS Eliot
The Four Quartets
But to apprehend
The point of intersection of the timeless
With time, is an occupation for the saint -
No occupation either, but something given
And taken, in a lifetime's death in love,
Ardour and selflessness and self-surrender.
For most of us, there is only the unattended
Moment, the moment in and out of time,
The distraction fit, lost is a shaft of sunlight,
The wild thyme unseen, or the winter lightning
Or the waterfall, or music heard so deeply
That it is not heard at all, but you are the music
While the music lasts...
landing cards
Welcoming the stranger
Luke 24 28-29
Read out the following passage:
As they approached the airport to which they were flying, Jesus acted as if he were going further.
But they urged him strongly, "stay with us, it's half past 11
and your connecting flight's not until 6.45am." So he had to fill in a landing card to stay with them.
Now read out these instructions:
Each person take a landing card.
Get into pairs, preferably with someone you don't know.
Each of you fills in the card for the other person by asking them the questions on it.
There is a spare landing card. if you have time, fill it in for Jesus.
Mary listens... nov 06
Listening to God – what does this mean to me, what does it mean to you?
In Christian circles taking time to listen to God often seems like ‘motherhood and apple pie’ – sign of our obedience and even humility. Something passive and accepting.
Going to take some time now to look at a moment when listening to Christ changed a world – it’s the account of Martha and Mary inviting Jesus into their home – going to spend some time thinking about and imagining that day when Mary listened to Jesus. I am going to run through the passage – let’s try and think what it might have been like to be there as a man or a woman. As we go along I’ll give some questions to think about and also at the end leave some time to think a bit more.
It’s Bethany and you are in the house of a woman called Martha – it’s a bit unusual that – women don’t often own houses and certainly don’t invite men in to be their guests. But Martha seems a pretty generous woman opening up her home to friends and strangers and certainly seems to want to feed us all well as she is busy in the kitchen.
Think for a moment – are you in the living area with Jesus – or are you in the kitchen?
There is something else which is not quite the usual thing – Martha’s sister Mary isn’t giving a hand in the kitchen – instead she is out in the main living area with the men. She isn’t really doing anything - just sitting beside him - listening to him – you can’t hear what he is saying.
What do you think about that?
Although there are some rabbis who think that women should learn the law – there are others who fiercely oppose it. And even those who believe that everyone should know something of the law probably wouldn’t have a woman as a pupil, a disciple … after all that might mean they meant to teach someone else in their turn.
Martha is coming out of the kitchen and she doesn’t look very happy – she is saying something
‘Master, don’t you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand.’
Why do you think she is she so concerned? Is she overloaded with work? Is she resentful of Mary? Is she frightened that Mary is too unconventional? Is she jealous?
Jesus is saying something: ‘Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential and Mary has chosen it – it’s the main course and won’t be taken from her.’
What does he mean?
What does it mean to you?
Just think for a moment – what does listening to God mean to you?
Is it a duty?
Is it something that has changed your life?
Is it something that has changed your whole way of thinking?
Could it change the world?
I love this part of the gospels –for me it isn’t a tale of quiet contemplative Mary – but of bold Mary wanting desperately to learn all she can by listening to Jesus so that she can play her part in the kingdom. We don’t even know what Jesus was talking about – all we do know is the listening was important and that everyone is welcome.
Miracles Liturgy - Nov04
this liturgy concluded a series of two services looking at miracles. written by jen:
Lord God,
You spoke into darkness and chaos and then there was light;
You imagined this earth in its complexity and beauty and called it into being
You created humanity in your own image and gave us a home to live in
We believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
Lord God,
You walked with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego through the fiery furnace
You shut the mouths of hungry lions and kept Daniel safe until morning
You gave Hannah a family when she despaired of ever having a child
We believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
Lord God,
You changed water into wine so the wedding party could continue
You calmed a storm and your disciples with words of quiet authority
You transformed a boy's picnic into a meal for a multitude with plenty left over
We believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
Lord God,
You healed a woman from 12 years of bleeding and rejection
You asked Bartimaeus what he wanted and then restored his sight
You watched a paralysed man being lowered through the roof and helped him to his feet
We believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
Lord God,
You called Lazarus from the tomb and restored him to life
You walked past the mourners at Jairus' house and gave his daughter back to him
You suffered a horrendous crucifixion in order to defeat sin and death and give us life
We believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
Lord God,
You told your disciples that they would do greater things than you had done
We hear and read stories of miracles in our world - of you healing the sick,
setting prisoners free, releasing drug addicts from their addiction,
providing the right amount of money at just the right time
We believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
And yet, Lord, we don't see many miracles happening around us
We have friends with cancer, and we pray, and they are not healed
We have friends who long for children, and we pray, and they do not conceive
Our doubt is mixed with faith
Our trust is accompanied by questions
We acknowledge the mystery of faith and prayer, and the ways in which they are connected
We acknowledge that you often do things differently to the way we would do them
We long to know you better, to understand more of your ways
And we believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
Lord we believe.
Help our unbelief
noise
Our Companion & Vindicator
Middle English : from Old French compaignon, literally ‘one who breaks bread with another,’ based on Latin com- ‘together with’ + panis ‘bread.’
On the night of his betrayal
Jesus our companion
Took bread
Broke it
Gave it to his followers
Eat
My body is broken for you
We break this bread with those who:
hunger for justice,
dream of a land free from occupation,
long to live life free from fear,
search for food and water each day,
long for companionship.
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.(in the sense [deliver, rescue] ): from Latin vindicat- ‘claimed, avenged,’ from the verb vindicare, from vindex, vindic- ‘claimant, avenger.’
On the night of his betrayal
Jesus our vindicator
Took wine
Gave it to his followers
Remember
My blood is poured out for you
Drink
This is a new promise
All who come to me will have life
We drink this wine with those who:
see too much blood flow,
watch loved ones die,
are judged by their race or skin colour,
carry in their blood the stigma of HIV/AIDS,
long for someone to dry their tears.
Come, eat, drink, you who hunger and thirst,
For a deeper faith, for a better life, for a fairer world,
For healing and wholeness – Come.
thanks to Chris Rose
Prayer of Sir Francis Drake
Disturb us, Lord, when We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
thanks to mark berry
Psalm Structure Twister
Psalms have an inner structure, marking the stages of a spiritual journey. Usually they start by looking at the world or the situation as it is, in all its alienation, injustice, distress. Then the psalmist turns to God, in anger, in a cry for help, in thanksgiving - and then things look different. There's a change of perspective. There's hope or strength or the promise of justice, and the thought of these leads to praise. There aren't many psalms that stay in one place, all praise or all lament.
The elements of psalms are shown on the Twister board. Can you find which one is not present in real psalms? Can you say why?
Psalms of Thanksgiving
(65, 67, 75, 107, 124, 136, 18, 30, 32, 34, 40, 66, 92, 116, 118, 138...)
Gratitude for God's specific acts of goodness, protection, blessing. A needed corrective to our infantile tendencies
Psalms of Lament
(3, 22, 31, 39, 42, 57, 71, 120, 139, 142, 12, 44, 80, 94, 137...)
Most common type. Both individual and corporate laments expressing fear, distress, anger at circumstances and adversaries
Hymns of Praise
(8, 19, 33, 103, 104, 111, 114, 117, 145-149...)
According to God his worth for who he is: Creator, protector and benefactor, Lord of history
Salvation History
(78, 105, 106, 135, 136)
These psalms review God's work historically, and often include biting commentary on Israel's spiritual state and God's faithfulness
Wisdom Psalms
(1, 36, 37, 49, 73, 112, 127, 128, 133 (cf. Prov. 8 is a psalm)
Much like the proverbs, these psalms address practical life issues from the perspective of trust in God. Themes center on the righteous/wicked, wise/fool in terms of aphorisms.
Celebration and Affirmation
Liturgy for corporate celebrations relating to:
Enthronement Psalms, celebrating the new king and God as King (24, 29, 47, 93, 95-99);
Reaffirmation of the Davidic Covenant (eg 132);
Royal Psalms addressing both David and messiah (2, 18, 20, 21, 45, 72, 89, 101, 110, 144);
Songs of Zion, Psalms celebrating the place where God is present and where his kings reign (46, 48, 76, 84, 87, 122)
Psalms of exile
Grace's sevice on Exile (Febuary 2001) invited the people there to write a psalm of exile, with Psalm 137 as an example. Ranging from personal experience to trying to understand the exile of others, some of the authors were kind enough to leave their psalms to be published on the website.
A Psalm of David - Selah!
from the arranger of music on the anniversary of the death of his niece.
Lord I am so angry!
You let us down so badly
How could you?
I am so hurt
I thought you wanted to heal
Why didn't you?
I am so disappointed in you
You could have answered my prayer
are my prayers so worthless?
Lord why did you cast us adrift
and have us lost in the blackness?
Even now after all this time I am still sad.
Will I live with sadness forever?
Did you allow this to happen so I would grow as a person?
was life not important
Does my sister just get on with life
The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away - Ha!
Is that the best you can do?
But Lord - there is no-one else who can comfort.
In the end I guess there is only you.
So - Here I am again - Selah!
Exile
I came from a lost family.
Somewhere, a moment away, I don't know when
They lost who they were. They became unrooted.
The exile was dreadful - but what mattered is not what they took,
money, pride, language, anger, fears, hurts
but what they left their rootedness - they sought anonymity -
tolerance, were thankful for indifference
What matters is not the money, the power, the anger, the alienation -
but to find the sense of joy, acceptance,
strength, its inside you - god plants it in.
When am I home? What is home
-accepting friends who love me as
I am and God seeing and calling me in
Exile
some thing are part of me
like my friends and family
I'd cry if I had to leave them,
to be deserted on an island
some things I like are hard to miss out
like football training and cub scouts
god would always be with me
for comforting and company
I love homer and he's my pet
to part with him would make us fret
to be deserted would make me worry
I would say to god "I'm sorry!!"
I like to play computer games
and to leave them would be a shame.
But I have always got you lord.
with your strength and loving accord.
Amen
Harry Baker
Exile
I tried
but you didn't listen
Why?
What did I do?
You just threw me out
That's where I live
Yes, on the street
Of all the places, the street
All because of you!
I always felt sorry for people who had nothing
Now I'm one of them are you sorry?
Are you?
I know your touch, I feel your love.
Your peace is near. Your grace washes
I learn to try. I try to learn.
I'm confused. I fall down. I'm exiled. I'm confused
Are my leaders confused. Do they fall down.
Yet I'm exiled and I fall down
Oh my God, lead me into your presence
Into your way of everlasting
Did I ask too much. Am I not allowed to fail, to fall.
I need your perspective, your heart
lead me, lead us. Tend me, tend us.
It wasn't that we'd lived there long
A couple of centuries that's all
It wasn't that wonderful a place. Bricks & mortar. Rough walls. A roof.
A place of peace, a blessing from God
A place of welcome, a blessing to people
Our enemies wanted the land for their own. Defence and security they said
Not the home - they would build a new home easily enough
Their claim was strong:
Land given by God
Our claim was weak:
Land of our ancestors
Land of our birth
We have been taken to new land
Our home a temporary shelter
But we will praise our God
For he is still our God
We are blessed under canvas and stars
And there is still welcome here in His name
Exile
More than a day in the pit and despair
A whole existence without a future, not even a now
God don't let me be there.
Without Linda, friends, family,
life would seem without hope.
I would be so angry at you God
that I would have spit on the ground you have created.
Even though you probably would be
I wouldn't like you there
But still, but still, but still
You love me and I don't want you to stop.
God sustain my life, meet my anger and turn it your way.
Lead me through, but give me the time to work it out
Be with me and all in despair
Heavenly Father
You have given us 3 score and ten
70 years form our birth to our grave
70 years in exile, in struggle.
DO not forget your creations oh Lord
Forget not me as I make my way
When my heart grows faint.
when I struggle to advance
Cover me with your wings
breath on the embers of my spirit
restore my strength oh Lord!
Help me to live not perish
Acknowledge me my saviour
comfort me in my fearfulness
But for you, I would give up
Without you I would embrace the grave.
As I consider my destruction, call me back
As I surrender to despair, stay in my hand.
lift me on your wings
Embrace me with your love
Without you, I am empty, I am alone.
God - I can't hear you when I listen at night:
and gaze at flickering stars and full moon.
God - I can't see you when I wake:
in faces, moments, places and all the photos that I own.
God - I can't talk to you when I am on my own:
silence, blackness, emptiness swallow all my words.
God - can you hear me?
my cry for answers, for rest, for peace, and for justice.
God - can you see me?
my tears of anger, loss, isolation and longing.
God - can you talk to me?
tell me that you love me, tell me that it will be OK
I know that you are there, my God.
keep me strong
help me to believe
Amen.
Psalm 137 - rewrite
I sat at the dining room table after church with a coffee in my hand and
wept inside when I remembered the Kingdom vision of faith affecting all of
life and culture, and of God infusing all of reality with his inspiration
and Spirit igniting my soul with fire and excitement.
Yet the service was so bereft of any of this. It wasn't a one off either. .
. . .. .. The stereotypes of Christians in the culture ring too true - nice,
moral majority, quaint, well meaning, elderly but irrelevant to life today.
Friends always look surprised when they discover I go to church... ... why?
I can't sing at church any more - the words sound hollow and trite - like
the band playing nice jazz while the titanic sinks.
How can I express what is inside in this situation of exile? But I mustn't
lose the vision - if I lose the vision I have wasted my life!
It would be easy to blame the gods of postmodernism and see them as the new
Babylon but I fear the enemy is within. The church is where the surgery is
needed. I wish you would go and drown in the sea so we could start again
from scratch.
Exile
A secure future, mapped out, triumphant, successful
Shattered by a broken roof
Homeless
Friendless
We thought we'd heard God
But he was saying something very different
And had to use drama, storms, crashes and falling ceilings
To make himself heard over our smug complacency
We tried to hear again.
Started again
Lots of change, feelings of being let down, rejected
struggling to survive.
An enforced separation from present and expected future
Became a journey to a new present and a different future
Bleak days, loneliness, abandonment
led the way to a new home, new role, new friends, new future
Thankyou Lord for showing that Lord
and for staying with us as the echoes faded, the rubble settled,
If I get that complacent, that safe, that secure
Do it again
Do it again.
Exile
Its a very lonely place
I don't know what to say
Have I missed your face
Or are you showing me the way
I'm finding this quite scary
I haven't been here before
The structures that I'm used to
Are no longer the law
I'm searching for perfect freedom
The liberty to be me
Is this your kingdom?
Is Jesus still the key
My friends don't understand
they're content to stay
You're taking me on an adventure
You are the potter, I am the clay.
Please protect me Lord
I don't want to get it wrong
I want to know your nearness
may my life be a song
I dedicate myself to you
You're showing me the way
I want to be found in your truth
If that's OK.
Sharon Downing
Slow blessing - Aug/Sept04
blesing used as part of the slow service written by anna:
God the creator, who rested on the seventh day after the work was done, show you how to balance the slow and the fast, the work and the rest.
God the redeemer, who lived his life at walking pace,
strengthen you to go slow when the world is going fast.
God the sustainer, who came at Pentecost like a rushing wind, give you hope in the day when there will be freedom from the limitations of time.
Go into a world of speed and live at God’s pace.
Amen.
Slow confession - Aug/Sept 04
confession prayer as part of slow service - written by anna:
O God, you are slow to anger and swift to have mercy;
Forgive us when we treat time as a commodity or an enemy,
when we abuse your gift of time.
In our fastness and our slowness,
help us to keep pace with you.
Free us to live in your time, a new time,
in which there is a time for everything under heaven,
and slow is not too slow, and fast is not too fast.
Transform us into people who see time as a gift and a friend,
who live as if we have time,
because we know that your time will never cease.
Through Jesus we pray, Amen.
spirit of life
spirit of life
your breath of life fills the whole world and holds all things together.
if you withdraw your breath everything turns to dust
breathe on me breath of god
you are the source of life that brings life to the world, whole life, full life, unhindered, indestructible everlasting life
fill me with life anew
the life of your spirit which christ sends into the world is the power of the resurrection which brings us new life
breathe on me breath of god
the sending of your spirit is the revelation of god's indestructible affirmation of life and marvelous joy in life
fill me with life anew
jesus where you are there is life. where you are sick people are healed, sad people are comforted, marginalised people are accepted and the demons of death are driven out
breathe on me breath of god
where your holy spirit is present there is life.
the powers and energies of eternal life are experienced.
fill me with life anew
the mission of your spirit is a movement for life and a movement for healing which spreads consolation and the courage to live and raises up what wants to die.
breathe on me breath of god
we affirm and love life so much that we protest against death and all the powers that disseminate death.
fill me with life anew
help us to join with your comforting of the sad, healing of the sick, welcoming of strangers, and forgiving of sins.
breathe on me breath of god
send your spirit so that this world should not perish but live
fill me with life anew
spirit of the new creation break into the here and now bringing foretastes of the age to come when all things are made new, and creation is set free from the powers of death
breathe on me breath of god
spirit of god renew the face of the earth
fill me with life anew
give us hearts of flesh for hearts of stone
that we may love as you would love
and do what you would do
amen
St Brendan's Prayer
Shall I abandon, O King of mysteries, the soft comforts of home? Shall I turn my back on my native land, and turn my face towards the sea?
Shall I put myself wholly at your mercy, without silver, without a horse, without fame, without honour? Shall I throw myself wholly upon You, without sword and shield, without food and drink, without a bed to lie on? Shall I say farewell to my beautiful land, placing myself under Your yoke?
Shall I pour out my heart to You, confessing my manifold sins and begging forgiveness, tears streaming down my cheeks? Shall I leave the prints of my knees on the sandy beach, a record of my final prayer in my native land?
Shall I then suffer every kind of wound that the sea can inflict? Shall I take my tiny boat across the wide sparkling ocean? O King of the Glorious Heaven, shall I go of my own choice upon the sea?
O Christ, will You help me on the wild waves?
thanks to mark berry
summer is over
summer is over - new year 06
summer is over
an end to sitting on the fence
a voice beneath your certainties
shakes the settled patterns
like a colder breeze that heralds distant winter
strange lands lie waiting
beyond your southern horizon
summer is over,
and you must go or perish
here in a world no longer yours
or on the way, but in hope
your star and compass often dark
glimpsed briefly between clouds
at journey's end,
another summer not like the first one
new seeds,
new fruit to refresh the migrant
burnt by life between summers
warmed for a season
until the north calls again
like the inner call of the migrating bird, where does god call you?
where is your bird migrating to?
what do you want to do for god?
what do you need along the way?
take one of the sheets of paper and write your hopes and prayers for
the journey ahead on the reverse side, the side without the
instructions. then we're going to fold them to make origami birds...
We are creatures of comfort - sept06
We are creatures of comfort.
We like to be safe and secure
to be surrounded by what we know
to be in control
to order our lives in the way that suits us.
We want our journeys mapped out for us
itinerary decided, tickets booked
time of arrival guaranteed
refreshment breaks at regular intervals
and a credit card for unforeseen circumstances.
But Jesus said ‘follow me’ without saying where he was going
just promising transformation along the way.
The Israelites in the desert, rescued from slavery and oppression,
were tired and homeless, hungry and thirsty, insecure and unsettled.
And their minds went back to what they had known.
They yearned for the structure of predictable slavery rather than the broken walls of unknown freedom.
Liminal space is the place of inbetweenness, of insecurity.
It is the Israelites in the wilderness,
it is Paul blind in Damascus waiting for Ananias.
Liminal space is emptiness and nowhere,
it is uncertainty and chaos,
it is a place of discomfort and unrest.
Liminality is a place of dying and rebirth, of metamorphosis, the place where the caterpillar spins its cocoon and disappears from view.
Nothing good or creative emerges from business as usual. Much of the work of God is to get people into liminal space and to keep them there long enough so they can learn something essential.
This is the invitation of God, to move
- from comfort to insecurity
- from what we know to what we have yet to discover
- from what we are good at to what we might fail at
- from safety to a place of risk
We hang our lives on your mercy - feb06
We hang our lives upon your mercy
measured out in miles
your boundaries and pathways,
coordinates and charts
that guide our steps
along roads you travelled before us
We will make time for you and your word
We will practice your ways until they are part of us
We will rest and play in you
We will be your people
We are not complete without one another
We cannot run the race alone
We will support one another
encourage one another
wait for the weak
pick up the fallen
through your strength and love
When we are together we will remember what it is like to travel alone
When we are alone we will remember what it is like to travel together
Wherever we are we will remember God who always goes with us
Go with us now, Lord, this night and always
Amen
which is why
