Today's Meditation (8/12/2024)

Dear Friends,

As we build the Beloved Community, we pray for you every day that you might continue to bring it about in your little corner of the world.

As we remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Today's Meditation is a prayer: "Psalm 121 and Hiroshima Day." We invite you to pray it with us and to live it.

As we commit ourselves to working tirelessly to end systemic and structural racism in our society, in the church, in healthcare, in the workplace--wherever it shows up so that everyone may come to have more abundant life. May this meditation nourish our contemplative-active hearts and sustain all of us in action.

In the spirit of our philosophy of co-creating community and our awareness that the Spirit speaks through each of us, we invite you to share your meditations with us as well. We truly believe that it is God's economy of abundance: when we share our blessings, our thoughts, our feelings, we are all made richer.

We hope and pray that you find peace, healing, hope and the infusion of joy in your life!

With our love and care,
Jean and Ron

MEDITATION: Psalm 121 & Hiroshima Day
By Maren Tirabassi, Gifts in Open Hands)

I lift up my eyes to a mushroom cloud
from which death came
and illness and loss of eyes and limbs,
the burning of skins and souls,
and the sorrows of the hibakusha,
survivors of seventy-five years,
and their children,
and children’s children,
and all our children.

I must lift up my eyes to that cloud
from which comes
the creed and belief that power,
greater power, killing power
defines reality
and the long fallout of that religion.

For my hope comes from One
who shares tears and memories,
and whose power
seeks to heal
the melted skins of all the earth,
and whose gifts from heaven
are never a ball of fire,
but only the weakness of soft rain.

God is not in nuclear arsenal building,
a knee on the neck,
a wall along a border,
a pipeline through a holy place,
but neither does God slumber
while power steals hope
nor sleep through new gethsemanes.

God bows low as a manger
at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.
God is a child’s hand
that folds a crane by day,
the tanka a poet writes of moonlight.

God was companion
on that day of the “noiseless flash,”
and this season of pandemic.
Going out and coming in –
God keeps us all bowed for peace,
lifted for justice.

ORDER OF SERVICE
19th Sunday in Ordinary time
Remembrance of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
August 11, 2024

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION

GATHERING SONG: Light a Candle Lori True
Light a candle in the darkness through the days of warring madness.
Light a candle, keep it burning. Shine a path to Peace returning Light a candle warm and caring for the fearful and despairing Light a candle, so revealing ardent prayers for hope and healing
Refrain:
Oh, light a path to lasting peace here, where the greatest and the least can light a candle and keep it glowing. See the reign of God is growing. Light a path to every nation; it's time for reconciliation. Come light a candle, light the way to peace
Light a candle firmly holding to the dream of Love unfolding Light a candle in the darkness, till we end our warring madness Light a candle in its gleaming see a ray of hope now streaming Light a candle keep it burning radiant path for peace returning Refrain
Light a candle for tomorrow, let it shine through all the sorrow Light a candle softly glowing ray of kindness overflowing Light a candle for a new day, now's the time to choose a new way Light a candle, flame unceasing, let the love begin increasing Refrain

OPENING PRAYER: Psalm 121 & Hiroshima Day
By Maren Tirabassi, Gifts in Open Hands)

I lift up my eyes to a mushroom cloud
from which death came
and illness and loss of eyes and limbs,
the burning of skins and souls,
and the sorrows of the hibakusha,
survivors of seventy-five years,
and their children,
and children’s children,
and all our children.

I must lift up my eyes to that cloud
from which comes
the creed and belief that power,
greater power, killing power
defines reality
and the long fallout of that religion.

For my hope comes from One
who shares tears and memories,
and whose power
seeks to heal
the melted skins of all the earth,
and whose gifts from heaven
are never a ball of fire,
but only the weakness of soft rain.

God was companion
on that day of the “noiseless flash,”
and this season of pandemic.
Going out and coming in –
God keeps us all bowed for peace,
lifted for justice.

FIRST READING: 1 Kings 19: 1-8

RESPONSORIAL SONG Peace Weston Priory
Refrain: Peace I leave with you, my friends,
Peace the world cannot give.
Peace I leave with you, my friends,
So that your joy be ever full.

The Father's love I came to give,
To be the hope for all who live. Refrain

Take this gift and be at peace;
The Spirit of our love I bring. Refrain

By this love which you should have
All will know you are my friends. Refrain

SECOND READING: Obama Visits Hiroshima
https://youtu.be/4Ey89C05FOw?si=MwFipnAFw2BXenzr ALLELUIA
GOSPEL: Mark 6:45-52, 8-9, 10a, 13b, 14-21

RECORDING BEGINS

HOMILY: followed by Breakout rooms
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
OFFERING OF BREAD AND WINE

PREFACE TO THE EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
Side 1: We praise and thank you Gracious God for your faithfulness to us. You are the music of our souls, You are the poetry of our hearts. You come to us and give us peace.
Side 2: We praise you for things, trees and mountains, plants and animals, oceans and stars. We praise you for people who come into our lives and challenge us to grow and to become more fully human.
Side 1: We praise you for our imaginations, for the ability to dream and to conceive a world where all people live in harmony and the courage to work to bring it about.
Side 2: So, most holy and living God, God ever-near, we look to you with hope. We hear you sending us to spread your peace to all people and to our earth. And so, with all creation, we say:
ALL: Holy, holy, holy, God, Spirit of love and of peace Heaven and earth are full of your glory Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the One who comes in the name of our God. Hosanna in the highest!

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
PRESIDER: The table we share is adorned with the gifts of creation, bread and wine, gifts given for all to share in equality and justice, a table where all are welcome.
As a Christian People, we celebrate the open table proclaimed by Jesus our friend, a table of abundant life and inclusive love.

We thank you for Your Spirit of Life and Love among us. We are grateful that Your Spirit sets us free to discover your presence within us and in our world. therefore, we ask that You send Your Holy Spirit afresh upon us and upon our gifts, that they may become for us, and we, for all the world + the Body and Blood of Jesus the Christ.

ALL: On the night before he died, while at supper with his friends, Jesus took the bread & blessed it and praising You, our God, broke it and gave it to his disciples saying: "Take this all of you and eat it. This is my body which is given for you"

ALL: When supper was ended, he took the cup, again he gave you thanks and praise, gave it to his disciples, saying:
"Take this all of you & drink; This is the cup of my Blood, the Blood of the new & everlasting covenant .
It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me."

Mystery of Faith:
ALL: When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death and Resurrection, O Christ, until you come again.

PRESIDER: O God through Jesus, You entrusted this pledge of love to us. We celebrate the memory of his life, his teaching, his spirit and bring You the gift you have given us, the possibility of reconciliation, justice, and peace. Take away all that divides us and enable us to be accepting of all. Keep us in communion with one another and with all people throughout the world. Let Your Spirit make us ambassadors of unity, models of equity and instruments of your peace.

Then in Your presence, we shall give You Glory with all creation and with Jesus through whom Your goodness flows.
ALL: Through Christ, with Christ and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, may all glory and honor be Yours, all-loving God, for ever and ever. Amen.

PRAYER OF JESUS
Presider: Together we pray: Aramaic Prayer that Jesus Prayed
ALL: O Birthing Father- Mother of the Cosmos
Focus your light within us - make it useful.
Create your reign of unity now
through our fiery hearts and willing hands
Help us love beyond our ideals
and sprout acts of compassion for all creatures.
Animate the earth within us: we then
feel the Wisdom underneath supporting all.
Untangle the knots within
so that we can mend our hearts' simple ties to each other.
Don't let surface things delude us,
But free us from what holds us back from our true purpose.
Out of you, the astonishing fire,
Returning light and sound to the cosmos.
May it be so!

SIGN OF PEACE
BREAKING OF THE BREAD:
Jesus left us in this sacrament his body and blood. Now we are called to become the body of Christ and through his mercy, we are what we receive. Just as we see that the bread is one loaf, so may we be one body by loving one another, by having one faith, one hope, and undivided charity. Thus, too, the wine existed in many clusters of grapes, and now it is one. It is one in this cup after the crushing of the grapes in the wine press. And now, we in the name of Christ, have come to drink of the cup of Jesus. There we are on the table, and there we are in the cup, for we are one with Jesus. We receive together, and we drink together because we live together. Adapted from a prayer of St. Augustine in Bread Blessed and Broken, by John Mossi

PRESIDER: This is the Bread of our lives, the Lamb of God who takes away the brokenness of the world. How blessed are we who are called to this table.
ALL: Jesus, You make me worthy to receive You, and by Your Word, I am healed.

COMMUNION SONG: Let it Be Paul McCartney
When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree
There will be an answer, let it be
For though they may be parted, there is still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
There will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be, be
And when the night is cloudy there is still a light that shines on me
Shinin' until tomorrow, let it be
I wake up to the sound of music, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
And let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION A Prayer for Hiroshima Day By William G. Sinkford
Like most traumatic scars, the ones that are found in Hiroshima and Nagasaki are permanent: reminders of the terrible damage human beings can inflict.
Similar scars can be found in the hearts and souls of people around the world who understand this terror: scars of grief, sadness, fear and even shame.
None of these scars promise an end to war and devastation. Instead, they serve as a reminder of healing and renewal—of a return to life. And so we pray:

Gracious God, Spirit of Life and Love, help us to see our scars: those we have created, those we are called to witness, and those we can soothe and heal.
We are deeply grateful for the buds and blossoms that even the most scarred offer as a revelation to the world.
And, especially on this 79th anniversary of Hiroshima Day, we renew our commitment to peace individually, collectively and globally:
To "peace within" which calms our anxieties and fears,
To "peace between" which overcomes differences, animosities and conflict,
And, to "the great peace," beyond even our understanding, that is Your gift and which we attempt to be stewards of for the world. Amen.

CLOSING BLESSING:
We are the Body of Christ, hands to heal, hearts to love, feet to meet people where they are, arms to gather the lost, tongue to proclaim the truth—God’s ministry on earth.

SENDING FORTH SONG: : Let There be Peace on Earth Jill Jackson and Sy Miller
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me;
Let there be peace on earth,
The peace that was meant to be.
With God as Creator
We are family
Let us walk with each other
In perfect harmony
Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now;
With every step I take,
Let this be my solemn vow:

Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now;
With every step I take,
Let this be my solemn vow:
To take each moment and live
Each moment in peace eternally
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me

All music used with permission. One License #A716013

Pastor's Letter