Thursday, September 30, 2021

Aphorism of the Day, September 2021

Aphorism of the Day, September 30, 2021

Parents may forgive children for breaking family rules but they do not quit promulgating the rule as the desired standard.  The issue about the words of Jesus on divorce is similar; he was rebuking those who were all too familiar with divorce for seeming to want to make it the new norm.  Jesus simply promulgated the norm.  Even though charity fails, it does not falsify charity as the norm.

Aphorism of the Day, September 29, 2021 (Michaelmas)

Whether meaningful or not, it might seem as though sightings of angels decreased with the advent of modern science since the boundaries between inner reality and outer reality became fixed by the community objectivity of what everyone had sensorial access to.  There remains those for whom in intermittency have their gates of perception open to interior stuff, dream stuff who can on occasion still bring to consciousness the visual "messengers," the Christian "Hermes" who represent the symbolic tying together of what is inside a person and what is outside a person.  In a meaningful sense all words are angels in being the medium of how we relate our insides to our outsides.  All words can be the symbolic messengers ascending and descending upon the ladder of Christ, the Eternal Word.

 Aphorism of the Day, September 28, 2021

"Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will not enter it."  This saying of Jesus bespeaks perhaps the difference between childishness, adult skepticism, and childlikeness which is a quality retained in everyone of having been in a former state of wonderment and not yet coded by the language of harsh brute facts that splash cold water on the aspect of wonderment.  Spiritual experience involves wonderment.  It involves the ability to open the gates of perception to "dream-scape" material.  The problem of fundamentalism is to take "dream-scape" material and treat it as though it was sensorial, empirical, replicable experience. 

Aphorism of the Day, September 27, 2021

When the words of Jesus seem to prohibit divorce, the canonical practice of the church essentially made it an unforgivable since one was denied communion.  In stating the ideal and the perfect, Jesus was simply addressing people who were caught up with trying to imply that failing at the perfect is so normal that people need to establish that the probability of failure is the norm for humanity.  But Jesus was simply saying that because we fail, the ideal is not falsified as the ideal.

Aphorism of the Day, September 26, 2021

"But if salt has lost its saltiness..."  These words of Jesus raise an impossibility.  Natural salt does not expire.  Modern salt with additives have shelf life for the additives.  The implication of this might be that if followers of Jesus are no longer adding preservation, purity, and taste to their world, don't blame it on the consistency of the presence of the divine in one's life.  Get out of the way for the divine to be a salty presence through one's life.

Aphorism of the Day, September 25, 2021

One of the necessary phases of stewardship often is fasting.  Jesus used hyperbole to illustrate fasting.  If you eye offends you pluck it out.  Arresting the wrong direction in our use of our faculties is an important event in gaining the self-control toward being a good steward.

Aphorism of the Day, September 24, 2021

The proverbial parent waiting for babies first word to be mama or dada with  analogical imagination can be an insight into the Eternal Word waiting for all young human language users to say the name of the the divine parent in as many ways and languages as possible.  Eternal Word begets word users whose tasks is to confess Eternal Word as the essence of human existence.

Aphorism of the Day, September 23, 2021

What do we do with things not worth saving because they are no longer useful?  They are regarded to be refuse and garbage and thrown away.  Put in the dump.   Hell or Gehenna was the garbage dump and so when it was used as a metaphor for one's life it was a proclamation that wasting one's life or being totally unuseful in contributing loving value to this world was the state of existence to avoid.  Wasting one's life is hell particularly if the aftermath of our wasteful deeds leaves a millstone around the neck of those who come after us.

Aphorism of the Day, September 22, 2021

To his disciples who were worried about "competitors" in ministry, Jesus said, "Whoever is not against us is for us."  It is is easy to measure the worth of one's ministry/vocation/career by statistical metrics and like a commercial market view oneself as being in perpetual competition with others for the "market share."  But if one is mainly concerned about orthopraxy, or always doing the right thing, then one can affirm and rejoice that the right things is done by many people as it pertains to love, kindness, and justice.  Love, kindness and justice really does not have to have our particular doctrinal stamps of approval to be valid universal love, kindness, and justice.  Let us not commodify the virtues to promote tribal exclusivity.

Aphorism of the Day, September 21, 2021

Many people are concerned about avoiding "hell" in the afterlife.  It might be better to avoid hell in this life, that is, living with one's life deeds being regarded as waste to be discarded in a garbage dump.  Hell or Gehenna was a "garbage dump" and a place for rendering dead animal carcases.  Do not live one's life with deeds that are wasteful for self and others and fit for the garbage dump.  Be more afraid of the hell of waste in this life and then have "waste" define the permanent character of one's life going into one's afterlife.

Aphorism of the Day, September 20, 2021

In the riddle-speak words of Jesus, one finds an oxymoron of saltless salt.  Natural salt does not degrade; it has stable identity.  So if one has Spirit and Light, Spirit and Light do not degrade or change because they keep manifesting Spirit and Light outcomes in a changing world.    Therefore anchor one's behavior on the stability of the loving Spirit of God and don't degrade the outcome of Spirit and Light by doing unenlightened and unspiritual things.

Aphorism of the Day, September 19, 2021

We are attracted to babies, young children, and pets because they seem to live in the state of not having language or having underdeveloped language ability which gives them the air of innocence because they are not culpable yet for what they do.  We have the air of superiority as caretakers of them, and we love them partly because we love ourselves in the caretaker role.  When Jesus uses a child as a teaching example, it has both the meaning of a child's undeveloped ego structures, signifying more "pure" motives, but a child also represents the best of the adults who have to step up and care for another, and and care of the strong for the weak was the kind of love that Jesus preached and exemplified.

Aphorism of the Day, September 18, 2021

The Gospel often present Jesus as an "uncle" Jesus, since he seems to be a parentless male who is interested in promoting the meaning and worth of children for his theology of new birth and recovery of child-like joy in life.

Aphorism of the Day, September 17, 2021

The Gospel writers repeated present the disciples as those who misunderstood the suffering servant Messiah.  The presentation of this misunderstanding should be understood as diagnostic of the conditions within a rather fluid Jesus Movement which had various relationship within the various synagogue communities.

Aphorism of the Day, September 16, 2021

The child motif used in the Gospel presentation of the teaching of Jesus bespeaks that the adult use of language codes a child to be constituted toward the abuse of power.  The child as a "clean slate" become social constructed as an adult to want power to lord over others.  Jesus rebuked his disciples and invited them to find the child like state before they had become coded to be "power hungry" even as chief "officers" in his "kingdom of God."

Aphorism of the Day, September 15, 2021

When does the "will to power" become the desire to have authority over others?  Does a child bully as a jealous older sibling or playmate express this innate will to power?  Does the use of the child by Jesus as one who is "innocent" of "authority" issues have its limitation when pondering innate "selfishness?"

Aphorism of the Day, September 14, 2021

Holy Cross Day.  In the exploitation and oppression of the powerful over the weak, one can see the contradiction of the great sustaining power of God to even allow the abuse of power even as power is used in such horrendous ways.  It seems a very high price for the maintenance of moral and spiritual excellence which requires even the genuine freedom that is so openly abused.  The lure of God's freedom is to love and to use one's freedom in loving ways.  God invites us continuously to overcome evil with good as the best way to celebrate the excellence of freedom.

Aphorism of the Day, September 13, 2021

To contrast the power hungry habits of adults, Jesus used the example of an innocent child.  The infant/child motif are found in the words of Jesus.  One can find a romanticization of the undeveloped linguistic being whose selfish ego has not yet been constituted by the words of the child's life.  The practice of meditation is perhaps the attempt to access the memories of when we did not yet have language and we attempt to return to a "non-ego" oceanic state.

Aphorism of the Day, September 12, 2021

The writer of the epistle of James wrote about the dangers of an uncontrolled tongue, and certainly the individual tongue can cause havoc.  But what about the corporate "tongue" of propaganda when "group speak" is used to incite racism, discrimination and hatred on a grand scale.  One tongue of hatred is dangerous but a group tongue of propaganda is catastrophic on a grand scale.

Aphorism of the Day, September 11, 2021

Nine eleven has become a metaphor for a day of infamy when symbols of the American Empire were struck, but symbols are academic, it is the people who perished and the aftermath devastation in the lives of those collaterally affected are incalculable.  And then there has been the cost of lives when the American Empire struck back in Afghanistan and Iraq triggering exiles of people and creating refugees of people who have not been wanted in new countries.  Most killings happen in the name of the collective identities which we bear, when as individual neighbors, we would greet each other, wish each other well and practice hospitality.  We need to stop "meeting" each other through the personal disconnection of our guns and bombs, and meet with smiles and handshakes and best wishes for the families of the world.

Aphorism of the Day, September 10, 2021

It is easy to pick and choose one's portions of the Scriptures to justify one's life situation.  Empire Christianity has adopted the conquest of Canaan as the justification for their manifest destiny in subjugating and enslaving and "putting others on the cross of oppression."  It becomes easy to forget that the faith of Jesus is the faith of the suffering servant on the cross.

Aphorism of the Day, September 9, 2021

Peter wanted a "half Messiah," one who was perpetually victorious and not one who would identified with the conditions of freedom in our world which include suffering and death.  Seek the Messiah who will provide the identity and path to integrate the full range of probabilities of what can happen in human experience, and that includes suffering and death.

Aphorism of the Day, September 8, 2021

Why might Christianity be a "cross heavy emphasis?"  To be realistic about actual condition of freedom when the natural competition of systems in time create passing and different states of becoming some of which are agony and some of which are ecstasy as well as various states of drudgery.  To not have a strategy of coping with the negative conditions of freedom is not true to the way things are.  A suffering servant dying Jesus on the Cross is realistic to the conditions of freedom which often manifest the condition of the strong predator overwhelming the weak prey.  Any spiritual strategy which does not deal with living with the predator-prey possibility is living in the condition of denial.

Aphorism of the Day, September 7, 2021

The Gospel writers use the disciples as "teaching foils," exemplars of what famous church leaders once were.  This contrasts with what they became and so the message was, even the great church leaders once lived in error and ignorance.  The famous Peter was once rebuked for being Satan's voice because he would not allow that the Messiah could be a suffering servant.  So Peter is used by the Gospel writers to highlight the competing notions which prevailed regarding the nature of the Messiah.  Everyone knew that eventually Peter got it right in dying a death of a suffering servant.

Aphorism of the Day, September 6, 2021

Biblical literalists have to give way to the metaphor of the cross of Jesus which became the power of dying through cross of Christ identity to what is unworthy within us.  Pauline Cross of Christ identity took the metaphorical form in the Gospels of "taking up one's cross" and "dying to oneself."  The dying self in this reference is not the physical body self, but the "soul life" self, the selfish ego self.

Aphorism of the Day, September 5, 2021

The Bible is written by people who believed that they were God's favorites even as they recognized that they themselves did not live up to being a favorite.  Being a favorite of God meant being in a covenantal relationship with God.  The question that should be asked is whether only Jews and Christian could have a covenantal relationship with God.  Being favored is the after the fact experience of knowing love; it does not limit the ability of one completely competent at loving that we say God is, from loving other people other than our group under different covenantal definition which take into account of how God is with people in different places.

Aphorism of the Day, September 4, 2021

Sometimes the past of our ancestors has to be embellished to fortify the current identity of the group identity at the time of the latest editing of the community texts.  The Bible is a collection of texts of identity.  Some of the texts of the "heroic" past do not comport with what we would call proof of God loving all people.

Aphorism of the Day, September 3, 2021

Opening eyes and ears and making the dumb to speak were physical signs fo spiritual seeing, hearing and speaking.  The Gospel writers used the physical as a metaphor for the spiritual.

Aphorism of the Day, September 2, 2021

In the healing of the daughter of the woman from Tyre, Jesus demonstrates that the blessing of God is for everyone.  He challenged the woman to exert herself for a mere "crumb" of blessing.  Faith is believing that the blessing is available to receive and to be intentional in receiving it.  Intentionally much go beyond the prejudices and biases which promote the wrong image of who God belongs to.

Aphorism of the Day,  September 1, 2021

Truth and reconciliation in restorative justice are impossibilities, because historic events create an absolute past which can not be undone.  When invaders have taken lands and killed and relocated residents there is abrupt discontinuity in space, time and culture.  Did the Canaanites ever receive restorative justice, truth and reconciliation from God's people who were conquering as "obedience" to God?  The biblical record provides a template for "might make" right and justification for the fittest to survive.  The beatitudes of Jesus are Christian martial arts for surviving as oppressed people.  The Christianity as Empire cannot be said to derive from beatitude Christianity.  Christianity as Empire returns to the "manifest" destiny of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Quiz of the Day, September 2021

Quiz of the Day, September 30, 2021

Jerome translated the Bible into what language?

a. Coptic
b. Latin
c. Gothic
d. Ethiopian

Quiz of the Day, September 29, 2021

Where is Michael the Archangel mentioned in the New Testament?

a. Matthew and Jude
b. Jude and Revelations
c. Hebrews and Revelations
d. Hebrews, Jude, and Revelations
e. Hebrews and Jude

Quiz of the Day, September 28, 2021

Which of the following is true about Hezekiah?

a. he was a good king of Israel
b. he was a good king of Judah and has a book named after him in Hebrew Scriptures
c. he was a good king of Judah
d. he was a bad king of both Israel and Judah

Quiz of the Day, September 27, 2021

Others names for Lake Tiberias include all but one of the following.  Which is not a another name for Lake Tiberias?

a. Samarian Sea
b. Sea of Galiee
c. Genneraret
d. Kinnereth

Quiz of the Day, September 26, 2021

What was Tabitha's other name?

a. Lydia
b. Junia
c. Dorcas
d. Sapphire

Quiz of the Day, September 25, 2021

Another name for the Josiah reforms might be called

a. Deuteronomic Reforms
b. Renewal of the Covenant
c. Temple Reforms
d. Zion Purification Movement

Quiz of the Day, September 24, 2021

Which of the following is not what Paul wrote about marriage?

a. a husband's body belongs to his wife
b. a wife's body belongs to her husband
c. it is better to marry than to burn with passion
d. it is better if able to remain like Paul, unmarried
e. marriage is a symbol of union of members of the church

Quiz of the Day, September 23, 2021

A famous American whaling story included a figure named after a wicked king in Israel?  Who?

a. Saul
b. Manasseh
c. Ahab
d. Ahaz

Quiz of the Day, September 22, 2021

Which prophet floated an axe head to the surface of water?

a. Elijah
b. Elisha
c. Amos
d. Jeremiah

Quiz of the Day, September 21, 2021

Levi is regarded to be which disciple?

a. James the Lesser
b. Matthew
c. Matthias
d. Thaddaeus

Quiz of the Day, September 20, 2021

What biblical non-Israelite said that he would be praying to the God of Israel on the inside while publicly seeming to be praying to the god of his/her own country?

a. Ruth
b. Naaman
c. Uriah the Hittite
d. Rahab of Jericho

Quiz of the Day, September 19, 2021

To what biblical person might mouth to mouth resuscitation might be attributed?

a. Jeremiah
b. Jesus
c. Elisha
d. Elijah

Quiz of the the Day, September 18, 2021

The passing on the mantle is a metaphor which derived from 

a. the Isaian school of prophets
b. the David kingly line
c. Elijah the prophet
d. the succession of the biblical judges

Quiz of the Day, September 17, 2021

What biblical person was known for calling fire down from heaven to consume people?

a. Moses
b. Abraham
c. Elijah
d. Jesus

Quiz of the Day, September 16, 2021

Which king of Israel went to battle disguised and was killed?

a. Asa
b. Jehoshaphat
c. Ahab
d, Jeroboam

Quiz of the Day, September 15, 2021

What bishop of the Episcopal Church was the first to ordain an openly gay male to the priesthood?

a. John Walker
b. Paul Moore
c. John Shelby Spong
d. Gene Robinson

Quiz of the Day, September 14, 2021

The feast of the Holy Cross takes its origin from what event?

a. finding of pieces of the original cross in Jerusalem
b. the date tradition assigned to when the cross of constructed
c. the date of dedication in 335 of the Holy Sepulchre site in Jerusalem
d. the date that Constantine brought the relics of the cross to Rome

 Quiz of the Day, September 13, 2021

Which of the following is not true about Jezebel?

a. her reputation made her name the epitome of a bad woman
b. she was the wife of King Ahab
c. she conspired to get Naboth killed
d. she was opposed by the prophet Elisha
e. she was from Phoenicia
f. she brought the worship of a foreign god to Israel


Quiz of the Day, September 12, 2021

Which would best expressed the Gamaliel principle?

a. past precedence determines current validity
b. majority rule in counsel determines right action
c. future success will determine current validity
d. the majority rule isn't always valid

Quiz of the Day, September 11, 2021

Who fell asleep under a broom tree?

a. David
b. Nathanel
c. Jacob
d. Elijah

Quiz of the Day, September 10, 2021

Because of discrimination in the United States, Alexander Crummell went to which country to start a national Episcopal Church?

a. South Africa
b. Nigeria
c. Liberia
d. Ghana
e. Haiti

Quiz of the Day, September 9, 2021

On what mountain did Elijah have a holy competition with the prophets of Baal?

a. Olives
b. Hermon
c. Gerizim
d. Carmel

Quiz of the Day, September 8, 2021

God used what birth to feed the prophet Elijah in the wilds?

a. Dove
b. Quail
c. Crow
d. Raven

Quiz of the Day, September 7, 2021

Which of the following is not true regarding Jezebel?

a. she was the wife of Ahab
b. she was a native of Samaria
c. she was a Sidonian
d. she worshipped foreign gods

Quiz of the Day, September 6, 2021

Who provided the tomb for the body of Jesus?

a. Mary Magdalene
b. Nicodemus
c. The Sanhedrin
d. Joseph of Arimathea

Quiz of the Day, September 5, 2021

Why might Israel be used in ambiguous ways in the Bible?

a. it was the name given to Jacob
b. it was the name used for the northern kingdom
c. the twelve tribes were not always a unified kingdom
d. not all Israelites were Judahites 
e. all of the above

Quiz of the Day, September 4, 2021

Which of the following his now true about Paul Jones?

a. he was bishop of Nevada
b. he was forced to resign because he said war was "unchristian"
c. he found the Episcopal Peace Fellowship
d. he served as a chaplain in World War Two

Quiz of Day, September 3, 2021

Jeroboam was not

a. the first king of Israel (the northern tribes)
b. the son of Solomon
c. a servant of Solomon
d. one who fled to Egypt for safety

Quiz of the Day, September 2, 2021

Astarte, Chemish, Molech and Milcom were

a. gods and goddesses honored by King Solomon
b. Greek gods and goddesses
c. the deities of Queen of Sheba
d. the deities of the Hittites

Quiz of the Day, September 1, 2021

The Queen of Sheba visited which King of Israel?

a. Saul
b. David
c. Solomon
d. Joash 

Tuesday, September 28, 2021

Sunday School, October 3, 2021 19 Pentecost, B proper 22

 Sunday School, October 3, 2021   19 Pentecost,  B proper 22


Though Sunday takes precedence, October 4th is also the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi

Sunday School Themes and a liturgy for the Blessing of Animals which include a vow to be good stewards of creation, maintaining the beauty and safety of our world and taking good care of the animals which are given into our care.

From the Genesis lesson one can see that in the Garden of Eden Story, God gave Adam the tasks of naming the animals.  We can see this as naming animals as a group of animals or giving each animal a special name.  What is the difference between a cow, and Sam the cow?  If the cow has an individual name of Sam that was given by a person who cared for that cow, the giving of a name means that one also takes upon oneself the task of taking care of an animal in a special way.

We should not just stereotype animals as a group because we rely upon them for our food; we should also see each creature as a special being for whom we care and give thanks.  Jesus said that there was not even a sparrow which falls to the ground without the Father knowing about it.  If God has made men and women to have the kind of intelligence to have the most responsible role in the world, then we then to be very good at taking care of our world and the animals of the world.  Let us remember to give each animal a special name as a sign of love and care.  And while we may use animal for our food let us be like God the Father and be aware with gratitude when the life of an animal is sacrificed to be food for our lives.

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews said that God has made everything subject to men and women even more than to angels.  So we have a very important role in managing all of the goodness of creation.

The Gospel is about Jesus blessing children.  Children were very important to Jesus.  One might think that the children in the time of Jesus were not treated very well or that they were neglected.  The disciples of Jesus did not want children to bother Jesus, but he told them he wanted the children to be with him and he blessed them.  Jesus had given people an important talk on the lives of moms and dad and then he blessed children.  Jesus was saying that adults should not let their adult problem cause them to neglect children.

Remember the themes of this day: Animals and children.  Both need good and responsible people to take care of them.  This is why Jesus asks to be committed to take care of those who do not yet have the strength, the ability or the experience to take care of themselves.

And so we bless children and we bless animals as a reminder of the friendship that Francis of Assisi had with animals.  Learning to live in peaceful harmony with animals, creation, children and all people is the calling that we have from Jesus.

A sermon for the blessing of the animals

Today we celebrate the life of St. Francis.  St. Francis was a man who came from a wealthy family.  But he decided to leave the family business and try to live his life just like Jesus lived his life.  He decided to live his life with people who were poor.  He decided to take care of people who were sick and poor.

  St. Francis became a friend of animals; the birds used to fly down and rest on his shoulders because they were not afraid of him.
  Today, we are going to honor the life of St. Francis by blessing the animals of our lives.  But we are also going to do something else.  We are going to make promises to God to take good care of our world.  We are going to promise to care for the air, water, plants and trees.  Why?  Because we want all people in the future to be able to enjoy them.  We are going to promise to take care of our pets and animals too.
  The world of plants and animals provide so much to help us live.  So we need to be good at protecting our world so that our world will continue help people live for a long, long time.
  Today, we thank God for our wonderful world of animals, trees and plants.
  And the way that we thank God, is to promise to take good care of the world that God has given to us.  And to take care of the pets that we enjoy as our friends.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church
17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Family Service with Holy Eucharist
& Blessing of the Animals

October 3, 2021 The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs:

Morning Has Broken,  If I Were a ButterflyMake Me a Channel of Your Peace, All Things Bright and Beautiful

Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
People: And blessed be God’s Kingdom now and forever.  Amen.

Liturgist:  Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.
And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.
Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: Morning Has Broken (Blue Hymnal # 8)

Morning has broken like the first morning; blackbird has spoken like the first bird.  Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning!  Praise for them springing fresh from the word.

Sweet the rain’s new fall sunlit from heaven, like the first dewfall on the first grass.  Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden, sprung in completeness where his feet pass.

Mine is the sunlight!  Mine is the morning born of the one light Eden saw play!  Praise with elation, praise every morning, God’s re-creation of the new day!

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray
Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia
O God, you have made us! Alleluia
O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia
O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia
O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia
O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia
O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

Liturgist:  A reading from the Book of Genesis

The LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner." So out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 8

You give men and women mastery over the works of your hands; *you put all things under his feet:
All sheep and oxen, * even the wild beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, * and whatsoever walks in the paths of the sea.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:
For our animal friends and pets, past and present. Thanks be to God!
For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!
For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!
For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!
For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!
For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!
For work and for play. Thanks be to God!
For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!
For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!
For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.
   Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark
People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it." And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Fr. Cooke:

Collect for the Feast of St. Francis

Most high, omnipotent, good Lord, grant your people grace to renounce gladly the vanities of this world; that, following the way of blessed Francis, we may for love of you delight in your whole creation with perfect joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Vow to Creation
Celebrant:  Will you cherish the beauty of the Good Earth that God has entrusted to you, and will you do all in your power to preserve its beauty for own age and for the people of the future?

Response:  I will with God’s help.

Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Word of God that issued from God’s mouth and created all things and God’s Spirit moved over the deep and made creation happen; you have called creation good, and we celebrate the goodness of creation which you have given to us to enjoy and tend; Bless the Good Earth and its fruits, and us as we commit ourselves to stewardship, in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Vow to our Animal friends

Celebrant:  Will you promise to love, enjoy, and care for all God’s creatures, and especially for the pet whom you present for a blessing?
Response:  I will, with God’s help.


Blessing:

Lord Jesus Christ, your friends, have brought to you these special friends:  Bless we pray these delightful creatures, and grant that those who tend to their care will take delight in all of God’s creation, in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Song sung during the blessing of each Animal: If I were a Butterfly
1-If I were a butterfly, I’d thank you Lord for giving me wings.  And if I were a robin in a tree, I’d thank you Lord, that I could sing.  And if I were a fish in the sea, I’d wiggle my tail and I’d giggle with glee, but I just thank you Father for making me ‘me.’

Chorus:  For you gave me a heart and you gave me a smile.  You gave Jesus and you made me your child.  And I just thank you, Father for making me, ‘me.’

2-If I were an elephant, I’d thank you, Lord, by raising my trunk.  And if I were a kangaroo, you know I’d hop right up to you.  And if I were an octopus, I’d thank you Lord, for my find looks, but I just thank you Father, for making me, ‘me.’  Chorus

3-If I were a wiggly worm, I’d thank you, Lord that I could squirm.  And If I were a Billy goat, I’d thank you, Lord for my strong throat.  And if I were a fuzzy-wuzzy bear, I’d thank you, Lord, for my fuzzy-wuzzy hair, but I just thank you, Father, for making me ‘me.’  Chorus


Youth Liturgist:          The Peace of the Lord be with you always.
People:                        And also with you.

Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering

Offertory Song: As the Deer Pants for the Water, (Renew # 9)

As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you; you alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship you.  Refrain: You alone are my strength, my shield, to you alone may my spirit yield; you alone are my heart’s desire, and I long to worship you!

I want you more than gold or silver, only you can satisfy; you alone are the real joy-giver and the apple of my eye.  Refrain.


Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of God.”
All become members of a family by birth or adoption.
Baptism is a celebration of birth into the family of God.
A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.
The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts
We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.
It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.
Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we
   Forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n 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. Hosanna in the Highest.

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;
You have made us in your image
And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:
Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.
And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph
And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat
  the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as 
  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

The Prayer continues with these words

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbor.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, "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. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death, resurrection of Christ and that his  presence will be with us in our future.

Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.  May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.

By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory
 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,  


Our Father (Sung): (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)
Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.
Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.
As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.
But deliver us from evil: Hallowed by thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.
Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.
Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:        Alleluia! Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Word of Administration.

Communion Hymn: Prayer of St. Francis

Make me a channel of your peace.  Where there is hatred, let me bring your love.  Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord, And where there’s doubt, true faith in you.  Refrain

Refrain:  Oh, Master, grant I may never seek so much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love with all my soul.

Make me a channel of your peace.  Where there’s despair in life, let me bring hope.  Where there is darkness only light, and where there’s sadness ever joy.  Refrain

Make me a channel of your peace.  It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, in giving to all men that we receive and in dying that we’re born to eternal life.  Refrain.
Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;
We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.
And His Presence has been known to us.
We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers
    and sisters in Christ.
Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the
     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,
As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: All Things Bright & Beautiful (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 12)

Refrain:  All things bright & beautiful, all creatures great & small, all things wise & wonderful, the Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens, each little bird that sings, he made their glowing colors, he made their tiny wings.  Refrain

The purple-headed mountain, the river running by, the sunset, and the morning that brightens up the sky.  Refrain

He gave us eyes to see them, and lips that we might tell how great is God Almighty, who has made all things well.  Refrain

Dismissal:  

Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.
People: Thanks be to God!

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