Day 986: Sunday, November 27, 2022

Emmaus Intentional Eucharistic Community

Liturgical Order of Service for TODAY -

Sunday, November 27, 2022

Join Us In Person:

Knox Presbyterian &Thanksgiving Lutheran Churches

1650 W. Third St. Santa Rosa, CA 95401

Or Join us on Zoomhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/5193158573

Passcode: 1234

Meeting ID: 519 315 8573

Passcode: 1234

One tap mobile +16699006833,,5193158573# US (San Jose)

Here's the liturgy in WORD and PDF formats for downloading:

This lovely celebration is a gift from Patti and Jacqueline

Entrance Song: Prepare the way of the Lord (Godspell)

https://youtu.be/0xzPuADiwRw

(Jacqueline): What does it mean to prepare the way of the Lord?

Opening Prayer:

(Patti) God who dispels all darkness,
Come to be with us, in each one of our situations;
Come to live among us, live with us and in us;
Come to fill the distances that divide and separate us;
Come to reconcile us with You and with one another.
God of Light, open our hearts to the mystery of your love and the invitation of your grace. Let our complacency give way to conversion and our judgments to compassionate acceptance of others. Turn oppression to justice and transform conflict to peaceful accord. We ask this in the name of Jesus, who draws near, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.

Lighting of the Advent Wreath

JoAnn:
 As we light the Advent Wreath we bring to mind all the people and the places in the world that are in need of light this day: (pause)

Jim:
 We bring to mind those places in the world where families and countries are torn apart by conflict, violence, or war, and ask for the light of peace to break through the darkness. (pause)

JoAnn:
 We bring to mind all those places in the world where people have been forced from their homes and are separated from their families and ask for the light of hope to break through. (pause)

Jim: We bring to mind all those places in the world where people are suffering from disease or illness, and ask for the light of healing to break through. (pause)

JoAnn: 
We bring to mind all those places in the world where people are held captive by poverty, hunger, and isolation and ask for the light of freedom and abundant life to break through. (pause)

All: May our prayers encircle the world and offer light in places of darkness. May we work as one body to bring justice for the poor and peace for the afflicted. Enkindle hope in our darkened world and announce the dawn of your kingdom once again. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen

First Reading: (taken from the Prophet Isaiah)

Marcie: Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall come forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

And he shall judge the Gentiles, and rebuke many people: and they shall turn their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into sickles: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they be exercised any more to war.

Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Gospel: Mark 13:33-37

Jim Keck: Jesus said to his disciples: “Be constantly on the watch! Stay awake! You do not know when the appointed time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his own task; and he orders the man at the gate to watch with a sharp eye. Look around you! You do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether at dusk, at midnight, when the cock crows, or at early dawn. Do not let him come suddenly and catch you asleep. What I say to you, I say to all: Be on guard!

Shared Homily

Advent brings with it the spirit of watchfulness, a time of observing God’s in-breaking salvation. Do you see God acting in quiet ways in the world? Are you preparing a place for God in your life in a more visible and tangible way? Are you ready to wake up and join in? If you listen to the nightly news, the world seems hopeless. Yet, we are called to be a people of hope and Advent is a time of preparation. We prepare because we have hope in God’s love and grace.

Following our shared homily:

(Patti) What is it that we bring to the Table, tonight?

[As each person shares what they bring to the table, we use our silent hand motions of: opening our palms, then gathering these concerns up to our hearts, and then opening them out to be shared and held by our beloved community].

Offertory / Preparation of Gifts:

Song: Taste and See – James Moore, Jr.

Refrain: Taste and see, taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Oh taste and see, taste and see the goodness of the Lord, of the Lord.

Verse 1: I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall always be on my lips; my soul shall glory in the Lord for he has been so good to me.

Verse 2: Glorify the Lord with me. Together let us all praise his name. I called the lord and he answered me; from all my troubles he set me free.

Eucharistic Prayer:

(Patti): We pray today, aware that the same Spirit that moved in Jesus, moves in each one of us; a Spirit beyond all names, a Spirit embedded in all people, a Spirit embedded in all living things.

We pray today, grateful for the human gift of conscious awareness, that enables us to appreciate the bond we share with everything that exists; everything that exists on earth and in the vastness beyond this planet.

(Jacqueline): We are bonded with stars, with galaxies, with space beyond measure; with rocks and mountains, with rivers, lakes and oceans, with flowers, ferns and forests, with the myriad species of animals, with every other human being.

We pray today, aware of the urgent need for humanity to acknowledge and respect this unbreakable bond we all share and to live in accordance with it.

We give thanks for men and women throughout the ages, who have increased our knowledge and awareness of the connectedness of everything in the universe, living and non-living.

(Patti): Today we remember Jesus and the challenges he faced as he preached his revolutionary message – the misunderstanding, the rejection, the accusations, the insults, the pain and suffering he endured from people closest to him.

We remember the way he faced his death, alone, yet faithful to what he had preached; lonely, yet hopeful that his message would be carried on.

(Jacqueline): We gather as people who put our faith in Jesus’ message. We commit ourselves to bringing his powerful message to a world desperately in need of hope to carry on as he did in the face of opposition, misunderstanding or rejection.

Bonded in spirit with followers of Jesus throughout the centuries who, like him, faced great obstacles we eat this bread and drink this wine as a sign of our readiness to be counted as true brothers and sisters of Jesus.

(Patti): Holy One, we gather together and come to you tonight conscientious of the many inequities in our communities and our country, by natural disasters, by climate change, by political strife and polarization, by the heartbreaking images of people suffering the toll of war. Hold us close to your heart, O God, that we might find strength and courage to persevere in love and hope. As your spirit lives in us and with us, fill us with an ever deepening awareness of you.

(Jacqueline): On the night before he died, Jesus was at table with his friends.

He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to his friends saying,

All: “This is my body, broken for you.”

(Patti): As supper was ending, Jesus took the cup of wine. Again he gave thanks, gave it to his friends and said,

All: “This cup is the new covenant of my lifeblood shed for you and for all.

And as often as you do this, do this in memory of me.

Acclamation:

All: (spoken not sung)

We remember how you loved us all your life.

And we still celebrate for you are with us here.

And we believe that we will see you. When you come, when you come again!

We remember! We celebrate! We Believe!

(Jacqueline:) Now gathered at your table, we offer to you our gifts of bread and wine, and ourselves, a living sacrifice. Pour out your Spirit upon all these gifts that they, and we, may be the Body and Blood of Christ. Breathe your Spirit over the whole earth and make us your new creation.

(Patti): In the fullness of time bring us with all your saints from every tribe and language, from every people and nation to feast at the banquet prepared

from the foundation of the world.

All: For it is through him, with him and in him, now and forever.

(Jacqueline): Now together, as one community, we offer to you O God,

our prayer, in the name of your beloved son and our brother, Jesus:

Our Father/Our Mother

All: Indwelling God, infused throughout all existence,
we honor you with many names.
Your realm is within the human heart.
We accept life for all that it can be,
on earth as throughout all creation.
May we continue to draw sustenance from this earth,
and may we receive forgiveness equal to our own.


May we ever move from separation toward union,
to live in grace, with love in our hearts, forever and ever. Amen
 (Source: Fred F Keip, UUA Worship web)

Let us offer each other some Sign of Peace

[bring everyone back together)

(Jacqueline, while both hold up chalice and ciborium):

“Happy are we (this Emmaus Community) who have been called

To be transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ.”

Communion Song:

One Bread, One Body (with Lyrics videojohn foley)

Refrain: One bread, one body,
one Lord of all,
one cup of blessing which we bless.

And we, though many,
throughout the earth,
we are one body in this one Lord.

Verse 1. Gentile or Jew,
servant or free,
woman or man, no more. Refrain

Verse 2. Many the gifts,
many the works,
one in the Lord of all. Refrain

Verse 3. Grain for the fields, scattered and grown,
 gathered to one, for all.

Closing Blessing:

Emmanuel, Our world waits in darkness longing for Your light. 
In the midst of darkness, enkindle our hope.
 As we long for lasting peace in the midst of war, Be with us.
 As we long for families to be reunited, Be with us.
 As we long for enemies to be reconciled, Be with us.
 As we long for cures and healings, Be with us.
 As we long for decent jobs and economic security, Be with us.
 As we long for love and community, Be with us.
 Fulfill the deepest longings of your people and
Dispel the darkness in our hearts and in our world.
 Let your Word ignite the hope the world needs to bring to life your love and justice.

And this beloved Emmaus Community say: “AMEN!”.