The altar complete
Gathering Prayer: A Responsive Prayer
Eternal One you are our life,
Redeeming One you are our salvation,
Indwelling One you are our joy,
We give you thanks for the gift of this visit within your creation,
May our hearts swell with gratitude as we enter into your presence.
We give you thanks O God for the beauty of this land,
We give you thanks O Christ for the abundance of our lives,
We give you thanks O Spirit for the flourishing of friendship,
Most holy Trinity, One in essence Three in person,
We thank and praise you with heart and soul and mind.
God we pause in the busyness of our lives to give you thanks,
May we look back with gratitude,
May we look forward with anticipation,
May our hearts respond with thankfulness,
And our lives respond with praise.
God may we live fully in the wonder of this moment,
Our eyes open to see in every sight a cathedral giving glory,
Our ears unstopped to hear in every sound angels singing Alleluia
May we enjoy each cathedral moment before it bursts,
Giving thanks and praise with grateful hearts.
(Let us offer words of thanks to God)
God the fulfiller of enduring promises,
Christ the sharer of abundant love,
Spirit the giver of eternal life,
Holy Trinity, One in essence, Three in person,
For your welcome to this lavish feast of plenty,
We praise and give you thanks this day.
God of the plentiful and ever giving heart,
Christ of the generous and overflowing bounty,
Spirit who gives enough for our own needs and abundance for every good work,
Holy Trinity, One in essence, Three in person,
For the wonder of your provision that never runs dry,
We praise and give you thanks this day.
God whose love never gives up,
Christ whose forgiveness never says no,
Spirit whose mercy never lets go,
Holy Trinity, One in essence, Three in person,
For the hope and promise of your inexhaustible abundance,
We praise and give you thanks this day.
God may we always savour what each moment holds,
May we live in the promise of your love and faithfulness,
And ever trust in the One for whom all things are possible,
Holy Trinity, One in essence, Three in person,
For all that was, for all that is and for all that is to come,
We praise and give you thanks this day.
God may we look and see your abundance pressing in all around,
Rich fruit, luxuriant growth, laden branches hanging low,
May we remember they can obscure the path that winds so narrow out before us,
Holy Trinity, One in essence, Three in person,
For your provision that is inexhaustible, a harvest that never ends,
We praise and give you thanks this day.
God as we eat from your table of plenty,
May we see what you have placed in our hands,
Beauty beyond words, creativity beyond imagining, generosity overflowing,
Everything is God bathed, Son drenched, Spirit inspired,
May we taste and see that all you give is good,
And raise our voices in praise and thanks and gratitude.
Amen.
Song: For the Beauty of the Earth
Introduction to Celtic tradition
Setting up the Altar
Decorating the altar
God as we gather from your beautiful creation to build our altar,
Open our eyes to see the many gifts you pour into our lives.
We come to you with grateful hearts and thankful spirits,
Allowing love of you to bubble up from within us and overflow.
May we seek you with teachable spirits,
Willing to obey, to trust and to serve.
Let our lives give thanks as a sacrifice that truly honours you.
May we follow this path and see the revelation of your salvation.
(Go out to collect items for decorating the altar)
Regathering song – Morning Has Broken
Teach us to pray O Lord with gratitude and thankfulness,
Draw us closer to you, to your world, to each other.
Teach us to pray O Lord with compassion and love and forgiveness.
Open our eyes and our ears and our mouths,
Teach us to pray O Lord with joy and praise and faithfulness.
Until all that we are and all that we do,
Becomes a gift of prayer to you.
Scriptures for Lectio Divina & meditation
Psalm 100 (NLT)
Colossians 3:12-17 (NLT)
Song to end with – God Alone Suffices
Meditating sitting on the logs
Celebrating the beginning of building
Our 21st annual Celtic retreat is over, from my perspective the best that we have ever had. Sitting amongst the trees, soaking in the beauty of the land, participating in Jeff Johnson’s melodies, fellowshipping with friends old and new enriched and enlivened our day in ways that I could never have imagined.
Morning worship
I always love the decorating of the altar which begins our retreat with a sense of connectedness to the land.
Decorating the altar
Jeff’s evening Selah service was a particularly worshipful and contemplative time for me.
Jeff Johnson Selah service
We had lots of fun activities for the afternoon. Artistic crafts to do, prayer trails to walk and labyrinths to meditate in.
Painting prayers on rocks became works of Celtic art
Prayer flags became works of art too
Unexpected art – Kayra makes a Celtic cross
The logs became the focus of our time together in so many ways. They provided places to sit and meditate, a focal point for lunch conversations and in the afternoon the centre of our dedication of the beginning building.
Meditating sitting on the logs
lunch on the logs
Dedicating the logs
And the eucharist led by episcopal priest Bob Dietel was the crowning glory of our celebration
Eucharistic elements on the altar
For more photos check out Andy Wade’s great slide show on the MSA blog :
Celebration, Retreat Prayer and Imagination.
And the liturgies should be posted this afternoon.
Decorated Altar, Celtic retreat 2012
Our annual Celtic retreat is over, one of the best we have ever had. Jeff Johnson’s beautiful chants and music are still with me as I unpack and prepare for the coming week. Those of us who stayed through the weekend finished out time together with this liturgy.
As this day begins Christ be with us,
Be in our hearts and in our minds,
Be in our souls and in our spirits,
Be in our thoughts and in our desires.
As this day begins Christ walk beside us,
Show us the love only you can give,
Show us the light only you can provide,
Show us the wholeness only you can reveal.
As this day begins Christ surround us,
Circle us with your presence,
Keep protection near and danger far,
Bring us the assurance of your love.
Pause for a time of silent reflection on the glory of God.
Lord, let us walk into this day
Your light before us,
Your shield behind us,
Your friends beside us.
Lord, let us walk into this week
Your life before us,
Your strength behind us,
Your love around us.
Lord, let us walk from this place,
Your wisdom before us,
Your truth behind us,
Your breath within us.
Lord, let us walk into the world,
Gratitude in our hearts,
Thanksgiving on our lips,
Joy in our spirits.
Lord, let us walk into your loving presence,
In the name of the One who loves us,
In the name of the One who cares,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, One in Three, Three in One.
Psalm 145
I will exalt you, my God and King,
and praise your name forever and ever.
I will praise you every day;
yes, I will praise you forever.
Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
No one can measure his greatness.
Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts;
let them proclaim your power.
I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor
and your wonderful miracles.
Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue;
I will proclaim your greatness.
Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness;
they will sing with joy about your righteousness.
The Lord is merciful and compassionate,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
The Lord is good to everyone.
He showers compassion on all his creation.
All of your works will thank you, Lord,
and your faithful followers will praise you.
They will speak of the glory of your kingdom;
they will give examples of your power.
They will tell about your mighty deeds
and about the majesty and glory of your reign.
For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
You rule throughout all generations.
The Lord always keeps his promises;
he is gracious in all he does.
The Lord helps the fallen
and lifts those bent beneath their loads.
The eyes of all look to you in hope;
you give them their food as they need it.
When you open your hand,
you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.
The Lord is righteous in everything he does;
he is filled with kindness.
The Lord is close to all who call on him,
yes, to all who call on him in truth.
He grants the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cries for help and rescues them.
The Lord protects all those who love him,
but he destroys the wicked.
I will praise the Lord,
and may everyone on earth bless his holy name forever and ever.
Time of sharing – What are you are grateful for this morning?
Eternal Spirit
Earth-Maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver, source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all. loving God, in whom is heaven.
The hallowing of your name echoes through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the earth!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, spare us, from the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever. Amen.
Time of Prayer
(The Rising)
Let us go forth,
In the goodness of our merciful Father,
In the gentleness of our brother Jesus,
In the radiance of the Holy Spirit,
In the faith of the apostles,
In the joyful praise of the angels,
In the holiness of the saints,
In the courage of the martyrs.
Let us go forth,
In the wisdom of our all-seeing Father,
In the patience of our all-loving brother,
In the truth of the all-knowing Spirit,
In the learning of the apostles
In the gracious guidance of the angels,
In the patience of the saints,
In the self control of the martyrs,
Such is the path for all servants of Christ,
The path from death to eternal life,
Amen
Celtic cross Clonmacnois
Here is another of my favourite Celtic prayers. We will use this to close off the time at our Celtic retreat this weekend.
(The Rising)
Let us go forth,
In the goodness of our merciful Father,
In the gentleness of our brother Jesus,
In the radiance of the Holy Spirit,
In the faith of the apostles,
In the joyful praise of the angels,
In the holiness of the saints,
In the courage of the martyrs.
Let us go forth,
In the wisdom of our all-seeing Father,
In the patience of our all-loving brother,
In the truth of the all-knowing Spirit,
In the learning of the apostles
In the gracious guidance of the angels,
In the patience of the saints,
In the self control of the martyrs,
Such is the path for all servants of Christ,
The path from death to eternal life
Celtic retreat – Eucharistic celebration 2010
The retreat is only a few days ago. We are pulling out our tents, packing our bags and getting ready to head up to Camano on Friday. So many of you have told me that you wished you could come that I thought I would share some of the programme with you. (More to come next week). Hopefully you can be with us in spirit if not in person. For those that are undecided there is still time to sign up.
Here is the prayer that we will begin with on Friday night – a prayer to prepare our minds for a time of thanksgiving and gratitude towards God.
Friday Evening Prayers
God we gather this night to thank you for the many blessings in our lives,
We praise you for your generous goodness new every day,
To you our God we offer praise and thanks.
God to you who created the earth and the heavens,
To you who are always merciful and forgiving,
To you our God we offer praise and thanks.
God to you who call us into relationship with yourself,
To you who give us the gift of family and friends,
To you our God we offer praise and thanks.
(Pause to remind yourself of all you have to be thankful for)
For the universe immense and unknown,
For the earth on which we live,
For humankind made in God’s image,
Thanks and praise to God our creator.
For entering human history as one of us,
For your life poured out in sacrifice for us,
For dying that we might live,
Thanks and praise to Christ our redeemer.
For the comfort of your indwelling presence,
For the wisdom of your guidance and direction,
For drawing us together as one family,
Thanks and praise to the Holy Spirit our enabler.
Through your will we are made whole,
Through your love we are renewed in body, mind and spirit
Through you we become one community from every tribe and nation.
Thanks and praise to the Father, Son and Spirit through all eternity.
Psalm 92: 1-8 (NLT)
Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.
Let the whole world know what he has done.
Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.
Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.
Exult in his holy name;
rejoice, you who worship the Lord.
Search for the Lord and for his strength;
continually seek him.
Remember the wonders he has performed,
his miracles, and the rulings he has given,
you children of his servant Abraham,
you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is the Lord our God.
His justice is seen throughout the land.
8 He always stands by his covenant—
the commitment he made to a thousand generations.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke. Glory to you, Lord Christ.
Luke 22:14 – 20 (NLT)
When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.” He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us pray together now in the words Jesus taught us.
Our Father, who art in heaven hallowed by your name. Your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory for ever and ever. Amen
Pause to offer up prayers of praise and thanksgiving
Gracious and generous God we give you thanks
For the gift of life for we are made in your image,
We pray for all your loved ones in whom your divine image is still hidden and distorted,
We pray for your mercy and compassion to rest upon them.
God in your mercy be with all those you love.
Caring and providing God we give you thanks,
For our homes that shelter and protect us,
We think of those without shelter and water and protection today,
We pray for your provision to be poured out upon them.
God in your mercy be with all those you love,
Abundant and giving God we give you thanks,
For our food that nourishes and strengthens us,
We thing of those without food and nourishment today,
We pray that you will feed them with the bread of life.
God in your mercy be with all those you love.
Loving and compassionate God we give you thanks,
For our friends and family who love and comfort us in times of need,
We think of those who are alone and feel abandoned today,
God comfort and surround them that they may sense your presence.
God in your mercy be with all those you love,
Gracious and generous God,
We remember all the gifts you have given us,
We remember how lavishly you have provided,
We remember how lovingly you have cared,
We remember especially that greatest gift of all,
Jesus Christ our Saviour,
And we give you thanks.
Amen.
Aaron Strumpel on the mainstage
Tom and I and our MSA intern Chris Holcomb have just returned from the Creative World Festival in Mission British Columbia. It was a great opportunity to renew friendships with some of our Canadian friends and collaborators and to begin some new friendships as well.
I love getting together with friends
Such a great group of people – grassroots advocates for God’s concerns for justice and reconciliation. Great music by Aaron Strumpel, great poetry by Joel McKerrow and lots to think about from Pete Rollins and all the speakers.
Aaron Strumpel and Joel McKerrow at Creative World Festival
There was a particular focus on concerns for aboriginal people in Canada. My heart ached to hear about the thousands of missing and/or murdered women who have disappeared with little or no public outcry. And I wept to hear stories of the atrocities that have been carried out against aboriginal children in many countries who were stolen from their families and moved into residential schools. Many of them never saw their families again.
Praying for the missing, murdered and stolen ones
In justice comes in so many forms and I so appreciate those who keep us aware of these important issues and challenge us to respond.
Earth touches heaven – photo by Coe Hutchison
This week’s round up of prayers. I have added some of the links in yesterday’s post to alternative renditions of the Lord’s prayer too as some of you may have missed those.
Lord you have written your covenant of love
deep within our hearts.
You have written your kingdom ways of peace and justice
into the fabric of our world.
Lead us Lord to the place where evil no longer tempts us,
To where we desire your kingdom purposes above all else,
And reveal them in all we are and do.
——————————-
Our Father,
Not mine alone but stretching beyond family, race, class, and religion, reaching to everyone everywhere.
Hallowed be your name.
May we reverence in thought and word and deed your name, your character, the very nature of who you are.
May your kingdom come,
because we seek it above all else and put it in our prayers where Jesus did, first in consideration and allegiance.
(Today’s prayer is in response to meditating on the Lord’s prayer)
———————————–
Give us this day our daily bread,
not bread for me alone but for everyone,
not bread for the rest of my life but for today,
For we know that when we seek first your kingdom,
all these things – food, clothing, all we need- shall be added, as and when we need them.
——————————–
I love this prayer by Henri Nouwen
Praying is no easy matter. It demands a relationship in which you allow someone other than yourself to enter into the very center of your person, to see there what you would rather leave in darkness, and to touch there what you would rather leave untouched.
———————————
Your eternal word stands firm in heaven O Lord,
Your faithfulness is as enduring as the earth you created,
All you do flows from your heart of love.
May we seek only you this day,
And see that all you do and all you are is good.
——————————–
Alternative forms of the Lord’s prayer.
The Lord’s Prayer – An Adaptation – written by the Society of the Sacred Heart
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