Pentecost: June 7, 2024

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87935930592?pwd=qZlKA506MIS9okXQQxBkaKsyhsZJDV.1

Responder:Gina

R: Greeting:

Today we celebrate the culmination of the Life of Jesus and the very beginning of the Community of Followers of Jesus and The Way. We are here together as an outcome of this event. The Spirit was speaking to each one present in the upper room, and continues to speak to each of us today. I have asked everyone to wear red today as a sign of your call from the Holy Spirit. This will be a sign of our commitment to follow the Spirit as Jesus did, to serve and to love others.  As we come together this afternoon, let’s take a moment to breathe deeply and to smile into each other’s radiant and expectant faces. We are gathering today as a group of believers in one place, via zoom.  As we celebrate Pentecost, may we open our hearts and minds to the breath of the Holy One – receiving its encompassing embrace and flame of wisdom.

Presider: Opening Prayer: Holy Spirit, you know us intimately, even better than we know ourselves. We are grateful for our awareness of your presence in our lives. We give you our complete attention and promise to do our best to walk in the ways that you reveal to us every day.

Spirit of God dwell within our hearts, renewing, healing and transforming us and the entire cosmos. Each of us has been given spiritual gifts to serve others in diverse and wonderful ways. Each of us has the spiritual power to do more than we have ever imagined. Let us reflect on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit calling us to celebrate the wonders of Pentecost in our lives and in our world.

Send Us Your Spirit Dan Schutte

https://youtu.be/QUL-ey9gQZQ?si=_DKYGyt16c4PuGYq

We begin in the name of our Creative God, our brother Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The God of new life is with each of you. R] And also with you

Presider: We ask for the grace to continually acknowledge our need to grow in goodness, peace, and caring for ourselves and others.  

 

Responder:  We accept God’s love and forgiveness for the fragility of our human nature.

 

Penny:  We confess to Almighty God and to each other that we love God. Mixed into every thought and word, in every action and inaction is a belief that God is there, loving us through my faults, through my successes, and through my stillness. Therefore, I ask blessed Mary, all the Angels and Saints, and each other to pray that none of us ever forgets the love of our gracious God. (adapted by Therese Fisher) 

Nick: As we prepare to celebrate this glorious Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, we open our minds and hearts to hear the Word of God.

 

LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading, from the Acts of the Apostles. Acts 2: 1-11  Barbara

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.
At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused
because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, "Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?
Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?
We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,
inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God."

  The Word of God            R. Thanks be to God

Psalm 104  Linda: Send out your Spirit God and renew the face of the earth.

Bless my soul! Adonai, my God, how great You are! Clothed in majesty and glory, wrapped in a robe of light. 

Glory forever to the Most High! May Our God find joy in all creation.  May these reflections of mine give God pleasure as much as the Most High gives me. 

Second Reading: Janet  /A Reading from Bread for the Journey. Henri Nouwen

The Breath of God is Within us:

When we speak about the Holy Spirit, we speak about the breath of God breathing in us. We are seldom aware of our breathing. It is so essential for life that we only think about it when something is wrong with it. 

The Spirit of God is like our breath.  God’s spirit is more intimate to us than we are to ourselves. We might not often be aware of it.  It is the Spirit of God who prays in us, who offers us the gifts of love, forgiveness, kindness, goodness, gentleness, peace, and joy. It is the Holy Spirit who offers us the life that death cannot destroy.

These are the inspired words of our brother and disciple of Jesus, Henri Nouwen. 

 R: Our community affirms these words with AMEN

 Gospel Acclamation: Celtic Alleluia by

Christopher Walker

https://youtu.be/o1rc7ojQtJU?si=rg3fsOqyRXGx7qhe

Gospel Reading: John 20: 19-23

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

The Good News of Salvation

R: Glory and Praise to Our Savior Jesus Christ

Statement of Faith: alternate Janet and Galen

 We believe in the Holy One, a divine mystery beyond all definition and rational understanding, the heart of all that has ever existed, that exists now, or that ever will exist.

We believe in Jesus, messenger of the Divine Word, bringer of healing, heart of Divine compassion, bright star in the firmament of the Holy One's prophets, mystics, and saints.

We believe that We are called to follow Jesus as a vehicle of divine love,
a source of wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of peace in the world.

We believe in the Spirit of the Holy One,
the life that is our innermost life,
the breath moving in our being,
the depth living in each of us.

We believe that the Divine kin-dom is here and now, stretched out all around us for those with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it, and hands to make it happen.

 
Intentions 

Linda. As we prepare for our sacred meal,  we are all called to serve one another. We bring to this table our blessings, cares, and concerns. Please feel free to voice your prayers beginning with the words, “I bring to the table…

(At the end of each short intention say," Gracious God hear our prayer.)"

We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.

SIGN OF PEACE: Judy

Christ Jesus, you said to your friends: I leave you peace, my peace I give you. Look not on our failings, but on the faith of your Church, and grant us the peace and unity of your kin-dom where you live for ever and ever.

Amen.

The peace of Christ be always with you.

R:  And also, with you.

Let us offer each other a sign of Christ’s peace.

Offering of the Gifts:

Judy: Blessed are you, God of all creation, for through your goodness

We have received the bread we offer you: fruit of the earth and work of human hands, It will become for us the bread of life.

R:  Blessed be God forever.

Presider: By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who shared himself in our humanity.

Barbara: Blessed are you God of all creation, through your goodness

We have received this wine we offer you: fruit of the vine and work of human hands, it will become our spiritual drink.

All: Blessed be God forever.

Penny: With humble spirit and loving hearts may you, O God, accept us and may the offering that we bring to this table be pleasing to you.

Liturgy of the Eucharist

Eucharistic Prayer of the Spirit (Joyce Rupp)

Presider: With open hands and hearts, we pray our Eucharistic prayer:

Nick: Spirit! Power and Passion of our being,
press upon our hearts your profound love.
Move through the fragments of our days;
enable us to sense your fiery Presence
consecrating our most insignificant moments.

Judy: Spirit! Source of Vision, Perceptive Guide, permeate the moments of our choices when falsehood and truth both call to us.
Turn us toward the way of goodness,
so that we will always lean toward your love.

Linda: Spirit! Blessing for the heart grown weary,
encircle us with your loving energy,
empower us with your active gentleness.
Deepen within us a faith in your dynamism which strengthens the weak and the tired.

We are filled with gratitude and thank you as we sing:

Here in this Place – Holy Holy Holy by Christopher Grundy

https://youtu.be/sgkWXOSGmOQ 

Barbara: Spirit! Breath of Life, Touch of Mystery,
you are the ribbon of inner connection,
uniting us with the groaning of all creation.
Because of you, our lives gathers into a oneness.
Keep us attentive to this interdependence.
Fill our being with constant compassion
and a deep hope that knows no bounds.    

Gina: Spirit! Dwelling Place, Sanctuary of Silence, you are the home for which we deeply yearn.
You are the resting place for which we long.
We find both comfort and challenge in you.
Grant that we may keep our whole selves open to the transforming power of your indwelling, that we may ever know the blessings of your tremendous companionship.

Please extend Your hands over your bread and wine.

Your Spirit is within this + bread and wine and with us as we become more deeply the Christ Presence in our world.

Presider: On the night before he faced betrayal and death, Jesus shared supper with his friends.  He reminded them of all that he taught them, and to fix that memory clearly with them, he bent down and washed their feet. 

 

Lift up your bread as the community prays the following:

Presider: When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying: 

ALL: Take and eat, go and share my love with one another.

 

  Lift the your cup as community prays the following:

Presider: Then Jesus took the cup of the covenant, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying:

ALL: Take and drink. This is the covenant of my love.

Whenever you remember me like this,

I am among you.

Karla: Bread and wine are transformed by Your Spirit and we are transformed when we open ourselves to Your Spirit. Every time we share this bread and wine we choose to be transformed. We choose to love as You love us.

 

Presider: What we have heard with our ears, we will live with our lives: as we share communion, we will become communion, both Love’s nourishment and Love’s challenge. 

Let us share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace.

Please receive Communion with the words: The Spirit is within us.

Communion song:  Spirit and Grace

https://youtu.be/Uo7X9t9A7lk?si=2pzmOlSCcK1p-ovi

Let us pray as Jesus taught us: Cathy W.

Holy One, you are within, around and among us.  
We celebrate your many names. 
Your wisdom come; your will be done, 
unfolding from the depths within us. 
Each day you give us all that we need. 
You remind us of our limits and we let go. 
You support us in our power, and we act with courage. 
For you are the dwelling place within us, 
the empowerment around us, 
and the celebration among us, 
now and forever, Amen.      Adapted by Miriam Therese Winter 

Presiders: Let us raise our hands and bless each other.

Nick:  Come, Holy Spirit, breathe down upon our troubled world.

Shake the tired foundations of our rumbling institutions…and from the dust and rubble gather up the seedlings of a new creation.

Penny: Come, Holy Spirit enflame once more the dying embers of our weariness. Shake up our complacency. Whisper our names once more, and scatter your gifts of grace with wild abandon.

Break open the prisons of our inner being, and let your raging justice be our liberty.

Karla: Come, Holy Spirit, and lead us to places we would rather not go; expand the horizons of our limited imagination.

Awaken in our souls dangerous dreams for a new tomorrow, and rekindle in our hearts the fire of prophetic enthusiasm.

Written by Diarmuid O’Murchu

Final Blessing: Juanita: 

Please extend your hands in blessing and pray together:

May Sophia-Spirit rise within us like a rushing wind. May Sophia-Spirit spark the churches like a revolutionary fire. May Sophia-Spirit flow through the world like a life-giving breath.

Amen. 

Closing Song: Send Down the Fire Marty Haugen

https://youtu.be/2cSkl0IiioM?si=0w2W7sbQkDKzuVlQ

Feast of the Ascension

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87935930592?pwd=qZlKA506MIS9okXQQxBkaKsyhsZJDV.1

https://youtu.be/iRWndPtiQGc?si=Fw4kUb58Pi9LeKlN

Responses: Lucia

 

Nick: We begin in the name of our Creative God, our brother Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The God of new life is with each of you. R] And also with you

 

Kyrie

Gracious God, you bring pardon and peace to your people. God have mercy.  R] God have mercy.

 Brother Jesus, you send the Holy Spirit to enlighten our minds and hearts, Christ have mercy R] Christ, have mercy.

 Gracious God, you call us by name and show us the way to you,

       God have mercy R] God have mercy

 

Opening Prayer

Gracious God, make us worthy and effective witnesses of the Gospel you have entrusted to us. Illuminate our works of compassion and ministries of care with the light of Easter hope. May your grace enable us to trust in our own abilities to reveal your constant love in the midst of our families, neighborhoods and communities. We pray this in Jesus’ name.  R] Amen

 

The beginning of the Acts of the Apostles  (Judy)

In my earlier account, Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done and taught, from the beginning until the day he was taken up, after he had given instructions to the ones he had chosen.

After the Passion, Jesus appeared alive to the disciples, confirmed through many convincing words, over the course of forty days, and spoke to them about the reign of God.

On one occasion, Jesus told them not to leave Jerusalem, “Wait, rather, for what God has promised, of which you have heard me speak,” Jesus said. “John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” While meeting together they asked, “Has the time come, Rabbi? Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or dates that God has decided. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes down upon you; then you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and even to the ends of the Earth.

Having said this, Jesus was lifted up in a cloud before their eyes and taken from their sight. They were still gazing up into the heavens when two messengers dressed in white stood beside them. “You Galileans - why are you standing here looking up at the skies? Jesus, who has been taken from you will return, in the same way you watched him go into heaven.”

The Word of God.  R] Thanks be to God

 

 

Responsorial Psalm

R] Our God ascends to the heavens with shouts of joy! Verses: Therese

1. All you people clap your hands, raise a shout to God. For the Most High is awe inspiring, glorious over the whole Earth. R]

2. God has ascended with a shout with trumpet peals. Sing praise to God, sing praise to God! R]  

3. For God is Most High over all the Earth, sing praise to God, sing praise. God rules over the nations, God sits upon a holy throne. R]

I pray that the God of our Savior Jesus, the Christ, will give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, to bring you to a rich knowledge of the Creator.

A reading from the letter to the Ephesians  (Kathy N)

I pray that God will enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see the hope this call holds for you - the promised glories that God’s holy people will inherit, and the infinitely great power that is exercised for us who believe. You can tell this from the strength of God’s power at work in Jesus, the power used to raise Christ from the dead and to set the Christ at God’s right hand, far above ever sovereignty, authority, power or dominion, and above any other name that can be named - not only in this age but also in the age to come.

God has put all things under Christ’s feet and made the Christ, as the ruler of everything, the head of the church, and the church is Christ’s body; it is the fullness of the One who fills all of creation.

The Word of God.  R] Thanks be to God!

Alleluia   https://youtu.be/gFKE1i0JRLE?si=A2DaCPBkV07bw9Ox

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke

In the Messiah's name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of all this.

"Take note: I am sending forth what Abba God has promised to you. Remain here in the city until you are clothed with the power from on high."

Then Jesus took them to the outskirts of Bethany, and with upraised hands blessed the disciples. While blessing them, the savior left them and was carried up to heaven. The disciples worshiped the risen Christ and returned to Jerusalem full of joy. 5 They were found in the Temple constantly, speaking the praises of God.

 

The Good News of Salvation! R] Glory and praise to our Lord, Jesus the Christ!

Juanita: Jesus the Christ, you said to your disciples, “My peace I leave you. My peace I give you.” We ask you to look on the faith of those gathered here. Give us your peace, and spread your peace throughout the world, always and forever. 

     May the peace of Christ be always with you. R] And also with you

 

Introduction to petitions

Jay Cee: With great faith in God’s great desire to work with us in the building of God’s reign on Earth we bring our prayers: For what or whom shall we pray?

 

Conclusion of petitions

Patti: Most loving God, please hear and answer the prayers we have brought before you, as well as those which remain in our hearts, unspoken. We also pray for those who have no one else to pray for them, and we do this in Jesus’ name.  R] Amen

Offering of Gifts

Cathy P: Blessed are you, God of all creation! Through your goodness we have this bread to offer. Fruit of the Earth, work of human hands, it will become for us the bread of life.

     R] Blessed be God forever

 

Cathy W: Blessed are you, God of all creation! Through your goodness we have this wine to offer. Fruit of the vine, work of human hands, it will become for us the cup of life.

     R] Blessed be God forever

 

Linda: Pray sisters and brothers that our gifts please our loving God.

       R] May God accept this offering from our hands for the praise and glory of God’s name, for our Good and the good of all God’s holy people.

Presider: Our God is with you! R] And also with you

Presider:  Lift up your hearts! R] We lift them up to the Lord

Presider: Let us give thanks to our God R] It is right and just

 

Janet: Blessed are you, God of Resurrection. We have kept the holy days in oneness with you and one another. We now surround your table of Grace to be nourished by the holy and everlasting mystery of your sacred meal. 

 

Galen: We praise you, God of fecundity. Your word imbues life and breath into the void, and into the entire cosmos. You call us to continue in this work of creation. The universe is filled with the splendor of the One who loves so freely and renews life again and again

 

Karla We praise you God of Life. We thank you for the perpetual ages of gathering stars and shifting earth, of life ever evolving, of the creatures with whom we share this world, and the richness they reveal. We meet these miracles with waking eyes of wonder. 

 

Penny: So with everything that we see and sense around us, with visible and invisible energies that pulse with life, we join in the song that vibrates throughout the whole of creation:

 

Holy holy holy  https://youtu.be/GWUnl3YT-ms?si=vYfRITl2qnHdqlHd

Janet: Blessed are you, Holy One, Source of all creation. through your goodness you made this world and called us to be Your co-creators. We give thanks for the diversity and beauty of life around us and within us.

 

Galen: We open our awareness to the goodness of all creation, and we remember our responsibility to serve.  You invite us to build the Earth into a community of love rooted in justice. You place confidence in us, for You made us and know we are good.

 

 Patti: We thank You for Jesus, simple servant, who lifted up the lowly, revealing You as God-With-Us, and revealing us as one with You and all creation. Jesus lived among us to show us who we are and challenged us to know you. He taught us the strength of compassionate love.

JayCee: Great Creating Spirit from whom all life comes forth here we gather again with bread and with wine seeking your presence, longing once more to be nourished, hungering for unity on Earth and peace among the nations.

 

Penny: We are grateful for your Spirit at our table and for this bread and wine which remind us of our call to be the body of Christ in the world. Come Holy Spirit. Be intensified in these our gifts of bread and wine, so they may become for us and for the entire world the Body and Blood of Jesus the Christ. 

 

 Nick: On the night before he died, he sat at a table with friends and relived with them his work, his teaching and his wisdom of the universe. Then he went among them as servant, washing their feet, touching their hearts.  

 

When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying:  

All: “Take this, all of you, and eat, for this is my body.

Nick: At the end of the meal,
he lifted the cup, praised you for your goodness, and shared the cup with these words:

 

 All: “Take this, all of you, and drink: this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. Do this in memory of me.”

 

 Marita: We praise you, God of Miracles. Raised to new life, Jesus appears to the women who held vigil at the tomb. In the days that follow, he appears to his friends along the road, and at the lakeside. In the breaking of the bread, he reveals himself among us. In each new day, in our comings and our goings, he is with us. When we lie down and when we rise at dawn, he calls us to take up his work and walk in truth and compassion with him. 

 

 Gerry: We praise you, God of New Life. May we ever rejoice in the grace of your resurrection that binds all races, all religions, all cultures as one. We pray that our eyes may be opened to the wondrous beauty of our world. May we do our part that the promise of our spiritual transformation, echoing from the dawn of all time, be completed in us.

Judy: We praise you, God of New Life. May we ever rejoice in the grace of your resurrection that binds all races, all religions, all cultures as one. We pray that our eyes may be opened to the wondrous beauty of our world. May we do our part that the promise of our spiritual transformation, echoing from the dawn of all time, be completed in us.

All: Through Christ, with Christ and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, O God, forever and ever  AMEN.

 

Rita: Our Beloved who is everywhere, be Holy your name. Let your sovereign counsel be known. Let your will be done on Earth as it is throughout the universe. And forgive us our offenses even as we have forgiven our offenders. Do not let us enter temptation but deliver us from the evil one.

Linda: From you is born all ruling will, the power and the life to serve fully and faithfully, the song that beautifies all. From age to age it renews. R] Amen

 

Nick: Behold, this is the Lamb of God who invites us to this table to provide food for our journey, to enable us to speak with authority, and to carry the good news wherever we go! 

R] Jesus, you make us worthy to receive you, blessed are we who are called to the table of our God!

 

Communion song: Anthem Tom Conery

https://youtu.be/HP2gwC5TGFs?si=VO5j50ww2He8cqAT

 

Closing prayer  

 May we always realize your presence in our midst, O Risen God, as we struggle to go forth and do the work you have entrusted to us: to teach others your Gospel of justice and forgiveness by the example of our lives. May we reveal to the world your compassion in our midst, to be architects of your peace, bringing all nations and peoples under your commandment of love.  R] Amen

Nick: Final Blessing:  R] Amen

Dismissal:  

Karla:       R] Thanks be to God, alleluia!

 

Send down the fire

 

https://youtu.be/2cSkl0IiioM?si=DYgqQ_fqGeHeMOTz