Meditation “For process philosophy, the whole universe is alive and changing, continually co-creating new possibly of life…..The process view stands in sharp contrast to both classical philosophy and early modern science, which thought the world to be made up of things (substances or essences) situated in empty space….Rejecting this view, Whitehead and Hartshorne propose that the world is “co-created” at every moment by Goddess/God and all the individual beings in the cosmos with a degree of freedom. Process philosophy assumes that the divine power is present within all individuals in the universe, supporting and sustaining them but not determining their every movement Goddess/God holds the whole together so that it will not explode into sheer chaos. Goddess/God is present with and in every individual hoping to lure or persuade it to make choices that will be beneficial both to itself and to the whole of life.” She Who Changes, Carol P. Christ
Welcome and Check in - Rev. Bonnie Tarwater
Invocation Our Dear, Dear Mother by Raffi
Our dear, dear Mother, daily provider, earth be your name. The time has come, to honor you, to know you and to show our love.” 1.You give us each day our daily grain, kissed by the sun and kissed by the rain. Teach us now to find a way to care for you in our work and play. Chorus 2.Within the beauty of your silent spin, we know you’re hurting and we feel your pain. With your forgiveness we can start anew. We need a chance to make it up to you. Chorus
Passing of the Peace God Loves You and There is Nothing You Can Do About It
Sharing of Announcements
Prayers of Confession Amazing Prayers David DeBus
One: We raise up amazing prayers when the spirit moves within our hearts, we sing proud songs when we feel we belong to the one who brought us here, after the sun goes down the night-time starts
and when the night-time starts the stars dare to appear.
Many: We raise up amazing hopes when our despair is at its worst
we shout out our hope into the face of the dark with our lives
and when the beasts come after us—beasts who are accursed
we straighten our backs into our faith that survives.
One: We raise up impossible dreams when our future darkens with grave doubt, our children, our beloveds, our nations and our earth we cherish with God’s light, we can hear God’s kingdom coming like paradise out loud, we find the fold inside our souls that awaits all heaven’s delight.
Many: We have been empty, we have been vain, we have sought for what the world obtains, but now we are eager and aware, connected to the body forever and a day, we forgot all the misery that comes from when it rains, amazing prayers come among us as we connect to the one who shows the way.
Prayers of Thanks to All Mothers and All Who Have a Mother and to Our Common Home Mother Earth, (see insert)
Musical Prayer As I Went to the Ocean to Pray
Prayers asking for love, help, guidance, healing and wisdom(see insert)
Scriptures Gospel of Matthew23:37 Inclusive Bible, the First Egalitarian Translation
God/dess said “…you murder the prophets, and you stone those sent to you! Oh, how often I yearned to gather you together, like a hen gathering her chicks under her wings! But you would have none of it. Therefore your house is being left to you abandoned.”
Music A Mother’s Prayer, David Foster and Carol Bayer Sager (see insert)
Reflection and Sharing
Reimaging God in Order to Heal Ourselves and Save the Planet
Rev. Bonnie Tarwater
Offering - Mr. James Long
Closing Prayer St Francis of Assisi Prayer
Make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, joy, And where there is sadness, joy, joy, joy. God grant that I may not so much see; To be consoled as to console; To be understood, as to understand; To be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive, It is in pardoning that we pardoned. And it is in dying that we are born, to Eternal Life. Amen, Amen, Amen
Check Out How are you feeling?
Benediction Blessing Song by Miriam Therese Winters
May the blessings of God go before you. May her grace and peace abound. May her spirit live within you. May her love wrap you round. May her blessings remain with you always. May you walk on holy ground.
Short discussion about vision for church; Japanese ritual, building straw bale house church, elders intentional community, planting trees, programs in UU churches and in community, dance classes, book group, She Who Changes, by Carol P. Christ and more. What are your visions, dreams, ideas, thoughts for our church?
A Mother's Prayer
Dear Mother God/dess
I pray you'll be my eyes,
And watch her (us) where she (we) go
And help her (us) to be wise, Help me to let go.
Every mother's prayer, every child knows
Lead her (us) to a place,
Guide her (us) with your grace,
To a place where she'll (we’ll) be safe.
I pray she’ll (we’ll) find your light,
And holds it in her (our) heart
As darkness falls each night,
Remind her (us) where you are.
Every mother's prayer, every child knows.
Need to find a place, guide her (us) to a place
Give her (us) faith so she'll (we’ll) be safe.
Prayers of Thanks to All Mothers and All Who Have a Mother and to Our Common Home Mother Earth,
(In Unison) Dear Holy One, you who are in us and amongst us, you who are sympathetic and have feelings for every creature, we give thanks.
You who are also the Earth and the interconnectedness of all life; I love your daily grace, and your silent daring, and how loved I am, how we admire this strength in each other, all that we have lost, all that we have suffered, all that we know; we are stunned by this beauty and we do not forget; what you are to us, what I am to you God/dess of Love. You are the breadth of my life and the blessing, the cells of my being sing in gratitude, reawakening. We give thanks for our own mothers who have given us life…..
We give thanks for all our children, grandchildren and everyone in the human family who comes after us………All of us who have had a mother, may we live in gratitude. All of us give thanks. Amen
(adapted from Marcia Falk, Morning Blessing Prayer and Susan Griffin’s poem Woman and Nature)
Musical Prayer As I Went to the Ocean to Pray
Prayers asking for help, guidance and healing (Around the circle)
1.Dear God/dess of Sympathy and Love,
You who are called by many names, we need your help.
We feel despair when we face our history as a human family for too often we have not honored mothers, the body, women and nature associated with the female……….…(Silence)
2. We honor Mary Magdalene today who was the Mother of the early church but was wrongly abused, left out, and slandered. May we reinstate her in her rightful place with Jesus as we reimage a new kind of church.……(Silence)
3. We ask for help to heal from our wounds from our own mothers some of whom harmed us…………..(Silence)
4. We ask for help for our own children who have harmed and dishonored us………..(Silence)
4. Heal our rage………….(Silence)
5. Heal our grief for our mothers and children who have died….. ..(Silence)
6. Heal us for the mother child relationship, the most fundamental of all human relationships which is complex and we long for wisdom and reconciliation………..(Silence)
7. We pray to honor and tell the truth about motherhood….(Silence)
8. We pray to love our enemies as Jesus and Mary Magdalene taught………(Silence)
9. Awaken us to how we can live well and live our fullest potential and commune with you Holy One………….(Silence)
10. Guide Church for Our Common Home and our work dedicated to Mother Earth. May we know that our work is never in vain no matter the outcome. Encourage us to know that any small deed might be the one to tip the tide toward planetary healing and love. We ask for your guidance in our dreams and day visions, in our worship and our community building, in our friendships and our stewardship of the Earth. We ask for healing for all earthlings. Amen
Announcements: We are witnessing the 6th extinction of life on earth and the only one created by humans. We gather to create community and to give thanks to God for all of creation. Every Sunday at 5 pm we acknowledge that we need one another more than ever before. Jesus taught a way to live in the truth and taught us that, “The truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) Following worship we invite everyone to the Mary Magdalene Cafe for a pot luck dinner at 6 pm, with vegetarian soup or main dish and drinks provided. Weather permitting we share star gazing and dancing. We offer weekly study of the scriptures for the following Sunday, including the gnostic gospels, with Lectio Divina and Centering Prayer, as well as dream sharing, creative and artistic projects as spiritual practice, social justice activism, and monthly Taize service as well as a Prayer and Healing services.
Children and dogs are especially welcome at worship.
Field Trip next Saturday My 19th to Salvation Mountain by Salten Sea.
NEW MEMBER Ceremony next Sunday May 20th for James Long and special Japanese ritual for closure and blessings of Earth Day events.
Special thanks to everyone who came last week and to James and Kaori Long for the gift of Karaoke last week. How about we do Karaoke once a month? .
Weekly Lectio Divina and Centering Prayer Contemplation of scriptures for following Sunday and an ancient Christian contemplative prayer practice every Wednesday, 10-11 am.
Monthly Taize first Sunday of every month.
Monthly Prayer and Healing Service third Sunday 5 pm.
Dream Circle every first and third Sunday before church 3-5 pm.
New Nia like intergenerational dance class to begin this summer.
Painting the Dance Floor, call if you are interested in working on this.
New AA and Alanon 12 step to begin this summer.
Our Common Home Counseling Center’s services: addiction issues, PTSD, individual and group therapy, Spiritual Direction, Pastoral Counseling, etc.
Minister Rev. Bonnie Tarwater, (858) 248-5123 Affiliate Community Minister of First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego revtarwater@yahoo.com. www.churchforourcommonhome.com
Dr. Walter Rutherford Director Our Common Home Counseling Center, (858) 442-6272, walterrutherford44@gailcom, wwwurcommonhomecounselingcenter.comOur Common Home, a church and counseling center13014 Calle de Las Rosas, SD CA 92129