In case you missed it, here is the order of service from Sunday, February 17, 2019.
February 17, 2019, Layperson Leader: Maggie Panyko
Opening Song: Let’s Work Together, by Canned Heat
Candle Lighting:
1. We light the first candle to honor the good and truth to be found in all spiritual traditions.
2. We light the second candle to honor the earth and all of life as the creation of the Divine—the one Lord and God of us all.
3. We light the third candle to honor and support the variety of individual paths which, together, make our one spiritual community.
4. We light the fourth candle to honor and provide an open and safe place for all who seek greater understanding and a life of deepening spirituality.
Opening prayer: Trusting Guidance, (pg 136, Uplifting Prayers to Light Your Way) by Sonia Choquette:
Holy Mother-Father God, Divine Loving Light and Heart of the Universe,
I humbly ask for the healing power of your grace to help me turn all my goals and intentions over to you. Grant me the ability to quiet my mind and tune in to my heart so that I may receive your guidance and trust the outcome. Please send in your angels to allow me to release my limiting ideas and open up to your unlimited ones. I thank you in advance, with my whole heart and soul, for answering my prayer and guiding me to a brighter path. Amen and with infinite gratitude.
Opening Poem: No Man is an Island, by John Donne
No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
The “Our Father”: We will read the Red, our understanding of the prayer is in Black.
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Our Father |
The Lord is our heavenly Father |
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who art in the heavens |
The Lord is in the heavens. |
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hallowed be Thy name |
Let Thy name be kept holy. |
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Thy kingdom come |
A wish for the church to come on earth as in the heavens. |
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Thy will be done |
The Lord’s will is to give us the happiness of heaven. |
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as in heaven so upon the earth |
Do the Lord’s will as the angels do. |
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Give us this day our daily bread |
Food for the body and food for the spirit. |
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And forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors |
Our praying must be in the spirit of forgiveness. |
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And lead us not into temptations, but deliver us from evil |
A prayer for the perpetual presence of the Lord to guard us from evil. |
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For Thine is the kingdom |
We seek to enter into the Lord’s kingdom. |
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the power |
All spiritual power is from the Lord alone. |
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and the glory |
Divinity is the Lord’s alone. |
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forever |
The idea of eternity must be present in our prayers. |
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Amen |
“It is true.” |
Message with Service:
We come today and all Sundays to be open to the Word of God and strive to make our will worthy of a life fully lived. If we are to love our neighbor, we should be willing to use our talents, to not only improve our lives but those of others around us, our neighbors.
So today, we will do a little brainstorming. A little networking. A little helping. A little offering of ourselves and our talents. To learn that to by having faith in God, we are opening to being led to use our naturally-given gifts, and also those that we’ve worked hard at learning, to make a little headway towards Heaven on Earth.
In this effort: I would like to ask you to:
Introduce yourself
Say what are you good at
What are your gifts, your hobbies, etc.
What kind of jobs have you done?
And after we go around the circle, if someone has a problem, big or small that they feel comfortable presenting, please do, so we can be of help. We can work for a little on each one and if two people find they are working together on a problem, they can break off and work together and we will start on a new one.
These could be pet problems, working to understand others, how to get started on something, where to find a resource.
Let’s begin! Problem solving…
Offertory/Meditation Hymn: Long Way Off, by Gungor
Closing Prayer: Finding Solutions (pg 191, Uplifting Prayers to Light Your Way) by Sonia Choquette.
Exit/Closing Song: Put Our Heads Together, by The O’Jays
The service was more open-ended than we planned, so we ended up exploring our connections versus our problems (within the time constraints). It was enjoyable.
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New Church of Montgomery, in Glendale 