Praying with the peoples of the Caribbean

Worship in the Ecumenical Centre
27 July 2009
Praying with the peoples of the Caribbean
We listen to God’s word and share bread and wine at God’s table

Musical rehearsal
Welcome

God in Christ has revealed his glory.
Come let us worship.
From the rising of the sun to its setting
the Lord's name is greatly to be praised.
Give God praise, you servants of the Lord.
O praise the name of the Lord!

Prayer of praise
Creator God,
how could we possibly not thank you
for the earth you have given to us!
With joy we praise you
for the high mountains and their trees,
for the rushing waters of Caribbean rivers
which give the breath of inspiration
and the joy of fruitfulness,
for the forests so luxuriant in foliage,
the glorious tall trees
and the abundance of temperate climes.
Still more, we praise you
for the wisdom for living,
and the commitment which our dignified
and courageous ancestors taught us,
the neighbours in whom we became acquainted with you.

Sing: Thuma Mina 137 Let us talents and tongues employ,
Let us talents and tongues employ
reaching out with a shout of joy:
bread is broken, the wine is poured,
Christ is spoken and seen and heard.
Jesus lives again; earth can breathe again.
Pass the Word around: loaves abound!

Christ is able to make us one,
at his table he set the tone,
teaching people to live to bless,
love in word and in deed express.
Jesus lives again; earth can breathe again.
Pass the Word around: loaves abound!

Jesus calls us in, sends us out
bearing fruit in a world of doubt,
gives us love to tell, bread to share:
God (Immanuel) everywhere!
Jesus lives again; earth can breathe again.
Pass the Word around: loaves abound!

Words by: Fred Kaan, 1975
Music by: Adapt. Doreen Potter, 1975

Psalm 145
I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name for ever and ever.
Every day I will bless you,
and praise your name for ever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall laud your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendour of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,
and I will declare your greatness.
They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.

Please stand for the Gospel and to sing : Alleluia, Alleluia. Alleluia

Gospel Reading John 6 1-21
After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?’ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, ‘Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?’ Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’ Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.’ So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 14When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’
When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, got into a boat, and started across the lake to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The lake became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the lake and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’ Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land towards which they were going.

Alleluia, Alleluia. Alleluia

Meditation

Sing: Break the bread of belonging by Brain Wren
Travelling, travelling over the world, people can be out of place,
Dashing for freedom, looking for work, needing a friendly face:

Refrain: Break the bread of belonging; welcome the stranger in the land.
We have each been a stranger, we can try to understand.
Break the bread of belonging, fear of the foreigner still blows strong;
make a space for the strangers, give them the right to belong.

Some have fled by terror by night, hiding from bullets by day, weary and hungry in fear of their life, seeking a safe place to stay:

Some are far from the people they love, driven by family need, tired and exploited, doing their job, thinking of children to feed:

Travelling, travelling over the world, no-one should be out of place.
What would we say then if we were alone, needing a friendly face?

Prayers and Lord’s prayer
To you, O Lord
On bended knees
Our heads we bow in prayer:
That you may hear
Our cry for blood-drenched lands
And their exhausted people,
who have seen too much death
and have been afraid too long
to understand your love,
comprehend your presence,
acknowledge your goodness
and concern for them, a battered people;
yearning for freedom
as they bear your cross…

Silence and time to pray aloud for people and places …

Communion
We take bread
Symbol of labour – exploited degraded,
Symbol of life:
We will break the bread
Because Christ, the source of life,
Was broken for the exploited and downtrodden.

We take wine symbol of blood,
spilt in war and conflict,
Symbol of new life.
We will drink the wine
Because Christ the peace of the world,
was killed by violence.

Now bread and wine are before us,
The memory of our meals,
Our working and talking;
The story which shapes us,
The grieving and the pain,
The oppressor who lies deep in our own soul;
The seeking and the loving.

And we give thanks and praise to God our creator
for all that holds us together in our humanity;
That binds us to all who live and have lived,
Who have cried and are crying,
who hunger and are thirsty,
Who pine for justice, and who hold out for the time that is coming
With all of them and with all the company of heaven we rise to sing hosanna!

Le lo le lo lay lo. Le lo le lo lay lo. Le lo le lo lay lo lo lelole le lai. (2x)
Holy, holy, holy God of power and might (2x)
Heaven and earth are full of your glory(2 x)
Hosana, hosanna, hosana in the highest! Hosana, hosanna, hosana in the highest!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord (2x)
Hosana, hosanna, hosana en los cielos

Our Lord and friend Jesus Christ, on the same night that he was betrayed,
took bread and gave you thanks;
He broke it and gave it to his disciples saying:
“Take eat; this is my body which is given for you.”
In the same way after supper he took the cup and gave you thanks;
He gave it to them saying:
“Drink this all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this as often as you drink of it in remembrance of me.”

This is the death we celebrate.
This is the new life we proclaim.
This is the vision we await.
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
(source Eucharist of Liberation from Living Beyond our Means WSCF, 1985, altered.)

Prayer and epiclesis

The Lord’s prayer (said by each in the language of their heart)

Invitation and Communion

Post-communion prayer

Blessing
May God bless us with wisdom
to care for creation.
May God bless us with love
to share what is given to us.
May God bless us with hope,
to live inspired lives.
Go in peace and be witnesses of hope.
Amen

Following the blessing you are invited to share signs of peace with one another, saying “Christ’s peace by with you”.

Praying for Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico

Worship Monday, July 20th, 2009
Praying for Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico

This liturgy was put together by Suzanne Tomaiouli as we prayed according the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle for Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico


Welcome and Opening Remarks

Opening Hymn – Pescador de hombres/Lord, You Have Come to the Seashore
Verses 1 and 3 in Spanish, verse 2 and 4 in English

Prayer
Visionary God, architect of heaven and earth,
Unless we build in partnership with you we labour in vain.
Help us work to create cities modeled more faithfully on the plan of your Kingdom- communities where children are respected and encouraged, where young people can express themselves creatively, where the experience of old people is called on and valued
Where the insights and gifts of all God’s people are fully realised
Where shared gardens and plots bloom in once derelict places
Where all cultures and traditions are honoured and celebrated on soulful, carnival streets
Where gay couples can dance to the beat of their hearts
Homeless people are received with loving arms and open borders
News vendors cry Hosanna! All are fed and loved and set free…
O God, our maker, open our eyes to new possibilities and perspectives, organisations and projects, structures and outlooks….
Help us to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem
To break down the barriers within ourselves that prevent us from reaching out to neighbours and making peace; to rebuild communities based on understanding and justice, illuminated with the true light of Christ. Amen

Neil Paynter

Reading from the Old Testament Judges 1: 1-8 (read in Spanish)
Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand. And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him. And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men. And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites. But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died. Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

Gospel Mathew 5:16-25
You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother[b]will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,[c]' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny

Song – Peace Be To These Streets
1.Paz a este lugar, paz a este lugar
Paz a este lugar en el nombre del Señor

Refrain – Walk here, Lord, draw near, Lord, pass through these streets today, Bring healing, forgiveness, here let your living waters flow.

2.Amor en este lugar, amor en este lugar, amor en este lugar en el nombre del Señor Refrain

3.Paz a este lugar, paz a este lugar, Paz a este lugar en el nombre del Señor Refrain

Holy Ground Litany – Iona Community

City streets city centre outskirts, edges, margins, concrete jungle cardboard city wasteland urban wilderness Housing estate slum shanty town bed-sit penthouse dockside development barrio shipyard high rise tower block tenement prison shop doorway park bench street corner railway arches under bridges underground stations ghettos of poverty ghettos of privilege

Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground

Brass knuckles revolvers hand grenades uzi machine guns STEN guns whips chains Broken bottles fists nails scratching tearing bleeding hating mines machetes

Quitense las sandalias, porque el suelo que pisan es sagrado.

Fences walls barbed wire noise din clamour chaos rubbish heat stench fast cars traffic jams exhaust fumes gridlock shopping malls multiplex cinemas parks playgrounds back yards allotments rooftop gardens church cathedral mosque gurdwara synagogue temple

Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground

Carnival procession orange parade street theatre street preacher buskers pavement artist street vendor big issue sir? Big issue, madam? Vagrants beggars users junkies wheelers and dealers

Vuélvanse y miren, no escondan sus rostros de Dios

Civil unrest racial tension rioting petrol bombs Molotov cocktails, gang killings, car hijacking burned out cars roadblocks barricades riot shields water cannon rubber bullets tear gas

Turn aside and look; do not hide your face from God

Neighbours strangers young old black white women men gay straight transgender lost found lonely in a crowd homeless on the streets curb crawlers street children pimps street workers soup runs night shelters credit unions dole queues needle exchanges pain healing poverty wealth

I have seen the misery of my people….I have heard their cry indeed I know their sufferings


Prayers of Intercession
– response ‘Our God, come and free us. Lord, come quickly to our help.’

We pray for peaceful settlements in border disputes between countries, for the comfort and healing of the families and loved ones of those who have been killed and for those who have simply disappeared without a trace, that due process of law will be achieved and just punishment meted out to their killers.
Our God, come and free us. Lord, come quickly to our help.’
We pray for an end to human rights abuses by the military, and the repentance and conversion of those who benefit from corruption and the drug trade. We pray for justice, education and empowerment for the indigenous peoples of these countries, as well as those who are unemployed, and those who must work in sweatshops under difficult and often dangerous conditions.
Our God, come and free us. Lord, come quickly to our help.’

We pray for street children and all those living in poverty. We pray for women forced into the sex trade or into migrating in order to support their families
Our God, come and free us. Lord, come quickly to our help.’

The Lord’s Prayer – in the language of your ‘heart’.

Christ has come to turn the world upside down:
To humble the powerful and to lift up the lowly
Christ has come to turn the tables:
To topple vain idols and to stand with the poor
Christ has come to proclaim God’s kingdom:
(men) to feed the hungry,
(women) to give sight to the blind,
(men) to strengthen the weary,
(women) to set the prisoners free.
Christ has come to turn the world upside down
To overthrow the present order with a revolution of love.

Blessing
May the God who shakes heaven and earth,
whom death could not contain,
who lives to disturb and heal us,
bless you with power to go forth
and proclaim the Gospel. Amen

Closing Hymn - Santo Santo Santo Los Querubines

A service praying for Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela and for the upcoming assembly of the Conference of European Churches

Worship in the Ecumenical Centre, Monday 6 July 2009
Praying for Columbia, Ecuador and Venezuela

Called to one hope in Christ

Welcome

Opening words
The love of God our Father be with you all.
Amen.
The peace of Jesus Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Come, Holy Spirit.
Illumine and inspire us.

To be more patient,
give us strength Lord
To become peacemakers,
equip us Lord.
To be right,
give us your light Lord.
To accept our faults,
give us humility Lord.
To be in solidarity with those who suffer,
make us sympathetic Lord.
That our actions be guided by love,
give us your Spirit Lord

Song: You are the Light
You are the Light we see You are the truth we know. You are the life we live.
You are the hope, you are the joy you are the song we sing
Within our hearts your light,
within our minds your truth
Within our lives your love
living your Hope spreading your joy, singing your beautiful song.

Prayer
God we pray for all those
Who, following the example of Jesus, search and work for peace,
proclaiming and building your reign.
Increase their strength and fill them with your grace.
Amen

Isaiah 40. 28-31
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.

Thuma Mina 212
Many are the Light beams verse 1 in German

Ephesians 4.1-6 read in Spanish, French and English
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

Thuma Mina 212 Many are the Light beams
Verse 2 in English

Sermon by Angela Schnepel

Many are the lightbeams
Verse 3 in Spanish and English

Intercessory prayers with Nada te turbe as sung response

God of all creation, you help us to see and hear things differently
Open our eyes and ears to the needs of your world and its people
Teach us to pray with all your people across the face the earth.
We are called to one hope in Christ

Nada te turbeNada te espante
Quien a Dios tiene nada le falta
Nada te turbe
Nada te espante
Solo Dios basta

God of all who wander across the face of the earth,
We pray for people whose work takes them away from home
For transient and migrant worker
For people trafficked across continents
Grant them comfort and justice.
We are called to one hope in Christ

Nada te turbe

We pray this week particularly for the people and churches of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, asking that you may be with them in the daily challenges they face.
Strengthen the witness of individual Christians in the towns and villages
Inspire the churches with a spirit of ecumenism that they may work more closely together We are called to one hope in Christ

Nada te turbe

We pray for our work in this place, for relationships with and between our colleagues.
We pray for the general secretaries and officers of the organisations based in the ecumenical centre.
We pray this week for delegates preparing to attend the assembly of the Conference of European Churches in Lyon. Strengthen and bless all colleagues working for the assembly and grant that the assembly may bear witness to us all being called to one hope in Christ.

Nada te turbe

The Lord’s Prayer (said by each in their own language)

Blessing

Final song La Paz del Senor TM 187
Verse 1 and 2 in Spanish
Verse 3 and 4 in English

Meditation on Ephesians 4.1-6

The following short sermon was preached on Monday July 6th in the Ecumenical Centre chapel by Angela Schnepel, Vikarin of the Bremen Landeskirche. Angela has been doing part of her curacy based at the WCC in the Decade to Overcome Violence programme.
The theme of hope which the service as a whole took comes from the CEC assembly in Lyon "Called to One Hope in Christ".

Meditation on Ephesians 4:1-6

In the WCC programme called “public witness” which I have been working with, we have something you could call “Staff Team Values”. At our last programme staff retreat we defined a list of ideas how we understand our work and service and in what way we should interact with one another. The first point states: “We value our role as prophetic witness as found in our biblical tradition…” This is a conviction that could be shared by all of you. While working here at the Ecumenical Centre we are undertaking prophetic witness. This is what the text in Ephesians 4:1-6 is about. Verse 2 speaks of leading “a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called”. Do have a closer look at the text, on your worship-sheets.
The text goes on in verse 3 to telling us how to live in a way that is worthy of this vocation. Living worthy to one’s calling means interacting with our fellow human beings in a particular way: “with all humility and gentleness, with patience and with bearing one another in love”. During the discussion about our staff team values one of the colleagues said: “We do not need to be friends with everybody, but we do need to work together.” That is true. We cannot chose our colleagues. There are some we like better than others. And then there may be conflicts about work, controversial opinions how best to do things….
Here, the Bible text gives us advice how to behave in love, also when our relationships are complicated. Nevertheless we shall bear the other in love. Bearing the other in love does not mean falling in love with them, nor to become their best friend. But it means to see the other as being a beloved child of God, as part of the same and one community and therefore caring about and for them. In this way Christian love is an expression of responsibility towards the other person: it shows “gentleness” and “patience”.
Behaving in this way, we make real “efforts to maintain the unity in the Spirit in the bond of peace”. In the Ecumenical Centre we try to live in unity as Christians of different confessions. This means also trying to live unity in the service we do together in our teams. And not only unity within the team, but also within the programmes and within the whole institution … and unity within the WCC, the CEC, the LWF, the WSCF, and all the other organizations. And then of course networked unity between all of our organizations in the Ecumenical Centre.
Living out unity is not easy. We know this. Within the house there are different opinions and from time to time fiery discussions. Among and between confessions controversies remain. But we must carry on with our efforts for unity, because God calls us to have hope as we read in verse 5. Having hope is not a sensation, neither a sudden feeling, nor a reflection on what is likely or probable. To have hope is not a personal decision but a vocation. God tells us to have hope. So we have no other choice. That is why hope is so important. Hope is like a motor which takes us forward. Hope tells us to carry on, to continue our work in spite of the financial crisis and all other difficulties.
Let us believe in unity as the common goal in all our programmes, projects and activities. This common goal of our work shall also have its reflection in living community with colleagues here in the house.
Our hope of unity has a steady foundation. This is the “one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” Let us set our hope in the Lord. He is the one, who empowers us in all the work we do in his name.

Copyright (c) Angela Schnepel

Red threads and beads for a rare pearl ...

On Friday July 3rd a group of us gathered invited by a friend who will soon leave Geneva. We talked and shared stories and we threaded beads. The threading helped us to focus on our feelings, our hands had something to do and we could more easily listen to one another.
We were sad and emotions were high ...
What follows is a reflection I prepared before the evening.

Red threads and beads for a rare pearl …

In French the phrase une perle rare meaning a precious pearl, a rare jewel or stone, and it’s also a way of referring to a person. Calling someone une perle rare is a way of honouring their uniqueness, their beauty, their contribution – it’s a way too of saying they are brilliant and fabulous! ;-)

So N … this evening we celebrate your brilliance and fabulousness, how precious you have been to us in this place. To do that we have brought beads with us and some red thread.
We are going to thread our rare pearls onto le fil rouge. This phrase le fil rouge makes me smile because there’s a lot of biblical, feminist, mythical and birthing imagery in the red thread. However, it’s also very difficult to translate – “common thread” maybe the best we can do for now.

You’ll maybe remember the story from Greek mythology of Ariadne who helped Theseus escape the minotaur’s underground labyrinth by giving him a thread to follow – perhaps that thread was a red thread, or maybe a golden thread, or perhaps a prehistoric fluorescent thread that could be seen in the dark. The fearful threatening mythical beast in the labyrinth of life can be escaped by following a thread, a golden thread, a red thread, a common thread – given to the hero by a woman …

The Bible also has a red thread, Rahab, a woman said to be of dubious morals, supposedly hung a red thread at her window for Joshua and the Hebrew people to be able to enter Jericho. The subsequent story as it is told in the Bible is of a bloody battle, noisy shofar calls and walls falling down. But stories are not always history, today no archaeological traces of a battle can be found around Jericho. I like to think perhaps Rahab’s saving, liberating red thread was actually the work of convincing the leading men who visited her bed from both inside and outside the walls that they could live together in constructive and just peace. And we all know the need for a strong common red thread of peace with justice in that part of the world today.
Rahab the prostitute is one of the few women mentioned in the genealogy of Mary’s child, called Jesus.

The red thread is also the umbilical chord, the common thread that transmits DNA but which has to be cut if child and mother are to have a chance to live.

Today we are going to string pearls onto a red thread for you, some of our pearls may not really be beads but each comes with prayers, hopes and good wishes. As each person puts something onto your fil rouge they may want to say something, dance something or sing something. In the end we hope that this thread will be a bit like a rosary or prayers beads, fragile vulnerable pearls of remembrance, meaning, laughter and tears. Something for you to take with you if there is still room in your shipment home.

But then we thought that you might like to thread something onto a common thread for each of the people you have invited today. A way of affirming that each of us is a rare and precious pearl.
All of this threading, praying, remembering and celebrating, is also a way of saying that even when we think that we have lost the plot completely or cannot sense the common thread, there really is a way through the crazy, sometimes dangerous labyrinth of life and there are many pearls to be found on the way, if only we take time to notice.

So thanks N … to you for giving us this time to notice how beautiful you are, how beautiful each of us is, for honouring us with this invitation and for encouraging us to pick up the common thread of life.