©Liturgy for the Tragedy in Orlando
June 14, 2016
Celebrant Come, you who are weary, come to the table. Come lean on the God of compassion and strength
People: Blessed be God, now and forever.
Song For All The Children
Celebrant Let us pray
People
Holy God, you have made us members of one body, connected like muscle and bone. If one suffers, we all suffer. We gather tonight in common grief for the tragedy in Orlando, and for the seemingly relentless reality of gun violence. We seek to transform the world by doing what Jesus taught us: welcoming the stranger, loving our enemy, and working for justice. Tonight we pause in our confusion and grief. Through sacrament, song, and friendship, may your Spirit bind our broken hearts, and send us out with renewed dreams of a better day. This we ask in the name of the Holy Trinity, one God. Amen.
First Reading
Luke 6:27-37 “But I say to you who are willing to hear: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on the cheek, offer the other one as well. If someone takes your coat, don’t withhold your shirt either. Give to everyone who asks and don’t demand your things back from those who take them. Treat people in the same way that you want them to treat you.“If you love those who love you, why should you be commended? Even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, why should you be commended? Even sinners do that. If you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, why should you be commended? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to be paid back in full. Instead, love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing in return. Be compassionate just as your God is compassionate. Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good portion—packed down, firmly shaken, and overflowing—will fall into your lap. The portion you give will determine the portion you receive in return.
Song
Gospel John 1:1-5 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
Sermon
The Rev. LeeAnne Watkins
Litany
Deacon
Our hearts are broken, our minds are reeling, and so we come before you, Holy One, God of peace and comfort, laying our concerns at your feet, seeking solace, courage, and hope for a better day. Let us pray.
We pray for your church, that our voice may be strong and clear, our action effective and swift, bringing and end to gun violence and hatred.
Sing: Listen to your children praying, Lord send your spirit in this place, Listen to your children praying, send us love, send us power, send us grace
We pray for protection for those places of refuge and safety, of solidarity and celebration, because the road to justice is long and we need our strength, and our friends.
Sing: Listen to your children praying, Lord send your spirit in this place, Listen to your children praying, send us love, send us power, send us grace
We pray for first responders, for police and EMTs, for therapists and coroners, for health care workers and all who sacrifice much to serve the common good.
Sing: Listen to your children praying, Lord send your spirit in this place, Listen to your children praying, send us love, send us power, send us grace
We pray for our Muslim brothers and sisters, that in this time of tension and unrest we as Christians may be especially warm, loving, and sheltering them from persecution.
Sing: Listen to your children praying, Lord send your spirit in this place, Listen to your children praying, send us love, send us power, send us grace
We pray for those who persecute us, for those who inspire hatred, for those governed by fear, especially for the leaders of the ISIL, for the soul of the man who committed the massacre in Orlando, and for all considering similar violence.
Sing: Listen to your children praying, Lord send your spirit in this place, Listen to your children praying, send us love, send us power, send us grace
We pray for all who are afraid, and all who mourn. We pray for those who have suffered violence and death because of their sexual orientation throughout history, and tonight we honor those who died in the Orlando massacre. (name names if released by then)
Sing: Listen to your children praying, Lord send your spirit in this place, Listen to your children praying, send us love, send us power, send us grace
Fill our hearts with compassion, transform our grief into commitment to follow the example of Jesus until all live in dignity, safety, and peace. Amen.
Offering Hymn: True Colors
Eucharistic Prayer
The Lord be with you
And also with you
Lift up your hearts
We lift them to the Lord
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
It is right to give God thanks and praise
Holy One, we gather this day as one people, members of the same body, grateful for your many gifts, and carrying the hope within us for a world filled with love. This vision was given by you, from the very beginning of your creation.
You made the earth, and all that lives on it. You inspired prophets and shepherds, widows and slaves, to seek liberation from all that oppresses, so that we might be released to love fully. You became incarnate in Jesus Christ, so that through him we might experience the depth and width of your unquenchable love.
While Jesus lived among us he stood up for women and children, he touched the untouchable, healed the sick, and welcomed those who had given up hope of being included. Through him we see a path not only to our own freedom, but a path to the liberation of the whole world.
Jesus taught us that it will not be in the brutality of violence that our world will be saved. Rather, it will be in showing kindness to our neighbor, in standing up against injustice, in returning hate with love, in transforming one heart at a time. It will be in the simple but holy task of dining together, sharing bread and wine, truly seeing one another as beloved by you.
We know this because on the night before he was murdered, Jesus took bread, gave thanks to you, broke it, and gave it to his friends saying “Take, eat. This is my body broken for you. Do this to remember me.” After dinner he took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and gave it to them and said: “Drink this all of you. This is my blood of the new promise, poured out for you and for all for the forgiveness of sins. Do this to remember me.”
Send your Holy Spirit, we pray, into these gifts of bread and wine. Please send your Holy Spirit into us, that we may recognize each other as members of the same body, Christ’s hands and feet and heart, sent for the healing of the world.
All this we ask in your name. Amen.
Communion Hymns
Oh Let Me Be Your Light
Christ Be Our Light
Post-communion prayer
Celebrant Let us pray
People
Once again you have given us what we need: sacrament, one another, hope for a better day. With renewed energy we offer ourselves to be sent out in your name; hopeful, grateful, useful, leaders of liberation, proclaimers of your love. Amen.
Blessing
Recessional Hymn: Lift Every Voice and Sing
Dismissal
The opening acclamation, opening collect, and litany were written by the Rev. LeeAnne Watkins, Rector of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in St. Paul Minnesota. The Eucharistic prayer and post-communion prayer were written by Rev. Watkins in collaboration with the 9am liturgy team at St. Mary’s. Please use without alteration and with permission. For permission contact LeeAnne Watkins at leeannewa@gmail.com.