15 August 2004

Welcome:

Call to togetherness:

Leader: We are all part of the rhythm of life.

As we mark this day of the journey, may peace be with us.

People: May we be makers of the peace.

Leader Where there is confusion and discord,

People We will use loving-kindness as a way through.

Leader: Where there is coldness and indifference,

People: We will use the fire of our love to warm the coldness, to light fires of love and banish indifference.

Leader: Where there is injustice and discrimination

People: We will challenge it, we will speak out, we will do all we can to change it

Leader: Where there is joy and hope,

People: We will celebrate and share it together.

Leader: Let us meet one another in love and forgiveness

People: Before God and one another we release anything we hold against another.

We regret all the harm we may have done; we stand beside each other in peace.

We listen to each other’s stories and share each other’s journey, that we may understand each other deeply, lovingly and become friends.

Affirmation of Faith

Together: The God of our understanding is varied, vibrant and rich in diversity

Much like we are!

We understand little about the nature of the universe we inhabit

Even though we think otherwise!

Amidst out struggle to find understanding and meaning in our life

Our predecessors in faith give us a glimpse of God that is unsurpassed

A God called Loving-kindness; Peace-on-earth; Justice-for-all

These are our noblest intentions and when we embody and enact them

We, too, enter the Kingdom of God

We too are called - God

Meditation

Meditation on Lovingkindness – by Sharon Salzberg

A common prayer by Michael Leunig

Let us pray for the victims of war: For those who mourn and are afflicted. For the earth and its innocent creatures now mutilated and in disarray. For the aggrieved and suffering souls now bombed into submission and tormented silence. For the scales of justice now locked in false balance. For the dove, now mocked by the metal wings of cruelty and greed. For the yearnings and labours of peacemakers, healers and teachers now degraded by the cunning and cowardice of military minds. For the needy whose precious resources are now wasted and spent. For the beautiful treasures, icons and holy places, now defiled by a crass science, now smashed by vulgar and heartless economies. For those who seek to know and understand what has befallen their world, now deceived and bewildered by the dictatorships of information. We lament this poisoned and sorrowful state, this brutal claim on the future of the spirit and soul.

And let us pray for the liberation of the American people. May they be freed from their illusions of victory and righteousness. May they be liberated from the compulsions of their violent dreams and the oppression of their lusts for power and material wealth. May that which is tender and loving in America, that which is compassionate and merciful, hold to its difficult task and be brought to bear on the affairs of that troubled nation.

We pray for peace. Amen.

Prayers for the people

God of loving-kindness, peace-on-earth and justice-for-all, we pray, that we will help strengthen the hands of all who strive for peace and justice throughout the world, and, seeing that all human beings are our relatives, we will share the pain of those who are oppressed, and will strive to promote the dignity and freedom of every person.
God of love, in the dignity and worth you give to all your creatures, may we always acknowledge the respect the diversity and richness of your creation; that we may honour the persons who come to us; that we may refuse to use or to be used as objects of selfish gratification; and that we may work for equity and justice for all people. Amen.

Individual prayers from the people gathered

Call of Faith to Action

Leader: As we search for some sense in life.

People: may we find that meaning in our relationships of care, compassion and tenderness.

Leader: We talk about loving-kindness as God

People: Let us act with loving-kindness to all people, to all animals, to all of nature on earth

Leader: We talk about peace-on-earth

People: Let us not only talk peace, but act peacefully in all we do, and to be peace makers. Let us listen to understand the other peoples point of view.

Leader: Jesus the Sage challenged the authorities of his time and was tortured and then murdered for his audacity to point out bigotry, prejudice and injustice. In 2000 years the challenge remains just as strong as ever, the dangers just as great - for we are, all of us, either a part of the problem or a part of the solution.

The world needs people who live and breath loving-kindness, peace and justice. Are we that people?

People: Yes, we are that people

The blessing

Let us stop for a moment and calm our thoughts

as we prepare ourselves for radical action, just like Jesus:

- to act with peaceful, careful listening; even in the face of aggression

- to calmly and lovingly challenge duplicity, bigotry, prejudice and injustice wherever we encounter it.

- to accept people with loving-kindness in all our interactions.

- to share our joy and blessings freely with others.