Recruit one person for each direction – give each a slip of paper and the ritual item, explain what to do – facing direction, placing item on the table after, returning to circle
Call to the Four Directions
East: Hold up scented oil and say:
We call to you of the East, Creatures of Air, Angelic Beings, be with us.
South: Hold up candle and say:
We call to you of the South, Creatures of Fire, Beings of Passion, be with us.
West: Hold up bowl of water and say:
We call to you of the West, Creatures of Water, Flowing Spirit, be with us.
North: Hold up dish of earth and say:
We call to you of the North, Creatures of Earth, our Home, be with us.
Invocation:
Shout for joy, Beloved of God, for we are promised life in the Light of Holiness! May we hear the words of those who have walked before us, bringing wisdom and hope. We call You, God our Father, God our Mother, Lord and Lady, Who are One! Be with us this day as we stand between the worlds of the great light and the threshold of darkness. Let us hear the promise in this day! Bring us to our paths to justice and mercy! Be with us now!
Invitation to Spirit (sing 3 times): Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me
Community Prayer Needs
Here we take time to speak our personal prayers and those things we wish to work on so we may fulfil the promise in our lives. Let us take a moment of silence to consider our needs.
Pray together:
O Wond’rous Creator, You who are all around us, Holy is Your Name. May the Love in which You live to become our home. Give us what we need each day, and show us mercy for the pain we have cause others, as we are merciful to those who have hurt us. Leave us not in temptation, but save us from evil. For You, O Great Mystery, are the Depth and Breadth and Height of All That Is. Amen.
Message
John who is called the Baptist, is said to be Jesus’ cousin, just about 6 months older than Jesus himself. He was the child of Zachariah and Elizabeth, who were really too old to have a child. As an adult, John was a wandering prophet, who baptized people as a way to cleanse them of their sins so they could prepare to be closer to God. John called for repentance, preaching against worldliness and self-serving behavior, to put it simply. Like the Hebrew Prophets of the Old Testament, John accused the people of acting contrary to God’s will. John’s practice of baptism was a ritual of self-purification and rededication to living right. At the time, the Jewish people were living in a land occupied by the Romans, oppressed by a foreign power, not for the first time. According to the Gospels, John preached that God was going to send a Messiah, or Savior, to intervene in the world soon. When Jesus came along and was baptized, John declared him to be the Promised One. It was after being baptized by John that Jesus went out to the desert, returning after 40 days of fasting to begin his 3 year ministry. John, whose birth fulfilled the dreams of a childless couple, brought a message of hope and promise to a people in bondage. The promise was fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus, who lived his life as the Light shining on the Way of Life that fulfills God’s expectations of us. It was a life lived in love, seeking truth and peace even though it meant his death. The life of Jesus was in itself a promise that if we live as he did, giving of ourselves, we will take part in making the world a new creation, what he called “the Kingdom of God.”
During the summer, the crops continue to grow in preparation for the harvest. We, too, continue to grow spiritually. In the middle of summer, it may seem that all of life slumbers under the weight of the heat. Yet it is during this time between spring and fall that plants do much of their growing. It is when we are our quietest, hiding from the blazing sun that we are at our most contemplative. Think about your own lives: what have you planted in your life that you want to harvest this year? What have you promised yourself and others this year? How are you tending to it? Today, as the sun begins to turn away, and the days get shorter, let us turn to place our feet toward the fulfillment of hope in our own lives. Let us reaffirm our dedication to the Way that Jesus spoke of; to Mindful action, which the Buddha taught. Our thoughts manifest in our lives and our being; we know that it is only by living in Love that we will be at Peace. Today, let us we embrace our own Spark of Divine Light, shining like the light of the sun above us, that we might shine it when darkness returns.
Communion
Now we will share bread and wine, for it is in the sharing of life sustaining food that we find ourselves in full Communion with our beloved ancestors and with one another. It is about God loving us unconditionally still one more time and giving life for life. Interconnectivity is the heart of communion. God and humanity come together, God and flesh, the flesh of wheat, wine, sunshine, soil, and water given to sustain us, body and soul. The "mystical body of Christ" and the Cosmic Christ or Buddha nature are in all beings in the universe. Christ is the light of the world. We eat, drink, sleep, breathe, and love that light. This shared Communion – the Eucharist -- is also our hearts expanding and responding generously: "Yes, we will." We will carry on the work of Christ: compassion, justice, and mercy.
Suzy raises the Chalice and pours libation to those who have gone before, symbolizing the truth that we are all connected by love even after death. She raises the Bread in honor of the living, growing friendships leavened by the Spirit, then crumbles some on the ground for those creatures with whom we share Our Mother Earth.
Share “Love Feast,” saying to one another as we pass the Chalice and Loaf around: “May you never hunger,” “May you never thirst.”
Closing:
Thank you, Beloved God, Mother and Father of our Souls, for being with us. It is in Your Time and Your Place that You will show us our Ways. We ask that as Jesus left the Gift of Spirit with his disciples, You leave us filled with Spirit as we enter into the World. Spirit! We Speak in Love to You! Be with us, fill us, make us new and give us energy, wisdom and power to fulfill the promise of our lives.
Dismissal of the Four Directions
East: We thank you Air, Angelic Creatures – for being with us – still you sing your Heavenly Praises
South: We thank you Fire, for Awakening the Spirit! You have Rekindled us with Passion born anew
West: We thank you Water, Flowing Spirit – You move within and we feel God’s Love
North: We thank you Earth, Our Home, Our Shelter, you support us we learn to keep you whole
Together we sing the “Benediction:”
The Circle is open, but it’s never broken; Merry Meet and Merry Part and Merry Meet Again
All: Peace, Shalom, Amen, Blessed Be, Namaste.
Potluck/Birthday Celebration afterward
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