
Pluralism Sunday 2019
Updated: May 4, 2019
The livestream will be hosted on the Rev. Dr. Megan Rohrer's Facebook page at 3pm PST on 4/27/2019. After the service an archive of the service will be posted here.
Pluralism Service
Grace Evangelical Lutheran
Saturday, April 27, 2019
3 PM
Welcome to worship at Grace!
Welcome to long-time Lutherans, Christians from every tradition, and people new to faith. Welcome to all who have no church home, want to follow Christ, have doubts, or do not believe. Welcome to new visitors and old friends. Welcome to people of every age and size, color and culture, every sexual orientation and gender identity, socio-economic status, marital status, ability and challenge. Welcome to believers and questioners, and to questioning believers. This is a place where you are welcome to celebrate and sorrow, rejoice and recover. This is a place where lives are made new.
Special Welcome to Newcomers
Welcome to our small community of faith. While we are small in numbers, we have big hearts and a desire to grow. In order to help you follow along, we have included all the materials you need for worship in this bulletin.
Bathrooms are downstairs and can be found by exiting the doors near the communion railing.
Today’s service was created by the Rev. Dr. Susan Strouse. If you have any questions about the service or about Grace, you contact Rev. Dr. Megan Rohrer at pastor@gracesf.com.
Welcome and Intention Setting The Rev. Dr. Megan Rohrer
By calling ourselves progressive Christians, we mean we are Christians who affirm that the teachings of Jesus provide but one of many ways to experience the Sacredness and Oneness of life, and that we can draw from diverse sources of wisdom in our spiritual journey. - #2 of The 8 Points of Progressive Christianity
Shalom
Salaam
Namaste
Merry Meet
Peace Be with You
Come to the Circle of Life:[1]
Come to the circle, the circle of Life,
Come to the circle of Life,
Come to the circle, the circle of Life,
Come, dance and sing,
Come, Dance and sing!
Center within,
Center around,
Circle every where.
Edge without bounds,
Edge that expands,
Circle every where.
Come to the circle, the circle of Life,
Come to the circle of Life,
Come to the circle, the circle of Life,
Come, dance and sing,
Come, Dance and sing!
Greeting:
The wonder of Divine Creativity, the justice and truth of Love Incarnate, and the wisdom of Breath within Our Breath be with you all.
Prayer of the Day:[2] Divine Creativity, Ground and Source of All Being: Look upon your planet Earth divided. Help us to know that we are all your children, that all nations belong to one great family, and all of our religions lead to you. Multiply our prayers in every land until the whole Earth becomes your congregation, united in your love. Sustain our vision of a peaceful future and give us strength to work unceasingly to make that vision real. Amen
First Reading: Psalm 148[3]
Praise to you from the sky’s boundary
Praise to you from the mountain’s crown
Praise to you from winged angels
From all the hosts of heav’n and earth
The stars and their unimaginable brightness
The heavens in their silent dome
And the waters beyond those heavens
All wordlessly praise your unnameable name
For by your timeless speech,
All is created—why should it be?
And all is established endlessly,
Your unsayable saying that none can unsay
All life of earth is your praise
And the life of the sea and all unknowable depths
Fire and hail, snow and cloud
Tornado and hurricane—all is your speaking
Mountains and hills, fruit trees and cedars
Wildcats, cattle, buzzards, birds
Kings and their subjects, princes, judges. Young men, young women, old men, boys– All are your name’s praising For your unspeakableness alone is what is
Your brightness lights the earth and sky
Raises us up, blares out the note,
From your people’s trumpet
An exultant blast for all who struggle with you
And are close at hand.
Second Reading: “The Call of This Moment”[4]
The call of this moment and of all moments is to seek the light and to face the darkness within and without with unflinching honesty and unswerving devotion to journey at least a little each day toward enlightenment – living in love, fearless, joyous, and free – in service to this glorious and wounded world.
Gospel Reading: John 13:31-35[5]
A meal together with Jesus leads to feeding others. Loving Jesus leads to feeding “Love one another.” The way forward is through love and the “one another” is not just fellow followers of Jesus but all creation, beginning where we are and expanding to the human and non-human communities. Our love mirrors God’s love for us. Our love also reflects God’s love for all creation in its diversity and calls us to the same all-encompassing love.
Once Judas left, Jesus said,
“Now is the Human One glorified and God is glorified as well.
If God has been glorified,
God will in turn glorify the Human One and will do so very soon.
My little children,
I won’t be with you much longer. You’ll look for me,
but what I said to the religious authorities, I say to you: where I am going,
you cannot come.
I give you a new commandment: Love one another.
And you are to love one another the way I have loved you.
This is how all will know that you’re my disciples: that you truly love one another.”
Dialogue and Reflection on the Readings: The Rev. Dr. Susan Strouse and Ishaq Pathan
Deputy Director, Islamic Networks Group (ING)
Chant:[6]
Show us the Way of compassion
The Way of joy and peace
Show us the Way of compassion
The Way of joy and peace
Show us the Way
Show us the Way
Show us the Way of life.
Communion:[7]
The universe is the Body of God.
Amen. Indeed it is so.
Let us lift up our hearts.
We lift them into the Mystery.
Let us give thanks to the Source of Life.
It is right to join creation in thanks and praise.
It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, Holy One, for you have made your home in our midst, and at this table we give thanks for your justice, love, peace and freedom.
At this table we give thanks for friends and strangers, together in community in this safe place.
V1 A place at the table. And all are invited.
We give thanks for the unfolding of matter, mind, intelligence, and life that has brought us to this moment in time.
We celebrate our common origin with everything that exists.