Hope everyone is enjoying the winter so far! Yay for pretty snow in New England - stay safe and warm during the storm though!
Well, this advent season at The Pub Church we have enjoyed celebrating Mary and her Divine incarnation - her female body as the sacred place that ends any separation between the human and the divine. Her womb as the holy of holies! Ah, what beauty!
Last Saturday we enjoyed a Christmas celebration at the Dugout with dinner and music and everyone who was at the pub. Fun times.
However, because so many of us are out of town during the holidays (most of us really!) TPC will not gather on December 27th or January 3rd. We will gather again in the New Year on January 10th, 2009.
Soooo,
Have a restful and rejuvenating holiday season! :-) And see you in two weeks!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
December 13th Gathering
PRELUDE
Music by Andrew Prete
WELCOME
Welcome to The
We come together with diversity of thoughts, stories, talents, hopes and hurts. Our prayer is that in coming together with all our differences and with Spirit, we participate toward a new divine reality. This is sacred space.
OPENING PRAYER
From Process and Faith: Lectionary Commentary
Loving Goddes, open our hearts and minds to the truth made manifest in Jesus – That you are with us.
You are with us now, in this moment, flowing like a secret spring in our innermost being. May the simple beauty of the birth of Jesus summon us always to love what is most deeply human, and to see your love reflected in the humblest of lives. May the testimony of this incarnation summon us to cherish all life, and to see your goodness in the beauty of this Earth and one another.
TELLING OUR STORY
By Xochitl
PEACE – TOAST
Followed with music by Andrew
In this place we creatively express;
Some of us are focused, some are a mess!
We participate during the sermon
And people do connect, we are learnin’
Greet all with a handshake, toast or a wave
At all times feel free to yell, rant or rave
Fake not friends, we can arrive as we are.
Cheers! Here’s to sacred space in a bar!
CONVERSATIONAL SERMON
Queering Mary, Queering Christ
Luke 1:26-38; 45-55
In the sixth month (of
But she was deeply disturbed by his words and wondered what the greeting could mean. The heavenly messenger said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary. You see, you have found favor with God. Listen to me: you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus…
- What are our initial thoughts as we hear this story today?
- What parts of the story stand out in a good way?
- What parts of the story trouble us?
- Is there a way to queer the story in a way that helps bring out the good news?
COMMUNION AND SHARING OF RESOURCES
Led by Xochitl
Followed by one small song :-)
FEEDBACK AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Next week’s plan, December and January plans
BENEDICTION
From Process and Faith: Lectionary Commentary
Depart in peace, and take with you the certain knowledge that Goddess is always in the world. At this Christmastide let it be our delight to attend once more to the story told of one who was born on this Earth, who ministered to the poor, the rejected, and the brokenhearted, who died speaking truth to power, and whose death signified not the end, but a transformation awaiting all who commit our lives to the Divine vision for the well-being of this world.
Let us recall the original blessing imparted to us, that we are created in the image of God, and we are declared good. Let us ponder anew God’s promise to Noah and all creation to be present with us, no matter what unfolds.
Go forth in hope, in peace, in joy, and in love.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
December 6th Gathering
PRELUDE
Music by Maggie Keelan
WELCOME
Welcome to The Pub Church! We are a church in a pub and the Spirit is with us. In this space you are free to move about, order drinks/food, doodle, and express your ideas openly!
We come together with diversity of thoughts, stories, talents, hopes and hurts. Our prayer is that in coming together with all our differences and with Spirit, we participate toward a new divine reality. This is sacred space.
OPENING RITUAL
Pouring of the Wine, by KristinWhite
Open the Wine
Call to Worship:
Prepare for the Goddess upon your tongue
– the taste of her wisdom in your mouth.
Prepare for Her scent within your nostrils
– the heady call of love and grace and justice.
Prepare for Her swirling purple beauty
– alive with lives of the past, ripe with anticipation of joy to come.
She is moving amongst our fingertips.
Extend our arms to welcome Her.
Pour the wine
Scripture
Mark 2: 22
And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If she does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be lost. No, she pours new wine into new wineskins.
OPENING PRAYER
Goddess, in this place, in this gathering, we pray for change, to become new vessels,
full of courage, wisdom, hope and calm.
May we become new women, new men, new people, changed, shifted, grown strong and hopeful by your grace and by one another’s love.
May we leave this space different than we arrived. We desire to be new wineskins, strong and healthy, filled with your grace. May our strong bodies hold your grace, pouring it out for well-being and for joy. Amen.
BLESSING OF THE WINE and TOAST
Followed with music by Maggie
God of grape and God of harvest
God of wine and wind and sun
We give thanks for your Creation
– earth, and vine, and weather.
We lift up laborers, who work the fields of the world, who bring forth sustenance.
We rejoice in our togetherness.
We love you, heart of our lives and source of our blessings!
In this place we creatively express;
Some of us are focused, some are a mess!
We participate during the sermon
And people do connect, we are learnin’
Greet all with a handshake, toast or a wave
At all times feel free to yell, rant or rave
Fake not friends, we can arrive as we are.
Cheers! Here’s to sacred space in a bar!
Drink the wine (or beverage of choice)
CONVERSATIONAL SERMON
Small Incarnations
COMMUNION AND SHARING OF RESOURCES
Led by Xochitl
Followed by one small song
FEEDBACK AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
December and January plans
BENEDICTION
Blessed Be! Wild Goddess of wine and women, wisdom and wonder, and of all people, spin out your mystery and your love within us. Sisters, be ripe, be fresh, be vibrant. May the harvest be abundant in our lives. Blessed Be! O, Blessed Be!
Music by Maggie Keelan
WELCOME
Welcome to The Pub Church! We are a church in a pub and the Spirit is with us. In this space you are free to move about, order drinks/food, doodle, and express your ideas openly!
We come together with diversity of thoughts, stories, talents, hopes and hurts. Our prayer is that in coming together with all our differences and with Spirit, we participate toward a new divine reality. This is sacred space.
OPENING RITUAL
Pouring of the Wine, by KristinWhite
Open the Wine
Call to Worship:
Prepare for the Goddess upon your tongue
– the taste of her wisdom in your mouth.
Prepare for Her scent within your nostrils
– the heady call of love and grace and justice.
Prepare for Her swirling purple beauty
– alive with lives of the past, ripe with anticipation of joy to come.
She is moving amongst our fingertips.
Extend our arms to welcome Her.
Pour the wine
Scripture
Mark 2: 22
And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If she does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be lost. No, she pours new wine into new wineskins.
OPENING PRAYER
Goddess, in this place, in this gathering, we pray for change, to become new vessels,
full of courage, wisdom, hope and calm.
May we become new women, new men, new people, changed, shifted, grown strong and hopeful by your grace and by one another’s love.
May we leave this space different than we arrived. We desire to be new wineskins, strong and healthy, filled with your grace. May our strong bodies hold your grace, pouring it out for well-being and for joy. Amen.
BLESSING OF THE WINE and TOAST
Followed with music by Maggie
God of grape and God of harvest
God of wine and wind and sun
We give thanks for your Creation
– earth, and vine, and weather.
We lift up laborers, who work the fields of the world, who bring forth sustenance.
We rejoice in our togetherness.
We love you, heart of our lives and source of our blessings!
In this place we creatively express;
Some of us are focused, some are a mess!
We participate during the sermon
And people do connect, we are learnin’
Greet all with a handshake, toast or a wave
At all times feel free to yell, rant or rave
Fake not friends, we can arrive as we are.
Cheers! Here’s to sacred space in a bar!
Drink the wine (or beverage of choice)
CONVERSATIONAL SERMON
Small Incarnations
COMMUNION AND SHARING OF RESOURCES
Led by Xochitl
Followed by one small song
FEEDBACK AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
December and January plans
BENEDICTION
Blessed Be! Wild Goddess of wine and women, wisdom and wonder, and of all people, spin out your mystery and your love within us. Sisters, be ripe, be fresh, be vibrant. May the harvest be abundant in our lives. Blessed Be! O, Blessed Be!
Monday, November 17, 2008
What's on tap? Religion - The Boston Globe
So The Pub Church is in the news...
What's on tap? Religion - The Boston Globe
Posted using ShareThis
It's pretty funny to read a perspective from an outside person - especially when it's for a newspaper. But of course, like with any perspective, it's always an opportunity for self-reflection...
First of all, the idea of pub church did start at The Crossroads, but several years back, not last year. And it took a while, more than a year, before anything really got going. Then those who were interested in the pub church began to meet as a "core group" to reflect on the form, vision and structure of pub church last fall 2007.
Now, one of the things that has always been important for me as a practice of openness to the Spirit, and which we practice at pub church, is silence. Silence is important in order to allow space for thought, clarity, and listening to the Divine. So it was kinda funny to read the reporter's interpretation of it as "awkward silence" that resulted from an absence of rote ritual...for whom was it awkward, really? ;)
Also, Bryan Stone commented that "Everyone contributes to the truth rather than relying on something handed down by an authority." There is so much to think about regarding this statement and what/who "authority" is. This makes it seem as if there is a complete rejection of "authority" by those at pub church - but perhaps it is not authority in and of itself which is in question, but how authority is defined and understood. At The Pub Church, there is definitely an openness to Spirit/God/Goddess (whichever name one uses for the Divine), this openness in itself reflects an understanding of the Divine as "source," as "authority."
But we also recognize and have experienced a world that misuses "divine authority" to justify oppression and domination, abuse and violence, by people and institution who claim to have "rights" (and be "right"), and the truth, under this authority; it's a hierarchical understanding of authority. So yes, if this is authority, then I'm pretty sure anyone who participates in pub church altogether rejects this kind of authority.
So how do we come to know truth if it is not "handed down" to us from a hierarchical authority? First of all, very tentatively, or, I may say, with humility. To claim to have "the" truth is a very dangerous business. But we also start with an affirmation of the Divine in us all. That God made herself flesh, that God let herself be known, embodied, and experienced in the flesh and body of a little baby - a baby who grew up to share a new and divine way of life with a community of people - is a shattering of all separation between the Divine and the human. The Divine does not reveal herself from "above," from an authority to which we have no connection. She reveals her truth in the flesh, in the beautiful and messy lives of humanity (and the universe). God makes herself be know among us, with us, and in us. And that's where we look for her. In the small incarnations that occur among us.
The article also raises the question of identity (something I'm always asked about in regards to TPC), but I will deal with that later. For now, one more thing...
At the end of the article the reporter asked me, What is a Church? I wish I would have added more to my answer; I say "From a Christian perspective, church is the people who respond to God's good news."
I would at least say, "From a Christian perspective, the church is the people who respond to God's good news that there is a new divine way of living and relating in the world, thus, the church is the people who communally act to embody this divine new way."
What's on tap? Religion - The Boston Globe
Posted using ShareThis
It's pretty funny to read a perspective from an outside person - especially when it's for a newspaper. But of course, like with any perspective, it's always an opportunity for self-reflection...
First of all, the idea of pub church did start at The Crossroads, but several years back, not last year. And it took a while, more than a year, before anything really got going. Then those who were interested in the pub church began to meet as a "core group" to reflect on the form, vision and structure of pub church last fall 2007.
Now, one of the things that has always been important for me as a practice of openness to the Spirit, and which we practice at pub church, is silence. Silence is important in order to allow space for thought, clarity, and listening to the Divine. So it was kinda funny to read the reporter's interpretation of it as "awkward silence" that resulted from an absence of rote ritual...for whom was it awkward, really? ;)
Also, Bryan Stone commented that "Everyone contributes to the truth rather than relying on something handed down by an authority." There is so much to think about regarding this statement and what/who "authority" is. This makes it seem as if there is a complete rejection of "authority" by those at pub church - but perhaps it is not authority in and of itself which is in question, but how authority is defined and understood. At The Pub Church, there is definitely an openness to Spirit/God/Goddess (whichever name one uses for the Divine), this openness in itself reflects an understanding of the Divine as "source," as "authority."
But we also recognize and have experienced a world that misuses "divine authority" to justify oppression and domination, abuse and violence, by people and institution who claim to have "rights" (and be "right"), and the truth, under this authority; it's a hierarchical understanding of authority. So yes, if this is authority, then I'm pretty sure anyone who participates in pub church altogether rejects this kind of authority.
So how do we come to know truth if it is not "handed down" to us from a hierarchical authority? First of all, very tentatively, or, I may say, with humility. To claim to have "the" truth is a very dangerous business. But we also start with an affirmation of the Divine in us all. That God made herself flesh, that God let herself be known, embodied, and experienced in the flesh and body of a little baby - a baby who grew up to share a new and divine way of life with a community of people - is a shattering of all separation between the Divine and the human. The Divine does not reveal herself from "above," from an authority to which we have no connection. She reveals her truth in the flesh, in the beautiful and messy lives of humanity (and the universe). God makes herself be know among us, with us, and in us. And that's where we look for her. In the small incarnations that occur among us.
The article also raises the question of identity (something I'm always asked about in regards to TPC), but I will deal with that later. For now, one more thing...
At the end of the article the reporter asked me, What is a Church? I wish I would have added more to my answer; I say "From a Christian perspective, church is the people who respond to God's good news."
I would at least say, "From a Christian perspective, the church is the people who respond to God's good news that there is a new divine way of living and relating in the world, thus, the church is the people who communally act to embody this divine new way."
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Andrew Prete 11-15-08
With some of us feeling worn out (and a bit down) from a rough week, Andrew cheered us up with a favorite song!
The Weight :-)
The Weight :-)
Saturday, November 15, 2008
November 15th Gathering
OPENING PRAYER
Prayer by Annie Besant
O Hidden Life vibrant in every atom;
O Hidden Light! Shining in every creature;
O Hidden Love! Embracing all in Oneness;
May each who feel ourselves as one with You,
Know we are also one with every other.
SEASON OF THANKSGIVING
“The Ordinary Realm of the Divine”
Liturgy taken from Worship in the Spirit of Jesus: Theology, Liturgy, and Songs without Violence (p. 124-129)
Talking about small incarnations last week, and in preparation for the Thanksgiving celebration coming up in three weeks, I wanted to do a liturgy of the ordinary…
Jesus’ disciples came to know him as the one who would bring about something new – something Divine – something that would “right” the world…but they expected it to come as a mighty victory, instead, Jesus said it would be quite different, it would be commonplace, it would occur in small incarnations, and that in fact, it was already present.
So today we’re going to try a simple ritual; a liturgy that brings our focus to the present moment in search of recognizing the Divine in the ordinary.
It’s interactive, so those of you who don’t mind, will you read the bold parts…
* Liturgy that followed is from Worship in the Spirit of Jesus: Theology, Liturgy and Songs Without Violence, pg. 124-128
November 8th Gathering - Posted Late!
PRELUDE
Music by Maggie Keelan
WELCOME
Welcome to The Pub Church! We are a church in a pub and the Spirit is with us. In this space you are free to move about, order drinks/food, doodle, and express your ideas openly!
We come together with diversity of thoughts, stories, talents, hopes and hurts. Our prayer is that in coming together with all our differences and with Spirit, we participate toward a new divine reality. This is sacred space.
VIDEO MEDITATION
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjA2nUUsGxw
OPENING PRAYER
Divine presence within and all around us, lure us out, so that the best of ourselves, the divine that is within us, can sing out loud!
PEACE – TOAST
Followed with music by Maggie
In this place we creatively express;
Some of us are focused, some are a mess!
We participate during the sermon
And people do connect, we are learnin’
Greet all with a handshake, toast or a wave
At all times feel free to yell, rant or rave
Fake not friends, we can arrive as we are.
Cheers! Here’s to sacred space in a bar!
TELLING OUR STORY
Coming Out – to Hope!
CONVERSATIONAL SERMON
One Voice, One Small Incarnation
A Reading from Bryan Stone’s Evangelism After Christendom, quoting Gerhard Lohfink, (73).
“God, like all revolutionaries, desires the overturning, the radical alteration of the whole society – for in this the revolutionaries are right: what is at stake is the whole world, and the change must be radical, for the misery of the world cries to heaven and it begins deep within the human heart. But how can anyone change the world and society at its roots without taking away freedom?”
~~~~~~~~~~
- What do we think of the “one small voice” of which Obama speaks?
- What do we think of the small single place that incarnates a new Divine way?
- Are revolutions possible or even desirable?
COMMUNION AND SHARING OF RESOURCES
Led by Xochitl
Followed by one small song
FEEDBACK AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Updates on thepubchurch.blogspot.com
CLOSING
Followed with music by Maggie
Radiant Source of Life,
You Are Who You Are and we have been created in your Divine image, alike, yet diverse. Birthed in your image, we are born into possibility, each of us a mystery ever unfolding. Help us to honor the rich complexities of who we are; that we may know ourselves and others to be bearers of creativity and participants in Divinity, who together enact a make a small voice of change.
Let us go forth then knowing our place, answering the call, and living in Spirit.
*Inspired by Transgendering Faith, (p. 129-130)
Music by Maggie Keelan
WELCOME
Welcome to The Pub Church! We are a church in a pub and the Spirit is with us. In this space you are free to move about, order drinks/food, doodle, and express your ideas openly!
We come together with diversity of thoughts, stories, talents, hopes and hurts. Our prayer is that in coming together with all our differences and with Spirit, we participate toward a new divine reality. This is sacred space.
VIDEO MEDITATION
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjA2nUUsGxw
OPENING PRAYER
Divine presence within and all around us, lure us out, so that the best of ourselves, the divine that is within us, can sing out loud!
PEACE – TOAST
Followed with music by Maggie
In this place we creatively express;
Some of us are focused, some are a mess!
We participate during the sermon
And people do connect, we are learnin’
Greet all with a handshake, toast or a wave
At all times feel free to yell, rant or rave
Fake not friends, we can arrive as we are.
Cheers! Here’s to sacred space in a bar!
TELLING OUR STORY
Coming Out – to Hope!
CONVERSATIONAL SERMON
One Voice, One Small Incarnation
A Reading from Bryan Stone’s Evangelism After Christendom, quoting Gerhard Lohfink, (73).
“God, like all revolutionaries, desires the overturning, the radical alteration of the whole society – for in this the revolutionaries are right: what is at stake is the whole world, and the change must be radical, for the misery of the world cries to heaven and it begins deep within the human heart. But how can anyone change the world and society at its roots without taking away freedom?”
~~~~~~~~~~
- What do we think of the “one small voice” of which Obama speaks?
- What do we think of the small single place that incarnates a new Divine way?
- Are revolutions possible or even desirable?
COMMUNION AND SHARING OF RESOURCES
Led by Xochitl
Followed by one small song
FEEDBACK AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Updates on thepubchurch.blogspot.com
CLOSING
Followed with music by Maggie
Radiant Source of Life,
You Are Who You Are and we have been created in your Divine image, alike, yet diverse. Birthed in your image, we are born into possibility, each of us a mystery ever unfolding. Help us to honor the rich complexities of who we are; that we may know ourselves and others to be bearers of creativity and participants in Divinity, who together enact a make a small voice of change.
Let us go forth then knowing our place, answering the call, and living in Spirit.
*Inspired by Transgendering Faith, (p. 129-130)
Friday, November 7, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
October 25th Gathering
WELCOME
Welcome to The
We come together with diversity of thoughts, stories, talents, hopes and hurts. Our prayer is that in coming together with all our differences and with Spirit we participate in a new divine reality. This is sacred space.
SILENT MEDITATION
Be still and aware of the Divine Presence within and all around us…
OPENING PRAYER
Divine presence within and all around us, lure us out, so that the best of ourselves, the divine that is within us, can sing out loud!
PEACE – TOAST
In this place we creatively express;
Some of us are focused, some are a mess!
We participate during the sermon
And people do connect, we are learnin’
Greet all with a handshake, toast or a wave
At all times feel free to yell, rant or rave
Fake not friends, we can arrive as we are.
Cheers! Here’s to sacred space in a bar!
TELLING OUR STORY
Coming Out – to Hope!
CONVERSATIONAL SERMON
The Content of our Hope
Last week we talked about coming out…
A
”It is the belief in this Spirit, the giver of life and love, that is the basis of hope. In spite of all the destructive forces we let loose against life on this planet, the Spirit of Life is at work in ever new and unforeseeable ways, countering and circumventing the obstacles we put in its path. In spite of my strong tendencies to complacency and despair, I experience the Spirit in myself as calling forth the realistic hope apart from which there is no hope, and I am confident that what I find in myself is occurring in others also.
Since what makes for life and love and hope is not simply the decision of one individual or another, but a Spirit that moves us all, I do not have to suppose that my own efforts are of great consequence in order to believe them to be worthwhile. I can recognize that they may even be futile or misdirected and still persist in them as long as no clearer light is given, for I see what I do as part of something much greater, something in which all persons participate to whatever extent they sensitively respond to the insights and opportunities that come their way. Belief in the Spirit is belief that I am not alone, that in working for life and love in hope, I am working with something much greater than myself, that there are possibilities for the future that cannot be simply projected out of the past, that even my mistakes and failures may be woven into a healing pattern of which I am not now aware.
Belief in the Spirit is no ground for complacency. There is no guarantee that people will respond to the Spirit’s prompting in sufficient numbers and with sufficient sensitivity to begin the healing of the planet. But there is the possibility. The future can be different from the past. Therefore there is hope. Where there is life, there is hope."
ENACTED HOPE
~~~~~~~~~~
- Does the Spirit Cobb speaks of resonate with us?
- Do we believe in a Spirit that moves us all?
- What is the character of that Spirit? How did we come to know it? How do we recognize it?
SHARING RESOURCES AT THE TABLE
COMMUNION
Led by Xochitl
FEEDBACK AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Updates on thepubchurch.blogspot.com
November 1, 2008 gathering.
CLOSING
Radiant Source of Life,
You Are Who You Are and we have been created in your Divine image, alike, yet diverse. Birthed in your image, we are born into possibility, each of us a mystery ever unfolding. Help us to honor the rich complexities of who we are; deepen and unite us in you, so that we may know ourselves and others to be bearers of creativity and of your transforming love.
Let us go forth then knowing our place, answering the call, and living in Spirit.
*Inspired by, Transgendering Faith, (p. 129-130)
Friday, October 24, 2008
October 18th Gathering - Posted Late!
PRELUDE
Music by Maggie Keelan
Music by Maggie Keelan
WELCOME
Welcome to The Pub Church! We are a church in a pub and the Spirit is with us. In this space you are free to move about, order drinks/food, doodle, and express your ideas openly!
We come together with diversity of thoughts, stories, talents, hopes and hurts. Our prayer is that in coming together with all our differences and with Spirit we participate in a new divine reality. This is sacred space.
OPENING PRAYER
Trapped by expectations, I kept the best of me hidden and shushed her when she spoke – Divine presence within and all around us, call us out, so that the best of ourselves, the divine that is within us, can sing out loud!
PEACE – TOAST
Followed with music by Maggie
Followed with music by Maggie
In this place we creatively express;
Some of us are focused, some are a mess!
We participate during the sermon
And people do connect, we are learnin’
Greet all with a handshake, toast or a wave
At all times feel free to yell, rant or rave
Fake not friends, we can arrive as we are.
Cheers! Here’s to sacred space in a bar!
TELLING OUR STORY
Coming Out!
Coming Out!
CONVERSATIONAL SERMON
National Coming Out day was October 11th
“The word ‘out’ seems to suggest opening a door and walking through a portal and suddenly the world changes. It’s really not like that. I use the metaphor of a long, narrow corridor which is dark at first, then there are little glimmers of light coming in, then it starts to widen, and then there’s a window opening. And you peek out, and you see some possibilities. And then there are doors ajar, and you might step out briefly and then come back in. So, it is a long process. It’s not as the word “out” suggests – a sudden decision and you step into another world.”National Coming Out day was October 11th
From an interview with George Takei, as quoted in God Comes Out: A Queer Homiletic.
~~~~~~~~~~
- What process of coming out have we found ourselves in? Do we find ourselves in now?
- In what ways have we found the strength to keep walking through the dimness?
- What have been our glimmers of light?
SHARING OF RESOURCES
COMMUNION
Led by Xochitl
COMMUNION
Led by Xochitl
FEEDBACK AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Updates on thepubchurch.blogspot.com
November 1, 2008 gathering?
CLOSING
Followed with music by Maggie
Updates on thepubchurch.blogspot.com
November 1, 2008 gathering?
CLOSING
Followed with music by Maggie
Radiant Source of Life,
You Are Who You Are , and we have been created in your Divine image, alike, yet diverse. Birthed in your image, we are born into possibility, each of us a mystery ever unfolding. Help us to honor the rich complexities of who we are; deepen and unite us in you, so that we may know ourselves and others to be bearers of creative power and channels of your transforming love.
Let us now go, called out to be who we are, and to sing out loud!
*Inspired by, Transgendering Faith, (p. 129-130)
Friday, October 3, 2008
Fun with Wordle
This was just a fun thing to do: On the Wordle site, you can create a "word cloud" that is generated from a text one provides, in this case The Pub Church blog. The sizes of the words correspond to their frequency
Use this link below to see ours in their gallery - cool huh? :-)
title="Wordle: The Pub Church">
style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd">
Thanks http://wordle.net/ for your creativity!
Use this link below to see ours in their gallery - cool huh? :-)
title="Wordle: The Pub Church">
style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd">
Thanks http://wordle.net/ for your creativity!
Friday, September 26, 2008
September 27, 2008 Gathering
PRELUDE
Andrew Prete
WELCOME
Welcome to The
We come together with diversity of thoughts, stories, talents, hopes and hurts. Our prayer is that in coming together with all our differences we participate in a new divine reality and drink in the Spirit! This is sacred space.
OPENING READING
Spirit who is in all places, when we meditate on what we will say and how we will say it, you are present; when we have resolved to come into your sacredness, you are present, but perhaps this truth is not always real to us. So bless this gathering in order that each of us individually and communally will in this hour feel your presence and know that we are with you. **Adapted from The Prayers of Kierkegaard, p. 59.
PEACE – TOAST
Followed by Andrew
In this place we creatively express;
Some of us are focused, some are a mess!
We participate during the sermon
And people do connect, we are learnin’
Greet all with a handshake, toast or a wave
At all times feel free to yell, rant or rave
Fake not friends, we can arrive as we are.
Cheers! Here’s to sacred space in a bar!
TELLING OUR STORY
Story from last week
CONVERSATIONAL SERMON
What new reality?
Last week we ended with communion and with these words:
“As we gather in this present moment
Let us remember that in every moment we are cooperating in some reality, we make something real by our very presence and participation, by our embodied reality, by how we live and relate to one another.
In this moment then, let us make real a community of the Spirit, a people who are peaceable and beautiful in our relations with one another, with the earth, and with the Divine. Let us do that even as we share this bread and this wine now...”
And the week before that we read from…
~~~~~~~
~ What would be the new reality we would like to see?
~ In what ways do we participate to make that reality real – embodied?
~ What practices contribute to this new reality?
~ Do we believe a new reality is even possible?
SHARING OF RESOURCES
COMMUNION
FEEDBACK AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Check the BLOG: thepubchurch.blogspot.com
CLOSING
Followed by music from Andrew
Openness to the divine is one of the important aspects of each occasion of experience. And that openness and responsiveness to the lure of the Spirit leads to further openness in the future. Faith can be interpreted as trusting that divine influence each moment.
- From “Process and Faith” (lectionary website)
May we go in peace, with Spirit, and as participants of a new Divine reality.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
September 20, 2008 Gathering
WELCOME
Welcome to The Pub Church! We are a church in a pub. So please feel free to move around, order drinks and food, and above all express your thoughts and ideas freely!
We all come with stories, talents, gifts, and hopes. It is our prayer that with all our differences and all our strengths, we will come together and drink in the spirit! This is sacred space.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Food, sharing of resources, a reading,
and our stories
and our stories
PEACE – TOAST
In this place we creatively express;
Some of us are focused, some are a mess!
We participate during the sermon
And people do connect, we are learnin’
Greet all with a handshake, toast or a wave
At all times feel free to yell, rant or rave
Fake not friends, we can arrive as we are.
Cheers! Here’s to sacred space in a bar!
A READING
- From Bryan Stone’s, Evangelism After Christendom, (12).
“Jesus talked about the reign of God as a radically new order that comes to put an end to age-old patterns of wealth and poverty, domination and subordination, insider and outsider that are deeply ingrained in the way we relate to one another on this planet. But in order for that new order to become a serious option for the world, it must be visibly and imaginatively embodied in the world. And if scripture is a faithful witness, the purpose of God throughout history is the creation and formation of a new people whose mission is to do just that…But (if that is to be so, then good news)* will have to be understood …as a fundamentally subversive activity, born out of a posture of eccentricity (living “off-center” or “outside the center,” at the margins) and out of the cultivation of such deviant practices as sharing bread with the poor, loving enemies, refusing violence, forgiving sins, and telling the truth.”
*my rewording
*my rewording
FEEDBACK AND FINAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Check the BLOG: thepubchurch.blogspot.com
Music
Music
CLOSING COMMUNION
Our true home is in the present moment.
To live in the present moment is a miracle.
The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment,
To appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.
Peace is all around us.
* From Life Prayers, Thich Nhat Hanh p. 367
As we gather in this present moment
Let us remember that in every moment we are cooperating in some reality, we make something real by our very presence and participation, by our embodied reality, by how we live and relate to one another.
In this moment then, let us make real a community of the Spirit, a people who are peaceable and beautiful in our relations with one another, with the earth, and with the Divine. Let us do that even as we share this bread and this wine now...
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
The Dugout is remodeled!
Pretty fancy huh?! :-) So come and enjoy the comfy couches with us!
And don't forget, you can always bring your own shotglass to use for communion.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
September 13, 2008 Gathering
WELCOME
Welcome to The
We all come with stories, talents, gifts, and hopes. It is our prayer that with all our differences and all our strengths, we will come together and drink in the spirit! This is sacred space.
PEACE – TOAST
In this place we creatively express;
Some of us are focused, some are a mess!
We participate during the sermon
And people do connect, we are learnin’
Greet all with a handshake, toast or a wave
At all times feel free to yell, rant or rave
Fake not friends, we can arrive as we are.
Cheers! Here’s to sacred space in a bar!
OPENING READING
Prayer of Saint Francis of
Spirit, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Spirit, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born anew. Amen
TELLING OUR STORY
By Andrew Tripp
CONVERSATIONAL SERMON
Reflections on Participating in Church
Last week we reflected on being church, and coming together with difference. We talked about how we do that; how do we have something in common that brings us together while at the same time acknowledging and taking our differences into account? We mentioned the importance of a few things: sharing our questions and our interests with one another, being open about them; not imposing our ways or understandings on each other, but being willing to be present with one another in our differences; and all this requires that we hold our own questions and understandings in openness.
If there is Sacredness, if there is Spirit, if there is God/ess, then movement, transformation, growth, healing and a new way of being and relating in the world and with one another is possible. And at the same time, conflict is inevitable…Matthew 18:15-20
- What are some of the practices that help us be together with difference, that help us work through the conflict that is inherent in difference?
SHARING OF RESOURCES
We will share resources with one another and toward The Pub Church.
COMMUNION
Led by Xochitl with a poem.
FEEDBACK AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Check the BLOG: thepubchurch.blogspot.com
September 20th location??? Andrew
CLOSING
Radiant and unfading Wisdom, you are expansive,
holy, unique, manifold; you are more mobile than any motion; you are a breath of the power of the Divine. Enter into our souls and stay with us as we close our time today. Amen.
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