Re: the Iona Community

The Iona Community is a dispersed Christian ecumenical community working for peace and social justice, rebuilding of community and the renewal of worship.

We are an ecumenical Christian community of men and women from different walks of life and different traditions in the Church engaged together, and with people of goodwill across the world, in acting, reflecting and praying for justice, peace and the integrity of creation; convinced that the inclusive community we seek must be embodied in the community we practise.

Visit: http://iona.org.uk/

My Personal Statement: We Are

When we worship as a faith community, we are

Thankful as we gather 

Broken as we confess 

Hoping as we pray together

Trusting with the faith that God restores us.

In our lives, we are

Committed to grow in love,

Revealed in Christ

And enabled by the Spirit 

who transforms our hearts and lifestyles 
to be whole and just. 

I love how the Iona Community renews their worship.

Work and Worship

Prayer and Politics

Sacred and Secular are one. 

What I hope

More "sharing" than "just listening."

From a model of pyramid to a model of circle. 

Empowerment of the laity. 

Minister: to be more engaging.

Laity: to be more actively participating, not just listening

From the model of what to believe to how we choose to live.

To nurture and enforce progressive, liberal and inclusive stance in theology and spirit, 
Praying into community, as much as we pray to God. I believe in the ripple effects of prayers shared among and act through the community.

Prayer is not (supernatural) magic; it is a ripple effect. We carry God in us. 

Emphasis on the spirit of community as God’s people.

More appreciating the significance of ecological and economical justice, and peace.  

Important question to ask: How is the Jesus’ life, death and life beyond death & the Christ event of 2000 years ago related with me and us in 21^st century? 

Re: the order of service @ Chemainus UC

Re: the order of service 

Welcome

Good morning. I would like to extend our warmest welcome to everyone who has come to worship together, this morning, with praise and prayers.

We are one and many. Our lives with all of our different stories, different colours and shades, all are intersected and join here, to be amazed and enlightened. May we share our yearning for a deeper connection with one another and with God in God's centering love.

Do we have anyone who is worshipping with us for the first time this morning?

Please introduce yourself to us. We welcome you and celebrate your presence among us; our church offers coffee and lunch in our hall following the worship. You are most welcome to join in our lunch table of laughter and stories; we hope you enjoy your time in our loving and caring community. (if the newcomers are not travelers but live in Chemainus or nearby.)

Celebrations

Do we have celebrations? Let us hear how the small and big gifts of life have touched us with delight and joy this week!

Thank you all for sharing your happiness with us. May love abound in you and in us who are lifted up by your joy. Giving thanks and gratitude for life, the gift of God, let us sing together with celebration: (Happy birthday...)

Announcements

Let us hear how the Spirit of God is working with us in our church family and beyond.

After hearing the announcements

We share the joy. We share the burden. We share the exciting moments we have enjoyed and those which are to come. Thank God and all those whose gifts and bright spirits strengthen our community to be a better place to grow in commitment to love and justice.  

Prayer Concerns

Can a small church make a difference? Yes we can.

In this time we share our prayer concerns.

We share our concerns in a community which is who we are and where God hears.

We will feel that people's hearts wrap around us and know that strength.

Do we have the names of those who are dear to us and need our prayers?

Do we have local or global issues which deeply concern us?

Do we have anyone who would be helped by addressing a burden, a lament, sadness or sorrow? We would like to be a hearing and healing circle and offer our prayers.

In this circle of prayers

we break our hearts with truth.

We gain deeper knowledge of the lives of others,

those close to us, and those who are not known to us but whose lives are affected by the way we live.

Thank you everyone for sharing these concerns and burdens with us.

Candle-lighting

This time for lighting a candle holds many meanings: those who choose to sit in the pews can have a time of quiet reflection or silent prayer. You are also welcome to 'be simply present' - being in the sheltering circle of a community of good spirit and music.   

And for those who come up, lighting a candle may mean lighting tears or laughter, remembering blessings or releasing burdens, praying and bidding shalom and healing for our loved ones. Please feel free to come up and light your stories.

Opening Prayer

Invitation: Let us open our hearts for one another in the presence of God, here and now, as we continue to worship together.

(For example,)

As a church family, we are

a banquet table - feeding the poor

a circle of sheltering love - caring for one another

a journey which is only at the halfway point - a milestone.

O God, keep our feet strong in our pilgrimage of love.

May the roots of our love reach deep into the ground of your being. Amen.

Prayer of Confession:

An image of sin: harming against another.

What we do in confessing: “Before God and every person here, in the company of all God’s people, we release anything we hold against another and regret the harm we have done to another and to creation and ask God’s restoration. Rev. Murray suggests, “we confess to God and in the company of all God’s people that our lives and the life of the world are broken by our sin.”

Assurance: canceling our debts: jubilee

Three Minute Meditation (after scripture reading)

May we aspire to be who we truly are in God's presence, our centre.

Let us have a quiet moment for opening ourselves to the words of scripture.

Or you may choose to 'simply be' as you trust that the centering love of God will touch you.   

Communion &Great Thanksgiving

L: May God’s transforming love be with us.

P: And also with our neighbours and the whole people of God throughout the earth.

L: We open our hearts.

P: We open our joyful hearts to the Lord and to one another, and stand in the presence of God and one another as thankful people.

L: Let us lift our voices in singing with men and women throughout the ages

our song of faith, with the hope that we draw the circle of love wider, deeper and higher.

Remembering the Community (by the leader)

On this table of the great sharing of God’s love,

Where bread is broken and juice is poured out,  

We also remember those who suffer in our midst, in our community, and in our world.

….intercessory prayers…

Held in Christ’s love, may we love as Christ loved.  

Knowing our own weakness, may we stand with all who stumble.

Sharing in Christ’s suffering, may we remember all who suffer.

Seeking Christ’s guidance, may we help restore their lives and their broken communities.

We gather these and all our prayers,

Thankful that we may turn to you, as  (Lord’s Prayer)

Re: Communion

Re: Communion

Invitation (by the leader)

God loves us; God invites us to the feast of love so that we all may be nourished and grow in love. Let us release our burdens about our past wrongdoings, guilt, feelings of unworthiness, or negative experiences with a church that tries, but fails, to reflect God’s perfect love. God is love; God’s love is unconditional. God’s love restores us – it does not judge us.

In this feast, this communion, we celebrate the triumph of the way of Christ which is love, compassion, dignity, gratitude and reverence for life. And we also remember Jesus’ suffering – the cost of living love in this world. In this feast, we celebrate that Jesus’ life empowers us to be courageous in our hope and in our strength to love. Communion is a simple feast, consisting of bread and juice, but when these things are shared, with wonder and gratitude, we experience abundance and deeper fellowship in the spirit of love and sharing.  

Everyone is welcome to break the bread together, to remember the life of Jesus and his love poured out for us, and to be one body in God's great love.

Great Thanksgiving

L: May God’s transforming love be with us.

P: And also with our neighbours and the whole people of God throughout the earth.

L: We open our hearts.

P: We open our joyful hearts to the Lord and to one another, and stand in the presence of God and one another as thankful people.

L: Let us lift our voices in singing with men and women throughout the ages

our song of faith, with the hope that we draw the circle of love wider, deeper and higher.

More Voices #

Remembering Jesus at Table

As we gather at this table, let us remember together our sacred story.

We remember that on the night before Jesus died,

He had supper with his friends.

He took a loaf of bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said:

“Take, eat. This is my body, given for you.

Each time you do this, remember me.”

In the same way, he passed the cup after supper saying:

“This cup is the promise of God, made in my blood.

Each time you drink from this cup, remember me.”

Remembering the Community (by the leader)

On this table of the great sharing of God’s love,

Where bread is broken and juice is poured out,  

We also remember those who suffer in our midst, in our community, and in our world.

All who are in sorrow or in pain, all who are ill or alone,

All who live with fear, oppression or hunger,

All whom the world counts as last and least…

For the nations as they strive for peace and justice…

For the earth, and the fragile web of life we share …

For our families and friends…

(intercessory prayers may be added, such as)

Those who are in the ICU now, and their anxious families.

Those who suffer from mental illness and their struggling families.

Those who have lost their children or family members, especially in car accidents.

Those who live in health care centers.

Those who experience depression.

Held in Christ’s love, may we love as Christ loved.  

Knowing our own weakness, may we stand with all who stumble.

Sharing in Christ’s suffering, may we remember all who suffer.

Seeking Christ’s guidance, may we help restore their lives and their broken communities.

We gather these and all our prayers,

Thankful that we may turn to you, as  

Our Father, who art in Heaven….

For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Distribution

L: Whenever we eat or drink, whatever we do,

Let us do these things to give glory to God.

P: We will not seek our own self-interest

But live a life of compassion and sharing with our neighbours near and far.

Christ has died.

Christ has risen.

Christ lives in our lives, this moment and every day,

Breathing into us new life.

Leader:

Holy God, assured of your love for us and for all of your creation

We beg for your Spirit.

Enliven this bread. Awaken this body.

Pour us out for each other. Transfigure our minds.

Ignite your church with passionate spirit.

Nourish the life of the earth.

Make us, while many, united,

Make us, though broken, whole,

Make us, despite the fear of death, fully alive.

Friends,

The bread that we break

is our sharing in the life of Christ.

The cup for which we give thanks

is our sharing in the life of Christ.

Bread for journey (Bread of life)

Cup of blessing (Cup of saving love)

Let us come and share the gifts of God for the people of God.

Come, for all things are now ready.

Prayer after Communion

Prayer: Opening/Confession (source: the Iona Community) (Sep 1, 2013) - Evaluation

Opening Prayer

As a church family, we are

a banquet table - feeding the poor

a circle of sheltering love - caring for one another

a journey which is only at the halfway point - a milestone.

O God, keep our feet strong in our pilgrimage of love.

May the roots of our love reach deep into the ground of your being. Amen.

Prayer of Confession for Communion Sundays. 

Invitation:

Minister: (Confession)

Before God and you who are near me, 

I release anything I hold against another. 

I regret the harm I have done (to another and to creation), 

and ask for God's restoration. 

People: (Assurance)

Embrace the Assurance

that God cancels our debt, 

that Christ renews our lives, 

And that the Spirit enables us to grow in love. Amen. 

People: (Confession) 
Before God and every person here,
We release anything we hold against another.
We regret the harm we have done, 
And ask for God's restoration. 

Minister: (Assurance)
God's hope and vision for us is to restore us. 
We fail, make mistakes, hurt(harm) others and 
turn off our compassion, our concern. 
Despite all the ways we fail, however, 
God works for the restoration of how we relate to one another, 
to God's creation, to ourselves, and carry God in us. 

If we pause to listen to God

and to one another,

If we open our mouths and our hearts to confess our regrets,

God fills our emptiness with forgiveness, hope and strength to love. 

In God's restoring love, we are made new.

God restores in us the power and strength to make a difference

in our life and others.

God cancels our debt. 

Christ renews our lives. 

The Spirit enables us to grow in love. Thanks be to God. 

Evaluation from a church member

"N and I both thought the young people would love the service. The service and sermon are so relevant."

Theological Rationale:

From cheap grace to costly grace (quoting from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of  Discipleship)

 “Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjacks' wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the Church's inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing. Since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of using and spending it are infinite. What would grace be if it were not cheap?...

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.

Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.”


Evaluation from a church member

"N and I both thought the young people would love the service. The service and sermon are so relevant."