Spiritual Formation

A Liturgy of Longing

The people gather online. Each household has a small pitcher or glass of water and a clay cup. (in the case of the Advocate, the cups were made by people of the Advocate for the people of the Advocate and were all crafted from a single block of clay). If this liturgy is part of the Sunday morning worship without a Eucharist, it takes place after the Peace.

Leader: In these Covid times, we are not able to normally and joyfully gather together in person. Instead we are gathered online, through a technology that allows us to be together audio-visually at least. And that is good.

And while we wait for the day when we can be together in person again, we gather as a Community of Longing. It is in that longing that we are united to God, who longs to be with we who are God’s people. It is in that longing that we are united to Christ and to one another.

Symbols of that longing are thirst and water. For it is thirst that embodies our longing. And it is a need for water that unites us to every living creature, and to God.

Leader: It is our longing for water that unites us to the People of Israel wandering in the wilderness.

People: Give us water to drink. 

Leader: It is our longing for water that unites us to the Psalmist.
People: As the deer longs for the water-brooks, so longs my soul for you, O God.

Leader: It is our longing for water that unites us to the woman of Samaria.
People: Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty.

Leader: And Jesus replied, Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.
People: Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

Leader: It is our longing for water that unites us to Jesus on the cross.
People: Jesus said, I am thirsty.

Leader: Our longing for community and Sacrament unites us one to another, throughout time and space, and brings us to our knees.
People: Your kingdom come.

Leader: The posture of God’s people from time immemorial is a posture of longing, not so much for what was, but for what will be. It is in this posture of longing that we find blessing.
People: Jesus said, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst… for they will be filled.

Leader: Even in that moment of bitter complaint in the desert, God did not abandon God’s own people. Neither does God abandon us today.
People: The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and … take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go… strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’

The people pour water from a pitcher or large glass into their clay cups.

Leader: We may not be together, as we once were, in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, we may not be together, as we once were, in the fellowship of physical community, but we are together as a Community of Longing. And God’s promise to the longing people of God, is that God is Emmanuel, God with us.
People: Give us water to drink. Your kingdom come. Blessed are those who thirst … for they will be filled.

The people drink.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving:

Leader: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.

Leader: Let us pray.
We thank you, Almighty God, for the gift of water.
Over it the Holy Spirit moved in the beginning of creation.
Through it you led the children of Israel out of their bondage in Egypt into the land of promise.
In it your Son Jesus received the baptism of John and was anointed by the Holy Spirit as the Messiah, the Christ, to lead us, through his death and resurrection, from the bondage of sin into everlasting life.
We thank you, Father, for the water of Baptism. In it we are buried with Christ in his death. By it we share in his resurrection. Through it we are reborn by the Holy Spirit,
and we are made one with one another and with you.
We thank you, abundant and merciful God, that you will not leave us comfortless, and when we are thirsty, you give us something to drink.

People:         Thanks be to God.
All:              Amen.

Composed by The Rev. Lisa G. Fischbeck and Alice Graham Grant

Adapted from the Baptismal Rite of the Book of Common Prayer and the essay, “Sacrament of our Longing,” by  James Koester, SSJE, of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist. (for more information about the SSJE visit ssje.org)

This Lent, The Episcopal Church of the Advocate invites our neighbors and friends, known and unknown, to participate in the ancient practice of prayer and reflection called the Stations of the Cross, around the Advocate Pond. Traditionally, the fourteen stations mark different events on the path that Jesus walked through the city of Jerusalem on the day of his death, from the house of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, where he was condemned to die, to the hill at Golgatha, where he was crucified. At each station, participants pause for a reading from scripture, a prayer, and a time of meditation.

From early times, each of the fourteen stations has been marked by a Roman numeral. At The Advocate, we have localized the stations by using discarded railroad spikes from the nearby tracks for the numerals, and affixing them to reclaimed local barn boards.

A booklet of the fourteen stations, with prayer and scripture readings, as well as an olive wood cross to carry as you go, are available in a box under the well house roof. The booklet is also available here:
https://theadvocatechurch.org/stations-of-the-cross/

The first station is just to the east of the altar (towards the railroad tracks), and the stations proceed counterclockwise around the pond, ending with the fourteenth station just to the west of the altar.

The Stations may be walked and prayed at any time by any one.  All are welcome.

ADVENT

People’s Prelude
Welcome
A period of silence is kept.
Opening Acclamation

Presider                       Blessed are you, Holy and Living One.  
People                         You come to your people and set them free.

Presider                       Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One
People                         Have mercy upon us.
Presider                       Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One
People                         Have mercy upon us.
Presider                       Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One
People                         Have mercy upon us.

Collect of the Day
Presider           The Lord be with you.
People             And also with you.
Presider           Let us pray.

The presider prays the Collect of the day, and in response, the people say: Amen.

The Lessons

First Reading 
At the end of each reading, the lector says, “Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people,” to which the people respond,“Thanks be to God.” 

The Song of Mary    Magnificat      Luke 1:46-55      In unison
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, 
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; * 
    for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: * 
    the Almighty has done great things for me, 
    and holy is his Name. 
He has mercy on those who fear him * 
    in every generation. 
He has shown the strength of his arm, * 
    he has scattered the proud in their conceit. 
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
    and has lifted up the lowly. 
He has filled the hungry with good things, * 
    and the rich he has sent away empty. 
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, * 
    for he has remembered his promise of mercy, 
The promise he made to our fathers, * 
    to Abraham and his children for ever.

Second Reading

Sequence Hymn         O Come, O Come Emmanuel   (one verse sung softly)

O Come O Come Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in Lowly exile here
Until the Son of god appear.
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come to thee O Israel.

The Gospel

Before the reading of the Gospel
Presider  The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to…
People     Glory to you, Lord Christ.

After the reading of the Gospel 
Presider        The Gospel of the Lord.
   People          Praise to you, Lord Christ.

A Homily

The Prayers of the People                                                 
A Leader reads the following introduction:
Leader             Let us now offer our prayers and thanksgivings to God. After each bidding, I invite you to share your prayers with the whole congregation, so that we may join our prayers to yours. Before we pray together, let us, in silence, ask the Spirit to bring to our consciousness those things for which we should pray.
In the silence following each bidding, the people are invited to share their prayers, either silently or aloud. At the end of each intercession, 
the leader says:
We pray to the Lord…
and the people reply
Lord, here our prayer.

The biddings follow this order:

I bid your prayers for God’s people throughout the world and for the universal church and its leaders;  
I bid your prayers for peace and justice;   
I bid your prayers for our nation and our state, and for all persons in positions of authority; 
I bid your prayers for the needs and concerns of our counties and our cities;  I bid your prayers for this congregation, for those who suffer and for those in any kind of trouble; 
I bid your prayers for those who have died;
I bid your prayers of thanksgivings to God.

The Presider adds a concluding collect:
Hasten, O God, the coming of your kingdom; and grant that we your servants, who now live by faith, may with joy behold your Son at his coming in glorious majesty; even Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.

Confession [from Enriching Our Worship]

Presider           Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.         
After a short silence for reflection, all pray together:
God of all mercy, we confess that we have sinned against you, opposing your will in our lives. We have denied your goodness in each other, in ourselves, and in the world you have created. We repent of the evil that enslaves us, the evil we have done, and the evil done on our behalf. Forgive, restore, and strengthen us through our Savior Jesus Christ, that we may abide in your love and serve only your will. Amen.

Absolution      [A New Zealand Prayer Book]
Presider           Through the cross of Christ, God have mercy on you, pardon you, and set you free. Know that you are forgiven, and be at peace. God strengthen you in all goodness and keep you in life eternal.      
All                    Amen.

The Peace

Presider           The peace of the Lord be always with you.
People             And also with you.
Presider           Let us share a sign of Christ’s peace with one another.

The Offertory 
Presider           Ascribe to the Lord the honor due his name, bring the offerings of your lives and come into God’s courts.

The Great Thanksgiving          [Rite II, Prayer B from the Book of Common Prayer]           
Presider           The Lord be with you.
People             And also with you.
Presider           Lift up your hearts.
People             We lift them to the Lord.
Presider           Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People             It is right to give [our] thanks and praise.
Presider           It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
Because you sent your beloved Son to redeem us from sin and death, and to make us heirs in him of everlasting life; that when he shall come again in power and great triumph to judge the workd, we may without shame or fear rejoice to behold his appearing.
Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven, who for ever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your Name.

All                    
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Presider       We give thanks to you, O God, for the goodness and love which you have made known to us in creation; in the calling of Israel to be your people; in your Word spoken through the prophets; and above all in the Word made flesh, Jesus, your Son. For in these last days you sent him to be incarnate from the Virgin Mary, to be the Savior and Redeemer of the world. In him, you have delivered us from evil, and made us worthy to stand before you. In him, you have brought us out of error into truth, out of sin into righteousness, out of death into life.
On the night before he died for us, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread; and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”
After supper he took the cup of wine; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and said, “Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for [all] for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.”
Therefore, according to his command, O Father,

Presider and People
We remember his death,
We proclaim his resurrection,
We await his coming in glory;

 Presider continuesAn
d we offer our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to you, O Lord of all; presenting to you, from your creation, this bread and this wine.We pray you, gracious God, to send your Holy Spirit upon these gifts that they may be the Sacrament of the Body of Christ and his Blood of the new Covenant. Unite us to your Son in his sacrifice, that we may be acceptable through him, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 
In the fullness of time, put all things in subjection under your Christ, and bring us to that heavenly country where, with [_______ and] all your saints, we may enter the everlasting heritage of your sons and daughters; through Jesus Christ our Lord, the firstborn of all creation, the head of the Church, and the author of our salvation.
By him, and with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and forever. 
All                    Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer      

Presider          As our Savior Christ has taught us, we now pray: 
All                    Our Father in heaven, 
hallowed be your Name, 
your kingdom come, 
your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us
Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen.

The Breaking of the Bread
The Priest breaks the consecrated Bread. A period of silence is kept, then:
Presider           Alleluia! Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
People             Therefore, let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!
Presider           Behold what you are.
People             May we become what we receive
[Adapted from St. Augustine’s Homily #58: On the Eucharist]

The Communion
Jesus welcomes all; therefore all are welcome to receive God’s grace through the Holy Sacrament. In this Covid time, we receive the bread only. A gluten-free bread is available for those who need it.

The Bread is given to the communicants with these words
The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ keep you in everlasting life. [Amen.]
or The Body of Christ, the bread of heaven. [Amen.]

Prayer after Communion
Presider           Let us pray.
All                    Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image and nourishing us with spiritual food in the Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood. Now send us forth a people forgiven, healed, renewed; that we may proclaim your love to the world and continue in the risen life of Christ our Savior. Amen.

The Going Forth
Announcements
The Blessing        
Presider May the Sun of Righteousness shine upon you and scatter the shadows from before your path; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you, and remain with you always. Amen.

Presider or Deacon     
Go in Peace, to love and serve the Lord.
People             Thanks be to God!