DAYS OF THE DEAD
Service Leader: Amy Stauber
Service Assistants: Larry Stauber,
Rachel Melcher and Dayan Martinez
Hymn: #188 Come, Come, Whoever You Are
Prelude: All Souls Night (L. McKennitt)
Welcome and Announcements
Lighting the Chalice Flame: Responsive Reading We Light this Flame (S. William Feiss)
We light this flame
As our fervent plea to brighten the dark corners of our hearts;
We hold this flame
For in it is the promise of warmth for souls grown cold in loss and despair;
We kindle this light
That we might continue to find comfort in its warmth; strength in its light; holiness in its presence;
We follow this light
That it might illuminate our search for purpose, for meaning, and forgiveness;
We light this chalice
Knowing even as this sacred spark of life is extinguished, in the ensuing darkness, its light, will still burn bright with all the memory and hope of its all too brief flash across our lives.
We light this flame of life, love, and truth for the divine promise of healing hearts.
Affirmation: Love is the spirit of this Congregation and service is its law. This is our great covenant to dwell together in peace, to seek the truth in love and to help one another.
Hymn: #18 What Wondrous Love
Quiet Time, Meditation, Candle Lighting
Story For All Ages: The Next Place W. Hanson)
Offertory: Samhain Song (L. Thiel)
Reading: The Ancient Celebration of Samhain (A. Stauber)
Responsive Reading: This Sacred Thread (H. Janules)
They once dwelled among us, the people of memory.
They who knew us, they who taught us,
They who hurt us, they who loved us.
They touched our lives time and again,
through their presence and their absence.
Through familiar scents and favorite songs,
Through old stories and renewed sorrow.
As the earth turns and leaves fall,
We reach back to renew the bonds between us.
With hearts and hands open
We hold on to love,
ever-stronger than death.
We reach back in gratitude and understanding- without our time together, the pain and the joy,
We would never be who we are today;
We would have little to pass on ourselves.
Without fear, with thanksgiving and with hope for all that awaits,
We remember those who have gone before.
We honor the circle of life and death,
and our place within this sacred thread.
Sermon: Days of the Dead, Amy Stauber
Hymn: #123 Spirit of Life
Extinguishing the Chalice Flame: We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment. These we carry in our hearts until we are together again.
Closing Words
Postlude: Bad Moon Rising (J. Fogerty)
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