☙  THE LONGEST NIGHT  ☩  BLUE CHRISTMAS  ❧ Winter Solstice December 21, 2022 Blue Christmas, or Longest Night, is a service of worship designed for people suffering with pain, loss, isolation and grief in the Advent season. On this night, or anytime this service is presented, we remember those for whom the holidays are not joyful; they are lonely, in mourning, feeling alienated and cast apart from family celebrations; they are experiencing depression and sadness and yet are often compelled to "put on a happy face" for others, denying their true feelings. The service being held on December 21, the “longest night” of the year. SONG—"O Little Town Of Bethlehem" by Loren Mulraine (Click Here) Daylight turns to night.       Night turns to daylight. Day after day the great reversal continues.       Light to darkness. Darknesss to light. But today the darkness is greater. The night is longer.       We know that this night will turn to day.       We have that promise and the promise is certain. The Sun shall rise with healing in its wings.       And we shall once again know day. Mourning may tarry throught the night.       But dancing comes with the morning. Your compassion for us overflows, O God. We are facing our longest night. We come burdened with sorrow, loneliness, and sadness. We come seeking a place to set them down; a place where our words will be heard and our feelings honored. We need a place where we can drop our masks of good cheer so our tears can flow freely and our faces can wear the cares of all that we are carrying. Be among us this night, O God. Let your compassion heal us in this moment. Comfort us. Strengthen us. Care for us. Be Christ to us, O Holy One. Amen. SONG—"Comfort, Comfort O My People" by Magis Media (Click Here) Isaiah 9 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined. Isaiah 60 1 Arise, shine, for your light has come,     and the glory of the Holy One has risen upon you. 2 For darkness shall cover the earth     and thick darkness the peoples,       but the Holy One will arise upon you,     and his glory will appear over you. 3 Nations shall come to your light     and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Psalm 139 7 Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and night wraps itself around me,” 12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you. John 1 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  2 The Word was in the beginning with God.  3 All things came into being through the Word, and without the Word not one thing came into being.  4 What has come into being  in the Word was life, and the life was the light of all people.  5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it. Romans 8:38-39 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus the Holy One. SONG—"Star-Child" by David Haas (Click Here) In the spirit of this season let us now confidently ask God for all the things we need. For ourselves as we participate in whatever way we can this Christmas. God, hear our prayer: And in your mercy answer. For our families and friends that they may continue to help and support us. God, hear our prayer: And in your mercy answer. For the person we have loved that has died. For all the losses that we know, that all may be redeemed by your Easter promise. God, hear our prayer: And in your mercy answer. For all our family and friends that they may know love and peace and happiness in you. God, hear our prayer: And in your mercy answer. For the peace proclaimed by the angels on the first Christmas, to come throughout the whole world. God, hear our prayer: And in your mercy answer. And in your mercy answer. God of great compassion and love, listen to the prayers of us, your people. Grant to all, especially the bereaved and troubled this Christmas, and to those who cannot yet admit the hurt they feel, the blessing we ask in the name of Christ the Holy One. SONG—"I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry" by St. Olaf Choir (Click Here) Generous and gracious God, we look to you for compassion and thank you for your presence this night. Overwhelmed by our burdens we easily forget that you never leave us alone and that your steadfast love for us never falters. By coming together we find assurance and comfort that we do not suffer this longest night alone. You have given us strength to live through this night. Turn us to reach out to those whose night is also long. Grant that we may be your healing presence in their lives by bringing them your compassion and comfort that will assure them that they do not suffer alone. Amen. SONG—"Lullaby" by Christopher Grundy (Click Here)

Veteran's Day From An Non-Apologetic Pacifist A Liturgy For Worship and Meditation November 11, 2022 OPENING WORDS God of peace and justice you do not celebrate the warring nature of our communities and nations. Yet you look upon your people who are oppressed and victims of violence and threats of war. Gather your people everywhere into your realm of civility and concord that war may cease and the killing and maiming of each other would be but a distant memory. OPENING PRAYER O God, creator of heaven and earth, protector of the universe, author of peace and lover of harmony and unity, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend all from the violence and warfare of our enemies; that all, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of your Omnipotent Presence, and your rightful justice and peace. Amen. Isaiah 2, 4 4 God will judge between the nations and render decisions for many countries. They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation will not raise the sword against another, and never again will they make ready for war. —adapted from Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible. Sheed & Ward. Psalm 46 1 God is our refuge and our strength, who from of old has helped those in distress. 2 Therefore we fear nothing— even if the earth should open up in front of us and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea, 3 even if the earth’s waters rage and foam and the mountains tumble with its heaving. 4 There’s a river whose streams gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High. 5 God is in its midst, it will never fall— God will help it at daybreak. 6 Though nations are in turmoil and empires crumble, God’s voice resounds, and it melts the earth. 7 The God of Hosts is with us— our stronghold is the God of Israel! 8 Come, see what God has done— God makes the earth bounteous! 9 God has put an end to war, from one end of the earth to the other, breaking bows, splintering spears, and setting chariots on fire. 10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted upon the earth.” 11 The God of Hosts is with us— our stronghold is the God of Israel! —adapted from Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible. Sheed & Ward. Micah 4. 3 3 God will judge between many peoples and arbitrate between mighty and distant nations; They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation will not raise the sword against another, and never again will they ready themselves for war. —adapted from Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible. Sheed & Ward. Prayer Holy God, Holy and Almighty, Holy Immortal One: we are long past the days of just war: There is no longer a protection and safe place for non-combatants, And, killing only makes way for more and intense warfare. In an age of weapons that are designed and used for mass destruction, especially in the ways they have become the weapons on our streets and places of gathering, there is no longer a means to discriminate between soldiers who seek justice and the civilians who are victims. In the age of nuclear capability not only are those who are the enemy, but all humankind would be harmed and killed in masses. Your earth would no longer be the gift of creation but the manipulation of human sin and evil. Demand us to find ways to come to agreement through diplomacy and accord. May redemption and reconciliation become the means by which opposing people would keep and maintain peace. For we desire not the death or destruction of others but the justice and peace that is the common good of all. For such is of your Realm and your will. Blessed are you and blessed is your Kin-Dom now and forevermore. Amen.

☩ All Saints Day ☩ November 1, 2022 A Liturgy For Worship and Meditation OPENING WORDS Life is a journey: A pilgrimage by which we are making our way from beginning to end. It is not new ground upon which we walk. We trod upon the way that was traverseed by those who have gone on befor us. It is a ground upon which we strive to make better; to make more paceful and just. We walk not alone. The generations of forebearers are compansions in the way. And, God is with us, guiding, encouraging, strengthening, and patiently calling us forward. When tired, God grants us rest, when hurting God grants us comfort, when mourning God shares our tears, when joyful God dances with us. God, is the beginning and end of life's journey. In God is all our steps in the in between. We are bleessed. Indeed, in God we are truly blessed. PRAYER God of the ages, we praise you for all your servants who have done justice, loved mercy, and walked humbly with their God. For apostles and martyrs and saints of every time and place, who in life and death have witnessed to your truth, For all your servants who have faithfully served you, witnessed bravely, and died in faith, who still are shining lights in the world, For those no longer remembered, who earnestly sought you in darkness, who held fast their faith in trial, and served others, For those we have known and loved, who by their faithful obedience and steadfast hope have shown the same mind that was in Jesus, We give you thanks, O God, and for these your servants, Keep us grateful for their witness and, like them, eager to follow in the way of Jesus. Then at the last, bring us with them to share in the inheritance of the saints in light; through your Beloved and Anointd One, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. SONG For All The Saints (Click Here For Music) Author: William Walsham How (1864) Tune: SINE NOMINE; Ralph Vaughan Williams (1906) Arrangement: Fernando Ortega (2012) 1. For all the saints who from their labors rest, who thee by faith before the world confessed, thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest. Alleluia! Alleluia! 2. Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might; thou, Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight; thou, in the darkness dread, their one true light. Alleluia! Alleluia! 3. Oh, blest communion, fellowship divine! We feebly struggle, they in glory shine; yet all are one in thee, for all are thine. Alleluia! Alleluia! 4. From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast, through gates of pearl streams in the countless host, singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Alleluia! Alleluia! PRAYER FOR BROKENNESS Let us confess to God the sins and shortcomings of the world; its pride, its selfishness, its greed; its evil distortions and hatreds. Let us confess our share in what is wrong, and our failure to seek and establish the peace which God wills for all God's children. Eternal God, although we are the communion of saints, we are also a circle of sinners. We cling to death, hiding in tombs that we have carved out of fear and stubbornness, ignoring your call to come out. We fail to unbind each other from oppression, poverty, and abuse. You lay a feast before us, but we fill ourselves with selfishness and wonder why we are hungry. We are convinced that our best days are behind us, not believing that you are making all things new. Forgive us, we pray, and show us the light that we yearn to see. Lead us out of the safe places we have chosen and into your everlasting way. Amen. God of unfailing light, in your realm of glory the poor are blessed, the hungry filled, and every tear is wiped away. Strengthened by this vision, may we follow in the way of holiness that your Son made known in life and death. Amen. FIRST READING—Revelation 21:1-6; 22:1-5 21:1 Then I saw new heavens and a new earth. The former heavens and the former earth had passed away, and the sea existed no longer. 21:2 I also saw a new Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down out of heaven from God, beautiful as a bride and groom on their wedding day. 21:3 And I heard a loud voice calling from the throne, “Look! God’s dwelling is among humankind! God will live with them; they will be God’s people, and God will be fully present among them. 21:4 The Most High will wipe away every tear from their eyes. And death, mourning, crying and pain will be no more, for the old order has passd away.” 21:5 The One who sat on the throne said, “Look! I’m making everything new!” and added, “Write this, for what I am saying is trustworthy and true.” 21:6 And the One continued, “It is finished. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To those who are thirsty I will give drink freely from the spring of the water of life. 22:1 (An) angel then showed me the river of life-giving water, clear as crystal, which issued from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 22:2 and flowed down the middle of the streets. On either side of the river grew the trees of life which produce fruit twelve times a year, once each month; their leaves serve as medicine to heal the nations. 22:3 Nothing accursed will be there. The throne of the Almighty and of the Lamb will be there, and God’s subjects will serve faithfully. 22:4 They will see the Most High face to face, and bear God’s name on their foreheads. 22:5 Night will be no more. They will need no light from lamps or the sun, for our God will give them light, and they will reign forever. PSALTER—Psalm 149 149:1 Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful. 149:2 Let Israel be glad in its Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King. 149:3 Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre. 149:4 For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory. 149:5 Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their couches. 149:6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands, 149:7 to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, 149:8 to bind their kings with fetters and their nobles with chains of iron, 149:9 to execute on them the judgment decreed. This is glory for all his faithful ones. Praise the LORD! SECOND READING—Ephesians 1:11-23 1:11 In th Beloved and Anointed One of God, we were willed an inheritance; for in the decree of God—and everything is administered according to the divine will and counsel—we were predestined 1:12 to praise the glory of the Most High by being the first to hope in Christ. 1:13 In Christ you too were chosen. When you heard the Good News of salvation, the word of truth, and believed in it, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 1:14 who is the pledge of our inheritance, the deposit paid against the full redemption of a people who are God’s own—to the praise of God’s glory. 1:15 From the time I first heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of the holy ones, 1:16 I have never stopped thanking God for you and remembering you in my prayers. 1:17 I pray that the God of our Savior Jesus Christ, the God of glory, will give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation, to bring you to a rich knowledge of the Creator. 1:18 I pray that God will enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see the hope this call holds for you—the promised glories that God’s holy ones will inherit, 1:19 and the infinitely great power that is exercised for us who believe. You can tell this from the strength of God’s power at work in Jesus, 1:20 the power used to raise Christ from the dead and to seat Christ in heaven at God’s right hand, 1:21 far above every sovereignty, authority, power or dominion, and above any other name that can be named—not only in this age, but also in the age to come. 1:22 God has put all things under Christ’s feet and made Christ, as the ruler of everything, the head of the church, 1:23 and the church is Christ’s body; it’s the fullness of the One who fills all of creation. SONG I Sing a Song of the Saints of God (Click Here for Music) Author: Lesbia Scott TUNE: GRAND ISLE; Composer—John Henry Hopkins (1940) 1 I sing a song of the saints of God, patient and brave and true, who toiled and fought and lived and died for the Lord they loved and knew. And one was a doctor, and one was a queen, and one was a shepherdess on the green: they were all of them saints of God, and I mean, God helping, to be one too. 2 They loved their Lord so dear, so dear, and God’s love made them strong; and they followed the right, for Jesus’ sake, the whole of their good lives long. And one was a soldier, and one was a priest, and one was slain by a fierce wild beast: and there’s not any reason, no, not the least, why I shouldn’t be one too. 3 They lived not only in ages past; there are hundreds of thousands still; the world is bright with the joyous saints who love to do Jesus’ will. You can meet them in school, or in lanes, or at sea, in church, or in trains, or in shops, or at tea; for the saints of God are just folk like me, and I mean to be one too. GOSPEL READING—Luke 6:20-31 6:20 Then (Jesus) looked up at his disciples and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kin-Dom of God. 6:21 "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 6:22 "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Child of Humanity. 6:23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. 6:24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 6:25 "Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. "Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. 6:26 "Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets. 6:27 "But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 6:29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 6:30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. PRAYER OF INTERCESSION Merciful Lord, strengthen all Christian people by your Holy Spirit, that we may live as a royal priesthood and a holy nation to the praise of Jesus Christ our Saviour. ☩ God, in your mercy hear our prayer. Bless N our bishop and all ministers of your Church, that by faithful proclamation of your word we may be built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets into a holy temple in the Lord. ☩ God, in your mercy hear our prayer. Empower us by the gift of your holy and life-giving Spirit, that we may be transformed into the likeness of Christ from glory to glory. ☩ God, in your mercy hear our prayer. Give to the world and its peoples the peace that comes from above, that they may find Christ’s way of freedom and life. ☩ God, in your mercy hear our prayer. Hold in your embrace all who witness to your love in the service of the poor and needy; all who minister to the sick and dying; and all who bring light to those in darkness. ☩ God, in your mercy hear our prayer. Touch and heal all those whose lives are scarred by sin or disfigured by pain, that, raised from death to life in Christ, their sorrow may be turned to eternal joy. ☩ God, in your mercy hear our prayer. Remember in your mercy all those gone before us who have been well-pleasing to you from eternity; preserve in your faith your servants on earth, guide us to your kingdom and grant us your peace at all times. ☩ God, in your mercy hear our prayer. Hasten the day when many will come from east and west, from north and south, and sit at table in your kingdom. ☩ God, in your mercy hear our prayer. We give you thanks for the whole company of your saints in glory, with whom in fellowship we join our prayers and praises; by your grace may we, like them, be made perfect in your love. ☩ Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power, be to our God for ever and ever. Amen. PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING AND DEDICATION For all the saints who went before us who have spoken to our hearts and touched us with your fire, we praise you and give you thanks, O God. For all the saints who live beside us whose weaknesses and strengths are woven with our own, we praise you and give you thanks, O God. For all the saints who live beyond us who challenge us to change the world with them, we praise you and give you thanks, O God. Amen. THE PRAYER OF JESUS God, like a loving Parent, who reaches forth from heaven: most Holy is your Name. Your Kin-Dom come, your will be done; here and now on earth as it is by those in heaven. Give us this day what we need and guide us to share with others. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Bring us not to a testing of our trust in You, and free us from all evil. For Yours is the Kin-Dom, the Power, and the Glory, forever. Amen. —G Lake Dylan SONG Sing With All the Saints In Glory (Click Here For Music) Author: William J. Irons, 1812–1893 TUNE: HYMN TO JOY; Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770–1827 1 Sing with all the saints in glory, sing the resurrection song! Death and sorrow, earth’s dark story, to the former days belong. All around the clouds are breaking; soon the storms of time shall cease; in God’s likeness we awaken, knowing everlasting peace. 2 Oh, what glory, far exceeding all that eye has yet perceived! Holiest hearts for ages pleading never that full joy conceived. God has promised, Christ prepares it; there on high our welcome waits. Ev’ry humble spirit shares it. Christ has passed th’eternal gates. 3 Life eternal heav'n rejoices: Jesus lives who once was dead; Join with all the heav'nly voices, Child of God lift up your head! Patriarchs from distant ages Saints all loning for their heav'n Prophets, psalmists, seers, and sages All await the glory giv'n. 4 Life eternal O what wonders Crowd on faith what joy unknown, When amidst earth's closing thunders. Saints shall stand before the throne O to enter that bright portal, seeing that glowing firmament; Now, with thee, O God immortal, Jesus Christ whom you have sent. GOING FORTH WITH BLESSING Go on your way rejoicing; Surrounded as you are by such a great cloud of witnesses, take courage as you face each new challenge, and comfort when you pick yourself from a fall, In whatever good you choose to do, precede it with hope, accompany it with prayer, and follow it with thanksgiving. And, the blessing of God Most Wonderful, whom the saints have trusted as the blessed and holy Trinity, will be with you now and ever more.

A Liturgy For the 21st Anniversary Of 09/11/2001 Semptember 11, 2022 Words For Worship O God, open our lips; And our mouths shall declare your praise. Make haste, O God, to deliver us; make haste to help us, O God. Holy One, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal: have mercy on us. Collect For Worship Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy Name. For you are our Creator, our Redeemer, and our Sustainer, now and forevermore. Amen. Collect of the Day O Almighty God, who brings good out of evil and turns even the wrath of your children towards your promised peace: Hear our prayers this day as we remember those of many nations and differing faiths whose lives were cut short by the fierce flames of anger and hatred. Hasten the time when the menace of war shall be removed. Cleanse both us and those perceived to be our enemies of all hatred and distrust. Pour out the spirit of peace on all the rulers of our world that we may be brought through strife to the lasting peace of your Kin-Dom; through the One we call the Prince of Peace, who is sovereign with you and your Sacred Spirit, now and forever. Amen. Reading—Romans 8:31-39 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God our Redeemer. Gospel—Matthew 5:1-10 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kin-Dom of heaven.” The Prayers of the People With all our heart and all our mind, we pray to you, O God. Make us instruments of your peace. For the peace of the world, that a spirit of respect and forbearance may grow among nations and peoples, we pray to you, O God: Where there is hatred, let us sow love. For our enemies and those who wish us harm, especially those led to acts of terror; that in the aftermath of the destruction of September 11th, 2001 we may grow ever more deeply in your spirit of justice and peace, we pray to you, O God: Where there is injury, let us sow pardon. For all who believe in you, and all whose faith is known to you alone, that they may be delivered from the darkness of fanaticism that arises from poverty and oppression, and from the pride that arises from wealth and comfort, and brought into your light, we pray to you, O God: Where there is discord, let us sow union. For those who have lost their faith in you, for those who continue to mourn those who died on that terrible day, that your Church may give comfort and hope in this time of remembrance, we pray to you, O God: Were there is doubt, let us sow faith. For all those whose spirit has been broken and whose lives have been disrupted by the violence of that day and its aftermath, we offer our prayers along with the persecuted, the lonely, and the sick, and those who have bid our prayers today, that they may be relieved and protected. For these and for those whose need we do not know, we pray to you, O God: Where there is despair, let us sow hope. For the mission and ministry of the Church, that we may hear the Gospel and proclaim it in word and action to build up your Kin-Dom here on earth, we pray to you, O God: Where there is darkness, let us sow light. For all who died in the terror of September 2001 and for those others whom we remember today, for those who believed in your resurrection and those who did not know your promise of eternal life, in trust that they have been found by you and are at rest in your holy habitation, we pray to you, O God: Where there is sadness, let us sow joy. We pray for the concerns of all your people; and we pray for the forgiveness of our sins. and the healing of all brokenness. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved as to love. Take heart, we have been reconciled to God. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we reborn to eternal life. Amen. Prayer Of Remembrance O God, our hope and refuge, in our distress we come quickly to you. Shock and horror of that tragic day have subsided, replaced now with an emptiness, a longing for an innocence lost. We come remembering those who lost their lives in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. We are mindful of the sacrifice of public servants who demonstrated the greatest love of all by laying down their lives for friends. We commit their souls to your eternal care and celebrate their gifts to a fallen humanity. We come remembering and we come in hope, not in ourselves, but in you. As foundations we once thought secure have been shaken, we are reminded of the illusion of security. In commemorating this tragedy, we give you thanks for your presence in our time of need and we seek to worship you in Spirit and in truth, our guide and our guardian. Amen. A Litany For Forgiveness O God, when is it too soon to seek forgiveness for those who have harmed us? How long before we ask forgiveness for those who have harmed us in heinous acts or horrific violence? When, O God, is it the right time to pray to you that those whose acts have changed the world forever? They asked, "how many times should be extend forgiveness." And, Jesus replied, "Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." For the 3,000 innocent victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks: for the passengers on American Airlines Flight 11, which crashed into the North World Trade Center Tower, on United Airlines Flight 175, which crashed into the South World Trade CenterTower, on American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon, and on United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in a field, and for all those who died in the cataclysmic destruction wrought by the attacks. Let your perpetual light shine upon them and bring them into your eternal rest so that we may feast with them at your eternal banquet table. For the 19 hijackers who commandeered the four airplanes and turned them into instruments of hate and destruction, for Mohamed Atta, Waleed al-Shehri, Wail al-Shehri, Abdulaziz al-Omari, Satam al-Suqami, Marwan al-Shehhi, Fayez Banihammad, Mohand al-Shehri, Ahmed-Ghamdi, Hamza al-Ghamdi, Hani Hanjour, Khalid al-Mihdhar, Majed Moqed, Nawaf al-Hazmi, Salem al-Hazmi, Ziad Jarrah, Ahmed al-Haznawi, Ahmed al-Nami and Saeed al-Ghamdi. Forgive them, as you have forgiven us, seventy times seven and bring them into your eternal rest so that we may feast with them at your eternal banquet table. For the firefighters, police officers, chaplains and military personnel who have fought and died protecting others: Let your perpetual light shine upon them and bring them into your eternal rest so that we may feast with them at your eternal banquet table. For the members of the Taliban, al-Qaeda and other terrorist networks, who seek to harm others and repress the human spirit. We pray for the repose of the soul of Osama bin Laden. Forgive them, as you have forgiven us, seventy times seven and bring them into your eternal rest so that we may feast with them at your eternal banquet table. Jesus said, "Peace be with you." May all peace be known in this world today and forevermore. Amen. Blessing In Dismissal Go forth free from the hatred and brokenness that this day returns unto us. When challenged to be other than loving and of goodwill, may peace reign, may peace be shared, may peace bring the reconciliation of love. Blessed is God and blessed is God's Kin-Dom of concord and harmony. Amen.