Year: 2023

Christmastide – Waiting Together by Peter Bankson

Ken Burton

December 31, 2017

Christmastide

Opening

It is not news that we are living through unsettled, troubling times. War and starvation; political and cultural oppression; climate crises; population explosion all contribute to the rising tide of suffering, for all life and the planet that sustains it. On the surface it seems like everything we value is threatened or coming apart. How can we cope? And how can our faith community help us stand faithfully in this turbulent time?

On this last day of 2023 I’d like to offer a few observations on this, focusing on hope, blessing, and the potential value of community.…

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“The No-Rehersal Christmas Pageant” by Deborah Sokolove

Ken Burton

Third Sunday in Advent

December 17, 2023

This “No-Rehearsal Christmas Pageant” is borrowed from Rev. Dan Harper, who adapted and modified it for use at First Unitarian in New Bedford from Rev. Jory Agate of First Parish in Cambridge, who got it from someone else. This version was modified by Deborah Sokolove for Seekers Church from the Harper version found at https://www.danielharper.org/archive/?p=40, which says that it is in the public domain.

Parts: Mary, Joseph, Caesar Augustus, Herod, Wise Persons, Stable Animals, Star, Angels, Shepherds, Sheep

Places: Nazareth, Bethlehem, Fields, Jerusalem…

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“A Service in the Style of Taizé for Advent 2023”

Ken Burton

Second Sunday in Advent

December 10, 2023

From time to time, Seekers Church takes time out from its regular preaching schedule for a service of chant, prayer and reflection modeled on the worship of the Taizé Community in France. This Sunday was one such time. Repeating the chants together until they die away into the silence provides rest for our world-weary spirits as well as an opportunity for individual reflection on our faith journeys. This time, as we joined in spirit with the monks at Taizé, we were nourished by their faithfulness as well as by their music and accompanied by the sounds of recorders played by the Sligo Creek Recorder Club.…

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2023 Advent Liturgy: Meeting Righteousness and Peace

Ken Burton

GATHERING

ENTRANCE

REFLECTION

Mary said, I’m bursting with God-news; I’m dancing the song of my Savior. The Holy One took one good look at me, and look what happened—I am the most fortunate woman on earth! What the Holy One has done for me will never be forgotten, the One whose very name is holy, set apart from all others. Divine mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before the Divine Mystery. Baring a holy arm, the Holy One showed strength and scattered the bluffing braggarts. The Holy One knocked tyrants off their high horses, and pulled victims out of the mud.…

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