This liturgy is inspired by the music of Singer-Songwriter Ani DiFranco. It was first used on April 6, 2014 at Church of the Redeemer in Toronto, Ontario and written by Brian Walsh.
As with all our resources, if you choose to use this elsewhere, please credit the original author, and provide a link to its source.
Throughout the liturgy, the words of the leader / celebrant are in plain text, and the words for the congregation are in bold. All songs are meant to be sung together.
Prelude: tamburitza lingua
(from the album Revelling)
a cold and porcelain lonely
in an old new york hotel
a stranger to a city
that she used to know so well
bathing in a bathroom
that is bathed in the first blue light
of the beginning of a century
at the end of an endless night
then she is wet behind the ears and wafting down the avenue
pre-rush hour
post-rain shower
stillness seeping upwards like steam
from another molten sewer
summer in new york
they’ve been spraying us with chemicals in our sleep
us / they
something about the mosquitoes having some kind of disease
them / me
CIA foul play
if you ask the guy selling hair dryers out of a gym bag
chemical warfare
“i’m telling you, lab rat to lab rat,” he says, “that’s where the truth
is at”
that’s where the truth is at
that’s where the truth is at
and everything seems to have gone terribly wrong that can
but one breath at a time is an acceptable plan
she tells herself
and the air is still there
and this morning it’s even breathable
and for a second the relief is unbelievable
and she’s a heavy sack of flour sifted
her burden lifted
she’s full of clean wind for one lean moment
and then she’s trapped again
reverted
caged and contorted
with no way to get free
and she’s getting plenty of little kisses
but nobody’s slippin’ her the key
her whole life is a long list of what ifs
and she doesn’t even know where to begin
and the pageantry of suffering therein
rivals television
tv is, after all, the modern day roman coliseum
human devastation as mass entertainment
and now millions sit jeering
collectively cheering
the bloodthirsty hierarchy of the patriarchal arrangement
she is hailing a cab
she is sailing down the avenue
she’s 19 going on 30
or maybe she’s really 30 now …
it’s hard to say
it’s hard to keep up with time once it’s on its way
and, you know, she never had much of a chance
born into a family built like an avalanche
and somewhere in the 80s between the oat bran and the ozone
she started to figure out things like why
one eye pointed upwards looking for the holes in the sky
one eye on the little flashing red light
a picasso face twisted and listing down the canvas
of the end of an endless night
10 9 8 seven six 5 4 three 2 one
and kerplooey
you’re done.
you’re done for.
you’re done for good.
so tell me
did you?
did you do?
did you do all you could?
The Gathering of the Community
Tell me about it.
Everything seems to have gone terribly wrong.
Everything?
Everything that can.
And how does that feel?
Caged, contorted,
with no way to get free.
A long list of ‘what ifs’?
Its hard to keep up with time,
once its on its way.
And what time is it?
Can’t really tell,
can’t see any end to this endless night.
Did you do all you could?
Its going to take a lot of doing
to see this undoing through.
Yea, you got a point there.
Maybe we should start all over again.
Let’s pray.
Collect
Opening Song “Wish I May”
(from the album “To the Teeth”)
i’m losing my love of adventure
i’m losing all respect
for me and myself tonight
i wonder what happens if i get to
the end of this tunnel
and there isn’t a light
i’ve worn down the treads
on all of my tires
i’ve worn through the elbows
and the knees of my clothing
and i’m stumbling down
the gravel driveway of desire
trying not to wake up
my sleepy self-loathing
do you ever have that dream
when you open your mouth
and you try to scream
but you can’t make a sound
that’s everyday starting now
that’s everyday starting now
don’t tell me it’s gonna be alright
you can’t sell me on your optimism tonight
it’s a stiff competition
to see who can stay up later
the stars or the street lights
and all they really want
is to be alone with the darkness
no more wish i may
no more wish i might
it takes a stiff upper lip
just to hold up my face
i gotta suck it up and savor
the taste of my own behavior
i am spinning with longing
faster then a roulette wheel
this is not who i meant to be
this is not how i meant to feel
do you ever have that dream
when you open your mouth
and you try to scream
but you can’t make a sound
that’s everyday starting now
that’s everyday starting now
don’t tell me it’s gonna be alright
you can’t sell me on your optimism tonight
i don’t think i am strong enough
to do this much longer
god, i wish i was stronger
this song could never be long enough
to express every longing
god, i wish it was longer…
Proclamation of the Word
Psalm 130 – out of the depths I cry to you.
Gradual Hymn Every Corner
(from the album “Not So Soft”)
death
has been your lover
he has brought you
the edges of your life
and now you are looking over
and all we can say is
it’s gonna be all right
and I am looking forward
to looking back on these days
when on every corner
someone holds a sign
that says I’m homeless
I’m hungry and
I have AIDS
how will they define our generation
in the coming decades
who will tell the story
and what will they say?
will they say the victims
were thought of as criminals
while the guilty sat on high
deciding their fate
ticking off statistics in their spare time
tell me,
which is the crime?
may you never test positive
pregnancy
HIV
may you never be the receptacle of blame
may you never be the scapegoat
for a whole
world full of shame
may you never be fighting for your life
and at the same time
have to fight for your name
there are too few who open both eyes
we sit back in our easy chairs
and we try to sympathize
whether from the point of a needle or
the edge of our beds
we too, like too many others,
could be dead
our actions
will define us
before a single definition can be said
yeah, so what if god is testing us
what if that’s true
what are you going to do
what is the answer
to you
Gospel
Sermon: Dr. Brian Walsh
Song of Response “Carry you Around”
(from the album “To the Teeth”)
how pleased can one
sun setting make you
if you humble yourself
to it?
how grateful can you
really say that you are
just to be here and live
through it?
and when beauty asks a question
how often do you reply?
how often do you wonder
about life on the other side?
on the other side of sorrow
on the other side of rage
on the other side of ok
ok at all
in any way
imagine what loneliness
will drive someone to do
now multiply that times me
and multiply that times you
now imagine what it would take to make this all happen again
and just when you think you’re gonna cry
multiply that times ten
you
are distracting me
from all other activities
and i know the fact of your presence
will dominate my memory
of this restaurant, this table
this day and this town
cuz i carry you baby
i carry you around
Prayers of the People in a Valley of Dry Bones
Let us pray.
It is dry, Lord, so very dry.
And the bones are so many.
Come, Lord,
come to the killing fields,
come to these dry bones.
Come to this world of violence,
come to this world hell bent on death,
this pageantry of suffering,
and end this endless night.
[silent and spoken prayers for our world]
It is dry, Lord, so very dry.
And the bones are so many.
Come, Lord,
come to the killing fields,
come to these dry bones.
It is quiet, Lord, so quiet.
There is no voice,
there is no word.
Come, Lord,
come and speak your word,
prophesy us back to life
Come to this culture of death,,
breathe life into these skeletons in our closets,
move the air into a song of mercy.
[silent and spoken words for life to flower out of death, in our culture, our lives, the church]
It is quiet, Lord, so quiet.
There is no voice,
there is no word.
Come, Lord,
come and speak your word,
prophesy us back to life
It is still, Lord, so still.
There is hardly a whisper of wind,
the spirit is nowhere to be found.
Come, Holy Spirit, come.
Come and give life where there is death,
Come and bring healing in our midst.
Come, Holy Spirit,
we’re stumbling down this driveway of desire,
we’ve worn through the elbows and knees of our clothing,
crying out for you.
[silent and spoken prayers for all who are sick or in any kind of need]
It is still, Lord, so still.
There is hardly a whisper of wind,
the spirit is nowhere to be found.
Come, Holy Spirit, come.
Show us your beauty.
Show us the other side of sorrow,
Show us the other side of rage.
Amen
The Peace
Offering Song “Up Up Up Up Up Up”
(from the album Up Up Up Up Up Up Up)
up up up up up up points the
spire of the steeple
but god’s work isn’t done by god
it’s done by people
up up up up up up points the
fingers of the trees
the lumberjacks with their bloody axes
are on their knees
and just when you think that you’ve got enough
enough grows
and everywhere that you go in life
enough knows
up up up up up up dances
the steam from the sewer
as she rounds the corner
the brutal wind blows right through her
up up up up up up raises
the stakes of the game
each day sinks its bootprint into her clay
and she’s not the same
and just when you think that you’ve got enough
enough grows
and everywhere that you go in life
enough knows
half of learning how to play
is learning what not to play
and she’s learning the spaces she leaves
have their own things to say
then she’s trying to sing just enough
so that the air around her moves
and make music like mercy
that gives what it is
and has nothing to prove
she crawls out on a limb
and begins to build her home
and it’s enough just to look around
to know she’s not alone
up up up up up up points
the spire of the steeple
but god’s work isn’t done by god
it’s done by people
Celebration of the Eucharist
The Lord is here.
God’s Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to offer thanks and praise.
It is indeed right, always and everywhere,
to give thanks to you, the true and living God,
through Jesus Christ.
You are the source of life for all creation
and you made us in your own image.
In your love for us
you sent your Son to be our Saviour.
In the fullness of time he became incarnate,
and suffered death on the cross.
You raised him in triumph,
and exalted him in glory.
Through him you send your Holy Spirit
upon your church
and make us your people.
And so, we proclaim your glory, as we sing:
Holy, holy, holy one God of power, God of might Heaven and Earth are full of your glory Hosanna in the highest Blest is the one who comes in the name of our God Hosanna in the highest Hosanna in the highest
To you indeed be glory, almighty God,
because on the night before he died,
your Son, Jesus Christ, took bread;
when he had given you thanks,
he broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said:
Take, eat, this is my body
which is given for you;
do this to remember me.
After supper he took the cup;
when he had given you thanks,
he gave it to them and said:
This cup is the new covenant in my blood
poured out for you;
do this as often as you drink it
to remember me.
And so we celebrate and proclaim the mystery of our faith:
Christ has died,
Christ is risen,
Christ will come in glory.
Therefore, loving God,
recalling now Christ’s death and resurrection,
we ask you to accept
this our sacrifice of praise.
Send your Holy Spirit upon us
and our celebration,
that we may be fed with the body and blood of your Son
and be filled with your life and goodness.
Strengthen us to do your work,
and to be your body in the world.
United in Christ,
through the power of the Holy Spirit,
we raise to you, O God, our songs of everlasting praise.
Blessing, honour and glory be yours,
here and everywhere,
now and forever. Amen.
And now as our Saviour taught us,
let us pray,
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
Every time we eat this bread
and drink this cup,
we proclaim the Lord’s death
until he comes.
These are the gifts of God,
and they are for the people of God
Thanks be to God.
The Communion
Song during Communion: “Small World”
(from the album Not So Soft)
she was shaking and talking
louder and louder
each sentence was sifted
to a very fine powder
her face was wet and tight
her grip was cold and light
a strong wind could blow you down
I heard myself say
And she said
word up sister
a strong wind
could take me away
I said how long have
you been at large
they told me you were stashed
last time I asked
she said I’ve been out now
for all of three hours
I just resurfaced
and here you are
I must admit
that it has been hard
so far
I said skeletons are fine
your closet or mine
and we took turns recounting
the details of lost time
and when we had both
admitted it all
we threw our heads back
and laughed until we cried
we laughed because the world
is absurd and beautiful and small
there we were
washed up on the curb
as the rush hour traffic
went out with the tide
and I was aware that
with every word spoken and shared
I could see her shaking subside
I said sister looks to me
like you’re going to be fine
Prayer after Communion (thanks to Mary Jo Leddy)
Let us pray:
Let them all go to You
all the joys and sufferings
of this day.
Let them all go to You
all the worries of today.
Let them all go to You
all the mistakes that I make.
Let them all go to You
all the people that I care for.
Let them all go to You
all the sufferings of the world.
Let them all go to You.
All the happiness I hold
let it all go to you.
All the good that is done
let it all go to you.
All the beauty that appears
let it all go to you.
All the love that I am given
let it all go to you.
Let it all go to You.
Blessing
Announcements
Closing Song: “joyful girl”
(from the album Dilate)
i do it for the joy it brings
because i’m a joyful girl
because the world owes me nothing
and we owe each other the world
i do it because it’s the least i can do
i do it because i learned it from you
and i do it just because i want to
because i want to
everything i do is judged
and they mostly get it wrong
but oh well
‘cuz the bathroom mirror has not budged
and the woman who lives there can tell
the truth from the stuff that they say
and she looks me in the eye
and says would you prefer the easy way
no, well o.k. then
don’t cry
i wonder if everything i do
i do instead
of something i want to do more
the question fills my head
i know there’s no grand plan here
this is just the way it goes
when everything else seems unclear
i guess at least i know
i do it for the joy it brings
because i’m a joyful girl
because the world owes me nothing
and we owe each other the world
i do it because it’s the least i can do
i do it because i learned it from you
and i do it just because i want to
because i want to