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The Coming of the Sun Spirit
- the theme of Advent, in pictures and song |
O come, O come, Immanuel,
And ransom captive Israel.
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the son of God appear.
Rejoice! rejoice!
Immanuel shall come to you,O Israel.
O come, true branch of Jesse, free
Your own from evil's tyranny;
From deep despair your people save
And give them vict'ry o'ver the grave.
Rejoice! rejoice!
Immanuel shall come to you,O Israel.
O come, great son of David, come
And open wide our heav'nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high;
Your earthly kingdom sanctify.
Rejoice! rejoice!
Immanuel shall come to you,O Israel.
O come, bright dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by your advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! rejoice!
Immanuel shall come to you,O Israel.
The Invocations and statement in the last verse is used in the banners for each Sunday of Advent. |
| Advent Workshop |
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Some expressions of our thoughts and feelings on Advent. |
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Colours of the Festivals
- a slow and personal pilgrimage through the festivals allowed new connections, new insights and new depths to be revealed to us. |
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Some time to connect with an image...
then we hand-painted our own Advent candle. |
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Advent Sunday |
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The beginning of Advent.
It is dark,
the Invocation calls for the bright day-spring to come,
to bring light into our lives,
into us.
The sun begins to rise.
The sun spirit begins its journey within. |
The Coming of the Sun Spirit *
We celebrate the Sun,
Here he comes,
Here he comes.
Blazing in our hearts,
raising all our hope.
Giving all we meet love and light, love and light.
And we will ever sing
Gloria, Gloria! Gloria, Gloria, Gloria! Gloria, Gloria! Gloria Gloria!
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2nd Sunday in Advent |
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Still some gray.
The Invocation calls to come and cheer our spirits,
for our soul to respond by rising,
for our soul to shine.
The sun is fully above the horizon.
Light blue sky shines above the our gray doubts.
Birds fly.
The Coming of the Sun Spirit *
He rises like the day,
Here he comes, here he comes.
Putting all our doubts away, melting fear into joy.
Bringing all we meet life and light, life, light.
And we will ever say
Gloria, Gloria! Gloria, Gloria, Gloria! Gloria, Gloria, Gloria, Gloria!
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Banners in places.
The process of the inner rising sun continues. |
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3rd Sunday in Advent |
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Blue skies with dark clouds.
The journey often brings increased resistance.
The Invocation calls to come and dispel the clouds of the night.
The sun is risen - not quite fully in the sky of our being.
But still the sun shines through our doubts and despair.
The Coming of the Sun Spirit *
We celebrate the Babe,
Here he comes, here he comes.
Bringing life anew, precious seed in all of you.
Bursting through into love, into light.
And we will ever pray
Gloria, Gloria! Gloria, Gloria, Gloria! Gloria, Gloria, Gloria, Gloria!
Read the address given at this service
Opening to the Light of Christ - third Sunday of Advent
An address for the Cosmic Mass  14th December 2008 Rev Lukas
1 John 1:1-7 |
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Carols by Candlelight |
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A night of singing the story.
O come, all ye faithful
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem:
Come and behold him, born the king of angels:
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.
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A night of hearing the story.
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 60:1-2, 9:2,6
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A night for holding on to our light.
A night
of holding up our light. |
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A night of angels (?) (!)
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,
for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Hebrews 13:2 |
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4th Sunday in Advent |
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Full Light
The Invocation is now a simple truth:
Death's shadow is put to flight.
The Sun is fully risen,
shining bright within us.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5
The Coming of the Sun Spirit *
We celebrate the Boy,
Here he comes, here he comes.
May the angels sing his praise, blessed Lord of all our days.
We will ever raise songs of love, light and life.
Yes we will ever sing
Gloria, Gloria! Gloria, Gloria, Gloria! Gloria, Gloria, Gloria, Gloria!
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Love, light and life blooms in our being.
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Christmas Eve Midnight Mass |
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The constant refrain is now shining brightly within:
Rejoice! rejoice!
Immanuel shall come to you,O Israel.
Yes we will ever sing
Gloria, Gloria! Gloria, Gloria, Gloria! Gloria, Gloria, Gloria, Gloria!
Silent night! Holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight!
Glories stream from the heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing 'Alleluia'.
Christ, the Saviour, is born!
Christ, the Saviour, is born!
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A time to reflect on the inner light born anew within us.
Read the address given at this service
The Fullness of Time
An address for the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass
24th December 2008 Rev Heather
Luke 2:8-20
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| The Twelve Holy Days of Christmas |
New Year Meditation
In the middle of the Twelve Holy Days of Christmas is given the focus of the new spiritual year.
THE NEW YEAR BEFORE US, THE YEAR OF 2009, will be dedicated to a spiritual practice and sacred service beloved by mystics and initiates. It is an activity of the spiritual will, and the only means by which the knowledge of the head can become an experience of the heart. It purifies the astral and fills the etheric with spiritual substance. It is a selfless and sacrificial work and yet it strengthens the self and fills it with energy, power and understanding. It is the practice of prayer.
At various times during the year, check out the page devoted to the practice of prayer. Addresses, prayers and images will be added at different times. |
Epiphany - marks the end of The Twelve Holy Days of Christmas
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A Message from our Meriti
THE SPIRITUAL FEAST OF EPIPHANY (January 6) – which marks the conclusion of the twelve holy nights of Christmas – celebrates the visit of the three magi and also the baptism of Jesus when the spirit of Christ descended bringing the act of incarnation of the godhead into human form closer to its fulfilment.
The magi were people of esoteric knowledge. They were capable of engaging in and sustaining a living relationship with the spiritual worlds. And they demonstrated their capacity to respond to their spiritual insight. They gave the most precious and costly gifts – frankincense, gold and myrrh – in response to God’s gift of his only begotten Son.
In an Epiphany address in 1996 Reverend Mario places a challenge before each of us to offer up riches of our being to the Christ: gold, the beauty and substance of our being and the realisation that we are valuable; myrrh, the realisation and burning knowledge that we are eternal beings; and frankincense, our prayerfulness and devotion which develops our capacity to reunite the heavens and earth within our consciousness.
Epiphany means ‘to show forth’, ‘to reveal’. Through their visit, adoration and gift-giving the magi revealed to the world the great significance of the divine incarnation. The baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River showed forth the glory of the Christ.
Our warmest greetings and blessing to you this Epiphany. May you recognise the new life that has been emerging in you during these holy days of Christmas. May you be strengthened in your capacity to follow the purpose and direction revealed to you by the heavens, your star. And may you be inspired to make an offering of the riches of your being so that this new life may be nurtured and purpose fulfilled. May your life indeed show forth the light of Christ.
Rev Antoinette & Rev Robert
Read the address given at the Agape in Melbourne
An Epiphany Reflection
An address for the Agape 6th January 2009 Rev Louise
Luke 3: 2b-6, 10-16, 21-26
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* Music and Lyrics of The Coming of the Sun Spirit by Init Sue Robinson |
Last updated: 5 January 2009 |
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The Centre in Melbourne
The Independent Church of Australia
Office: PO Box 5139, Pinewood, VIC 3149
Phone: (03) 9738 0093
Email: melbournecentre@ica.org.au
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