Archives August 2011

https://www.vimeo.com/28407677

Text for the liturgy here

Videos here

The production videos for this year’s Blessed Mass@Home is available from: http://bit.ly/qxL13P 
alongside almost everything else Blessed have ever done at the AgnusDei website

Everything on that site is freely available for your use in worship.

As I sit in the Contributor’s area with a lovely cup of (free) coffee, I can start to reflect on the Blessed Mass at Greenbelt 2011.

The Venue was brilliant size-wise, and we estimate around 400 people communicated at the Mass, but it was difficult to gauge because it was an open venue, so no clear count was made. It looked full enough to me. The stage was a little cramped with the band and the altar, but technically it wa spot on, the crew knew their stuff and got the cues almost all as the script asked – I had extensive and full scripts for sound, light and video.

The problem was to do with access to the stage: we copuldn’t do the DaVinci tableaux as we had planned, and moving into the people to distribute communion was problematic. The sense of barrier was clear to me. I understand Centaur was laid out very differently but we wouldn’t have had Incense, which was a very good thing. These things are always going to be in tension so overall, I loved being in that venue and would want to go back there, better armed with knowledge of the layout and able to plan with that, we could make it even better next year (hint, hint.

Feedback has been amazing: loads of people have approached me and other members of the Blessed Team to say how much they appreciated the worship, especially as an opener to the Festival.

Here are some comments:

@ramtopsrac: @frsimon that was a wonderful experience – thank you so much (and for sharing the liturgy) Bless you all #blessed  #gb11

@T1r0: @frsimon @blessedaltw Thk u for making gb11 awesome. Really inspiring connection with the living God. 🙂

revpatrickjordan(at)gmail.com: Really enjoyed Blessed at Greenbelt. I am reflecting on forgiveness as light, gentle and playful as a result of the bubbles! Many thanks to what was a great beginning for my Greenbelt experience.

Many others also stopped us (even when I was Stewarding at the Worship Co-op) in the walkways or by the car to give us positive feedback, which they didn’t really need to, but made us all feel good about what we sought to achieve.

Of course, its very place as an opener meant that many could not/would not come and many friends of ours (and 1 concelebrant!) didn’t make the Mass due to traffic. That is the cost of having such a place. The advantage is that our work was done and we have been able to truly enjoy the festival after the stress of Friday evening.

It was marvellous to lead worship with a band, Metanoia who knew and understood liturgy and bought into the Blessed Vision: Fr Robb Sutherland on lead guitar, Dr Ruth Sutherland on Bass and Vocals, Mike Stoodley on keys and Ed Duffy on drums

See also  http://www.moortownbaptistchurch.org.uk/2011/08/26/metanoia-rock-em-at-greenbelt/ 

Now, if we are going to improve on this we need to do another big venue next year, perhaps the Big Top again for perhaps the Centaur. I believe we have proved our capabilities, Metanoia and Blessed want to work closely again next year (and I want to do a smaller, more intimate gig perhaps in Underground: Dubstep Mass perhaps?). To make this happen, why not let Ben Edson and Peter Gunstone know, and tell them what you think we ought to offer next year…  🙂

This is being released as the act of worship is being enacted.

Blessed Blurb

God cannot be pinned down: either captured between the pages of your little book or the limits of your imagination. Yet we sense deep within ourselves that He yearns to reach out to us and all of creation; making himself known through signs and symbols, through music and ritual, through worship and prayer, through stillness and through the roar of the crowd, the quietness of meditation and the jarring of confrontation. God is in all these and more.

Blesséd have been trying for the best part of a decade to explore the edge of where God and his created world meet: to rediscover a sacramental life in the sign and symbol of the ancient Church and proclaim it in new and radical ways: to push the boundaries of the Church’s heritage into an engagement with the modern world. Deeply traditional, and yet wildly iconoclastic and rabidly Inclusive, Blesséd offers worship which both confronts and comforts, challenges and seeks to connect us with an ancient sacramental heritage using multimedia and ritual, video and action, incense, scripture and music.

Contribution blurb

God is here. Make yourselves at home. Come in and put your feet up. Christ welcomes each and every one of you in to share a meal. Moving through some of the many rooms in his Father’s house, Blesséd seeks to explore what it means to be welcomed, even when others think there’s a risk that you might make a mess, upset the neighbours or say something rude or inappropriate.

This year’s full-on multimedia mass takes place in an all-together bigger setting: the Big Top, with the unique and distinct contribution of rock band Metanoia to create an opening act of worship which will make you feel both at home and challenged to your very heart.

At this first/last party, the traditional and the radical come together in a multisensory experience of worship, rock music and sacrament. Incense and the Holy Spirit will be used – don’t say you haven’t been warned.
Gathering

As the people enter into the Big Top, the stage is already populated with a tableau of DaVinci’s Last Supper. There are 13 priests in vestments in the positions. One by one they peel off from their positions and grab a member of the congregation coming in, placing them in the tableau in their position, until all of the places are filled by normal people, with the exception of the principal celebrant in the place of Christ.

1. Caroline Rhodes
2. Edward Green
3. Michael Smith (Dn)
4. Alex Gowling-Cumber
5. Dot Gosling
6. Rachel Firth
7. Ellen Loudon
8. Pam Smith
9. Suzanna Cooke
10. Richard Watson
11. Iain Forbes
12. Angi Nutt (Dn)

At the end of the Gathering, the people are asked to return to their seats as the sanctuary party enter with Crucifer, Thurifer, Acolytes etc. The altar is censed and we move into the introduction.

Bring me to life

How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
Leading you down into my core where I’ve become so numb
Without a soul my spirit sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there and lead it back home

(Wake me up) Wake me up inside
(I can’t wake up) Wake me up inside
(Save me) Call my name and save me from the dark
(Wake me up) Bid my blood to run
(I can’t wake up) Before I come undone
(Save me) Save me from the nothing I’ve become

Now that I know what I’m without you can’t just leave me
Breathe into me and make me real bring me to life

(Wake me up) Wake me up inside
(I can’t wake up) Wake me up inside
(Save me) Call my name and save me from the dark
(Wake me up) Bid my blood to run
(I can’t wake up) Before I come undone
(Save me) Save me from the nothing I’ve become

Bring me to life (I’ve been living a lie, there’s nothing inside)
Bring me to life

Frozen inside without your touch, without your love, Jesus,
Only you are the life among the dead

All this time I can’t believe I couldn’t see
Kept in the dark but you were there in front of me
I’ve been sleeping a thousand years it seems
Got to open my eyes to everything
Without a thought, without a voice, without a soul – don’t let me die here
there must be something more – bring me to life

(Wake me up) Wake me up inside
(I can’t wake up) Wake me up inside
(Save me) Call my name and save me from the dark
(Wake me up) Bid my blood to run
(I can’t wake up) Before I come undone
(Save me) Save me from the nothing I’ve become
Bring me to life (I’ve been living a lie, there’s nothing inside)
Bring me to life

Introduction (Cloakroom)
Video: http://vimeo.com/27601478
Music: Black Grape: In the name of the Father

https://www.vimeo.com/27601478

In the name of the +Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

The Lord be with you
And also with you

My dear friends in Christ,
God is here. Make yourselves at home.

The adverts for Ikea would have you believe that “Home is the most important place in the world”

But home is not made with the right chairs or nice carpets,
home is a reflection of the relationships we hold
the love we share
the welcome we show

God bids you welcome,
welcome home to his sacred and holy house
Where none are turned away
no matter what they have said
or done
no matter how broken
or how together they feel.

As we begin worship in this sacred space,
as we offer this holy and living sacrifice
with special intention for the whole Greenbelt festival,
we pray that God will open our hearts
as we welcome the stranger and the alien
the orphan, the unloved and the unlovable
and the rest of us into a living relationship
with He who places no barriers in the way.

Video: Penitential Rite Introduction

And yet, we are the ones who place barriers in the way through our sinfulness.

As we move from our entrance hall to the bathroom,
we prepare to wash away our sins,
and let the bubbles of God’s forgiveness wash over us.

Like bubbles they might seem so fragile, so ephemeral, so small
and yet, we can fill this sacred space with bubbles of forgiveness
when indicated.

So in order to prepare ourselves for these holy and sacred mysteries,
let us reflect on our sins…

Penitential Rite (Bathroom)

As the congregation has entered the sacred space they were given packs of bubbles to share, with Blessed Penitential Rite stickers on them, which will ask them not to open the bottles until indicated.

Video: http://vimeo.com/26468691

https://www.vimeo.com/26468691

Music: David Ford – State of the Union (Edit)

Sweet dreams, all met with derision
This train, it was armed for collision
It’s a shame, it’s a shame, it’s a shame

Clap your hands in the sparkle and glitter
Shake your heads at the twisted and bitter
Oh, they don’t know how lucky they are

Foot down for the alienation
Look on as your love, it gets lost in translation
To a language that nobody understands

But there are smiles as they erode and corrupt you
Of the great expectations you could never live up to
We are lost, we are lost, we are lost

Get your coat, because the righteous are leaving
Because they can’t work out what the hell to believe in
It’s a shame, it’s a shame, it’s a shame

So paint over the cracks and then cover
What you thought was the worst-ever pain with another
And the first one, it always comes free

How they love you, so cold and so vicious
With friends like these, well, who needs politicians
The first one, it always comes free
They tell you heroin tastes like ice cream

Clever men know all that and all this
And they will talk and they will talk and they don’t fucking listen
It’s a shame, it’s a shame, it’s a shame

It’s no life, but God, it’s a living
Come on, Jesus Christ, come back, all is forgiven
We are lost, we are lost, we are lost

Have no fear of the state of the nation
Let the facts have no bearing on public relations
It’s a shame, it’s a shame, it’s a shame

What a model of Christian behaviour
Preach on with the message of “Go fuck thy neighbour”
It’s a shame, it’s a shame, it’s a shame
A shame, it’s a shame
It’s a shame, it’s a shame, it’s a shame

Absolution
Screen: You are forgiven

Our Lord Jesus Christ, who has left power to his Church to
absolve all sinners who truly repent and believe in him, of
his great mercy forgive you all your offences; and by his
authority committed to me, I absolve you from all your sins:
+In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Book of Common Prayer, Visitation of the Sick p317

Collect

Let us pray…

We gather here in this holy space,
not as strangers but as guests…

Heavenly Father,
who through your Son Jesus Christ Our Lord,
made known to the whole world
your love,
your forgiveness,
your welcome,
bring us to your heavenly home
where grace rolls out the carpet and mercy paints the walls
and all are invited to share in the bounteous feast
with all the angels, saints, prophets and patriarchs.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Amen

Word (Lounge)

During the first reading, incense is added.

Broken Open by Jude Simpson
Video: http://www.vimeo.com/25413887
Music: Sigur Ros Flugelsfarhan

http://www.vimeo.com/25413887

If your heart yearns for a more it doesn’t know,
if you’ve suffered blow after blow
and can barely dare to lift your head,
if you’ve ever wished you’d rather been –
if you’ve bled, or tried to bind a wound
if you’ve cried then tied a knot to choke
the flow of hope before it can open up
a way to disappoint again
and leave you broken
then this is for you.
If you’ve longed, if you’ve wronged,
if you choke on the words to your favourite song,
if you need a Doctor,
or you’re beyond
medical help
then come.
If you’re cracked, if you’re splintered,
if your Winter is just too long,
if this Winter is just too long,
(but the thought of Spring is terrifying,)
then come.
Because Jesus came
for the broken brother and sister,
the ache, the pain and the blister,
the wrong decision,
the open wound
the blurred vision
the won’t-ever-hope-again.
Jesus came
for the insane, the unfulfilled, the searching
the street child, the tramp and the urchin,
the poor little rich girl snorting coke and
cursing, and the man who sold it to her.
Jesus came for those nursing a need,
nursing a drink
out of control,
on the blink,
on the brink,
falling overboard, and about to –
sobbing at the kitchen sink.
Jesus came for those the world drives mad,
for the bad, yes the bad,
Jesus came for the bad,
so if that’s never been you,
then fine, just go, because
Jesus didn’t come for the well, the swell,
“the hell – I’ve got everything I need”
the nothing’s-lacking, the non-cracking up.
He’s not interested in courting the sorted
he came to fill the cup of the thirsty,
the worst, the broken, the burst open,
Jesus came for the sick.
the packed-up, the cracked-up,
the smashed, hopes dashed, and the picked-on,
the meek, the weak, the stuttering,
those who blush when they speak
and the walked-out-on.
Jesus came for the left behind,
for the cheats and the cheated,
the ones who crossed the line
and the ones who still don’t know where to begin.
Jesus came for the people who know how it feels
when you say “sin”
for the broken to open,
to break for those who choke,
for the people who don’t have everything we need,
for the ones who know we need hope.

© Jude Simpson 2007

Gospel: Luke 14:15-24
taken from Listen
Video: http://vimeo.com/26020589
Vocal: Zoe

http://www.vimeo.com/26020589

We stand. During the Gospel, the thurifer moves to the centre of the stage and faces the screen with big swingage.
Sung Gospel Acclamation:

Alleluia, Alleluia, For the Lord God Almighty reigns
Alleluia, Alleluia, For the Lord God Almighty reigns. Alleluia!
Holy, Holy, are You Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb, Worthy is the Lamb
You are holy, holy are you Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb, Worthy is the Lamb, Amen

(music is continued whilst the video reading is played:)

The Holy Gospel according to Luke.
One day Jesus told this story: There was once a man who gave a great banquet and invited many people to it.
When everything was ready he sent out his Son to tell the guests t come and join him. But each one of them began to make excuses:
One of the guests said, “I’ve just bought a field and I have to go and look at it. I am sorry I cannot come”
Another guest said “I’ve just bought five pair of Oxen and I have got to go and see what they are like. I am sorry I cannot come”
Yet another guest said “What a pity, I’ve just been married. I am sorry I cannot come”
When the man heard all this, he was furious and he said to his Son, “These people don’t deserve to enjoy my banquet. Go out into the streets and the alleyways of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. Bring them into my banquet instead.”
When this was done, there was still some more room left and so the man said “Go right out into the country roads and lanes and make people come in. I don’t want my house to be empty for the banquet. I want it to be absolutely full!”

This is the Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, O Christ

Sung Acclamation:

Alleluia!
Holy, Holy, are You Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb, Worthy is the Lamb
You are holy, holy are you Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb, Worthy is the Lamb, Amen.

Visual Intercessions

Music: CJM Pray for a miracle
Video: http://www.vimeo.com/27124680 with current images

http://www.vimeo.com/xxxxx

Peace

Video: 09 – Blessed Peace http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhIgWrdLNXw

Christ is our peace.
He has reconciled us to God
in one body by the cross.
We meet in his name and share his peace.

The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.

Deacon: Let us offer one another a sign of peace

The Peace is shared. Incense is added. The gifts are laid out by a deacon and censed. The concelebrants arrange themselves around the altar. The thurifer censes them and then turns to cense the people.

Offertory Hymn: How lovely is your dwelling place:

How lovely is Your dwelling place,O Lord Almighty
My soul longs and even faints for You
For here my heart is satisfied, within Your presence
I sing beneath the shadow of Your wings

Better is one day in Your courts
Better is one day in Your house
Better is one day in Your courts
Than thousands elsewhere (repeat)

One thing I ask and I would seek to see Your beauty
To find You in the place Your glory dwells

Better is one day in Your courts
Better is one day in Your house
Better is one day in Your courts
Than thousands elsewhere (repeat)

My heart and flesh cry out for You, the living God
Your spirit’s water for my soul
I’ve tasted and I’ve seen, come once again to me
I will draw near to You, I will draw near to You

(solo)

But I’ve made up my mind – I ain’t wasting no more time:
Better is one day in Your courts
Better is one day in Your house
Better is one day in Your courts
Than thousands elsewhere (repeat)

Pray my dear friends that this our sacrifice may be acceptable to God, the Almighty Father
May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name, for our good and the good of his Church

Prayer over the gifts

Video: http://www.vimeo.com/27656540

https://www.vimeo.com/27656540

God is here. Make yourselves at home.
Word becomes flesh
flesh becomes bread
bread becomes body
body becomes word
God is bread
bread is broken
pain becomes wine
wine becomes joy
Wine bursts the wineskins
God bursts the tomb
bread bursts into song

We offer these gifts in the name of Christ, our Lord.
Amen

Eucharistic Prayer (Kitchen)
based upon draft prayer 2 for children GS1822
Video (draft) at http://www.vimeo.com/27426630

http://www.vimeo.com/27426630

Sung:

The Lord be with you
and also with you.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give thanks and praise.

Question: Why is it right to give thanks and praise?
Answer: Listen and you will hear.

Lord of all life,
you created the universe,
where all living things reflect your glory.
You give us this great and beautiful earth,
to discover and to cherish.

You give us your love,
even when things go wrong.
Jesus knew hurt and pain.
Through him you wipe away our tears,
and fill us with your peace.

You give us happy times
and things to celebrate.
In these we taste your kingdom,
a feast for all to share.

You made us all,
each wonderfully different,
to join with the angels
and sing your praise:

Holy, holy, holy Lord God of power and might,
Heaven and earth, heaven and earth, are full, are full, of Your glory, your glory,
Hosanna in the Heights, Hosanna in the Heights;
Blessed is He who comes in the Lord’s name, Hosanna in the Heights, Hosanna in the Heights, Amen.

We thank you, loving Father,
because you sent Jesus Christ, your Son.
He gave his life for us on the cross
and shows us the way to live.

+Send your Holy Spirit
that these gifts of bread and wine
may become for us Christ’s body and his blood.

Question Why do we share this bread and wine?
Answer Listen and you will hear.

On the night before he died,
when darkness had fallen,
Jesus took bread.
He gave thanks, broke it,
and shared it with his disciples, saying:
‘This is my body, given for you.
Do this to remember me.’

After they had eaten, he took the cup of wine,
gave thanks, and shared it with his disciples, saying:
‘This is my blood, poured out for you and for all,
for the forgiveness of sins.’

So Father, with this bread and this cup
we celebrate his love, his death, his risen life.
As you feed us with these gifts,
send your Holy Spirit,
and change us more and more
to be like Jesus our Saviour

Question How do we follow Jesus Christ?
Answer Listen and you will hear.

Help us, Father, to love one another,
and to work together for that day
when the whole world is fed,
suffering is ended,
and all creation is gathered in your loving arms.

And now with Our Blessed Mother Mary, St. Thomas the Apostle, all your saints
we give you glory,
through Jesus Christ,
in the strength of the Spirit,
today and for ever.

Sung:

Blessing, honour and glory and power, forever be Yours, forever be Yours,
Blessing, honour and glory and power, forever be Yours, forever be Yours, Amen.

Lord’s Prayer – The Lord’s Prayer Challenge

The band perform their sung version of the Lord’s Prayer, the words on screen challenge that prayer

Gathered around this holy altar, we pray together as Our Saviour Christ has taught us…

Our Father in heaven.
Hallowed by your name
Your Kingdom come
Your will be done On earth as in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us
Lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen

On Screen

Don’t say ‘Father’ if you do not behave like a son or daughter. Don’t say ‘Our’ if you only think of your self.
Don’t say ‘Hallowed’ if you do not honour that name.
Don’t say ‘Your Kingdom come’ if you are weighed down with material goods
Don’t say ‘Thy will be done’ if you do not accept the hard bits
Don’t say ‘as it is in heaven’ if you only think about earthly matters
Don’t say ’Our daily bread’ if you have no concern for the hungry or the homeless
Don’t say ‘Forgive us our sins’ if you remain angry with someone
Don’t say ‘Lead us not into temptation’ if you intend to continue sinning
Don’t say ‘Deliver us from evil’ if you are not willing to make a stand against injustice
Don’t say ‘AMEN’ without considering the words of your prayer!

Presentation

We break this bread to share in the body of Christ
Though we are many, we are one body,
because we all share in the one bread.

Agnus Dei

The principle host is broken and distributed to the concelebrants by the Deacons.

Sung:

Jesus, Jesus, Have mercy upon us
Bearer of our sins, Bearer of our sins,
Have mercy, mercy, Lamb of God who reigns on high
Bearer of our sins, Bearer of our sins,
Have mercy, mercy, Lamb of God who reigns on high
Redeemer of the world, Redeemer of the world,
Grant us peace.

This is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.
Blessed are those who are called to his supper.
Lord I am not worthy to receive you,
but only say the word and I shall be healed.

Communion (Dining Room)

Songs during communion:

The Reason:

I’m not a perfect person, there’s many things I wish I didn’t do
But I continue learning, I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go, That I just want you to know

I’ve found a reason for me, To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new, and the reason is you

I’m sorry that I hurt you, It’s something I must live with everyday
And all the pain I put you through, I wish that I could take it all away
And be the one who catches all your tears, Thats why i need you to hear

I’ve found a reason for me, To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new, and the reason is You
And the reason is You , And the reason is You , And the reason is You.

I’m not a perfect person, I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go, That I just want you to know

I’ve found a reason for me, To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new, and the reason is you
I’ve found a reason to show, A side of me I didn’t know
A reason for all that I do, And the reason is you

You got the Love:

Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air, I know I can count on you
Sometimes I feel like saying, “Lord, I just don’t care”
But you’ve got the love I need to see me through
Sometimes it seems the going is just too rough
And things go wrong no matter what I do,
Now and then I feel like life is just too much
But you’ve got the love I need to see me through

When food is gone, you are my daily meal
When friends are gone I know my Saviour’s love is real, You know it’s real

You’ve got the love, you’ve got the love, you’ve got the love,
You’ve got the love, you’ve got the love, you’ve got the love,

Time after time I say, “Oh Lord what’s the use?”
Time after time I say, “This just won’t do”
But sooner or later in life the things you love you lose
But you’ve got the love I need to see me through

You’ve got the love, you’ve got the love, you’ve got the love
You’ve got the love, you’ve got the love, you’ve got the love
You’ve got the love, you’ve got the love, you’ve got the love
You’ve got the love, you’ve got the love, you’ve got the love

Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air, I know I can count on you
Sometimes I feel like saying, “Lord, I just don’t care”
But you’ve got the love I need to see me through

Post Communion (Washing Up)

All stand

Let us pray…

Grant to us your Church, O Lord,
that, strengthened by the power of this Sacrament,
We may eagerly walk in the pathways of the Gospel,
until we reach the blessed vision of peace,
our heavenly home with you
and join the company of saints
for ever in worship of you.
We ask this through Christ our Lord

Amen

Blessing & Dismissal (Cloakroom)

Video: Joy Division (Lambeth) Blessing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14Ma-AodQ9I

= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14Ma-AodQ9I

We are pilgrims on a common journey with Christ as our guide.
Will you be faithful and determined in discipleship?
With the help of God we will.

We have gathered around the table and been fed for the road.
Will you share the good news of Christ with those whom you meet?
With the help of God we will

The Spirit breathes many gifts to build up the body
Will you use your gifts in the service of others?
With the help of God we will

The path we travel brings pain and sadness, joy and delight
Will you endure on this way to bring in the Kingdom?
With the help of God we will

May the boldness of the Spirit transform you
May the gentleness of the Spirit lead you
May the gifts of the Spirit equip you
to proclaim afresh in this generation the unchanging love of Christ.

And the blessing…

(live)
…the blessing of God +Father, Son and Holy Spirit

Be upon you and remain with you, this day and always. Amen

Deacon: The Mass is ended. Go in the peace of Christ
Thanks be to God.

Recessional

Blessed Be Your Name In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow, blessed be Your name
Blessed Be Your name when I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness, Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord, Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord, Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name when the sun’s shining down on me
When the world’s ‘all as it should be’, Blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering
Though there’s pain in the offering, Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord, Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord, Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord, Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away, You give and take away
My heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be Your name

You give and take away, You give and take away
My heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord, Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord, Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be the name of the Lord, Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord, Blessed be Your glorious name

Video: Polyphonic Spree 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GewbAuTgu5g

END

You cannot hope to bribe or twist,
thank God! the British journalist.
But, seeing what the man will do
unbribed, there’s no occasion to.

(Humbert Wolfe, 1885–1940)

H/T Lawrence at http://osbloggery.blogspot.com/

I want to turn to the power of the blogsphere to help me shape the core prayers of Blessed’s offering at Greenbelt this year.

Have a look at this and if you feel there are changes which can be made, then please comment below, and I will use your contributions to shape this liturgy.  Blurb about the shape, theme and object of the Mass appear after my first draft so you might understand the context: