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LITURGY FOR LEAVING A PROPERTY GATHERING: People gather at the front gate, then enter the property after the opening words. We gather here today to give thanks to God for (name of property), to remember what it has meant to us, and to pray for the (name) family who are leaving it. Optionally: We also remember the (name) family for whom this place will become their livelihood and their home. An explanation may be given about the liturgy, its purpose and the use of different parts of the property. Other people may be named. PRAISE: Move to a picturesque part of the property - perhaps the top of a hill. Suggested prayers can be found in "Resources for this Liturgy" found at the end of the liturgy. A general expression of praise to the Trinity is given. Next comes praise that picks up themes of creation, particularly stewardship and provision, and God's faithfulness. CONFESSION: This can take place in a part of the property that has been badly abused, for example by erosion, over-grazing, salting, etc. See "Resources for this Liturgy". Explicitly name: -things we have done to grieve (abuse) the property: ABSOLUTION: Use can be made of the Psalms or the Prophets, highlighting restoration and hope, for example, barrenness turned into fertility. "Resources for this Liturgy" RESPONSE TO THE ABSOLUTION The liturgist must consider carefully what symbolic action is most appropriate here. For example, if the land is heavily salted, pouring water on it is not a pastorally sensitive action. A tree could be planted, or fertilizer thrown on the ground. It is important that the response be done by the family, guided by the liturgist. OTHER STATIONS People can move to other parts of the property as appropriate. For example, certain paddocks, dams, etc. At these places, people are invited to "tell the stories"; their memories of favorite times and hard times. They may choose to focus on certain objects, for
example, a tractor, and to name them if relevant. RESPONSE/INTERCESSION People are invited to gather at the house or
homestead. LORD'S PRAYER SHARED MEAL: A meal shared with family and fiends may be appropriate. HOLY COMMUNION: Communion elements could come from the property itself. For example grain grown in a previous season could be used to make bread, or water from a well or spring could be used for the wine. Elements could be served out of items that express something of the farm. For example, a lunch box and thermos might be meaningful for those who have spent a lot of time on tractors in paddocks, unable to break for lunch. GREAT PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING: L: The Lord be with you R: and also with you L: Lift up your hearts R: We lift them to the Lord L: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God R: It is right to give our thanks and praise. L: Praise and thanksgiving are rightly yours, for you are the God who created this land and entrusted it to us. Through the generations you empowered us to be stewards
of this land for your glory. ALL: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, THE NARRATIVE OF THE INSTITUTION OF THE LORD'S SUPPER from "Uniting in Worship", pp.102-103 UCA National Commission on Liturgy, 1988 We bless you, Lord God, king of the universe, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who, on the night of his betrayal took bread, gave you thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take this and eat it. The bread can be broken and the elements distributed in a manner appropriate to the occasion. A prayer after communion may be offered here. BLESSING AND DISMISSAL This should take place inside the front gate. We have given thanks for the gift of (name of property), remembering the good times and the bad, and prayed with and for the (present families) and (future families). An appropriate closing ceremony may be performed. The blessing follows this action. The grace of Christ attend you;
PRAYER OF PRAISE Almighty God, Your everlasting rainbow, Grant us eyes to see your majesty in creation, Grant us ears to hear your words of eternal comfort, Grant us the gift of your grace to travel the rough
road For all days PRAYERS OF CONFESSION/ABSOLUTION Where there has been a struggle 0 God, O God, you have met us with so much on this place. In the glory of your holy name. Amen ABSOLUTION (Declaration of Forgiveness) Jesus said, Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28) I declare that, as Jesus has taken the weight of your/our
sins as he carried his cross, and it carried him: Where there has been land degradation Creator God, we stand before you today We, and our forebears, even in trying to improve this
land, As we leave this place, we ask that you, We commit ourselves,
One or more of the following readings may be added
before the Declaration of ABSOLUTION (Declaration of Forgiveness) The same Jesus Christ who died and was raised to new life offers us forgiveness, "for the saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners." (1 Timothy 1:15). Your sins are forgiven. Thanks be to God. Where the move spells both sadness and relief God of goodness, ABSOLUTION (Declaration of Forgiveness) Hear the word and the assurance of the Lord, Through Christ all are born to new life.
NOTES: This is written by Philip Liebelt, one of the editors of "Gentle Rain on Parched Earth". 1. It is not uncommon for people to have to leave their properties. This may be due to the rural recession, consolidation of properties, children leaving the land, or fix other reasons. In many instances the properties will have been owned and worked by successive generations of the one family. At such a time, a Christian liturgy that enables people to remember, to say good-bye, and to grieve the loss of their land and home seems necessary. This liturgy must also proclaim hope amidst pain, and life out of death. 2. This liturgy aims to maximize the use of symbolic action. Different parts of the service are held at different locations on the property, for example the gathering is at the front gate; praise is on high ground; confession is at a place where the land is somehow abused; prayers of intercession are held at the house. This could be likened to a " stations of the cross". Often certain items on a property are significant to those leaving: for example a tractor or a plow. Sometimes these objects have names. Attached to them is a story (or stories). It is the task of the liturgist to discover these places and objects and incorporate them into the liturgy. Symbols, if portable, can be taken away and brought to the new home as ways to remember the past. 3. It can be planned that the service would take place after both the sale of the property and the clearance sale. The new owners could be present. People should meet outside the front gate. 4. No music or singing is included in this liturgy. This could be added depending upon circumstances. One song that picks up the theme well is Eric Bogle's "Leaving the Land". 5. When the liturgy ends at the front gate of the property, it may be appropriate to move to a church afterwards. 6. Those leaving the land may be interested in producing a "time capsule" which could be left on the property. This could be buried at an appropriate part of the liturgy. Some kind of symbol could also be given to any children present for them to take away with them. 7. It may be appropriate for those present to share in a meal together. This could incorporate the sacrament of Holy Communion. The Great Prayer of Thanksgiving used in this liturgy has been based upon the normative prayer in "Uniting in Worship Leaders Book" (Melbourne:JBCE 1986) The Narrative (of the Institution of the Lord's Supper) is incorporated in this Great Prayer. By using a form based on that in "Uniting in Worship", the participants are reminded that they are not alone in their exodus but are entering a different phase of living their life for Christ. 8. The "Blessing and Dismissal" is intended to be a final committal. People should gather inside the front gate, then at the appropriate point a symbolic action is performed. This could be done by the people walking off the property, closing the gate, and then latching it. The removal of symbols through the gate may be appropriate. 9. Many scriptural passages or images can be used in this liturgy. They must necessarily be brief and link into the particular point of the liturgy. Examples include: Genesis 1: 28-3 1 Creation and stewardship 10. This liturgy may be adapted to suit non-farm situations such as closure of a business, retrenchment of staff, loss of job.
The liturgy was written by Denis Burns, Stephen Robinson, Frank Van Der Korput and Greg Woolnough as an item of assessment in their final year at United Theological College, Sydney. It came out of a discussion at the college of the difficulty directly related to Stephen Robinson's family leaving a farm which had been in the family for nearly a hundred years. Stephen's father Charles has written a book entitled One of these Days, a history of his family coming to the land, settling on it, stories of farm life and its struggles and humor, and eventually leaving the land. It is essentially a family's journey of faith. For some families who leave the land and use this liturgy, encouragement to write of their journey may be a good grieving and healing process. I want to affirm this liturgy because of my family's experience in losing our two family farms in 1987. My husband had been killed in a farm accident in 1984 and I knew how important the rituals and grief process were for our healing. When it came time for our farms to be sold, I decided to create a ritual for our family. I personally walked the land and took soil from different places on the two farms where happy and sad events had happened. My 16 year-old son sifted the soil together, wrote a letter about our situation and put the soil in a "cracked jar" (very symbolic for us as we were a broken family at that time). The day of the sale we (myself, my children, a grandchild, my pastor, a couple of close friends, my husband's brothers and sisters, my niece, a journalist and the Wisconsin public television crew that did the documentary) went to the courthouse and heard, watched and saw the reality of the farms being sold. After the sale, we went to the cemetery and had prayers and buried the jar that held the soil from the two farms next to my husband's grave. Each child took turns filling in the "grave". Even the small grandchild helped. Afterwards, we did the Norwegian-Lutheran thing and went to church and had lunch. In the afternoon, we sat around and reminisced about the farms and all the memories that they held for different family members. There were lots of tears and lots of laughter as stories were told. It was such a healing process for us. It helped us bring closure to the reality of the loss and at the same time helped us move to the next phase of our lives. It was my goal that this documentary be shown to help non-farm people realize the tremendous loss this is for a family. I also hoped it would help other families and pastors find ways to create their own rituals for whatever situation they faced. I also know that some seminaries used the documentary in pastoral care classes. The documentary was shown on Wisconsin public television on April 3,1987. The documentary, titled, Harvest of Hope, received the national Gabriel Award from the National Catholic Association for Broadcasters and Allied Communications for the highest achievement in excellence and public service in the art of communication for the year of 1986-1987. Thanks be to God. Sandra Simonson Thums
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