January 2021 WATERritual

“A Cup of Blessings for the New Year”

By Diann L. Neu and Anali North Martin

Listen to the audio of our January 2021 WATERritual here on SoundCloud.

Preparation
In solidarity with the Biden Inauguration, light a candle in your window for our nationwide moment of remembrance to honor the lives lost to Covid-19. Be ready to fill your favorite cup with a drink you enjoy: water, tea, cappuccino, wine, juice, coffee, hot chocolate: whichever beverage you prefer.

Call to Gather
Good evening. I am Diann Neu. I am here with Anali North Martin to welcome you to this WATERritual, “A Cup of Blessings for the New Year.” On this eve of the Inauguration of Joe Biden as President of the United States and Kamala Harris as Vice-president, we light our candles for our nationwide moment of remembrance to honor the lives lost to Covid-19, and we join together in hope for the possibilities of the new year and the new administration.

Tonight, we are keenly aware of how 2021 has started in the U.S. and how this affects other countries — a failed Trump insurrection attack on the U.S. Capitol, a raging Covid-19 pandemic, a second Trump impeachment, a divided nation with festering wounds of grievance politics infested with racism, growing climate change disasters, the U.S. Capitol and state capitols guarded by the National Guard, and so much more. As we look at our political, economic, social, and religious landscape, we hold our breath for a new day − holding space for change as well as understanding that these issues we face have roots that go down deep. The systems we are woven into sink to a personal level, and we rise to address them. We pray for justice, truth, and healing.

We gather tonight to reflect on endings and beginnings, to recognize blessings and await more. In this liturgy we will view our lives as three cups. At times we are empty, waiting to receive. Other days we are filled with possibilities. Another time we are overflowing.

As we survey our cups of blessings, we know that they are not only ours, but that they are influenced by what is happening around us. We are not islands, conquering change − the filling and the emptying − alone. This liturgy invites you to look at your cup of blessings to reflect on what you need, to give thanks for what you have been given, and to think about what you will give to others.

Song: “Oh Healing River” by Fran Minkoff and Fred Hellerman © 1964, arranged by Mark Hayes

Centering Prayer
Come, Healing River.
Send your waters to heal and bless
our parched lands, our thirsty people, our aching hearts.
May the Spirit of Healing and Blessings surround us
as we reflect on our cups of blessings
during this season of endings and beginnings.

Story of Three Cups
Once upon a time, there were three cups.
The first was empty, waiting, ready to receive and hold whatever was poured into it. Pause.
The second was filling with possibilities, pleasing the senses with anticipation. Pause.
The third brimmed to overflowing, inviting the thirsty to receive its powers. Pause.

Look at Your Empty Cup
Pause to notice it. Your cup, empty now, will soon be filled with drink.
Pray: Blessed are You, Divine Providence, for the potential you offer.

Song Refrain: “O Healing River”
Play a rain stick. O healing river, send down your waters.

Fill Your Cup with a Drink of Choice
Pause to notice it. In filling this cup, see the possibilities of the universe pouring forth through you.
Pray: Blessed are you, Source of Life, for filling my cup again and again.

Song Refrain: “O Healing River”
Play a rain stick. O healing river, send down your waters.

Hold Your Brimming Cup
Pause to notice it. This brimming cup is full of refreshment and renewing powers.
Pray: Blessed are you, Holy Wisdom, for your many gifts.

Song Refrain: “O Healing River”
Play a rain stick. O healing river, send down your waters.

Reflection | Begin to Drink
With this first sip, I give thanks for liberating streams in my life and in our country. Pause.
With this second sip, I respect the diverse blessing cups given by and to others. Pause.
With this third sip, I share the waters of life with a thirsty world. Pause.

Think of this cup of blessings for the New Year. Notice the life flowing from it − an empty space, a place for mystery, a possibility waiting to be filled, a hunger yearning to be satisfied, a brimming cup ready to share.

What do you need in this cup? What do you accept from this cup? What will you give with this cup?

Take time now to reflect, and then share a few words in the chat, if you wish.

Prayer for Justice and Healing by Diann L. Neu

(Sound a Chime)
Provident God of Many Names,
Spirit of All Creation,
Be with us now at this dangerous moment in history.
Response: In your mercy, grant justice and healing.

(Chime)
Eternal Presence of the Divine Mothers: Gaia, Kwan Yin, Brigit, Pachamama, Shechinah, Tara, Mary, the Black Madonna,
Ease our fears, anxieties, and angers; surround us with community.
Keep alive within us a world where difference is valued.
Response: In your mercy, grant justice and healing.

(Chime)
Spirit of Peace,
Forgive us for our wars, wounds, hurts, misdeeds, and violent acts.
Save us from further terrorism and destruction
So that children of all nations may grow up living in peace.
Response: In your mercy, grant justice and healing.

(Chime)
Holy Wisdom of Our Ancestors: Eve, Sarah, Hagar, Abraham, Miriam, Mary of Magdala,
Hildegard of Bingen, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Martin Luther King, Jr., Harriet Tubman, mystics, saints, and uppity women,
Inspire us today to act boldly and justly to demand an end to violence.
Inspire us to resist the politics of division and hate.
Inspire us to bring compassion, bravery, and new life into the coldness of empire.
Response: In your mercy, grant justice and healing.

(Chime)
Ever-present Cosmic Healer,
Strengthen us to act today to speak truth to power, to save our democracy for the health and
well-being of the nation, the world, the planet, the universe.
Strengthen us to heal from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Strengthen us to work for nonviolent social change and global peace.
Response: In your mercy, grant justice and healing.

(Chime)
Guardian of All Creation,
Guide the leaders of the United States and its allies;
Soften their hearts to hear the cries of those most in need.
Strengthen them to act responsibly to bring peace and welfare to humankind
So that all may have food, housing, jobs, medicine, equity, peace, respect, and dignity.
Response: In your mercy, grant justice and healing.

(Chime)
Holy Truth, Justice, and Compassion,
Inspire President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris to lead this nation with courage and wisdom, and unite us beyond bigotry, hatred, and divisions.
Keep our leaders safe and protect each of us.
Keep us moving forward.
Response: In your mercy, grant justice and healing.

Song: “The Change” by JoJo, which soundtracks a Joe Biden-Kamala Harris campaign ad

I’m not gonna blame, put the blame on nobody
All that’s gonna get me, is get me nowhere
I’m just gonna look, gonna look in the mirror
And start there

I’m gonna stand a little taller
Hold my head a little higher
Raise my voice a little louder
It’s time

I’m gonna be the change, change, change
I’m gonna be the change, change, change

Lyrics provided by genius.com

Poem: “For the New Year” by Denise Levertov, From Poems 1972-1982 (New Directions, 2001)

I have a small grain of hope –
one small crystal that gleams
clear color out of transparency.

I need more.

I break off a fragment
to send you.

Please take
this grain of a grain of hope
so that mine won’t shrink.

Please share your fragment
so that yours will grow.

Only so, by division,
will hope increase,

Like a clump of irises, which will cease to flower
unless you distribute
the clustered roots, unlikely source –
clumsy and earth-covered –
of grace.

Take Action for a Blessing
~Fill the empty cup of another by calling, sending a card or an email, having a conversation, reaching out just because.
~Thank someone for some kind action they have done for you or for the good of the world.
~Feel your power and learn your strengths by using one of your gifts to help someone else.
~Ask for the help of prayer and the gifts of others when you yourself are in need.
~Donate your time and/or money to a local organization helping those affected by Covid, filling up the cups of those who could really use it.

Song: “You’ll Never Walk Alone” performed by Barbara Streisand at the 2001 Emmy Awards

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afarid of the dark

At the end of the storm
There’s a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on
Through the wind
Walk on
Through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on

(Choir) Walk on
Oh walk on
(Choir) Walk on – hold you head up

When you walk
Through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid
Of the dark

At the end of that strom
There’s a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on
Through the wind
Walk on
Through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on
Walk on
With hope
Hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone

You’ll never walk alone

Lyrics provided by genius.com

© Diann L. Neu, dneu@hers.com, adapted from Stirring WATERS: Feminist Liturgies for Justice by Diann L. Neu (Liturgical Press, 2020).