In the beginning was the word….. THE WORD Prepared by York CDSB RE/FL/Equity Team

LET US PRAY TO OUR GOD OF ALL BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS, OUR ALPHA AND OMEGA. As we gather in this place, at this moment in time, let us give thanks for all of our blessings. Today is a new day, a gift given to us to imagine new possibilities and dream new dreams of living the Word and being the Word for each other.

Let us remember that the Spirit of God is in our midst. In the beginning the Spirit hovered over the waters. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God.

As we begin today to search for truth and understanding in all forms of media, may we continue to honour the Word, and share the Word in all that we are and in all that we imagine to be and will become. We ask this through Christ, the Incarnate Word. Amen.

A reading from the Holy Gospel According to John

…and all was good. LET US GIVE THANKS What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands; all have been given to us as the source of Light and Life.

In the beginning was the word….. In the beginning was The Word and The Word was God. And The Word brought light.

The Word stirred the deep…

…and created…

…and separated land from sea.

The Word was light.

…and beauty…

…shelter…

…warmth…

…and sustenance…

The word created life…

…and Us…

…and all was good.

We love The Word. The Word dwells inside us… We speak The Word…

We sing The Word.

We dance The Word.

We share The Word in story.

..and music.

We etched The Word in stone…

and fibre.

…and scroll.

We preserved The Word in art.

…and guarded it in prayer.

We recorded The Word with devotion…

…grace, and beauty.

We honoured The Word in gilded Book.

We printed The Word for all.

We sent The Word forth on wire...

...and air…

...and to those beyond our knowing.

We capture The Word for our singing, and seeing, and dancing.

We use The Word for our connecting…

…and our knowing.

Still… The Word dwells inside us and… …We love The Word…

We continue to speak The Word….

…and be The Word for Each Other.

“Waiting on the World to Change” John Mayer

Me and all my friends, we’re all misunderstood.

They say we stand for nothing and there’s no way we ever could.

Now we see everything that’s going wrong, with the world and those who lead it.

We just feel like we don’t have the means to rise above and beat it.

So we keep waiting, waiting on the world to change

We keep on waiting, waiting on the world to change.

It’s hard to beat the system, when we’re standing at a distance

So we keep waiting, waiting on the world to change

Now if we had the power to bring our neighbours home from war,

They would have never missed a Christmas, no more ribbons on the door.

When you trust your television, what you get is what you got.

Cause when they own the information, oh, they can bend it all they want,

That’s why we’re waiting, waiting on the world to change.

We keep on waiting, waiting on the world to change.

It’s not that we don’t care, we just know that the fight ain’t fair.

So we keep on waiting, waiting on the world to change.

We’re still waiting, waiting on the world to change.

We keep on waiting, waiting on the world to change.

One day our generation, is gonna rule the population,

So we keep on waiting, waiting on the world to change.

No we keep on waiting, waiting on the world to change

We keep on waiting, waiting on the world to change

Waiting on the world to change

Praying with the Media Literacy Expectations Lord Jesus, may we reflect on our strengths as media interpreters. So we will know the truth. Help us to understand and appreciate different points of view. So we will know the truth. Teach us to observe what is present and what is missing. So we will know the truth.

Remind us that all media are constructions. So we will know the truth. Lord Jesus, help us to think critically. And the truth will set us free. To identify and detect bias. And the truth will set us free. To focus on issues of fairness, equity and social justice. And the truth will set us free.

May your Spirit grant us the courage and truth to live what we say. May our words be God’s words. Guide us in the way we speak and are spoken to. Teach us to build a world where critical literacy questions power relations, discourses, and identities. Help us to create harmony, peace, justice and love. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

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