Samhain 2004

Only members of the Circle, and others who are specifically invited, are allowed to attend our regular Samhain ritual. This open ritual was done as part of the Sunday church service. The church part of the service is in green.

Music For Gathering: J. Berezan, L.Cillery, S. Burch

Prelude (women sing it through once)
We All Come From the Goddess and to her we shall return,¹
like a drop of rain, flowing to the ocean

Men start counterpoint
Hoof and horn, hoof and horn, all that dies shall be reborn
Corn and grain, corn and grain, all that falls shall rise again

What is Samhain?
Samhain is considered by many Pagans to signal the new year. It is the final harvest before winter as the wheel turns to Yule, the rebirth of the sun. It is an ending anticipating the new beginning. Samhain is summer's end, a transition in the cycle from life to death. It is therefore thought to be the time when the veil between the worlds is thin, where the spirit world can interact with the earthly realm. Samhain is a time of looking back in solemn reflection, remembering those who have gone before, and of looking ahead toward the future in joyous anticipation.

Cast and Call
Guardians of the North I ask for your presence... (light blue candle)
Spirits of Earth we bid you welcome. We live within you and are moved by you. Let us all be strong and healthy. By the Mother, source of all, your body is our body. Be here now.

Guardians of the East I ask for your presence... (light yellow candle)
Spirits of air, we bid you welcome. We breathe you in and are inspired by you. Let our lungs and minds be clear. By the Mother, source of all, your breath is our breath. Be here now.

Guardians of the South I ask for your presence... (light red candle) Spirit of fire, we bid you welcome. You infuse us with your warmth and ignite our passions. Let our industriousness be well fueled. By the Mother, source of all, your essence is our essence. Be here now.

Guardians of the East I ask for your presence... (light green candle) Spirits of water, we bid you welcome. We drink you in and are sustained by you. Let our hearts and souls overflow with love. By the Mother, source of all, your blood is our blood. Be here now.

Call the God and Goddess
I am the self that dwells in the heart of every mortal creature²
I am the beginning, the life span, and the end of all.
I am the radiant sun among the light givers
I am the mind
I am consciousness in the living
I am death that snatches all
I, also, am the source of all that shall be born
I am time without end
I am the sustainer, my face is everywhere
I am the beginning, the middle and the end in creation
I am the knowledge of things spiritual

I am glory, propriety, beautiful speech, memory, intelligence, steadfastness and forgiveness
I am the divine seed of all lives
In this world nothing animate or inanimate exists without me
I am the strength of the strong
I am the purity of the good
I am the knowledge of the knower
There is no limit to my divine manifestations
Whatever in this world is powerful, beautiful, or glorious, that you may know to have come forth from a fraction of my power and glory.

Loving Mother Goddess, loving Father God, Great Spirit of All, I call upon you, be here now (light center candle)

Lighting the Chalice
Let there be light, to drive away the darkness
Let there be wisdom, to shine on the unknown
Let there love, to heal our aloneness
Let each of us be a light for one another

Hymn For All The Saints ³

Young People's Joys and Sorrows

Message For All Ages   The woman who wasn't afraid of anything

Carrying the Flame
Flame bearers, students and teachers go to their activities.
Congregational Response

Go now in peace, go now in peace,
May the spirit of love surround you
Everywhere, everywhere you may go.

Offertory

Reading Members of the Circle

The young dead soldiers do not speak⁴
Nevertheless, they are heard in the still houses; who has not heard them?
They have a silence that speaks for them at night and when the clock counts.
They say:

We were young. We have died. Remember us.
They say:

We have done what we could but until it is finished it is not done.
They say:

We have given our lives but until it is finished no one can know what our lives gave.
They say:

Our deaths are not ours, they are yours, they will mean what you make them.
They say:

Whether our lives and our deaths were for peace and a new hope or for nothing we cannot say, it is you who must say this.
They say:

We leave you our deaths, give them their meaning.

(All together:) We were young, they say, we have died, remember us.

Look back now, on those who have gone before. Perhaps it was a relative, a friend, or someone you heard about through the news. Perhaps this person left us yesterday, a year ago, or a thousand years ago. Perhaps this person died naturally, of a disease, through an accident or violence. Perhaps it was not one person but a group of people. Let us now remember them, that their lives may endure even now. Let us speak their names and remember their contributions to life.

Silence

Hymn Soon the Day Will Arrive ⁵

Sermon The Pagan New year: All Hollows Eve The Reverend Kimi Riegel

Hymn Part in Peace ⁶

Open and Dismiss "Spirits of earth, air, water and fire
We thank you for your blessings.
Return now to your magical realm,
With our love and gratitude, that we might meet again
Within this sacred circle."

Spirits from above, thank you for attending.
Spirits from below, thank you for attending.
Go if you must, stay if you will.
Hail and farewell.

"Lord and Lady of Magic,
We thank you for your blessings.
Return now to your magical realm,
With our love and gratitude, that we
might meet again
Within this sacred circle."

"I part this circle, all is done
Magic forged by Moon and Sun
All who came here, thanks be to thee
To go in peace, and Blessed Be!"
(words in quotes are from Simple Wicca by Michele Morgan)

Closing song

May the Circle Be Open⁷
May the circle be open, but unbroken
May the peace of the Goddess
Be ever in your heart
Merry meet and merry part
And merry meet again.

Music

Announcements

1. Z. Budapest/Ian Corrigan

2. From the Bhagavad-Gita. Quoted in Singing the Living Tradition, Unitarian Universalist Association, 1993, #611.

3. William Walsham How, in Singing the Living Tradition, Unitarian Universalist Association, 1993, #103

4. Archibald Macleish, The Young Dead Soldiers Quoted in Singing the Living Tradition, Unitarian Universalist Association, 1993, #583.

5. Ehud Manor, in Singing the Living Tradition, Unitarian Universalist Association, 1993, #146

6. Sarah Flower Adams, in Singing the Living Tradition, Unitarian Universalist Association, 1993, 411

7. Found at BryteUnicorn's Enchanted Forest

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