LIVE SERVICE - Thursday 25th October at 2200UTC

I will be conducting a live service in the chatroom on Thursday 25th October (tomorrow) at 2200UTC.

The service will mark the occasion of Jedi Memorial Day and will be a service of remembrance and celebration of the lives of those known to us who have passed on into the Force.

Kinda short notice...but if no-one can make it I'll just have a nice relaxing evening instead!


Find time and date here: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=Memorial+day+service&iso=20121025T22

01:30,
but I think I can make it, as it's friday, lol

I will be there. Thank you V.

I won't be able to make it (work weekend), but I'm glad you're doing it. It sounds pretty cool

i will try to be there

I will also try to be there. It will be 12 noon in Hawaii, and I will hopefully have a long break at that time - if everything works out. How long do you think the live service will be?

Maybe...somewhere around 30 minutes? Roughly?

Be good to see you there, but don't worry if you can't make it

V-Tog, the time and date thing was awesome. And that makes it so much easier for us simple folk.

I hope to attend.

Thank you V... good idea.

She didn't put it there. I did. You thanked me by mistake buahahahaha

Nooooo...give ME the credit...ignore Ren :evil:

ren wrote: She didn't put it there. I did. You thanked me by mistake buahahahaha

Does this hahahahaaha... remind everyone of joker, or only me?

IMPORTANT - IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON ATTENDING:

Please could you try to collect an object from the outside world and bring it with you to the service?

For example - a leaf, a pebble, a stone, a flower...

Although if a leaf or a flower I suggest taking one that has fallen on the ground, as killing plants seems a little inappropriate for Memorial Day...

Thank you

Won't make it but hope its great

BUMP

(and please check out the post made two posts previously...)

Here is an outline of the service, for those that couldn't make it...it is purposefully an outline, not a transcript, so that people can easily do/say the things in it if they wish to...


(WELCOME:)

Welcome, everyone, to this service of remembrance and thanksgiving on Jedi Memorial Day. We are gathered here to rejoice together for those, both known and unknown to us, who have passed into the Force through death.

May the Force be with you all.

ALL: And also with you.

(REFLECTIONS WITH RESPONSE:)

I’m sure that each of us here has known someone who has died, whether in the past year since the last Memorial Day, or before that point. It is natural to grieve for those we have lost. But the time for mourning is now over. The remainder of our Earthly lives is but a brief period of separation, after which we will be joined with our loved ones once again.

There is no death.

ALL: There is the Force.

It is often easy to feel alone and frightened. But in our hearts, we know that our loved ones are still present in the Force. Our connection with the Force means that we are connected to them. We are never truly alone.

There is no death.

ALL: There is the Force.

We are all of the Force, and we will all return to it upon physical death. Take heart in knowing that those who have passed are where they are meant to be.

There is no death.

ALL: There is the Force.

(CEREMONY OF REMEMBRANCE:)

We cannot live our lives to the full until we have learnt to let go of those we fear to lose. Recall to mind now those whom you love who are no longer with us.

Think back over your times together. Do not fear the good memories, nor the bad. Picture them in your mind and be glad that you had the chance to know them.

It is now time to accept any feelings of sadness that you may have and try to let go of them.

I invite you, if you would like, to take the natural object that you collected for this service, and pour into it all of the memories, joys and sorrows that those people gave you. Once you have done this, you may like to go and place your object outside, where it will be reclaimed by the natural world from whence it came, symbolising our returning to the Force through death. When you leave behind your object, try to leave with it the sadness, pain and grief that you attach to your memories.

(If you cannot feasibly get outside at the moment or do was unable to collect a natural object such as a leaf or pebble, you may like to do parts or all of this exercise after the service instead).

You may like to listen to this music as you complete the task: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXz5bY7A-7A

I would now like to invite you to take note of the other people present here. Some of them you may know well, others less well, but we are all brothers and sisters in the Force.

Feel your connection with each and every person. Perhaps you may like to start by feeling your connection with those you know better. Through them, sense your connection to those you are not so familiar with.

Although it may not always seem like it initially, we are all connected. Everything and everyone is joined. In the same way, we are connected to those who have passed into the Force. They are not gone, they are simply not standing right in front of us anymore. Search for them and you will find them.

(PRAYER:)

We now take a moment to pray for those, who have returned to the Force:

We pray for those both known and unknown to us who are no longer with us in this Earthly life, and for their families and friends left behind. We pray that through the Force, those who are grieving may find the strength and will to continue to live life to the full and to remember the departed with joy and love rather than sadness and pain. We pray that the spirit and essence of those who have passed into the Force may remain in the hearts of the living, and that they may find eternal rest in the unity of the Force.

(CREED:)

Our creed teaches us that in dying, we are born to eternal life. I ask you now to affirm your beliefs by repeating each line of the creed after me:

I am a Jedi, an instrument of peace;
Where there is hatred I shall bring love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
I am a Jedi.
I shall never seek so much to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
The Force is with me always, for I am a Jedi.

(POST-CREED PRAYER:)

This is what we believe. May the words that you have just affirmed guide you through each and every day and be a comfort in times of need. May they help you to draw on the Force and may they always help you to remember that death is but a gateway to oneness with the Force.

There is no death.

ALL: There is the Force.

(DISMISSAL:)

At dawn, night yields to morning heralding a bright new day. After death, awakening in the Force marks the start of a new journey, one full of joy and free from sadness. Go out into the world, and let that joy conquer the sadness in your life.

May the Force be with you all.

ALL: And also with you.

The service concludes with the following music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhUfVcLLvjo