Calling Bell    

Let us be at peace with our bodies and our minds. Let us return to ourselves and become wholly ourselves.

Let us be aware of the source of being, common to us all and to all living things.

Evoking the presence of the Great Compassion, let us fill our hearts with our own compassion-towards ourselves and towards all living beings.

Let us pray that we ourselves cease to be the cause of suffering to each other.

With humility, with awareness of the existence of life, and of the sufferings that are going on around us, let us practice the establishment of peace in our hearts and on earth.  May it be so.
      -Thich Nhat Hanh
 

Bell
Silent Meditation
Bell

Offering: A cup of rice
With humble awareness we give this gift of life. May each precious grain come to nourish body, mind and spirit-in the Way of Oneness.
 
Responsive Reading:    It Matters What We Believe

Lay leader:   Some beliefs are like walled gardens. They encourage exclusiveness, and the feeling of being especially privileged.

All: Other beliefs are expansive and lead the way into wider and deeper sympathies.

Lay leader:   Some beliefs are like shadows, clouding children's days with fears of unknown calamities.

All: Other beliefs are like sunshine, blessing children with the warmth of happiness.

Lay leader:   Some beliefs are divisive, separating the saved from the unsaved, friends from enemies.

All: Other beliefs are bonds in a world community, where sincere differences beautify the pattern.

Lay leader:   Some beliefs are like blinders, shutting off the power to choose one's own direction.
 
All: Other beliefs are like gateways opening wide vistas for exploration.

Lay leader:  Some beliefs weaken a person's selfhood. They blight the growth of resourcefulness.

All: Other beliefs nurture self-confidence and enrich the feeling of personal worth.

Lay leader:   Some beliefs are rigid, like the body of death, impotent in a changing world.

All: Other beliefs are pliable, like the young sapling, ever growing with the upward thrust of life.
                                                                                    -Sophia Lyons Fahs
 

Dharma talk  by Syed Wahajuddin Ahmed from the Islamic Center

If it is language that makes us human, one half of language is to listen.
 

Gatha: This Is My Song
(Words: Lloyd Stone, Music: Finlandia by Jean Sibelius)
 
 This is my song, O God of all the nations,
 A song of peace for lands afar and mine.
 This is my home, the country where my heart is;
 Here are my hopes, my dreams my holy shrine;
 But other hearts in other lands are beating
 With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

 My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,
 And sunlight beams on clover leave and pine;
 But other lands have sunlight too, and clover,
 And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
 O hear my song, thou God of all the nations,
 A song of peace for their land and for mine.
 

Presentation of the Heartland Sangha's Rice Offering

Reading:  Look To This Day!
 Look to this day!
 For it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course lie all the verities and realities of your existence:
 The bliss of growth, the glory of action,
the splendor of beauty;
 For yesterday is but a dream,
and tomorrow is only a vision;
 But today, well lived, makes every yesterday
 A dream of happiness
 And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
 Look well, therefore, to this day.
             -Attributed to Kalidasa
 

Reading
We surround all people and all forms of life with Infinite Love and Compassion. Particularly do we send forth loving thoughts to those in suffering and sorrow; to all those in doubt and ignorance, to all who are striving to attain Truth; and to those whose feet are standing close to the great change men call death, we send forth oceans of Wisdom and Love.

May the Infinite Light of Wisdom and Compassion so shine within us that the errors and vanities of self may be dispelled; so shall we understand the changing nature of existence and awaken into spiritual peace.

To all Enlightened Ones...who are present in their teachings, we pledge our loyalty and devotion. We dedicate our lives to the way of life they have laid down for us to walk. We resolve to follow their example and labor earnestly for the enlightenment and welfare of all mankind.

Chorus:
Somos el barco, somos el mar Yo navego en ti, tu navegas en mi. We are the boat, we are the sea I sail in you, you sail in me.

Verse 1
The stream sings it to the river, the river sings it to the sea The sea sings it to the boat that carries you and me.

Verse 2
Now the boat we are sailing in was built by many hands And the sea we are sailing on, it touches many sands.

Verse 3
So with our hopes we raise the sails to face the winds once more And with our hearts we chart the waters never sailed before.

Closing: Boundless Goodwill
All: Let us cultivate boundless goodwill.
 Let none deceive another, or despise any being in any state.
 Let none in anger or ill-will wish another harm.
 Even as a mother watches over her child,
so with boundless mind
 should one cherish all living beings,
 Radiating friendliness over the whole world,
 Above, below, and all around, without limit.

                                        -Metta Sutta

Bell (three times)
Announcements
 

We welcome all visitors and newcomers to our service today. We don't know what brought you to Heartland Sangha today, but we are glad that you are here. Everyone here was once a visitor or a newcomer, and we hope that each person will feel welcome and at home. If you would like more information about Heartland Sangha please speak to any of our members or fill out an information card on the back table, and leave it in the collection box.

Your monetary gift is very important! We normally request a donation to helps us make a quarterly donation to this church, provides for guest speakers/ministers, helps with meetings and our newsletter.  However, all donations from today's service will be given to The September 11th Fund, established to help the victims of the terrorist attacks in New York City and elsewhere in the United States. The purpose of the fund is to mobilize financial resources to respond to the pressing needs of the victims and their families and all those affected by the tragedy. The September 11th Fund was created by the United Way and The New York Community Trust to receive donations from concerned Americans across the country. Funds will be administered by the two organizations, which will form a distribution committee to ensure that resources are deployed effectively in New York and other cities affected by these tragic events. The effort is supported by the Washington-based Council on Foundations.

Anyone wishing to contribute to The September 11th Fund may send their donations in care of United Way of New York City, 2 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016, (212) 251-4035. Donors may specify the community (New York City, Washington, D.C. or other affected areas) where they would like their contributions to help.