Bob Dylan Folk Mass

This vespers service was arranged by Pastor Megan Rohrer for the Community of Travelers (an emerging service that meets at 5pm at St. Aidan's Episcopal Church in San Francisco) on 2/20/2010. Since this was the first time the mass was attempted, I'll be making some changes to the service for it's use the next time. Namely I wanted to include the traditional words of the Lord's Prayer into the Eucharist. What you see below was what happened at the on 2/20/2010. Feel free to use the service in other places with attribution. And let me know, I love when the Spirit is infectious!


Don't matter how much money you got, there's only two kinds of people: there's saved people and there's lost people. – Bob Dylan

Gathering Song

To The Tune of: Times They Are A-Changin': Capo 2

G Em C G
G Am C D
G Em C G
G Am D
D D7 G D
G C D G

Come gather 'round people wherever you roam
And admit all the trials and troubles you’ve sown
we gather together, but still feel alone
our hearts and our minds are ragin’
we were all dust, till God put breath in our bones
so our lives, they are a chang - in'

Come prophets and skeptics and all who dream dreams
the last will be first and the bound shall be free
through bread, wine and water, what’s promised shall be
We all equally need savin’
Christ died on the cross for you and for me
so our lives, they are a-changin'

Come listen to the Gospel please heed the call
It’s promise is truth and pardon for all
We must take that message outside of these walls
To counter all the hatin’
Let’s sing so loud, they hear us in the hall
Because our lives, they are a-changin'

Prayer of the Day

Gospel Acclamation

To the tune of Blowin’ in the Wind: Capo 2

C D G Em
Ha lle halle halle lujah
C D G
Halle halle lujah


G C G
Praise the creator of all that is
G C D
Earth, sea, sky and sand
G C G
Praise be to Christ who came to earth
G C D
In the form of a man
G C G
Praise be to Spirit who is like the wind
GC D
Blowing over the land



C D G Em
Ha lle halle halle lujah
C D G
Halle halle lujah



The Gospel is Read

Reflections Are Offered by Those Gathered

Prayers of the People

To the tune of To Make You Feel My Love: Capo 2

G D
F C
Cm G
A7 D7 (the last time G)

When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
All you need is a little grace
To help you feel God’s love.

For all the hungry, and the black and blue
All who live on sidewalks and avenues
When it feels like there is nothing we can do
May you feel God’s love.

When death and illness turns life to gray
and there’s nothing left to do but pray
We’ll come together and always say
May you feel God’s love

C G
When you think no there’s no love left for me
B7 C G
Or you can only think of life’s regret
C G
The winds of change are blowing wild and free.
A7 D7
There’s even more forgiveness for you yet

When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
All you need is a little grace
To help you feel God’s love.



The Offering is Collected
 

The Meal

“Being noticed can be a burden. Jesus got himself crucified because he got himself noticed. So I disappear a lot.” – Bob Dylan

To the tune of The House of the Rising Sun: No Capo

Am C Dm F
Am C Em
Am C Dm F
Am Em Am

The peace of Christ be with you all
And also with you
Lift your hearts, breathe the breath of life
O God, we sing to you

It’s right, and good and we know we should
Give thanks and praise to God
Who made the earth, the sea and stars
And declares that we are good

This song we sing, is an echoing
From our ancestors of faith
Holy, holy holy are you
And Blessed be your name

On the night in which he was betrayed
Jesus took the bread
gave thanks and gave it to all to eat
a taste of the feast to come

After supper, he took the cup
A new covenant in blood (he said)
Each time you drink, remember me,
And pray as I was taught:

God in heaven, we raise your name
And work towards your kingdom now
May we follow you, with hearts that are true
Protect us all our days

These are the gifts of God for all
God, put your Spirit here
And on all who’ve gathered for this in this space
May we eat and drink our fill

Bob Dylan Church Service- Yep, You Read That Right

Bob Dylan Church Service. If somebody said this combination of words in a normal conversation you'd probably assume they were confused, but that is exactly what we had at Community of Travelers tonight. Pastor Megan rewrote the words to some of Dylan's best songs, such as "Times They Are a-Changing" and invited us to sing along. I'm a sucker for good music, so I really got a kick out of this service. I've posted a video of one of the songs below for your viewing pleasure.



At CoT, we don't have a sermon. Instead, we have an activity or discussion where we talk about the gospel and we get to ask any questions we want. Tonight, we had a discussion on the sort of life God wants us to live. The gospel says he wants us to be perfect, but Pastor Megan brought up some interesting points of what perfection actually means (perfection part starts at 3:23).



It was uplifting- the short version is that God wants us to be the best we can be, which is different from the strict "you should do everything God says in the Bible" message you expect to hear on a Sunday (along with a wagging finger from the pastor, of course). I don't know about you, but I have a habit of setting unrealistic expectations on myself. The takeaway from tonight was that you don't have to be perfect. In fact, nobody's perfect. All you can do is your best, whatever that means for you. Whatever happens, whatever mistakes occur along the way, it's part of the journey. You're doing a-ok with whatever you've got going on.

If you want to read more, here's Pastor Megan's post about the service.

"Bicycle Bride" film Screening and Q&A with Director Hassan Zee at St. Aidan's, S.F. this Sunday, February 20 at 6:30 p.m.

While working at a burn unit in his native Pakistan, Dr. Hassan Zee was saddened by the women he saw who burned themselves because they were in bad marriages.Worse yet were the women burned by in-laws because they didn't produce children or didn't live up to their new family's standards. Now a filmmaker in San Francisco, he does what he can to promote women's empowerment in his movies. His latest film, "Bicycle Bride", centers on a rebellious young Indian-American woman who resists her mother's attempts to set up an arranged marriage and will be shown this Sunday at St. Aidan's after the Community of Travelers at 6:30 p.m.

Where: St. Aidan's Episcopal Church, 101 Gold Mine Drive, San Francisco

When: Sunday, February 20 6:30 p.m.

Cost: Free

Link: http://www.bicyclebride.com

Celebration of St Valentine at COT Feb 13 at 5 p.m.

Join Pastors Megan and Tommy at the Community of Travelers where we'll be celebrating St. Valentine (Sunday night at 5pm at St. Aidan's Episcopal Church, San Francisco)
Michelle Jordan will provide uplifting music and we will have a festive happy hour after the service!
Invite a friend to join you!

Matthew and the Drag Queen

Sermon : St. Aidan's Episcopal Church by the Rev Megan Rohrer February 6 10 a.m. Mass

Annual Parish Meeting

Scripture : Matthew 5:13-20

How I learned to love the Gospel of Matthew. Click here to listen