Sep 8

Encouragement

Sunday Service, 8 September 2024

Led by Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall

Musical Prelude: Aria in F by J.S. Bach (performed by Abby Lorimier and Andrew Robinson)

Opening Words: ‘We Need One Another’ by George E. Odell (adapted)

We need one another when we mourn and would be comforted.

We need one another when we are in trouble and afraid.

We need one another when we are in despair, in temptation,

and need to be recalled to our best selves again.

We need one another when we would accomplish

some great purpose, and cannot do it alone.

We need one another in the hour of success,

when we look for someone to share our triumphs.

We need one another in the hour of defeat, when with

encouragement we might endure, and stand again.

We need one another when we come to die, and

would have gentle hands prepare us for the journey.

All our lives we are in need, and others are in need of us.

So, in this sacred time we’ve set aside this morning to be together,

let us gently acknowledge both the needs and the gifts that each of us brings.

Words of Welcome and Introduction:

These opening words by George Odell welcome all who have gathered this morning for our Sunday service. Welcome to those of you who have gathered in-person at Essex Church, to all who are joining us via Zoom, and anyone watching on YouTube or listening to the podcast. For anyone who doesn’t know me, I’m Jane Blackall, and I’m minister with Kensington Unitarians.

The theme of this morning’s service is ‘Encouragement’. We can take some inspiration for today’s explorations of the theme from this pleasingly direct quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson who said: ‘I need the daily praise and encouragement that comes from those close to me, and others, to help me live at my best. I cannot do it on my own.’ (pause) Me too, Ralph, and I’m sure I’m not alone. So later in the service there will be an opportunity for you to share your stories of encouragement: to give thanks to the encouragers in your life, or to let us know about the encouragement you need.

Chalice Lighting: ‘To Encourage’ by Erika A. Hewitt (adapted)

Let’s light our chalice flame now, as we do each week. It’s a moment for us to stop and take a breath, settle ourselves down, put aside any preoccupations we came in carrying. This simple ritual connects us in solidarity with Unitarians and Unitarian Universalists the world over, and reminds us of the proud and historic progressive religious tradition of which this gathering is part.

(light chalice)

To “encourage” means to hearten; to impart strength and confidence.

This is our work, as a religious community: to encourage one another;

to be bold in engaging the world around us, as well as what scares us internally;

to give one another the confidence and heart to live as fully as possible.

We affirm our relationships with one another;

we recognize our agency and our connective power;

and we accept our responsibility to be bold and courageous.

We light this chalice, symbol of that we are, all that we have done together, and all

that we will be, as our shared intention encourages those within, and beyond, our circle.

Hymn 165 (purple): ‘The Spirit Lives to Set Us Free’

Let’s sing together. Our first hymn is number 165 in your purple books: ‘The Spirit Lives to Set Us Free’ also known as ‘Walk in the Light’. For those joining via zoom the words will be up on screen (as they will for all our hymns). Feel free to stand or sit as you prefer and let’s sing up as best we can.

The Spirit lives to set us free, walk, walk in the light.

It binds us all in unity, walk, walk in the light.

Walk in the light, Walk in the light,

Walk in the light, Walk in the light of love.

The light that shines is in us all, walk, walk in the light.

We each must follow our own call, walk, walk in the light.

Walk in the light, Walk in the light,

Walk in the light, Walk in the light of love.

Peace begins inside your heart, walk, walk in the light.

We’ve got to live it from the start, walk, walk in the light.

Walk in the light, Walk in the light,

Walk in the light, Walk in the light of love.

Seek the truth in what you see, walk, walk in the light.

Then hold it firmly as can be, walk, walk in the light.

Walk in the light, Walk in the light,

Walk in the light, Walk in the light of love.

The Spirit lives in you and me, walk, walk in the light.

Its light will shine for all to see, walk, walk in the light

Walk in the light, Walk in the light,

Walk in the light, Walk in the light of love.

Candles of Joy and Concern:

Each week when we gather together, we share a simple ritual of candles of joy and concern, an opportunity to light a candle and share something that is in our heart with the community. So we’ve an opportunity now, for anyone who would like to do so, to light a candle and say a few words about what it represents. We’ll go to the people in the building first, then to Zoom.

So I invite some of you here in person to come and light a candle and then if you wish to tell us briefly who or what you light your candle for. I’m going to ask you to come to the lectern to speak this time as I really want people to be able to hear you and I don’t want to keep nagging you about getting close to the handheld mic. And if you can’t get to the microphone give me a wave and I’ll bring a handheld mic over to you. Thank you.

(in person candles)

And if that’s everyone in the room we’ll go over to the people on Zoom next – you might like to switch to gallery view at this stage – just unmute yourselves when you are ready and speak out – and we should be able to hear you and see you up on the big screen here in the church.

(zoom candles)

And I’m going to light one more candle, as we often do, to represent all those joys and concerns that we hold in our hearts this day, but which we don’t feel able to speak out loud. (light candle)

Time of Prayer & Reflection: based on words by Laura Horton-Ludwig

Let’s take those joys and concerns into an extended time of prayer. This prayer is based on some words by Laura Horton-Ludwig. You might first want to adjust your position for comfort, close your eyes, or soften your gaze. There might be a posture that helps you feel more prayerful. Whatever works for you. Do whatever you need to do to get into the right state of body and mind for us to pray together – to be fully present here and now, in this sacred time and space – with ourselves, with each other, and with that which is both within us and beyond us. (pause)

Spirit of Life, God of All Love, in whom we live and move and have our being,

we turn our full attention to you, the light within and without,

as we tune in to the depths of this life, and the greater wisdom

to which – and through which – we are all intimately connected.

Be with us now as we allow ourselves to drop into the

silence and stillness at the very centre of our being. (pause)

We are here, this day, because we know that what we do with our life matters.

We are here because we know the choices we make each day matter.

That with every act of kindness or meanness, courage or fear, love or hate,

we are weaving the fabric of the universe that holds us all.

We are here, this day, because we need encouragement.

Because we need strength. Because so often, we get distracted.

We get in a rush, we don’t think, we sometimes choose the easy way

when the hard path of integrity may be what our spirits truly long for.

We are here, this day, because none of us is infallible or perfect,

but together we inspire one another. To try again. To take another step.

We are here because we have felt the stirrings of love and grace

in our hearts and hands, and we crave more of that shining life,

for ourselves and not only for ourselves: for everyone! (pause)

And in a few minutes of quietness now, let us seek a higher perspective, a longer view;

starting right where we are, let us shift our awareness ever outward, in circles of concern.

Let us bring to mind those we know to be struggling this day – perhaps including ourselves –

those friends and family we hold dearest – our neighbours in community –

others around the globe we may only have heard about on the news.

And let us take time to send prayers of loving kindness to all who suffer. (pause)

Let us look back over the last week, taking time to notice what was good, to count our blessings –

all the ways in which others helped or encouraged us, inspired or delighted us –

all the goodness and beauty we have known even in the mist of struggle.

And let us take time to give prayers of thanks for all we have been given. (pause)

Spirit of Life – God of all Love – as this time of prayer comes to a close, we offer up

our joys and concerns, our hopes and fears, our beauty and brokenness,

and we call on you for insight, healing, and renewal.

As we look forward now to the coming week,

help us to live well each day and be our best selves;

using our unique gifts in the service of love, justice and peace. Amen

Hymn (on sheet): ‘Who Is My Neighbour?’

Our next hymn is one that I’m trying to get us to learn – we have sung it at least once before and it’s such a lovely message – it’s on your hymn sheet: ‘Who Is My Neighbour?’ I’m going to ask Andrew to play it through once before we sing as I’m not sure it’s familiar enough yet…

Who is my neighbour? Every soul who lives upon the earth.

I have been called to treat each one with dignity and worth,

Working for justice, seeking peace and cultivating care,

Offering hope to those whose lives are laden with despair.

When I can ease another’s pain, I know I’ll do my part.

When I can bring another joy, I’ll open up my heart.

When I have more than someone else, I’ll share the things I can.

When I am tempted to be cruel, I’ll strive to understand.

Who is my neighbour? Earth itself and all the beings there:

Flora and fauna, fish and fowl, the trees that graze the air.

River and prairie, sea and sky I honour and respect.

These are my neighbours. These I vow to cherish and protect.

Oh, may we build a world where all have everything they need.

May we be free from hate and fear, from violence and from greed.

May our lives be tributes to compassion, love, and trust

Till we are kin to all the world and all are kin to us.

Reading: ‘How to be an Encourager’ by Sarah Abell (excerpts, adapted) (read by Julia)

This piece by Christian writer Sarah Abell opens with a quote from scripture, words from St Paul to the Thessalonians: ‘Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.’ (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

She continues: Are we continually building people up and encouraging them? I like to think I am but the truth is that while I often have kind and appreciative thoughts about the people around me, I don’t always share them. What about you?

I went to the funeral of a great friend’s mother the other day – a wonderful lady who I had got to know over many weekends spent at her home. After the service there were hundreds of us discussing her many great qualities and sharing with each other the positive impact she had on us. I wonder how many of us told her those same things when she was alive?

We don’t have to wait until someone has died to share our appreciation of them. They might need to hear our encouraging words today! Encouraging words can bring life, courage, hope and truth to the recipient. Even better – encouraging words inspired through the Holy Spirit can help people catch a glimpse of how God sees them and that can be amazingly powerful and life transforming.

Giving encouragement doesn’t have to be difficult, time consuming or intense. The best encouragement is heart-felt, sincere and specific. It doesn’t have to be long-winded or complicated – sometimes a simple word given at just the right time is all that is needed.

So, whom could you encourage today? Here are some suggestions of ways you could get started.

1. Use birthdays to encourage people. Birthdays are a great moment to stop and show our appreciation to people. We can let them know why they are special to us and describe all that we love about them. We can explain the impact they have on us and list their positive characteristics. We can thank them for who they are and all that they do.

2. Write a handwritten card to close friends or family. Sometimes it is the people closest to us that we find hardest to encourage. Perhaps we believe that they know how we feel but it is always good to stop and remind them. Handwritten letters or cards are a great way to let people know how we feel. They are a visual reminder that can be re-read when the person needs building up. Once a week why not think of one person that means a lot to you? Then find or make a card that reminds you of them and write some encouraging words inside.

3. Notice strangers. Does the person on the check-out, the receptionist, or your mechanic need a word of encouragement today? If someone gives demonstrates great service or does something positive or kind – however small – let them know. It might just make their day.

Meditation: ‘Encouragement and Us’

Thanks Julia. We’re moving into a time of meditation now. To take us into a time of silence, I’m going to offer a few suggestions – a few questions related to your experience of encouragement – for you to ponder inwardly. And there’ll be some time later in the service for a few of us to share some of these experiences if you’d like to. Then we’ll hold three minutes of silence which will end with the sound of a bell. Then we’ll hear some music for our continued reflection. Let’s do what we need to do to get comfortable – maybe adjust your position – put your feet flat on the floor to ground yourself – as we always say, the words are an offering, use this time to meditate in your own way.

So as we move into this quiet time you might like to reflect on:

o The people who have been encouragers for you over the course of your life. Those brilliant people who have cheered you on, boosted you up, affirmed you, given you gentle nudges, which have helped you to flourish in various ways, and to become who you are. The people who have seen your potential – or what you’re already achieving – and shown appreciation.

o The ways you’ve been an encourager for others – or the ways you could be. Maybe there are people in your life who need a little lift. And it’s not just the people who look like they’re struggling – sometimes people who look like they’ve got everything sorted might feel taken for granted – we all need encouragement. What form of encouragement could you offer?

o The encouragement you need in your life right now. Is there a project you’d like to take on, or a change you’d like to make in your life, where the encouragement of others might make a difference? Or is there something you are already doing where you’re feeling heavy, weary, or unappreciated? Where might you seek the recognition, affirmation, or support you need?

Let’s take those thoughts of the encouragement we need, that we’ve given, and that we’ve received into a few minutes of silence now.

Period of Silence and Stillness (~3 minutes) – end with a bell

Interlude: A Song for August by Kathy Blackwell (performed by Abby Lorimier and Andrew Robinson)

Reading: ‘Message to the 14-Year-Old Me’ by Brian Bilston (read by Brian)

Believe in yourself.

You can do anything you set your heart on –

except A-level physics, perhaps.

Well, all the sciences really.

DIY is a bit of a no-no, too.

See also: driving; skiing; map reading;

cooking pasta in the right quantities;

relationships; origami.

Don’t even think about running

your own business. Or singing in tune.

Best to steer clear of all activities which require

good hand-eye coordination.

Forget ice-skating, tending house plants,

dealing with spiders, the correct spelling of the word

‘enjambement’. I could go on.

But do not despair – for given time

and with a little luck on your side –

you can achieve a basic level of competence

in a limited number of simple, unremarkable things,

you just need to believe in yourself.

Mini-Reflection: ‘Pom-Pom-Pom’ by Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall

Thanks Brian. I wanted to include that poem from Brian Bilston to reflect the ambivalence that many people seem to have when it comes to encouragement – particularly self-encouragement. It plays up to a kind-of British stereotype: a bit self-deprecating, a bit wary of puffing yourself up, perhaps a defence mechanism of not wanting to aim too high or get your hopes up. Looking back at his teenage self, the poet doesn’t wish he could cheer himself on to greater things or build himself up, but instead encourages himself to aspire to a ‘basic level of competence in a limited number of simple, unremarkable things’. And that’s not a bad approach to life! But in today’s service I want to encourage you to be rather more bold in your encouraging (of self and others).

To very slightly paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson: we each need daily praise and encouragement from others to help us live at our best, as we cannot flourish alone. It’s kind-of stating the obvious but we most need encouragement when we are feeling discouraged. And think of the origins of the word – to give courage, to hearten, to make strong – it means to inspire with hope – to build someone up so they can face the day, do what needs to be done, maybe stretch themselves a little (or a lot). And it’s not always obvious who is feeling discouraged. It’s not just the people who are obviously in difficulty. I suspect we all know people who seem to be doing well in life – who, on the surface, don’t seem to be struggling – but we never know how much stress other people are dealing with or how much effort it’s taking to keep up appearances. Often those people who are holding it together for others, the ones we rely on most, can feel taken for granted and underappreciated. Everyone needs encouragement. Encouraging words are never wasted and can help us keep going.

In the first reading today we heard that line of scripture – the words of St Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians – ‘Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.’ And it’s a recurrent theme in his messages to the early church. Part of the very purpose of church, of any such spiritual gathering, is to be a community of mutual encouragement. Encouragement to keep going when times are hard – as they so often are – and to cope with whatever life throws at us. Encouragement to stick at a challenging task – to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off when we face setbacks or apparent failures – and to try again until we make progress, flourish, and grow. Encouragement to do the things we aren’t sure we can do – that we fear we might not be up to – that we might dream of doing, but we lack confidence, and we aren’t sure about making the leap. Encouragement to keep doing the good things we’re already doing – as acknowledgement of our hard work and achievements – as an antidote to feeling our efforts are overlooked or undervalued. As Sarah Abell said in the first reading – let’s take every opportunity to encourage others – put your affirmations in writing so that people can return to them for a little lift when morale is low – show your appreciation to strangers, especially people in service jobs, and brighten their day – and let’s not wait until people have died to say nice things about them! Say it now. And often.

Over the years I really have experienced this congregation as a community of encouragement – this is especially evident in our small groups like Heart and Soul I think – regulars in these groups get to hear about each other’s lives and struggles, hopes and dreams, and check in with each other about how things are going. So much spontaneous encouragement happens in Heart and Soul! And looking back over my last 25 years here there are so many examples I could mention about people – mostly elders of the congregation – who have encouraged me in various ways and helped me to flourish and grow. I want to say: Ramona, our warden, is one of the greatest natural encouragers I’ve met and somehow she always manages to lift me up on Sunday mornings no matter what I’m worrying about when I arrive. But I can cast my mind back all the way to Art Lester, who was minister when I first came to Essex Church, I remember him saying when I was in my mid-twenties, ‘when you train for ministry I’ll be your mentor’. And I’d not said anything to anyone back then – not even to myself – about the vaguest inkling of being a minister! I was so cripplingly anxious and shy that it seemed an absurd thought – something completely out of reach – but it was a subtle nudge which helped to shift my thinking about what might be possible for me… eventually. And then I think about Patricia Walker-Hesson, who was one of the great matriarchs of the congregation at that time, she saw how I loved small groups here at church and realised that I would really benefit from going to summer school – so not only did she keep mentioning it, and putting the application form in my hand, but she arranged funding – and then she drove me all the way to Hucklow herself. She saw what would be good for me and then encouraged me in practical ways by removing a number of the obstacles that might have stopped me going to this event that changed my life. I’ve got loads of other examples of the encouragement I’ve received here down the years.

And I hope I’ve given out encouragement to others in turn.

Often I express encouragement via the medium of pom-poms – if I ever wish you pom-poms it’s in the sense of being your virtual cheerleader – standing on the sidelines and cheering you on. That’s why I’ve brought a load of literal pom-poms to church today – arranged on the table – and I invite you to take away a pom-pom to keep as a symbol of this community of encouragement you’re part of. Keep it safe and maybe it will be a small comfort for you on days when you’re feeling discouraged. Remember we’re here for you. Indeed we’ve got plenty of pom-poms to spare so you might want to take two – one to keep – and one to pass along to someone else who needs it. And if anyone joining us on Zoom today wants a pom-pom let us know in the chat or via email and I’ll save one for you too.

Sharing Our Stories of Encouragement:

So we got a little bit of time now for anyone who’d like to share their stories of encouragement. You might like to come up and express your gratitude to someone who’s been a significant encourager in your life and who’s helped you to flourish and grow. Or maybe you’re one of these encouragers and you would like to share your tips on fun ways in which to offer tailor-made encouragement to others. Or perhaps you are in need of encouragement and want to stand up and ask for it! That’s also allowed.

I invite anyone who wants to join in to come up to the mic in turn – please come up to the lectern this time – and we’ll do it like our joys and concerns, except we are going to try and mix and mingle in-person and online, people online can chip in as you’d like, unmute and speak up when you’re ready.

As always there’s a balance to be struck; I’m not sure how many people will want to join in, and I don’t want to inhibit anyone’s sharing, but do bear in mind how long you’re speaking for so that everyone who wants to join in can get a chance to do so. Just to let you know this will be default stay in the service recording; if you want to be edited out let me know straight after the service as I’ll edit the video later this afternoon. And as with everything else it’s an invitation not an obligation.

(people come up and speak out – if nobody from online joins in say ‘anyone from on zoom?’)

If everyone who wants to speak has spoken – thank you for your contributions – it’s good to share our stories about the things that matter most to each of us – it’s another way to build connection. And I want to echo the words of our chalice lighting from Erika Hewitt to bring this to a close:

‘To “encourage” means to hearten; to impart strength and confidence.

This is our work, as a religious community: to encourage one another;

to be bold in engaging the world around us, as well as what scares us internally;

to give one another the confidence and heart to live as fully as possible.’

May it be so for the greater good of all. Amen.

Hymn 125 (purple): ‘One More Step Along the World I Go’

Time for our last hymn now, it’s number 125 in your purple books, a cheerful one to end with: ‘One More Step Along the World I Go’. Let’s have this encourage us as we step back out into the world.

One more step along the world I go,

one more step along the world I go;

from the old things to the new,

keep me travelling along with you;