Sunday Service, 15 September 2024
Led by Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall
Musical Prelude: Shenandoah – Trad, arr James Erb (performed by Andrew and our Quartet of Singers)
Opening Words: ‘Learning to Love This World’ by Molly Housh Gordon
We gather together this morning
tenderly—like drops of dew on a leaf of grass
hopefully—like gathered raindrops in a cloud
gleefully—like water rushing in a stream to the sea
deeply—like groundwater pulled up from a well
We gather from every direction,
for another year of growth and depth,
another year of companionship and hope,
another year of learning to love this world.
We gather like the water that joins us across all of creation,
the water that connects us within and without:
merging and flowing across the entire world. (pause)
Words of Welcome and Introduction:
These opening words by Molly Housh Gordon 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 ‘Holy Water’. We have a long-standing tradition, each September, of holding our ‘Gathering of the Waters’ ceremony. This is a ritual re-gathering – over the summer people tend to be coming and going on various travels – so today is a day to come back together and symbolically re-affirm our connectedness. Wherever we’ve come from, wherever we’re going to, if we’re here every Sunday, or only here once in a blue moon, or here for the first time, we are connected, just like the water that flows endlessly around our planet. So today hopefully you’ve brought some water with you – whether you’re in the building or at home – if you forgot then don’t worry, we have some spare bottles at the back, you can still join in if you’d like (but as always it is an invitation not an obligation). And I’ll explain more as we go along.
Chalice Lighting: ‘Thirsting for Connection’ by Gregory Pelley
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)
And so we gather, from the ebb and flow of our lives
Thirsting for connection to ourselves
Thirsting for connection to others
Thirsting for connection to the larger life.
As we light this chalice
May all who gather here be filled:
Filled with joy and hope
Filled with compassion and love
Here, may we be filled
So that we may pour ourselves out
into the world.
Hymn 147 (purple): ‘Spirit of Earth, Root, Stone and Tree’
Let’s sing together. Our first hymn is number 147 in your purple books: ‘Spirit of Earth, Root, Stone and Tree’. 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.
Spirit of earth, root, stone and tree,
water of life, flowing in me,
keeping me stable, nourishing me,
O fill me with living energy!
Spirit of nature, healing and free,
spirit of love, expanding in me,
spirit of life, breathe deeply in me,
inspire me with living energy!
Spirit of love, softly draw near,
open my heart, lessen my fear,
sing of compassion, help me to hear,
O fill me with loving energy!
Spirit of nature, healing and free,
spirit of love, expanding in me,
spirit of life, breathe deeply in me,
inspire me with living energy!
Spirit of life, you are my song,
sing in my soul, all my life long,
gladden and guide me, keep me from wrong,
O fill me with sacred energy!
Spirit of nature, healing and free,
spirit of love, expanding in me,
spirit of life, breathe deeply in me,
inspire me with living energy!
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 Bruce Southworth
Let’s take those joys and concerns into an extended time of prayer. This prayer is based on some words by Bruce Southworth. 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)
As we gather together in prayer this morning let us be aware of the
varied human experience embodied in this community;
we each go through such a mix of ups and downs.
Sometimes, life is tough, and the world bears heavily upon us;
we struggle alone, search the depths, and long for healing,
for renewed hope, for strength, which give their grace and peace.
Each of us here gathered carries our own private griefs and burdens.
Sometimes we can share these, and for the open hearts
which respond with tender care, we are grateful.
Each of us here gathered knows something of life’s blessing too.
This bright morning, let us give thanks for all those joys that break through.
Let us give thanks for the care and compassion of friends, family, neighbours.
Let us give thanks for the communion of all those who seek to serve others. (pause)
May we be strengthened in our efforts to be of service,
and may we always be mindful of all the good in our lives;
whatever privilege, success, and happiness we have been blessed with.
May our prayer be that we always see clearly
and keep before us the commandment to care;
striving always to be generous, inclusive, and open.
On this day and every day, may we give thanks,
but let us also be dissatisfied with the world as it is,
for a new world, a realm of love, is still waiting to be realised.
May our spirits and bodies be nourished and nurtured
as we give thanks in praise of all that sustains,
heals, and holds – all that is holy and Good. (pause)
And a few quiet moments let us take some time to pray inwardly the prayers of our own hearts;calling to mind all those souls we know to be suffering this day, whether close to home, oron the other side of the world. Let us hold all these sacred beings in the light of love. (pause)
Let us also pray for ourselves; we too are sacred beings who face our own struggles and muddlethrough life’s ups and downs. So let us take a few moments to reflect on our own lives, andask for what we most need this day – comfort, forgiveness, or guidance – to flourish. (pause)
And let us take just a little longer to remember the good things in life and give thanks for them.Those moments in the past week where we’ve encountered generosity, kindness, or pleasure.Let us cultivate a spirit of gratitude as we recall all those moments that lifted our spirits. (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 160 (purple): ‘The Highest Goodness is Like Water’
Our next hymn is a new one to me, it’s one of the few watery hymns we have, 160 in the purple book ‘The Highest Goodness is Like Water’ which is based on the words of the Tao Te Ching. I hope some of you listened to the tune beforehand – and I’ll Andrew to play it through before we sing – luckily we have the quartet to help us today but please do your best to sing up if you can.
The highest goodness is like water
and which by name ‘Great Way’ we call,
finds all the places which we can’t reach
and without effort waters all.
All plants and fruits and crops are needful,
as also is our staple grain
of showers, of water and of monsoon
which fall on fields from clouds of rain.
But sometimes rains are not forthcoming
and life on earth seems strangely cursed;
so may we manage water fairly
and learn to put the green earth first.
Water at times can seem all powerful
when shook by earth and beat by wind;
in hurricane and wild tsunami
it damages our living kind.
Water is also gentle, healing;
it cools parched throats and bathes sore wounds;
washes our bodies and our raiment,
makes gurgling noise and lapping sounds.
Great Way, we recognize your patterns
and try to puzzle out your ways.
May gentleness and power together
be guiding waymarks for our days.
Reading: ‘Making Holy Water’ by Ana Levy-Lyons (read by Jane) (adapted)
This is a longer-than-usual reading – words written for a gathering-of-the-waters ceremony in a UU church in Brooklyn by Ana Levy-Lyons – titled ‘Making Holy Water’. I’m going to share her words with you and then later in the service I’ll invite you to join in something similar.
What makes water holy? Most of the religions of the world have some concept of holy water – water with the power to clean us, not only our bodies but our souls, water that blesses or nurtures us and brings us closer to the divine. For Catholics, holy water is water than has been specially blessed by a priest. For Hindus, the Ganges River and other rivers are considered holy, each connected to a Goddess. In Judaism to make a mikveh, or ritual bath, you take pure rainwater, pour it into a basin with stone walls, and make sure that it’s flowing, not still. This water is considered so holy, so spiritually charged, that nothing can ruin it. Even if you were to throw a pig into it (which I don’t recommend), it still keeps its purity and potency. Holy water, in all these traditions, has power. Just as water conducts electricity, it’s also a medium for transmitting blessing – the juicy goodness of life.
And what about Unitarians? Can we get in on this holy water thing? What, if anything, makes water holy for us? To the extent that Unitarians can agree on a theology, it entails the idea that the holy is to be found in the collective. The “illuminated moment of our gathering.” That when we come together, when we each bring a piece of our authentic selves to the community, we create something far greater than the sum of our parts. That something greater – that ineffable sparkle of electricity – is what some of us call God. And so, for us, I believe that holy water is water that all of us make holy together. It’s water that sparkles with the energy of a little bit of each of us, a little bit of each of our experiences, our history, our stories, our hopes, our love. It’s where the one includes the many and the many become one.
Making holy water is what we’re going to do in our water ceremony today. We are each going to pour a little bit of the water we’ve brought – from home or from our travels – from the tap or from the sea – into one collective bowl. The water that results, maybe part salt-water, part fresh water, some chlorine, millions of microorganisms, molecules from near and far, atoms from the age of the dinosaurs, that water will reflect the diversity of all of us. This water will be greater than the sum of what we pour into it. This water will hold a spiritual charge because it has been intentionally charged with love from each of us. And this water is water that we together will pronounce holy.
What are we going to do with this holy water? Well, first I suggest that we boil it. I assure you, this will not diminish its holiness in any way but it will hopefully diminish the headcount of the microorganisms in there. And then we’ll use this water to bless people. We could use it in our baby dedication ceremonies. When we touch that water to a baby’s head, it will transmit the blessing from each of us in this room to the baby. And when one of our gathering is ill or dying, if they would like it, they can also be touched with this holy water and receive our blessing.
What is it to give a blessing? It’s to give a part of yourself – part of your own internal electric charge. It’s to say, “Here. Here’s a little bit of me that can become a little bit of you. It can strengthen you, connect you a little more to the universe. Because of course I am made of the little bits of everyone and everything that came before me. Here’s a little bit of my love; a little bit of the juicy goodness of life as I experience it that I am sharing with you.”
And we’re going to save a little of our holy water to include in next year’s holy water, so each year will also include molecules from each of the past years. If we were to do this for the next hundred years, your water will still be there, however diluted, taking part in making the blessing. Babies born to people not born yet will receive your blessing. Elderly people in their final days on this earth will receive your blessing. You may even receive your own blessing some day.
So I invite you: lift up your container of water and bless it. Fill it up with your best prayers and visions for our world, saturate it with your you-ness and then, when you’re ready, stand up, walk it up to the front and let it go. This water we have made into holy water. May all whom it touches receive the blessing and the love of this gathered community.
Meditation: ‘Blessing the Water with our Prayers and Intentions’
Words from Ana Levy-Lyons from the First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn. So we’re going to take this suggestion of blessing the waters into a time of meditation now. Hopefully most of you brought some water from home; if not then hopefully you were given a small bottle of water from the church tap when you came in (if you haven’t got one now is the time to pick one up from the back of the church). And please do join in this process at home too if you’d like to; I have faith that in some mysterious way our blessings will mingle even at a distance. And during our three minutes of silence I’ll invite you to focus on the water which is in your hands and – in whatever way this makes sense to you – to bless it. The silence will end with the sound of a bell. Then we’ll hear some music for our continued reflection. And later on in the service I will invite you to pour your waters in the common bowl. 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, it’s an invitation not an obligation, you’re free to use this time to meditate in your own way.
But if you are willing – in this time of silence – I invite you to take the container of water in your hands and bless it. As Ana Levy-Lyons said: ‘fill it up with your best prayers and visions for our world; saturate it with your you-ness’. Imagine those prayers and visions and intentions mingling as we pour the waters into a common bowl, and symbolically, mysteriously, being transmitted onward.
Period of Silence and Stillness (~3 minutes) – end with a bell
Interlude: To be Sung on the Water – Samuel Barber (text Louise Bogan) (performed by Andrew and our Quartet of Singers)
Poem: ‘At the River Clarion’ by Mary Oliver (read by Patricia and David)
This is a longer-than-usual poem by the much-loved spiritual poet Mary Oliver, which speaks of holiness and water, our theme today: ‘At the River Clarion’.
1.I don’t know who God is exactly.
But I’ll tell you this.
I was sitting in the river named Clarion, on a water splashed stone
and all afternoon I listened to the voices of the river talking.
Whenever the water struck a stone it had something to say,
and the water itself, and even the mosses trailing under the water.
And slowly, very slowly, it became clear to me what they were saying.
Said the river I am part of holiness.
And I too, said the stone. And I too, whispered the moss beneath the water.
I’d been to the river before, a few times.
Don’t blame the river that nothing happened quickly.
You don’t hear such voices in an hour or a day.
You don’t hear them at all if selfhood has stuffed your ears.
And it’s difficult to hear anything anyway, through all the traffic, the ambition.
2.If God exists he isn’t just butter and good luck.
He’s also the tick that killed my wonderful dog Luke.
Said the river: imagine everything you can imagine, then keep on going.
Imagine how the lily (who may also be a part of God) would sing to you if it could sing,
if you would pause to hear it.
And how are you so certain anyway that it doesn’t sing?
If God exists he isn’t just churches and mathematics.
He’s the forest, He’s the desert.
He’s the ice caps, that are dying.
He’s the ghetto and the Museum of Fine Arts.
He’s van Gogh and Allen Ginsberg and Robert Motherwell.
He’s the many desperate hands, cleaning and preparing their weapons.
He’s every one of us, potentially.
The leaf of grass, the genius, the politician, the poet.
And if this is true, isn’t it something very important?
Yes, it could be that I am a tiny piece of God, and each of you too, or at least
of his intention and his hope.
Which is a delight beyond measure.
I don’t know how you get to suspect such an idea.
I only know that the river kept singing.
It wasn’t a persuasion, it was all the river’s own constant joy
which was better by far than a lecture, which was comfortable, exciting, unforgettable.
3.Of course for each of us, there is the daily life.
Let us live it, gesture by gesture.
When we cut the ripe melon, should we not give it thanks?
And should we not thank the knife also?
We do not live in a simple world.
4.There was someone I loved who grew old and ill
One by one I watched the fires go out.
There was nothing I could do
except to remembe
rthat we receive
then we give back.
5.My dog Luke lies in a grave in the forest, she is given back.
But the river Clarion still flows from wherever it comes from
to where it has been told to go.
I pray for the desperate earth.
I pray for the desperate world.
I do the little each person can do, it isn’t much.
Sometimes the river murmurs, sometimes it raves.
6.Along its shores were, may I say, very intense cardinal flowers.
And trees, and birds that have wings to uphold them, for heaven’s sakes–
the lucky ones: they have such deep natures,
they are so happily obedient.
While I sit here in a house filled with books,
ideas, doubts, hesitations.
7.And still, pressed deep into my mind, the river
keeps coming, touching me, passing by on its
long journey, its pale, infallible voice
singing.
Gathering the Waters Ceremony:
Thanks Patricia and David. We’ve come to the time for the gathering of the waters. In a moment Andrew will play some gentle music and the invitation is for each of you to come up with the water you have brought and blessed, and silently, reverently, pour it into our common bowl. Or pour a bit of it! I will pour some on behalf of everyone who’s joining us via Zoom too. And when we’re done I’ll invite you to join in with a responsive reading to close our ceremony.
(people come forward to pour water)
Responsive Reading: ‘The Water is Sacred’ by Ranwa Hammamy
So I invite you now to join in with a responsive reading to conclude the blessing of the water, it’s by Ranwa Hammamy. If you’re in the building it is on your hymn sheet, but it actually has a very simple refrain which you’re invited to join in with – simply respond ‘the water is sacred’.
This water is sacred. It is made sacred by the many hands
that have poured it with intention and love,
the many stories that each drop contains,
the many lives surrounding it in this unique moment,
connected by commitment and faith.This water is sacred.
May it continue to flow through this community,
with shining reflections of the unique gifts
that flow through each of its members.
This water is sacred.
May it continue to nurture this community,
with sustaining hope that we journey together
through ripples of growth and change.
This water is sacred.
May it continue to bless this community
with loving reminders of our collective responsibility
to one another and the world.
This water is sacred.
May its ripples be a reminder that the changes and growth
within this community bring movement and transformation
to the world beyond our doors.
This water is sacred.
May its purity offer grace to our community,
and the willingness to forgive ourselves and
one another when we make mistakes.
This water is sacred.
In moments when we are confused or uncertain,
may it bring us clarity of purpose and commitment.
This water is sacred.
In moments when the reservoirs of hearts and spirits
are drained by sorrow or pain, may it nourish them
with the knowledge that we are surrounded by a deep and abundant love.
This water is sacred. Amen.
Hymn 111 (purple): ‘O Brother Sun, Sister Moon’
Time for our last hymn now, it’s number 111 in your purple books, ‘O Brother Sun, Sister Moon’.
O Brother Sun, you bring us light,
all shining ‘round in fiery might.
O Sister Moon, you heal and bless,
your beauty shines in tenderness.
O Brother Wind, you sweep the hills,
your mighty breath both freshens and fills.
O Sister Water, you cleanse and flow
through rivers and streams, in ice and snow.
O Brother Fire, you warm our night
with all your dancing coloured light.
O Sister Earth, you feed all things,
all birds, all creatures, all scales and wings.
O Sister Death, you meet us here
and take us to our God so near.
O God of Life, we give you praise
for all your creatures, for all your ways.
Announcements:
Thanks to Ramona for tech-hosting. Thanks to Charlotte for co-hosting. If you’re joining on Zoom please do hang on after the service for a chat – and do have a think about whether you can help us out with co-hosting – we’re short of co-hosts and we could really do with recruiting some extra helpers to welcome our online congregation once a month. Thanks to Andrew and our quartet – Margaret, Lucy, Benjie and Edwin – for really special music today. Thanks to Patricia for greeting and David for making coffee and to both for reading our poem. For those of you who are here in-person – please do stay behind not just for a cuppa but for potluck lunch – that’ll be served in the hall next door. And of course many thanks to Juliet for organising the lunch and everyone who’s helped out.
We’ve got various activities coming up, both in-person, and online. This Wednesday Brian is offering an in-person Heart and Soul here at the church so please do let him know if you’re coming along to that. We also have online H&S tonight (with me) on ‘Influence’ and Friday (with Alex) on the theme of ‘Loyalty’ so please do sign up with me or him if you want to join.
The next meeting of the ‘Better World Book Club’ will be on ‘Project Unlonely’ by Jeremy Nobel. Let me know if you want to join that session at 7.30pm on Sunday 22nd September.
And Community Singing will be back on Wednesday 25th – that was great fun this week.
I’m about to go on my autumn break! You might see me pop up for one or two things but I’m mostly on holiday now until early October so next week’s service will be led by our good friend Michael Allured on the theme ‘Through the Triumphs and Disasters: Real Living’. Please do come along and show your support. And Margaret will be back her singing class as well.
I am trying to line up contributions for a congregational service on 6th October on the theme of ‘Poems we can Count On’ so if you have a poem that means a lot to you, one that give you comfort perhaps, and that you return to when times are hard, it’d be great if you could share that and a short reflection about what it means to you. But I could really do with knowing who is going to participate today! So please email me or find me after the service so I know that we’ve got enough contributors for it to go ahead. Otherwise I will come up with a plan B…
Details of all our various activities are printed on the back of the order of service, for you to take away, and also in the Friday email. Please do sign up for the mailing list if you haven’t already. The congregation very much has a life beyond Sunday mornings; we encourage you to keep in touch, look out for each other, and do what you can to nurture supportive connections.
Finally I should say: if you would like to take some of our holy water away with you please do come up after the service with one of the mini-bottles for me to fill from the bowl. And if anyone who’s joined us online today would like some let me know and I’ll work out how to get it to you! Don’t forget we haven’t boiled it or anything so best not to drink it or anything!
I think that’s everything. Just time for our closing words and closing music now.
Benediction: based on words by Kayle Rice
It starts with a drop, then a trickle…
A burble, a rush of water, bubbling toward its destination;
And finally the wide, endless sea.
All rivers run to the sea.
Today you brought water
Poured it into a common bowl.
Though our experiences have differed,
These waters mingle, signifying our common humanity.
Today you came
And shared in this sacred community.
May you depart this sacred space,
Hearts filled with hope for new beginnings;
A fresh start.
Go forth, but return to this community,
Where rivers of tears may be shed,
Where dry souls are watered,
Where your joy bubbles,
Where your life cup overflows,
Where deep in your spirit you have found in this place a home. Amen.
Closing Music: River in Judea – Jack Feldman (text Linda Marcus) (performed by Andrew and our Quartet of Singers)
Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall
15th September 2024
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