Sunday Service, 9 June 2024
Led by Rev. Sarah Tinker
Musical Prelude: ‘What a Wonderful World’ (played by George Ireland)
Opening Words of Welcome and Chalice Lighting: ‘Light of Our Creative Spirits’ by Tracy Johnson (adapted)
We see skies of blue
And clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And we think to ourselves
What a wonderful world
The colours of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
We see friends shaking hands
Saying, “How do you do?”
They’re really saying
I love you
We hear babies cry
We watch them grow
They’ll learn much more
Than we’ll ever know
And we think to ourselves
What a wonderful world
Yes, we think to ourselves
What a wonderful world
Music and words from that old classic song by Louis Armstrong ‘what a wonderful world’ to start our Sunday morning service here with Kensington Unitarians in London. Welcome to everyone who’s joining us online this morning and welcome to those of you who are watching a video of this service at some later date. I hope life is treating you well.
And welcome to everyone here in church in Notting Hill on this early summer’s morning. If we’ve not met before I’m Sarah Tinker, a Unitarian minister, and it’s good to be here with you today. The title of today’s gathering is ‘Moments of Wonder, Lives of Wonder’ and it has a simple message: that by encouraging ourselves to notice the wonders that are around us and within us we can increase our capacity to experience wonder, even in those times when life is tough and burdensome. Moments of wonder can lift our spirits.
So with that idea in mind let’s settle ourselves in the time and place in which we are in, get comfy, maybe take one of those gentle, calming breaths, taking in that which helps to nourish and anchor us in the here and now, breathing out and releasing ourselves from everyday tasks and concerns, allowing ourselves to be with ourselves, to be with one another and to be with the god of our hearts and understanding, that which holds us all.
(light chalice in silence)
We light our chalice this morning
— light of our Creative Spirits
— light of our Wise Souls
— light of our Wondering and Curious Minds
— light of Love for our Unique Bodies
Illuminate our hearts and the spaces between them in this sacred and unfolding time.
Hymn 247 (green): ‘A World of Wonder’
Let’s join in singing our first hymn this morning – as always with the reminder that it’s fine not to sing if you’d rather – I have to remind myself that my own enthusiasm for hymn singing is not universally shared. Our first hymn which is number 247 in this old green hymnbook has beautifully poetic yet simple words – it’s enjoyable simply to read them. And the words will also appear on your screens, so let’s sing along or hum or whatever we want to do, to this hymn which ends with the lines: ‘Our night dreams, our day dreams, our thoughts ranging wide – we live with a whole world of wonder inside’.
The sun at high noon
The stars in dark space
The light of the moon,
On our upturned face,
The high clouds, the rain clouds,
The lark-song on high –
We gaze up in wonder
Above to the sky.
The green grassy blade,
The grasshopper’s sound,
The creatures of shade
That live in the ground,
The dark soil, the moist soil,
Where plants spring to birth —
We look down in wonder
Below in the earth.
The glad joys that heal
The tears in our eyes,
The longings we feel,
The light of surprise,
Our night dreams, our day dreams,
Our thoughts ranging wide —
We live with a whole world
Of wonder inside.
Candles of Joy and Concern:
Our simple ritual of candles of joy and concern, is an opportunity to share something that is in our heart with the community. We’ll hear from people in the building first, and take all of those in one go, and then I’ll call on the people on Zoom to come forward.
So I invite some of you here in person to come and tell us briefly who or what your lit candle is for. If you’d rather have the microphone brought to you, give me a wave and I’ll bring it over. 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’ll light one more candle, as we often do, to represent all those joys and concerns that we hold in our hearts this day, that its one light may remind us of our connections, one with another, none of us live our lives alone. (light candle)
Time of Prayer & Reflection: based on words by John Saxon ‘Part of a Larger Life’
I invite you to join now in a time of prayer, meditation, and reflection—to be fully present here and now, in this sacred time and space, with ourselves, with each other, and with that which is larger than ourselves.
Source of All, All Life, All Love, All Hope, known by many names and in many ways:
We don’t know who or what you are or even whether you can be called a who or what. Our words fail us. Our minds fail us when we ponder the enormity, diversity, complexity, wonder, and beauty of the universe and this world. And yet we sense, more than know, that our lives are part of a larger Life, that we are indeed connected with everyone and everything in one interdependent web of being, and that there is something, both within us and beyond us, that nurtures and sustains our lives and Life itself: something that calls us and all life to greater wholeness and harmony.
We give thanks this morning for all of the gifts and blessings of life: for this day, for the beauty and wonder and mystery of life, for our families and friends, for health and work, for opportunities to learn and love and grow, for the love and support of others in times of illness or despair. But we remember, too, that others, here in this room, in this city, and around the world, live in poverty, hunger, fear, illness, isolation, violence, and economic insecurity. In the silence of this room and in the silence of our hearts, may we hear the call to a wider perspective and a deeper resolve. (quiet pause)
May we live with greater compassion and care for ourselves, others, and creation. May we touch each other more deeply, hear each other more clearly, and see each other’s joys and sorrows as our own. May we strive to be and become more than we are: more loving, more forgiving, more kind, more honest, more open, more connected, more whole.
May we heal and be healed. May we face the uncertainties and tragedies of life with hope, faith, and courage, knowing that Life is good and that we are not alone.
And in these moments of silence, may our hearts speak silently the prayers of our lives—our souls’ joys and sorrows, our hopes and dreams.
(Short silence)
And may the prayers of our hearts be matched by the work of our hands, for the greater good of all. Amen.
Hymn 36 (green): ‘Star Born’
Chance to sing again today, and our next hymn, which is number 36 in our green book, continues our theme of wonder – from the wonder of the star filled cosmos to the wonders within us – we earth born children of a star – let’s sing together – and do feel free to stand or sit – whatever works best for you.
Ye earth born children of a star
Amid the depths of space,
The cosmic wonder from afar
Within your minds embrace.
Look out, with awe, upon the art
Of countless living things;
The counterpoint of part with part,
As nature’s chorus sings.
Beyond the wonder you have wrought
Within your little time;
The knowledge won, the wisdom sought,
The ornaments of rhyme;
Seek deeper still within your souls
And sense the wonder there;
The ceaseless thrust to noble goals
Of life, more free and fair.
Ye earthborn children of a star
Who seek and long and strive,
Take humble pride in what you are:
Be glad to be alive!
Reading: ‘Your Song’ by Victoria Safford with reflection by Julia Alden
What if there were a universe, a cosmos, that began in shining blackness, out of nothing, out of fire, out of a single, silent breath, and into it came billions and billions of stars, stars beyond imagining, and near one of them a world, a blue-green world so beautiful that learned clergymen could not even speak about it cogently, and brilliant scientists, in trying to describe it, began to sound like poets, with their physics, with their mathematics, their empirical, impressionistic musings?
What if there were a universe in which a world was born out of a smallish star, and into that world (at some point) flew red-winged blackbirds, and into it swam sperm whales, and into it bloomed crocuses, and into it blew wind to lift the tiniest hairs on naked arms in spring, and into it at some point grew onions, out of soil, and in went Mt. Everest and also the coyote we’ve spotted in the woods about a mile from here, just after sunrise on these mornings when the moon is full? (The very scent of him makes his brother, our dog, insane with fear and joy and ancient inbred memory.) Into that world came animals and elements and plants, and imagination, the mind and the mind’s eye.
If such a universe existed and you noticed it, what would you do? What song would come out of your mouth, what prayer, what praises, what sacred offering, what whirling dance, what religion and what reverential gesture would you make to greet that world, every single day you were in it? – Words by Victoria Safford
Julia Alden’s Reflection: As I read through Victoria Safford’s reading for the first time, my initial response was, “well, yes, this all does exist; this is the world that we live in”. The universe does give us the blooming crocuses’ and the red-winged blackbirds. The wind can lift the tiniest hairs on our naked arms in the spring. It gives us this and so much more. Often, however, we forget to notice it. We fail to take in the brimming beauty and richness that is before us at every moment. But I just had a very tangible experience of people who do notice and who are grateful for all that the world is giving.
This was on my recent trip to Nepal. While we did not make it to Everest, we did ascend to Mount Mukti Nath at 4000 meters, located in the lower Mustang region. The Mukti Nath temple is significant in that it is a spiritual pilgrimage site for both Hindus and Buddhists. The area is rich with both Nepalese and Tibetan culture and religion. It’s set in a beautiful landscape of rugged mountains, lush valleys and picturesque villages.
What was so remarkable about this place was the witnessing of the hundreds who were climbing the arduous steps to the temple to pay homage to the gods and spirits. And to give reverence, humility and respect to the land, the mountains, to all the beauty and creations of the universe.
There was the unceasing bowing to show gratitude, the pujas of flowers, rice or fruit being offered, the mantras being chanted, and the quiet meditations being practiced, all giving unquestionable evidence of the appreciation for this bountiful universe. An orchestra celebrating the world. We heard the constant greeting of ‘Namaste’ which of course means a respectful hello, but even more significantly, it calls into being the belief of a mighty life force of connection and unity. I was, without doubt, inspired by these pilgrims who travelled many miles and climbed mountains to celebrate life and the power of nature.
But it does not have to be quite so monumental…the theme for today reminds us of that moments of wonder can be the simple things… but still powerful and poignant. Like when I entered my house upon return and found a vase of peonies (my favourite flower) that a friend had left on the dining room table. I can’t think of anything more wondrous than the fully- bloomed peony.
Meditation: ‘A Guided Meditation on a Pebble’ by Joyce Rupp
For this meditation each in person participant will need a small pebble to hold.
Our meditation today is a guided one written by Joyce Rupp, a Catholic author and facilitator, a member of the Servite Order and someone who writes beautifully about our world and its wonders. In this meditation we’re invited to hold a stone or pebble – we have some here in church – if you’re at home and have a piece of rock or stone nearby then do bring it close. If not, this meditation works just as well if you imagine holding a pebble – maybe one that caught your eye on a stony beach one day, or a piece of crystal that you particularly like. Or maybe you could imagine yourself resting awhile against a boulder in a landscape you like.
I’ll read Joyce Rupp’s words slowly – feel free to follow them or to use your own imagination – whatever works best for you. And when the meditation ends we’ll enter a time of shared silence that will end with our bell and lead into a beautiful sonata from Mozart played for us by our pianist today George Ireland. So let’s settle ourselves for this quieter time, finding a position that works for us to be at ease and able to turn within for a while.
Look at the seemingly insignificant pebble you are holding in your palm or imagining in your mind’s eye. You might easily pass by this little thing, or not notice stepping on it. Look closely at the colour, the pebble’s shape, size, and texture.
Imagine the amazing journey this small bit of creation has taken. You are holding in your hand a piece of stardust from billions of years ago. The elements of this small pebble have come from somewhere in the universe. A star composed of gases exploded and was strewn into space; it eventually formed hot lava that became the planet we call Earth. Ever so slowly this mixture became solid, creating an outer crust on the planet. This crust developed into solid layers of rocks composed of minerals.
What you hold in your hand is some of the earliest part of our planet. Look closely at your pebble: Where was this pebble’s first home? How many homes did it have? Was it part of an upheaval of minerals that shaped into a mountain? Did it experience being within a volcanic eruption? Was it at the bottom of a lake? In the seam of a glacier? Did a river carry it along for thousands of miles? Has it been washed out from a dark cave? Pause for a while to think about the long history of this seemingly insignificant thing.
This pebble has known a journey of dissolving, joining, shaping, becoming part of a solid, large form and then a smaller and smaller one. It has known a lot of history in its expansive life. If your pebble could speak, it would have a lot to say to you. Listen for a moment to what it might speak to you if it could.
What you hold in your hand may seem dead but it has its own life, a small electromagnetic field of energy. You cannot detect this but scientists know it is there. Pause to look again at what you hold, an invisible, unfelt energy that carries an ancient history filled with stories.
Lift the pebble to our cheek. Let its sacredness touch you. Welcome your union with the long-evolving history it has known. This little pebble is allowing you to touch a star.
Bring the pebble away from your face and down to your lap. Continue to hold it in your palm. Give thanks to the Creator for its existence and message, for how it tells you of the sacredness of even tiny, seemingly inert things.
Take the pebble with you and place it in your home or office where you can behold it when your sense of wonder and gratitude weakens. Let it remind you of the sacredness of everything that exists.
Period of Silence and Stillness (~3 minutes) – end with a bell
Interlude: ‘Adagio’ from Mozart’s Sonata K332 (played by George Ireland)
Reading: ‘You are Amazing’ from Bill Bryson’s ‘A Short History of Everything’
Bill Bryson writes in the introduction to his book A Short History of Nearly Everything:
‘To be here now, alive in the twenty-first century and smart enough to know it, you had to be…extremely—make that miraculously—fortunate in your personal ancestry. Consider the fact that for 3.8 billion years, a period of time older than the Earth’s mountains and rivers and oceans, every one of your forbears on both sides has been attractive enough to find a mate, healthy enough to reproduce, and sufficiently blessed by fate and circumstances to do so. Not one of your pertinent ancestors was squashed, devoured, drowned, starved, stranded, stuck fast, untimely wounded, or otherwise deflected from its life’s quest – of delivering a tiny charge of genetic material to the right partner at the right moment in order to perpetuate the only possible sequence of hereditary combinations that could result—eventually, astoundingly, and all too briefly—in you.’
Address: ‘Moments of Wonder, Lives of Wonder’ by Rev. Sarah Tinker
Thank you Hannah for that reading, humorously reminding us how fortunate we are to be alive. It is amazing that we, each of us, exist. And I don’t know how it is for all of you but I’m someone who needs those kinds of reminders – especially in times when life feels like hard work, when things don’t go according to plan, when we’re in pain or hardship. We know that it’s a ‘good thing’ to exercise our bodies, as best we can, and keep our muscles strong and our joints flexible. What I wanted to explore in creating this service was the idea that our sense of wonder is like a muscle that can expand through regular use, a skill that we can be aware of and develop.
The fact that I knew dear Julia was with family in Nepal last week made for some delightful synchronicity with Victoria Safford’s piece about the wonders of our universe and how we might respond to them. Safford ends by asking: ‘If such a universe existed and you noticed it, what would you do? What song would come out of your mouth, what prayer, what praises, what sacred offering, what whirling dance, what religion and what reverential gesture would you make to greet that world, every single day you were in it?’
And Julia described to us the faith life of the Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims making the steep climb to the mountain temple, making their offerings, expressing their reverence. In our lives most of us don’t take part in such communal expressions of faith. But I think that by practicing our skills of noticing, and practicing our ability to share our moments of wonder with one another, we can enhance our ways of being in this world. Because wonder connects us with other similar feeling states. Wonder can help to activate a reverence for life. Think of the word ‘awe’. ‘Awe’ has a strength within doesn’t it – a suggestion that we recognise our own position in the greater scheme of things. What might fill you with a sense of awe? Looking up at a night sky and realising how tiny our planet earth is? Experiencing a natural phenomena – a mountain, a river, a waterfall? Noticing some other creature living its life – birds in the garden, a pet happily playing? Meeting a new born child perhaps? Julia and I have both been teachers and we realised that watching children both learning and at a play was a remarkable aspect of human life – our human ability to be completely absorbed in what we are doing and to enjoy it in every part of our being. I am in awe of that life force.
Awe and wonder are connected. They also connect with other feeling states – with curiosity – when we are in touch with feelings of awe and wonder our curiosity is often activated isn’t it. We want to know more about this phenomena, we want to explore and understand. And I’d add into this mix our sense of gratitude, that accompanies our wonder – awe and wonder remind me to give thanks – gratitude that I am able to be part of all this – gratitude for being alive.
I’d also add in to this collection of feeling states a sense of mystery – the realisation that our knowledge will be forever partial – that we as individuals and as a human race know so much and so little. There is always more to know and to understand. That kind of humility feels crucial in these times in which we live – when we have to learn how to work together as one community, one human race.
It’s not surprising that such a task can feel overwhelming. But our sense of wonder can assist us. For if we notice small things, small delights, if we can be open to the unexpected pleasures of life, we allow our wellsprings of possibility to flow, our hearts stay open and undefended. We are then better equipped to do the little we can do with what we have to create our world as a more just and loving place for all beings. May this be so, amen.
Hymn 209 (green): ‘A World Transfigured’
Wonders still the world shall witness
Never known in days of old,
Never dreamed by ancient sages,
Howsoever free and bold.
Sons and daughters shall inherit
Wondrous arts to us unknown,
When the dawn of peace its splendour
Over all the world has thrown.
They shall rule with wingèd freedom
Worlds of health and human good,
Worlds of commerce, worlds of science,
All made one and understood.
They shall know a world transfigured,
Which our eyes but dimly see;
They shall make its towns and woodlands
Beautiful from sea to sea.
For a spirit then shall move them
We but vaguely apprehend —
Aims magnificent and holy,
Making joy and labour friend.
Then shall bloom in song and fragrance
Harmony of thought and deed,
Fruits of peace and love and justice —
Where today we plant the seed.
Announcements:
My thanks go to George Ireland for great music today, thanks to Ramona and Jane for vital tech support here in the church and to Charlotte for co-hosting and welcoming everyone online – without you all we would have no service. Thank you to Julia Alden for our reading and reflection and to Hannah King for reminding us how lucky we are to be alive. Do think of staying after our service here in church for Hannah’s yoga class – it’s good to have a stretch.
If you’re here on Zoom today please do hang on after for a chat with Charlotte. For those of you who are in-person – you’re welcome to stay for a chat and drinks after the service – served in the hall next door.
This coming Wednesday 12th June everyone’s welcome to join the community choir here in church 7-9pm and a lot of fun.
On Friday 14th there’s an online ‘Heart & Soul’ Contemplative Spiritual Gathering at 7pm, this week’s theme is ‘Curiosity’, led by led by your minister Jane Blackall – email her if you’d like to join that – it fits well with our service theme of wonder today.
Liz will be leading your service here next Sunday and that will be followed by Margaret Marshall’s ‘Finding Your Voice’ singing class. There’ll also be the monthly in person Heart and Soul – a week on Wednesday 19th June.
Looking further ahead there’s the next ‘Better World Book Club’ on 23rd June when we’ll be looking at ‘The Book of Forgiving’ by Desmond and Mpho Tutu – ask Jane about joining that.
Details of all these many and varied congregational 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.
I think that’s everything. Just time for our closing words and music now, George is going to play a fine piece by Haydn – I don’t know how he manages to fit so many notes in – it’s a Sailor’s Song and you may want to do a little jig to it. But first our closing words based on Irish writer John O’Donohue’s words ‘a treasure house of wonders’ – which could describe life itself.
I think that’s everything. Just time for our closing words and music now.
Benediction: ‘A Treasure House of Wonders’
Writer John O’Donohue describes our human creative processes as a treasure house of wonders within us. He writes that ‘Every heart is full of creative material. There are depths in us hungering towards the light. The deeper we attend to the soul, the more we realize what a treasure-house we have inherited.’ In the week ahead may we be people who pay attention. Let’s pay attention to those wellsprings of creative potential lying within each and every one of us and let’s pay attention to the many sources of wonder that surround us each and every day. When our spirits sink low may we be uplifted once again by life’s wonders. When our spirits fly high may we carry others with us as we celebrate these treasure houses of wonder we have in our lives, amen, go well all of you and blessed be.
Closing Music: ‘Sailor’s Song’ by Joseph Haydn (played by George Ireland)
Rev. Sarah Tinker
Sunday 9th June 2024