Sunday Service, 10 November 2024
Led by Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall and Rev. Sarah Tinker
Words Introducing Two Minutes of Silence:
And so we gather, as people throughout the country gather, at 11am on Remembrance Sunday, to honour all those who have died in warfare, and all those whose lives are blighted by the suffering warfare brings to so many. I invite us to stand if we feel able to do so. Let’s join now in two minutes of shared, silent remembering.
Two Minutes of Silence Ended with Sound of Bell
Opening Music: Nimrod from ‘Enigma Variations’ by Edward Elgar (played by Andrew Robinson)
Opening Words: ‘Let Us Learn Peace’ by Annie Foerster
Peace is more than the absence of worry.
It is the creation of safe havens for all;
It is the building of security for everyone;
It is the forgiveness of self, as well as one who would harm you.
Let us seek contentment; let us learn peace.
Peace is more than the absence of discordance.
It is the intent listening to diverse points of view;
It is the intentional speaking of all voices, one at a time;
It is the tension within silence that welcomes all thoughts.
Let us seek harmony; let us learn peace.
Peace is more than the absence of tension.
It is studying the hard lesson of letting go;
It is breathing through pain into tranquillity;
It is forming friendship out of enmity.
Let us seek serenity; let us learn peace.
Peace is much more than the absence of war.
It is observing the promised truce when anger would say, “no”;
It is finding the just compromise when the ego would say, “do it my way”;
It is striving for reconciliation when the heart would say, “revenge.”
Let us seek amity for all the earth; let us learn peace.
Words of Welcome:
These opening words by Annie Foerster 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, and I’m co-leading this morning with Sarah Tinker. It’s good to have you back with us, Sarah.
Today’s service, for Remembrance Sunday, has the sub-title ‘Roots of Violence, Seeds of Peace’. We’re doing something slightly different this year – thinking about remembrance more broadly – it’s not just about looking back to the world wars of the last century, as important as that is. The phrase ‘never again’ is often uttered in relation to the horrors of the past – but we are only too painfully aware of the terrible violence and destruction that our world is still plagued with right now. So this morning, in the spirit of remembrance, we’ll be considering the roots of violence – realising that it doesn’t just arise spontaneously out of nowhere – and also looking at ways in which we might resist helplessness and hopelessness, in these troubled times, and instead plant seeds of peace.
Chalice Lighting: ‘The Chalice of Peace’ by Cliff Reed
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)
Out of the fires of war
let us kindle the chalice of peace.
Out of the fury of battle
let us create a passion for peace.
Out of the turmoil of conscience
let us weave the calm of peace.
In the one Spirit that we share,
let us celebrate the vision of a
world made just and free – and
find the strength to build it, a little at a time.
Hymn (on sheet): ‘Once Crimson Poppies Bloomed’
Let’s sing together. Our first hymn is on your hymnsheet, if you’re in the building, and for those joining via zoom the words will be up on screen (as they will for all our hymns): ‘Once Crimson Poppies Bloomed’. Feel free to stand or sit as you prefer and let’s sing up as best we can.
Once crimson poppies bloomed
out in a foreign field,
each memory reminds
where brutal death was sealed.
The crimson petals flutter down,
still hatred forms a thorny crown.
For in this present time
we wait in vain for peace;
each generation cries,
each longing for release,
while war still plagues the human race
and families seek a hiding place.
How long will human life
suffer for human greed?
How long must race or pride,
wealth, nationhood or creed
be reasons justifying death
to suffocate a nation’s breath?
For everyone who dies
we share a quiet grief;
the pain of loss remains,
time rarely brings relief:
and so we will remember them
and heaven sound a loud amen.
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 Douglas Taylor and Joan Chittister
Let’s take those joys and concerns into an extended time of prayer. This prayer is based on words by Douglas Taylor and Joan Chittister. 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.
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 gather today as people reaching out to connect across human differences,
Sharing our ongoing commitment to compassion and truth, together,
Despite the tragic evidence of conflict, oppression, and needless suffering worldwide.
In this quiet time let us cry out and lament for the suffering of our world.
For the wars, and acts of desperation, across the waters, far away from us,
and for the ripples of fear and hatred we witness much closer to home.
For brutality and corruption, violence and distrust, such waste of life.
For refugees fleeing oppression and children haunted by cruelty. (pause)
Spirit of Life, God of All Love, hear our cry,
and help us to become instruments of your love.
Let us speak in solidarity with the disempowered.
Let us devote our lives to the ways of peace and justice.
Let us be strong in the face of destructive and chaotic forces.
Let us join the voices of compassionate concern
and remember our common humanity.
We ask for the grace to be our best selves,
to be merciful, patient, gracious and trusting.
We ask for the vision to be builders of the
human community rather than its destroyers.
We ask for the humility to understand
the fears and hopes of others,
both strangers and friends.
We ask for the heart it takes to care for
all people as well as for ourselves. (pause)
And in a few moments of shared stillness now, may we speak
inwardly some of those deepest prayers of our hearts —
the joys and sorrows we came in carrying –
in our own lives and the lives of the wider world.
Let us each lift up whatever is on our heart this day,
and silently ask for what we most need. (long 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 226 (green): ‘Song of Peace’
Time for our next hymn now, it’s number 226 in your green hymn books, and an old favourite with very poignant and beautiful words for this Remembrance Sunday: ‘Song of Peace’. Hymn 226.
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 leaf 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.
Reading: ‘Dehumanizing and Rehumanizing’ by Brené Brown (excerpts, adapted) (Patricia to read)
Michelle Maiese, chair of philosophy at Emmanuel College, defines dehumanization as “the psychological process of demonizing the enemy, making them seem less than human and hence not worthy of humane treatment.” Dehumanizing often starts with creating an enemy image. As we take sides, lose trust, and get angrier and angrier, we solidify an idea of our enemy, and start to lose our ability to listen, communicate, and practice even a modicum of empathy.
Dehumanization has fuelled innumerable acts of violence, human rights violations, war crimes, and genocides. Dehumanizing others is the process by which we become accepting of violations against human nature, the human spirit, and, for many of us, violations against the central tenets of our faith.
How does this happen? Maiese explains that most of us believe that people’s basic human rights should not be violated—that crimes like murder and torture are wrong. Successful dehumanizing, however, creates moral exclusion. Groups targeted based on their identity—gender, skin colour, ethnicity, religion—are depicted as “less than” or criminal or even evil. The targeted group eventually falls out of the scope of who is naturally protected by our moral code. This is moral exclusion, and dehumanization is at its core.
Dehumanizing always starts with language, often followed by images. We see this throughout history. During the Holocaust, Nazis described Jews as Untermenschen—subhuman. They called Jews rats and depicted them as disease-carrying rodents in everything from military pamphlets to children’s books. Hutus involved in the Rwanda genocide called Tutsis cockroaches. Indigenous people are often referred to as savages. Serbs called Bosnians aliens.
I know it’s hard to believe that we ourselves could ever get to a place where we would exclude people from equal moral treatment, from our basic moral values... [but] we can’t pretend that every citizen who participated in or was a bystander to human atrocities was a violent psychopath. That’s not possible, it’s not true, and it misses the point. The point is that we are all vulnerable to the slow and insidious practice of dehumanizing, therefore we are all responsible for recognizing it and stopping it.
Because so many time-worn systems of power have placed certain people outside the realm of what we see as human, much of our work now is more a matter of “rehumanizing.” That starts in the same place dehumanizing starts—with words and images. Today we are edging closer and closer to a world where political discourse has become an exercise in dehumanization. We must never tolerate dehumanization—the primary instrument of violence that has been used in every genocide recorded throughout history.
Meditation: ‘Peace will come wherever it is sincerely invited’
Thank you for that thought provoking reading. We’re moving into a time of meditation now. To take us into a time of silence, we’ll be focussing on this quotation from Alice Walker ‘peace will come wherever it is sincerely invited’. Then we’ll hold three minutes of silence which will end with the sound of a bell. After our silence we’ll hear some music played for us by Abby and Andrew – a gentle composition by Maurice Ravel - pavane pour une infante defunte’ for continued reflection.
So let’s do what we need to do to get comfortable for the quiet minutes ahead – 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. You might like to soften your gaze or close your eyes, whatever is best for you, let those shoulders soften and relax, allow a gentle wave of relaxation to pass through your body from top to toe, and in the stillness I invite you to consider Alice Walker’s suggestion that ‘peace will come wherever it is sincerely invited’. This may not be the time to consider our wider world, with all its challenges, maybe we can start with our own lives and the relationships we have with ourselves and with those near to us. In what areas of our own lives might we helpfully invite peace in? What or who are we perhaps not at peace with? How might an invitation of peace bring about transformation in our own living, our thinking and feeling? What seeds of peace can we sow? Questions to consider in the fellowship of stillness together.
Period of Silence and Stillness (~2 minutes) – end with a bell
Interlude: Pavane pour une infante défunte by Maurice Ravel (performed by Abby Lorimier and Andrew Robinson)
Reading: ‘Growing Side by Side’ by Lauri Bower (David to read)
We are all bound together
on a life raft called Earth.
When fighting breaks out
in one corner of the raft
it affects us all
as the whole raft becomes
unsteady, unsafe.
There is no use blaming,
there is no use asking who started it.
The seeds of war go back many generations.
The seeds of peace are also present
growing side by side
with seeds of anger, hate, resentment.
Like the poppies in Flanders fields
they intertwine
springing from the same root.
In the midst of fighting
are those who want peace
seek for understanding instead of accusation
offer love instead of fear and confusion.
When we know
when we all know
the fighting hurts ourselves
more than those we call
other, the enemy
then our bombs and weapons
can be laid down.
Hands will offer friendship
instead of pain and destruction.
Hearts will be open
instead of closed off, cold.
When we know
when we truly know
your pain is my pain
your happiness is my happiness
we can let go of the seeds of
fighting injustice, seeking revenge,
let them go back to sleep.
We can awaken seeds of peace
we can awaken seeds of love.
We can look up and see
we are all bound together
on a life raft called Earth.
We can only live if we live together.
Reflection: ‘Remembrance’ by Rev. Sarah Tinker
That image we heard just now in the reading by Dr Lauri Bower, of all of us on one life raft called Earth – that really caught my attention when I first heard it. It’s reminding us that we are all in this thing called life together – some 8.2 billion of us – and it’s not always easy or comfortable to live alongside one another.
Remembrance Sunday here in Britain is rightly a sombre occasion. We recognise our need to honour those who have died or suffered in warfare. War touches all of us in some way. In this room today we have individuals whose parent died, whose friend died, whose uncle died in the Second World War. Yet wars are not just past memories, but rather a reality in so many places around our world. Remembrance Sunday this year seems especially relevant to our current concerns. And this week in particular some of us are understandably concerned at the growing strength of, and support for, right wing political regimes, with agendas and world views so very different from our own, views that are likely to increase fear and discord in people’s lives.
Back in 2011, Canadian psychologist and thinker Steven Pinker wrote a book called ‘The Better Angels of Our Nature: A History of Violence and Humanity’. In this book he described our era as ‘less violent, less cruel and more peaceful than any previous period of human history’. I don’t know about you, but that is not how I would describe life today. Though if Pinker was with us here today I imagine he might win the discussion. Amongst the points made in his 800 page book, he reminds us of how much the world population has grown, how truly violent were battles of the past, how casual cruelty in most societies has generally diminished. He also makes the point that modern media reporting informs us of violence both near and far, at a level of detail never experienced before.
Many of us have indeed watched for over a year now as conflict escalates between Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza, Israel and the West Bank territories. We shudder as violence spreads to Lebanon and Iran. Yet we hear little now of the suffering that continues in Syria. And most of us know little of the warfare in Sudan that is leading to a growing humanitarian crisis – an area that is at the top of the International Rescue Committee’s watchlist of concern. That is because of the escalating conflict, the accompanying economic crisis and health services that are close to collapse – all leading to the displacement of millions of people. The neighbouring country of Chad, which itself needs support, has taken in over 600,000 refugees - numbers that surely put European concerns about migration into perspective.
How we respond to the news we hear and read about will vary. Some of us need to limit our news intake whilst others choose to stay fully informed. We may feel impotent, powerless to bring about change. There is an agony that comes from passively witnessing the sufferings of others, knowing the terrible injustices that so harshly shape some human lives.
And yet we are surely called to contribute the little we can contribute to ease the struggles of others. We may donate our money or our time. We may join protest movements. We may bear witness as a spiritual practice and focus our prayers on those most in need. Another way to pay attention is to actively align ourselves with groups around the world and in our own society who are under attack – women, transgender people, those with disabilities, strangers, foreigners, those who might be seen as ‘the other’ – not one of ‘us’.
Two awareness raising days happen in November that align with our Unitarian values. The 25th November each year is designated by the United Nations Assembly as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Its slogan is: ‘Let's build a world that refuses to tolerate violence against women anywhere, in any form, once and for all.’ When women in the United States fear their reproductive rights might be further diminished, when women in Afghanistan are to be banned from speaking outside their homes, when police chiefs here in England and Wales describe an ‘epidemic of violence’ against women and girls as a national emergency, with their estimate of 2 million women as victims of male violence annually – that’s one in twelve of us: in such times our voices of concern must be loud and clear.
The 20th November is Transgender Day of Remembrance - an annual observance that commemorates the lives of transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people who are targeted and killed for living authentically as themselves. In the reading earlier, Brene Brown described how marginalised groups in society are viewed as ‘other’. Being excluded and scorned can lead to a shared way of thinking that holds them as ‘less than’, objects of distrust and disgust. That societal narrative increases the risk of violence against them. We who care then must counter such a horribly de-humanising narrative. The transgender community here in Britain is four times more like to suffer violence than the average population. It’s a small step towards righting such wrongs, but I’m proud that in 2022 our Unitarian & Free Christian General Assembly passed a Resolution affirming transgender people’s rights and supporting a self-declaration model for gender recognition.
Marginalised groups need us to be their allies – to care about them, to inform ourselves of their issues, to speak out when we hear someone malign someone else for being who they are. We all know our human tendency to view people different from us as ‘the other’ – those to be feared and kept at a distance. It’s something we all do. But it’s one of the reasons right wing political groups get elected. Such fears of the other are one of the tap roots of human violence. When we view another human being as something ‘other’, somehow less human, not like us, we dehumanise them, we distance ourselves from them, we lose any sense of our common humanity, also any sense that we too could be living their life if world history took a bit of a shift. There were over 10 million displaced people in Europe – refugees who had lost their homes after the 2nd World War. They were forced to seek sanctuary. Now people with similar life experiences are described as ‘illegal migrants’ in our UK press and by some of our elected MPs, some of whose families themselves migrated to this land.
The roots of violence in human existence are deep and strong, but they can be uprooted – or at least set back every so often. Each time we reach out to another, rather than projecting our fears onto them and backing away, we are planting seeds of hope, seeds of peace. These seeds grow with love, with empathy and curiosity about ‘the other’. Yes it is human nature to distrust, to be wary, it is also human nature to be altruistic – to care for others. And as one time Unitarian minister Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote – you’ll find these words on the front of today’s order of service – ‘Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding’. Now how might we better understand one another? Amen.
Hymn (on sheet): ‘Who Is My Neighbour?’
Our final hymn today is on your hymn sheet: ‘Who Is My Neighbour?’ Jane tells me that you’ve sung this one a few times, and she put a link in the Friday email to remind you, but it may not be familiar to everybody so I’ll ask Andrew to play it through in full before we sing.
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.
Announcements:
Thanks to Sarah for co-leading our service this morning. 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. Thanks to Patricia and David for reading (and also for greeting and making coffee). Thanks to Abby and Andrew for lovely music and Benjie for supporting our singing. For those of you who are here in-person – do stay for a cuppa and some cake (it’s apple and sultana this week) – served in the hall.
We’ve got various other activities coming up. After today’s service at 12.30 Hannah is offering community yoga – let her know if you are going to that – and fill in a form if you haven’t yet.
Tonight and Friday at 7pm we’ve got our regular ‘Heart and Soul’ online gathering – I decided to put on an extra Sunday night one this week in case people need it in the light of world events – this week’s theme is ‘Refuge’. Sign up with me if you want to get the link or want to know more.
On Wednesday night, all being well, we have community singing at 7pm. I’m yet to have confirmation from our singing leader so sign up with me if you’re planning to come and I’ll hopefully be in a position to send round confirmation by Tuesday one way or another.
Our next ‘Better World Book Club’ will be on ‘When the Dust Settles’ by Lucy Easthope – very interesting book – I think we’ve still got copies to lend if you’d like to join us on 24th November.
New event to draw to your attention – Heidi and John will be holding a book launch after the service on 24th November – there will be readings and refreshments and all are welcome.
Looking ahead to December – yes already – if you want to get the dates in your diary we’re having our main carol service and lunch on 15th, then a festive tea dance on the 22nd, and we’ll have our usual candlelit Christmas Eve as well of course. Carolyn has also mentioned to me that she’s interested in organising a group to go out for dinner after the service on Christmas Eve so if this is something you might want to join in with please do get in touch with her to make a plan.
Next week’s service will be on ‘Light Relief’ – about the importance of staying in touch with joy even when the news seems relentlessly awful – in order to keep up morale and keep going.
As Sarah mentioned and as we put in the Friday email – we will have a retiring collection today in aid of the Red Cross – if you’re here in person donations in cash or by cheque are welcome. And whatever we collect in-person today will be match-funded to make your donations go further. If you’re joining via zoom you might consider making an online donation to the Red Cross direct.
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.
I think that’s everything. Just time for our closing words and closing music now.
Benediction: based on words by Samuel A. Trumbore
Every week we gather in this beautiful space to find peace.
Each week our words and music offer peace
with the hope of instilling it in our hearts.
Now, take whatever peace you have found here
back out into the world with you once again.
Renewed in our faith and inspired to act,
Let us be the peacemakers the world aches for;
And, by being peacemakers, let us find the peace we long for too.
Go in peace. Make peace. Be at peace. Amen
Closing Music: Loveliest of Trees from ‘A Shropshire Lad’ by George Butterworth (performed by Abby Lorimier and Andrew Robinson)
Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall and Rev. Sarah Tinker
Sunday 10th November 2024