The Sacred

Sunday Service, 6 April 2025

Led by Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall and Dr. Lochlann Binney

Musical Prelude: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor - Five Fairy Ballads: Big Lady Moon (performed by Holly Redshaw and George Ireland)  

Opening Words: ‘Here We Are Gathered’ by Patricia Shelden (adapted)

Here is where we gather in the presence of the Sacred.

Here is where we gather to experience the Holy.

Here is where, together, we face the unanswerable questions

and acknowledge that not knowing is as sublime as it is frustrating.

Here is where we unite in the midst of Life and all the glories

and suffering it can hold, knowing both are ever present.

Here is where we ask, think, risk, explore, ponder and offer what

might not be welcomed or even acceptable somewhere else.

Here is where, if we allow it, we are deeply moved.

Here is where we encounter each other in deep and powerful ways

that surprise us, yet without which – perhaps – we might not make it through.

Here we gather to worship, to experience something happen –

perhaps something different for each of us according to our beliefs,

something unnamed, uncategorized, and unusual yet absolutely necessary.

Here we are so gathered: our minds, our hearts, and our souls. (pause)

Words of Welcome and Introduction: 

These words from Patricia Shelden welcome all who have gathered this morning for our Sunday service. Welcome to those who have gathered in-person at Essex Church, to all who are joining us via Zoom, and anyone watching or listening at a later date via YouTube or the podcast.  For anyone who doesn’t know me, I’m Jane Blackall, and I’m minister with Kensington Unitarians.

In our service this morning we’ll be exploring the theme of ‘The Sacred’. Although it’s a word we use a lot, it turns out that this is a surprisingly slippery concept – perhaps more so than I realised when I picked the service theme! – and it’s something that is extremely personal to each individual too, I reckon. I reached out to a number of congregation members this week to get a range of perspectives and you’ll find that some of your insights are woven into what follows. And I’m delighted that Lochlann Binney was particularly energised by the topic so they’ll be offering their own personal reflections later on. But to set the tone I want to share a quote from Anthony Lawlor, whose words are on the front of the order of service, and he said ‘The sacred cannot be precisely defined. Each of us perceives it through the lens of a unique personal history. For me, sacredness is an experience of the inner radiance of life, the unseen force that transforms and nourishes the physical world but is never limited by it.  There is something more to it, a mystery that is never totally grasped.’

Chalice Lighting: ‘A Safe and Sacred Space’ by Jane Blackall

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) 

The lighting of this chalice calls us to attention –

as we focus on its flickering light for a moment

let us recall the shared intention that it represents –

to co-create a safe and sacred space for prayer and sharing

in which we can re-connect with life’s depths and our highest aspirations –

a circle of solidarity and trust to nurture and strengthen us for the days of our lives.

Hymn (on sheet): ‘Gather Us In’

Our first hymn this morning is on your hymn sheet: ‘Gather Us In’. This hymn celebrates the way in which the sacred is encountered in all world faiths. For those joining via zoom the words will be up on screen (as they will for all hymns). Feel free to stand or sit as you prefer; let’s sing up as best we can.

Gather us in, O love that fillest all;

Gather all rival faiths within your fold;

Throughout the nations sound the clarion call;

Beneath Love’s banner all shall be enrolled!

Gather us in, we worship only thee;

In varied names we stretch a common hand;

In diverse forms a common soul we see;

In many ships we seek one promised land.

Yours is the mystic life, the way that saves;

Yours is the inspiration of our dreams;

Yours is the Buddhist’s rest from tossing waves;

Yours is the light within, one shining beam.

Yours is the Law that is the Jew’s life-guide;

Yours is the Christian’s faith, of love and grace;

Yours is the hope that will not be denied;

Yours is the message of a kinder place.

Gather us in, O Love that fillest all;

Gather all rival faiths within your fold;

Throughout the nations, sound the clarion call:

Beneath Love’s banner all shall be enrolled!

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 who or what you light your candle for – please keep it brief – be considerate of others. I’m going to ask you to come to the lectern to speak, as we want people to be able to hear 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 Dobson

Let’s take those joys and concerns into an extended time of prayer. This prayer is based on some words by Laura Dobson. You might 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)

Ground of all Being, Our Mother and Father,

Who are throughout the whole cosmos

Holy are All Your Names; and

Holy are we, whoever and however we are.

Your realm of love and justice come

Through the actions of our hands

And the desires of our hearts.

Open our hearts to those who live at the edges and in the shadows.

Let us extend our hearts to welcome them in love

And practise compassion towards all beings.

Give us what will nourish us today.

Let us be grateful for everything we have.

Forgive us when we miss the mark

As we forgive those who cross our boundaries.

Give us the strength to be honest with ourselves.

In trying times, guide us on the right paths

As we learn to trust our inner wisdom

And in times of joy and sorrow

May we keep turning towards the Light of Love.

For You are the Source of all that has been, is now and will be,

Let us honour your Indwelling Presence for evermore. (pause)

In our company this morning, and every time we gather in community,

there will be those whose hearts are broken open by all the world’s sufferings:

by loss and grief, rejection and loneliness, disappointment and meaninglessness,

by all the horrors and injustices of this world that we witness with anguish and frustration…

Let us spend a moment directing prayers of loving-kindness for those who suffer this day. (pause)

In our company this morning, and every time we gather in community,

there will be those whose hearts are full and overflowing, despite everything:

buoyed by the beauty of nature and culture, comforted and uplifted by family and friends,

aware of life’s many possibilities and in touch with a sense of hope and encouragement.

Let us spend a moment directing prayers of gratitude for all that is still good in our lives. (pause)

In our company this morning, and every time we gather in community,

there will be those who are simply keeping on keeping on as best they can:

their hearts a blessed, messy, blend of all life’s mixed emotions, in the midst of it all;

seeking to discern the next step, the way forward, in a sometimes complex and confusing world.

Let us spend a quiet moment asking for what we need to face all life’s ups and downs. (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 208 (purple): ‘When Our Heart is in a Holy Place’

Let’s sing again now – our second hymn is number 208 in your purple books – an old favourite: ‘When Our Heart is in a Holy Place’. Hymn 208.  

When our heart is in a holy place,

when our heart is in a holy place,

we are blessed with love and amazing grace,

when our heart is in a holy place.

When we trust the wisdom in each of us,

ev’ry colour, ev’ry creed and kind,

and we see our faces in each other’s eyes,

then our heart is in a holy place.

When our heart is in a holy place,

when our heart is in a holy place,

we are blessed with love and amazing grace,

when our heart is in a holy place.

When we tell our story from deep inside,

and we listen with a loving mind,

and we hear our voice in each other’s words,

then our heart is in a holy place.

When our heart is in a holy place,

when our heart is in a holy place,

we are blessed with love and amazing grace,

when our heart is in a holy place.

When we share the silence of sacred space,

and the God of our heart stirs within,

and we feel the power of each other’s faith,

then our heart is in a holy place.

When our heart is in a holy place,

when our heart is in a holy place,

we are blessed with love and amazing grace,

when our heart is in a holy place.

When our heart is in a holy place.

Reading: Unitarian Universalist Views of the Sacred (Julia and Roy to read)

Perspectives on the sacred seem to be so particular to the individual – therefore it seems important for us to gather insights from a number of different voices – we’re going to share six brief excerpts from a pamphlet on ‘Unitarian Universalist Views of the Sacred’ which suggest varied ways of looking at this mysterious topic.

This is what Paul Rasor has to say: ‘Sacredness is a quality we attribute to a dimension of our lives we perceive as worthy of the highest respect and reverence. The sacred draws us out of ourselves. It is a vehicle through which we may experience ourselves in deeper relation with the divine. To hold something sacred is to name it as holy… it is a dimension of experience that opens us to the deeper connectedness that is always present.’

Patrick O’Neill, former minister at Rosslyn Hill, said: ‘There is something innate to human nature, something basic to our civilized sensibility that recognizes certain distinctions of worth in reality. And the name we have traditionally given to the highest of these is “the holy” or “the sacred.”… Even if no divinity exists, the relationship of all living things, each to the other and to the world which sustains us, is sacred. Whatever violates that relation violates the sacred. Whatever nourishes that relation increases it.’

Abhi Janamanchi has said: ‘The sacred is present and available to us wherever we look or are willing to find it. The sacred and the secular are two aspects of the same reality. God speaks to all of us all the time in that still, small voice. But because that is not the timbre we are expecting, we habitually ignore it… Our wholehearted attention to every gesture, every thought, every action sanctifies them… If we remain open and expectant—watching out of the corners of our eyes, keeping our ears cocked, putting away all preconceived ideas—our lives will emanate the sacred.’

Judith Meyer said: ‘Attitudes about the sacred are not entirely private; there is always a social aspect to them. It is not enough to care only about what I hold to be sacred. To enter the realm of the sacred… is to experience a sensibility that humankind has protected and cultivated for thousands of years. We all possess the instinct to set aside something as sacred, to cherish it, and to protect it with our whole selves. We must make room in our world for others to do the same, even when we do not agree. The sacred is something we share, a bond that is varied in its expression but fundamental to our humanity.’

James Ishmael Ford quotes the mystic Meister Eckhard’s words: “The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God’s eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love.” Ford continues: ‘Our senses perceive the parts of the world. If this particular knowing is simultaneously informed by a great sense of unity, it opens the possibility of divine knowing, of the sacred. This particular knowing, and acting from this knowing, is our great calling.’

And Victoria Safford said: ‘When I was nine or ten, I found a dead deer in the woods. I saw the flies feeding on her open eyes and felt the silky roughness of her coat, forgetting all those warnings to never, ever touch a dead animal, not even with a stick. A child is made for wonder, not for hygiene. I pressed my living hand against the stiff carcass, smelled the black blood, lifted up the heavy hooves. I thought about death and how deer run, how they stand among spring trees, glance up, and disappear. That afternoon I learned as much about the sacred as I did in all my later classes in theology. When I say sacred, I mean the architecture of this radiant creation, and whatever it reveals to us of beauty, truth, and love. It is the common, holy mystery of life and death. We are part of the cosmos, fragments of its holiness. In our relation to the whole— expressed as reverence, joy, gratitude, prayer, and among us as compassion—the sacred is made manifest. It is the larger love which transcends all our understanding.’

Words for Meditation: ‘The Sacred’ by Stephen Dunn  

Thanks Julia and Roy. We’re moving into a time of meditation now. To take us into stillness I’m going to share a short poem titled ‘The Sacred’ by Stephen Dunn (it’s on your hymn sheet and also on the website). This poem is a vignette describing a sacred place – a sacred moment – created in the middle of the apparently ordinary. And I guess I want to suggest that this might prompt you to reflect on your own sacred moments. How do you understand ‘The Sacred’ and what does it feel like to encounter the sacred in the midst of life? The poem will take us into a few minutes of shared silence which will end with the sound of a bell. And then we’ll hear some music for meditation from Holly and George. So let’s do what we need to do to get comfortable – adjust your position if you need to – perhaps put your feet flat on the floor to ground yourself – maybe close your eyes. As we always say, the words are just an offering, so feel free to use this time to meditate in your own way.

‘The Sacred’ by Stephen Dunn  

After the teacher asked if anyone had

a sacred place

and the students fidgeted and shrunk

in their chairs, the most serious of them all

said it was his car,

being in it alone, his tape deck playing

things he'd chosen, and others knew the truth

had been spoken

and began speaking about their rooms,

their hiding places, but the car kept coming

up, the car in motion,

music filling it, and sometimes one other person

who understood the bright altar of the dashboard

and how far away

a car could take him from the need

to speak, or to answer, the key

in having a key

and putting it in, and going.

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

Interlude: John Ireland – Songs Sacred and Profane: The Salley Gardens (performed by Holly Redshaw and George Ireland)

Mini-Reflection: ‘Sacred Attention’ by Dr. Lochlann Binney

What does the sacred mean to you? I have a few answers for what I've found or made sacred, some big, some small, and some objects I'll show you a little later on. What pulls them together is a kind of close attention - not necessarily a godly capital-P Presence, just, being present. Paying deep attention makes something holy: if a tree blooms in a wood and no one pays attention, it's definitely beautiful, but I'm not sure it's still sacred.

But what is it, that's sacred? An object, a moment, a memory, a place? At Heart and Soul Jane encourages us to bring ‘a candle, or some other sacred object’, and people bring all sorts: stuffed animals are popular, but people bring stones, cups, toys. Any of these can be sacred, if we imbue them with meaning and then use them to remind us of that meaning.

At the moment I'm setting up a pagan altar in my new flat, a space to keep sacred objects. I have a green, leaf-shaped plant pot a friend brought (with a succulent in) as a housewarming gift, which will become sacred when I set it on the shelf to represent earth, the North, the Tarot suit of pentacles. I haven't found the other three elements/directions/suits yet, but I will. I also have a fertility talisman made by a friend who briefly ran a business making Celtic charms - it represents Brigid and the feminine, so I'm also looking for a balancing masculine object. This week I bought a little shelf on Facebook marketplace which will at some point become this altar, once I paint it or stain it and hang it up - but I'm letting what it'll look like, and what I'll fill it with, emerge slowly and in its own time. Paying attention to what appears in front of me, being discerning. The slowness of this feels sacred, too, like I'm listening for what's right and not trying to force it.

The reason I want these objects is to create sacred moments. The objects aren't essential, of course: I find sacred moments in a breath of sweet spring air, or a tarot card that chimes with what's on my heart, or the traffic lights turning green as I approach, or a moment of silence between friends, or the hush of a church. Serendipity and quiet seem to link these things, as well as that slowing down or pause - maybe it requires an internal quiet and a real break from everyday life in order for us to pay the right kind of attention.

I've been trying to let in more sacred moments lately, more moments where, if you're that way inclined, you might think, yes, God is here; or you might feel briefly connected to a deep truth you can hold on to.

Truth itself is something I have increasingly held sacred in recent years. I realised that while I’ve always valued truth in an outward looking way, I hadn't been listening, slowing down and paying real, unprejudiced attention, to the internal. What does my body need, right now? What do I want to do next? This shift towards listening to myself more deeply has come out in big ways and small ones: the big things like changing my name have come from this process - I listened for the name that felt right, and trusted that knowing when it came. This change is sacred.

Equally, I have a tiny moment of sacred attention every time I choose what colour straw I want to put in my water glass. It's a frivolous, small thing, but every time I open the cupboard I make myself slow down, pause, tune in, open to what might be, really accept that it could be anything - maybe I don't want a straw at all - then notice what's truly there, and act on it. As small as this moment of choosing is, making it a regular practice is, I think, part of what has allowed me to use this sacred attention in bigger and more impactful ways.

This practice of making sacred by paying detailed, open attention to what's true, it feels a lot like conscience. I’m thinking a lot about the history of dissent and resistance right now: people who have refused to be swept up in what was going on around them before pausing, letting themselves consider what is really right, or even just really right for them, and then acting on that understanding - even if they were the only one; even if it brought them trouble.

I think we'd have a better world if we all created more sacred moments, helped with objects or not - more moments to pause, and listen. I think we need to let these sacred moments of attention shine through the canopy of daily routine and listen to where our hearts and our conscience really want to go - and follow them.

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

Thanks Lochlann. When I first started thinking about this theme as something we might want to explore in a service, I brought it up in conversation with a few friends, some of whom are religious types and others of whom are really not. At first, I was somewhat surprised to find that people seemed to struggle somewhat with the concept – what precisely does it mean, ‘The Sacred’? – but then as I tried to share my own sense of the sacred I realised… it’s quite a slippery idea. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised, given that we often talk of sacred things as being ineffable, somehow beyond our human ability to express in words, too profound to speak of. Still, we try to find a way.

I try not to do this too often, but I think this is one of those occasions when checking the dictionary definition is not a bad starting point, so here we go. Sacred (adjective): Connected with God or dedicated to a religious purpose and so deserving veneration; religious rather than secular; regarded with great respect and reverence by a particular religion, group, or individual; regarded as too valuable to be interfered with; sacrosanct. That’s what the dictionary says.  And it’s a close neighbour of ‘Holy’, of course, which is defined as: something that’s dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose; morally and spiritually excellent; pure and good; sacred.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed but when you Google a word, as well as giving you the definition, it often shows you a little graph that indicates how the usage of that word – in the sense of how frequently it is used in published works – changes over time. The use of ‘sacred’ has slumped since a high in the early 1800s, hitting a low around 1980, and picking up just a little in recent years. It does seem that the sacred a concept that not so many people have a natural connection to these days.

So I reached out to more people – some in the congregation or the wider church – some without any particular religious or spiritual leanings at all – to ask what the sacred means to them. And I asked it knowing that it’s not an easy question to answer. A few were just stumped. But the sheer range of things that came up in response from others is noteworthy. Someone spoke of their sense that the sacred infuses all things, but acknowledged that this sense of the sacred isn’t always easy to stay in touch with, day-to-day, so it’s something that they try to actively and consciously reconnect with. Others spoke of sacred objects which hold significant memories of special times, wrapped up with strong emotion, or poignancy. Some spoke of the sacred memories of loved ones who have died, and the places or traditions associated with them, or possessions which almost become sacred relics. Others recalled experiences of intimacy and deep connection which were too precious to speak of. Some recounted fleeting but precious encounters with wild animals, dazzling flowers, awe-inspiring landscapes. Still more spoke of the sacred power of unique and original works of art or music, particularly the collective – and deeply connecting – experience of such moments of beauty. Someone described a feeling of beauty and hope that wells up when singing inspiring hymns. And there was even a suggestion that some ideas and values are sacred because we collectively agree that they’re important at a societal level (the example they had in mind was democracy).  

There can be a great power in shared experiences of the sacred, when a community gathers round their sacred text, tradition, or ritual – not something we get to do so much as Unitarians, perhaps, as in other religious traditions – but this happens in non-religious contexts too (like Liverpool FC fans singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, for example, which gives me chills even though it’s not my team; possibly something similarly meaningful emerges among the devotees at a Taylor Swift concert too).

I am guessing that at least some of those perspectives will resonate with you – perhaps they’ll have prompted your own thoughts and feelings about different things that you find sacred – but each one of us is likely to have our own unique and particular focus at the centre of our private ‘holy of holies’.  In a sense, the quality of being sacred is a property that we, as individuals or collectively, can choose to endow things with (when I say ‘thing’ of course I don’t just mean material objects, but also activities, experiences, memories, places, ideas, and all the other stuff we just mentioned). We can choose to regard a thing with great respect and reverence, to elevate its meaning, to make it sacred. It is special to us – to an extra degree – and, for those of us who are so inclined, in a way that connects us to God. 

A phrase that came to mind when pondering this topic was: ‘is nothing sacred?’ That phrase tends to be said when something we previously considered to be sacred has been, somehow, desecrated. Something we thought was accepted beyond question as precious and inviolable has been slighted or dismissed. I suspect a few of us had this thought a couple of weeks ago when the news broke of police bursting into the Quaker Westminster Meeting House, breaking open the doors, and arresting people who were meeting to talk about climate action and peace in Gaza.  Paul Parker, the recording clerk for Quakers in Britain, described the raid as an ‘aggressive violation of our place of worship’. Such actions might offend our sense of the sacred on several levels – if we have a sense of places of worship as sanctuaries, protected and protective spaces, then it is shocking to see that boundary trashed and realise that these sacred spaces are no longer recognised and honoured – but more fundamentally we might see the rights to assemble and to protest as being sacred in themselves.    Or indeed many of the other basic human rights that are being dismissed and discarded worldwide.

There’s a natural human inclination to want to protect the things that are sacred to us – often we even instinctively hide them away – and we can be very cautious about who we share them with. These things that are so precious to us need to be handled with care. I particularly wanted to raise this idea of being sensitive to other people’s sacred stuff. Given what we’ve already said about how each of us have quite different senses of the sacred, such different and often unexpected things in our ‘holy of holies’, we need to be really careful to honour the precious stuff that means so much to others, in ways we might not fully appreciate or understand. It’s easy enough, if we’re a basically decent person, to know that it’s not OK to be disrespectful about someone’s religious tradition or practice, insofar as it’s not harming anybody else. That’s something that we collectively acknowledge is off-limits. But say someone shares with us about a personal sacred thing, something that’s very close to their heart, but which doesn’t hold that same special meaning for us. We might not even realise we’re on holy ground. There’s a risk of being irreverent, flippant, or rude about the thing they hold sacred, and causing hurt. And I would hope that most of us wouldn’t want to do that. We’d want to show respect. On this, in recent years, I’ve picked up the excellent phrase ‘don’t yuck somebody else’s yum’ as a rule for life.

I have two tiny examples of this sort of thing in everyday exchanges – they might seem trivial – but they are both occasions where a certain casual carelessness crept in and unnecessarily caused hurt. Some time ago, a friend told me that they’d just started a new job in an open-plan office space, and they’d brought just one personally significant item to keep on their desk to keep up morale. It was a sacred object, of sorts, in a modest way. And their boss came in and took the mickey out of this item. They needn’t have said anything about it at all – if they’d approached the item with curiosity rather than disdain it could’ve been an opportunity for sharing and connection – but instead it brought hurt and distance. Another example is my own – for me certain music is so sacred – so connected with my inner life, or my sense of meaning, or personally significant experiences,  that I can’t bear to listen to certain records when other people are around, for fear of some kind of intrusion on that tender and profound experience (that’s why I picked that poem for our meditation, with the young man whose sacred space was listening to tapes in the car at night, it really spoke to me, or at least my younger self). I remember a time when I shared some piece of music on social media, saying how much I loved the song, and someone rushed to comment underneath ‘it’s forgettable’.  She yucked my yum!  Except to use that phrase kind-of makes light of something that did genuinely hurt me in the moment. Those things that are sacred to us are, somehow, part of us, so no wonder we’re sensitive about them. It’s a reminder to be just a little more careful in how we handle and receive other people’s sacred things.

I sometimes say in services that ‘this is a space that we make sacred with our presence and intention’. And I think this connects with what Lochlann was saying about attention. We can intentionally imbue things with this sense of the sacred – we can cultivate an attitude of reverence – we can commit to the belief that things matter, they have value, they are deserving of our profound attention and care. Perhaps this is a quality that is somewhat lacking in the world at this moment in our history. Maybe if were more tuned in to the sacred in all things we might be less collectively destructive as a species.

So, in the coming days, I encourage you to turn your attention to the sacred. Open your awareness to those moments in which you can connect with God – or with your highest good, or deepest truth, or most profound sense of meaning. Seek those sacred moments, train yourself to spot them, and maybe you can take them as little cosmic nudges – reminders of what really matters most in life – moments to realign yourself with your own personal North Star and to live your best life now.  

I’ll close this reflection with some prayerful words based on some by Tamara Lebak:

We gather together to be reminded of the sacred in the ordinary.

The holy moments of waking yet again to a new day.

The feel of the precious earth beneath our feet.

The crisp cool sensation of the air on our skin.

The joy of being welcomed by our fellow travellers.

The warmth of this special place where we meet.

So help us this day to be fully present in our living, awake to each and every breath.

Remind us that Life is taking place in the in between as well as in our lofty goals.

Remind us that the detours and the details craft the path and make it our own.

And help us to remember that though we did not make this glorious day,

we have the freedom to greet each sacred moment as it unfolds. Amen.

Hymn (on sheet): ‘The Church Where Love Lives’

Let’s sing again. Our final hymn is on your hymn sheet: ‘The Church Where Love Lives’.

The church where love lives is a safe place for all

Where we gather in wonder to remember God’s call,

To embody God’s vision of kindness and care

With each song that we sing, with each protest and prayer.

On this sacred foundation of faith and of trust

We are building a world that is gentle and just.

We rejoice and repent, offer praise and forgive

And we welcome all people to the church where love lives.

The church where love lives draws the stranger inside,

Making neighbours of strangers, no neighbour denied,

Till there’s heaven on earth and God’s will has been done,

Till the whole of creation is restored to its home.

On this sacred foundation of faith and of trust

We are building a world that is gentle and just.

We rejoice and repent, offer praise and forgive

And we welcome all people to the church where love lives.

The church where love lives is preparing a feast

For the pained and rejected, for the lost and the least,

For the deeply afraid, for the truly ashamed.

Come and sit at our table. Love has called you by name.

On this sacred foundation of faith and of trust

We are building a world that is gentle and just.

We rejoice and repent, offer praise and forgive

And we welcome all people to the church where love lives.

Announcements:

Thanks to Jeannene for tech-hosting and Charlotte for co-hosting. Thanks to Lochlann for offering their own personal reflections on the theme. Thanks to Julia and Roy for reading. Thanks to Holly and George for lovely music today, and Benjie for supporting our singing. Thanks to Hannah for greeting and Julia for doing the coffee. For those of you who are here in-person – please do stay for a cuppa and cake – we’ve got pear and ginger cake today.  

Hannah is leading Community Yoga today so join her back in the church at 12.30 for that.

Tonight and Friday at 7pm we’ve got our ‘Heart and Soul’ online contemplative spiritual gathering – this week we’re considering ‘Unfinished Business’ – email me if you want to join us tonight and email Rita if you want to join on Friday (when I’m going to be away at the GA annual meetings). 

Community Singing is on this Wednesday, all being well, always great fun but we sometimes have last-minute changes of plan due to the busy life of our singing leader so if you’re interested in coming to that make sure you’re on my singing mailing list for last-minute updates.

Easter is fast approaching, on the 20th, and we’ll have a congregational lunch after the service that day so please let Liz know what food or drink you’re able to contribute to that.

We’ll be having our Membership Service and AGM on the 27th so please fill in your membership form to renew for this year and plan to be there on the day to support your committee.

This month’s Better World Book Club is on ‘The Life Inside’ by Andy West. All our loan copies have gone but if you are unable to get hold of one and you want to join please do let me know.

Next Sunday our service will be led by Patricia on the theme of ‘Borders’ so do show your support.   

Our own Heidi Ferid and Roy Clark are part of a group art exhibition, titled ‘Terrain’, to be held at Chelsea Town Hall. The exhibition opens tomorrow, and there is a private view on Wednesday from 6-8pm, pick up a flyer or check the Friday email for opening times and all the other information.

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.  Or why not take home a copy of our newsletter?

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.

Time for our closing words and closing music now.  

Benediction: based on words by George G. Brooks

May the love that gives to life its beauty,

the reverence that gives to life its sacredness,

and the purposes that give to life its deep significance

be strong within each of us and lead us into

ever deepening relationships with all of life.

And may that be so for the greater good of all. Amen.

Closing Music: Khachaturian – Dance of the Young Maidens (performed by Holly Redshaw and George Ireland)

Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall and Dr. Lochlann Binney

6th April 2025