You can also enjoy a Zoom version of this service at 11am on Sunday 21st June. If you wish to access the serivce the code is as follows: Meeting ID: 841 9082 8195
This is a recurring meeting so it will be the same code each week and for all future
Invocation
Let us join together in worship…Let us invite
a loving presence to be here amongst us and awaken within each and every one of
us…
Chalice Lighting
We have lit our chalice to mark the
commencement of worship…
May it bring light to our minds, wisdom to
our souls and warmth to our hearts:
Light to show us the Way, wisdom to walk it
truly, warmth to enfold our fellow pilgrims with compassion.
Hymn 176 (Green Hymn Book Come Together in Love (Come Together)
P.M.
O come
together in truth;
O come together in peace;
O come together in joy and sharing,
Come together in knowing and caring;
Come together,
O come together,
O come together in love.
O come together in peace;
O come together in joy and sharing,
Come together in knowing and caring;
Come together,
O come together,
O come together in love.
We come
together in search
Of new beginnings for all,
Where understanding and trust surround us—
Gone the hate and fear that bound us;
Come together,
O come together,
O come together in love.
Of new beginnings for all,
Where understanding and trust surround us—
Gone the hate and fear that bound us;
Come together,
O come together,
O come together in love.
[Dorothy
Grover]
Prayer
In a moment I will invite you to join
together in a time of prayer. These words of prayer are based on verses from
Mathew’s Gospel ch 10 v 6 and Luke’s Gospel ch 23 v 24. A verse that is central
the ethos of fellow Unitarians in Transylvania. “Wise as serpents and as
innocent as doves”
I invite you now to join together in a time
of prayer…
God of our hearts, in an imperfect world may
we go out as sheep among wolves;
As wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.
Help us to be trusting but not gullible,
open-hearted but not empty headed, ready to think the best but prepared for the
worst.
May we never become hardened against the
humanity of others, especially those who are themselves the victims of deceit
and exploitation;
Those who never learned the better way.
Help us to be kind, even as we stand firm
against the instruments of malice and evil, remembering always the prayer of
Jesus:
“Forgive them, for they not what they do.”
God of our hearts, in an imperfect world may
we go out as sheep among wolves;
As wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.
Amen
Lord’s Prayer
Story
“The Strangers
Gift”
There was
once a village that had fallen on very hard times. The villages had once been
very happy, and their community had been famous for its hospitality and
friendliness, and the warmth with which it welcomed strangers.
But something
had gone wrong in the village. People had begun to bicker with one another.
Quarrels broke out for no apparent reason. Rivalry sprang up where once there
had been friendship and trust. The chief of the village was very sad about
this. He knew that the people would never be happy like this, but he could do
nothing to restore the old times of harmony and peace. Strangers no longer
wanted to visit the village. The people stopped caring for it. The village was
falling into ruin.
But it
happened that one day a stranger came by. He approached the village like one
with a mission, as though he already knew what he would find there. And very
soon, he met the village chief. He recognised the sad expression in his eyes,
and the two were soon engaged in a serious conversation.
The village
chief told the stranger about his feelings of despair, and his fears that soon
the village would disintegrate. The stranger told the village chief that he
might know a way to redeem the lost village, and restore it to a real community
again.
“Tell me the
secret,” The village chief begged the stranger.
“The secret
is very simple,” the stranger said, by way of reply.
“The fact is,
one of the villagers is actually the Messiah”
The village
chief could hardly believe what he was hearing, yet the stranger had an air of
authority about him that was irrefutable.
The stranger
left, but the village chief couldn’t resist telling his closest friend what the
stranger had told him. Soon the rumour ran through the village like wildfire.
“One of us is
the Messiah! Can you believe it, somewhere, hidden among our number, the
messiah is living.!”
Now deep
down, the villagers were a godly folk who wanted things to be right in their
community. They thought that the Messiah himself might be living among them,
incognito, made them see things very differently. Could it be the baker? They
wondered. Or the postman? Or the old lady who breeds chickens and sells eggs?
Perhaps its old granny Riley, whom the children were in the habit of taunting
because of her scarred old face. The speculation went on and on.
But the
strange thing was that, after the stranger’s visit, things were never the same
again. People began to treat each other with reverence. They lived like people
who had a common purpose, and who were seeking for something very precious
together, never quite knowing whether the treasure was actually right in front
of them.
Before long,
visitors began to come to the village, just to be part of the happy, holy
atmosphere that prevailed there. The stranger never came back. He didn’t need
to.
Reading
“From
Humankind: A Hopeful History” by Rutger Bregman
“Come
out of the closet: don’t be ashamed to do good” Pg 395
“Modern
psychologists have discovered that when people do something out of the goodness
of their hearts, they often fabricate selfish motives. This is most prevalent
in individualistic Western cultures where veneer theory is most entrenched. And
it makes sense: if you assume most people are selfish, then any good deed is
inherently suspect. As one American psychologist
notes, “People seem loath to acknowledge that their behaviour may have been
motivated by genuine compassion or kindness.”
Don’t
get me wrong: inspiring others is not about flaunting your deeds, and
championing the good doesn’t mean blowing your own trumpet. In the Sermon on
the Mount, Jesus cautioned his disciples against the one, while he encouraged
the other: You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be
hidden. Nor do people light a light and put it under a basket, but on a stand,
and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine
before others, so that they may see your good works…”
2nd Hymn 151 (Green Hymn Book) Tune Monksgate 65. 65. 6665.
Be thou
my vision, O God of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art;
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art;
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
Be thou
my wisdom and thou my true word,
I ever with thee and thou with me, God;
Thou my soul's shelter, thou my high tower,
Raise thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
I ever with thee and thou with me, God;
Thou my soul's shelter, thou my high tower,
Raise thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches
I heed not, nor world's empty praise,
Thou my inheritance, thou and always;
thou and thou only, first in my heart,
Sovereign of heaven, my treasure thou art.
Thou my inheritance, thou and always;
thou and thou only, first in my heart,
Sovereign of heaven, my treasure thou art.
Sovereign
of heaven, my victory won;
May I reach heaven's joys O bright heaven's Sun.
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
May I reach heaven's joys O bright heaven's Sun.
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
[Selected
by Eleanor Henrietta Hull from a Gaelic source]
Sue’s Address
Don’t
be taken advantage of
Give
them an inch and they’ll have you
Don’t
be gullible
Look
after your own
Charity
begins at home
Lockdown.
Talk of bubbles.
My
fear in all this is that actually I have become a little preoccupied with me
and mine. Fear that recession is coming, worry how long this will go on,
smaller concerns that make me blush to admit when I think of others.
I
feel compassion and sympathy towards all those whose lives have been affected,
to those who have lost, been separated from, yearned for people they could not
physically be with.
But
what am I actually doing? What are you actually doing?
*****
No
act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
We
have that on the wall at home, front and centre.
I
believe it.
No
act of kindness, no matter how small is ever wasted.
**********
Isn’t
so much of the problem in perception?
Don’t
be SEEN to be a do-gooder. Don’t set yourself up as being superior,
That
old chestnut “who do you think you are?”
I’m
sure that is an insult in all cultures but in British society it seems
particularly divisive. That old sketch from The Fast Show with the clapped out
celebs saying:
“I do a lot of work for charity”
We
are encouraged to laugh as though to say it out loud strikes out the benefit.
I
didn’t get it then and I don’t now.
Is
the question really “Why am I ashamed to tell people I have done something
good” or is it
“Why
have I not done more?”
If
“One
good turn deserves another”
Who
does the first?
Are
we only inspired to kindness and compassion when we are in some way to be
rewarded for it further down the line.
To
live a ‘christian’ (with a small c) life is to practice kindness, benevolence.
To give to others less fortunate than ourselves. To give time, put ourselves
out for others and the greater good.
Are
we only able to do this from a position of having enough ourselves?
Any
feeling of lack on our part seems to disturb this instinct to give.
If
there is a perception of too few school places, a groaning health service, lack
of money for social upkeep - this is easily taken advantage of by those who
wish to demonise the other (so often the immigrant, or those ‘different’ to the
majority)
Are
we not then truly responsible for establishing that we feel we have enough in
order for our cup to overfloweth and therefore this abundance to flow forth
towards others with less. “I would like to give to charity but I don’t have
enough myself at the moment”
This
can’t be down to monetary levels or creature comforts. We can always want more
there, we will always want.
Can
we be settled in our spirit that we have enough, we are enough and therefore
not be constantly battling to keep something or get something.
*************
Growing
up there were two particular examples I remember as role models of altruism.
My
godmother. She and my godfather lived “up the hill” in Hale (ie rather than
having just a big house they had an enormous house). She would dedicate some of
her spare time in the week to prison visiting at Styal Women’s Prison. This was
fodder at home for criticism. My mum would question how any ‘poor’ inmate might
receive any comfort from a visit from ‘Lady Bountiful’. What would they have to
talk about? It obviously made my mum extremely uncomfortable to consider it,
she assumed that this well spoken ‘do-gooder’ would be seen as patronising. And
did Tessa have to talk about this kindness that she did? That was the really
distasteful part.
My
best friend’s mum ‘Mrs T’ another angel for me to witness. She was forever
cooking mince or baking. I would so often arrive at the house to her leaving
with a basket (yes, proper old fashioned basket) over her arm, filled with
tasty uplift for someone in need. Whether it be 100 cupcakes for a children’s
party because the parents were poorly or the hundreds of cottage pies over the
years - the dish that arrives at all times of distress or fatigue, all
encompassing cottage pie for births, deaths and upset. She was (and still is) a
wonderfully kind lady.
She
was deemed by my own mother as being “a bit Christian”
To
be seen as a ‘do-gooder’ in the home where I grew up could often be synonymous
with God-botherer (God forbid)
My
mum resisted the pull of the church except in times when she truly felt lost
when she would run to it.
Don’t
get me wrong here. Both my parents were generous-spirited folk, happy to help
if they could. Bill and Carole were people who would be asked to lend things,
give time, sought for advice. As role models go my mum is right up there in my
witnessing her help of others.
As
she berated someone else for their public ‘good doing’, she might do it from
her own kitchen where she would be baking, cooking cottage pies and sitting on
the phone for hours to friends in need. Accompanying cleaners, builders, the
woman from the post office to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau. She hated to see
anyone being taken advantage of and a particular bug bear were the local au
pairs who needed representing.
In
the same breath she would be bringing down the “lazy Hale mothers” as she
instructed her own cleaner to “have a good go at the top bathroom please”
Dad
mischievously labelled her a ‘Champagne Socialist’ as though she would find
this insulting. As a girl born just after the war, raised in a single parent
family in inner city Birmingham, my mum knew poverty and she knew the comfortable
life she went on to live. She was a proud ‘Champagne Socialist’ though would
happily use the expression herself to cut someone else down to size.
Hahaha.
We are complex we humans.
***********
Are
we really selfish and brutish by nature with a thin veneer of nice?
A
book on the shelf as i grew up in the 70s was Desmond Morris’s ‘The Naked Ape’.
Now, if I’m honest, it caught my eye as a child because it had a row of bare
bottoms on the cover. Eventually as a teenager I became sufficiently intrigued
to browse through the contents. I think it is one of the texts that led me to
study Sociology at university. I have a lot of time still for the idea that we
are primates with some social skills necessitated by the situations we inhabit.
There
is a great chapter entitled “Grooming” which draws parallels between the lip
smacking and picking over of each other performed by apes and humans. Yes,
people developed language to assist in our complex communications but you can
still observe us humans ‘grooming’ each other.
Acts
of kindness, being kind and doing good are necessary for the ongoing smooth
living of any tribe or pack.
I’m
going to leave the ape analogy because we have to bring in human intellect and
evolution. It is too convenient and tidy to see each other as base natures.
We
are more than creatures looking for food, mates and establishing territory to
be protected. Aren’t we?
In
writing that sentence I am questioning it.
No,
surely we are complex and complicated both as human individuals, in our
particularly families or tribes and as a global population.
If
we assume that people are selfish and that their individual narcissism really
only stretches to include those nearest and most important to them we come to
expect an isolationist approach to life. The prophesy fulfils itself, the
blinkers are on and it’s full on ‘me and mine’ and ‘you and yours’.
********
I
am at my most kind and compassionate when I appreciate all that I have and all
that I am.
I
have to practice this.
It
is worth it.
Spiritual
contentment has nothing to do with the financials. If I am loved, have shelter
and food, I have enough.
Maybe
we are not so far from being the Naked Ape after all?
Acts
of kindness and consideration for individual comfort both for the receiver and
the giver add to the common good. A group of apes know this, do we?
Meditation
I invite us to join together in time of quiet
reflection, meditation and contemplation, a time if you wish for personal
prayer…a personal time, a private time but a time that we share together as a
worshipping congregation…
Let us quieten our thoughts, still our minds,
connect to our bodies, to our breathing, let us be still and silent together…
Silence (5 minutes)
Amen
Music for meditation (Of your own choice)
Hymn 148 (Purple) “Spirit of Life, come unto me” Carolyn
McDade
Spirit of Life, come unto me.
Sing in my heart all the stirrings of compassion.
Blow in the wind, rise in the sea;
Move in the hand, giving life the shape of justice.
Roots hold me close; wings set me free;
Spirit of Life, come to me, come to me.
Sing in my heart all the stirrings of compassion.
Blow in the wind, rise in the sea;
Move in the hand, giving life the shape of justice.
Roots hold me close; wings set me free;
Spirit of Life, come to me, come to me.
Spirit of Life, come unto me.
Sing in my heart all the stirrings of compassion.
Blow in the wind, rise in the sea;
Move in the hand, giving life the shape of justice.
Roots hold me close; wings set me free;
Spirit of Life, come to me, come to me.
Sing in my heart all the stirrings of compassion.
Blow in the wind, rise in the sea;
Move in the hand, giving life the shape of justice.
Roots hold me close; wings set me free;
Spirit of Life, come to me, come to me.
Reading
Thich Nhat Hanh
“The Good News”
They
don't publish
the
good news.
The
good news is published
by
us.
We
have a special edition every moment,
and
we need you to read it.
The
good news is that you are alive,
and
the linden tree is still there,
standing
firm in the harsh Winter.
The
good news is that you have wonderful eyes
to
touch the blue sky.
The
good news is that your child is there before you,
and
your arms are available:
hugging
is possible.
They
only print what is wrong.
Look
at each of our special editions.
We
always offer the things that are not wrong.
We
want you to benefit from them
and
help protect them.
The
dandelion is there by the sidewalk,
smiling
its wondrous smile,
singing
the song of eternity.
Listen!
You have ears that can hear it.
Bow
your head.
Listen
to it.
Leave
behind the world of sorrow
and
preoccupation
and
get free.
The
latest good news
is
that you can do it.
Address
They don’t publish
the good news, well rarely. It seems that the only news we get these days tell
us how wrong we are, how terrible we are, how selfish we are, how we cannot
trust anyone. When was the last time you read a headline praising our humanity?
All we hear about is how bad and wrong we all are. I find this rather sad,
because as I walk and talk and observe folk, that is not all I see. Most folk,
when they see another in trouble, will do what they can to help and yet we are
told that you can’t trust anybody these days and if a person does anything to
help anyone that you can’t trust their motives. If you tell someone of the good
that you do, then your motives will be doubly questioned. Why are we so cynical
about ourselves and each other? Cynicism is a disease. Kindness is a word that is
often scoffed at. How often are the so called “do-gooders” in the world seen as
foolish? Actually worse than this, they are viewed with suspicion as someone
whose motives ought not to be trusted.
It does not have to be like this. We do not have to live in the cynic’s nightmare. If you look around you and look carefully, paying attention with an open heart you will become aware of kindness all around. Our task is, I believe, to be both open to it and to allow it to radiate from our being. We need to come out of the closet, about the good we do. It will encourage others to do the same.
“May we be filled with loving kindness, may we be well.”
Now the cynic’s will say I’m merely a dreamer, but I know I am not the only one.
Anita Roddick, the founder of the Body Shop, was one of them. She often spoke of her belief in human kindness and the need to develop it as a spiritual practice, something she saw as the essence of all the great religious traditions of the world. In her book "A Revolution in Kindness” she wrote:
"To me, kindness is one of the most important words in the English language. It's enormously resonant and life-enhancing. And yet, over the past generation or so, it has begun to disappear from polite discourse. It's considered insipid, almost embarrassing. People are not praised for their kindness anymore. It is often viewed as something sanctimonious, patronizing and unrealistic — as if being kind somehow ignores the basic causes of a problem in the first place. Kindness carries with it implications of noblesse oblige, even snobbery . . .
It does not have to be like this. We do not have to live in the cynic’s nightmare. If you look around you and look carefully, paying attention with an open heart you will become aware of kindness all around. Our task is, I believe, to be both open to it and to allow it to radiate from our being. We need to come out of the closet, about the good we do. It will encourage others to do the same.
“May we be filled with loving kindness, may we be well.”
Now the cynic’s will say I’m merely a dreamer, but I know I am not the only one.
Anita Roddick, the founder of the Body Shop, was one of them. She often spoke of her belief in human kindness and the need to develop it as a spiritual practice, something she saw as the essence of all the great religious traditions of the world. In her book "A Revolution in Kindness” she wrote:
"To me, kindness is one of the most important words in the English language. It's enormously resonant and life-enhancing. And yet, over the past generation or so, it has begun to disappear from polite discourse. It's considered insipid, almost embarrassing. People are not praised for their kindness anymore. It is often viewed as something sanctimonious, patronizing and unrealistic — as if being kind somehow ignores the basic causes of a problem in the first place. Kindness carries with it implications of noblesse oblige, even snobbery . . .
Kindness is lumped
along with “nice” as unrealistic and not possessing the power to bring about
real change in the world, that it is simplistic, syrupy and worse still
cowardly. Roddick though suggested the opposite claiming that kindness required
real courage as it goes against the grain of the times and does bring about
change on a very human level. She further stated that “…kindness doesn't have
to be insipid or random to be effective. Far from it: deliberate kindness can
be fierce, tenacious, unexpected, unconditional and sometime positively
revolutionary…These qualities give kindness its power to create change, to make
things happen. And in a period of human history in which we are obsessed with
change — personal or political — and are unsure whether it is possible at all,
kindness could be our salvation."
Could Kindness be our salvation. Could we actually bring about “The Kin-dom of Love” right here, right now?
We have often heard it said that “Love makes the world go round”, well actually perhaps what really makes the world go round is kindness. To quote Forrest church on this “..it's a purer virtue. When you're kind to a taxi driver or check-out person, you expect nothing in return. And yet, if you make kindness a habit, others may find it contagious.” Church saw “kindness” as the purest virtue and the purest form of love, which he equated with agape love, self-giving love, the love spoken of in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians chapter 13 and those immortal words. “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
Could Kindness be our salvation. Could we actually bring about “The Kin-dom of Love” right here, right now?
We have often heard it said that “Love makes the world go round”, well actually perhaps what really makes the world go round is kindness. To quote Forrest church on this “..it's a purer virtue. When you're kind to a taxi driver or check-out person, you expect nothing in return. And yet, if you make kindness a habit, others may find it contagious.” Church saw “kindness” as the purest virtue and the purest form of love, which he equated with agape love, self-giving love, the love spoken of in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians chapter 13 and those immortal words. “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
Earlier we heard an
extract from Rutger Bregman’s wonderful book “Human kind: A Hopeful History” Here
he is suggesting that we “Come out of the closet: don’t be ashamed to do good”
Now this probably
sounds a little shocking as it seems to go against the grain of what we are
taught to do, to keep quiet about the good we do. We need though to let our light
shine, so that people see another example of our humanity other than what we
hear and read about on the news.
As Bregman
highlights
“Unfortunately,
this reticence works like a nocebo. When you disguise yourself as an egoist,
you reinforce other people’s cynical assumptions about human nature. Worse by
cloaking your good deeds, you place them in quarantine, where they can’t serve
as an example for others. And that’s a shame, because Homo puppy’s secret
superpower is that we’re so great at copying one another.”
Bregman suggest
that we “come out” about our generosity as an example to others, to encourage
them to do the same. To counteract the narrative of so called human
selfishness. That it is our nature to learn, to almost copy and mimic others,
we like to fit in. therefore if we teach a frightening and scary and
untrustworthy nature then this will be mimicked in others, thus creating a
nocebo effect.
It is time to come
out of the closet about who we, to stop hiding our light. To stop suppressing
our humanity. To recognise the instincts that are a part of our humanity. Yes,
we are capable of hideous and heinous things. We only have to pick up any daily
newspaper to see evidence of this, but this is not all we are. We only hear the
bad news about everything. We need to become the good news, the news the world
needs to hear. Let’s start talking about the good we do and the good that is
done for us. Let’s tell a different story for the world to hear. Let’s
acknowledge our altruism, that the good we do is motivated by genuine
compassion and kindness. Let’s stop fabricating selfish motives, when there
aren’t any. Let’s become true Homo puppy’s and encourage others to use
their secret superpower’s. Let’s show one another the better example. In so
doing you will not be flaunting your deeds, or blowing your own trumpet, what
you will doing is encouraging others to let their little lights shine. In so
doing we will be encouraging one another to become the light of the world.
Let’s begin to build the kin-dom of love right here right now, let’s share good
news, cos the world really needs to hear it.
Amen
Hymn 201 (Purple) “What shall we
say to them” words Peter Sampson Music Diademata S.M.D. by George J Elvey
What shall we say to them
when they all want to know
that god is in the world and feels
their inmost secrets glow?
We all must say to them
what we all know for sure
that there’s a kindness in the world
which ever shall endure.
What shall we do for them
when they are in distress
and anguish burns within their hearts
for which we seek redress?
We all must help them live
with confidence and trust
that if we hold fast to the truth
love lights sup even dust.
What is our vision bright
which we must show the world;
how perfect love can cast our fear
and life’s flag be unfurled?
We may not give up hope;
we will not give up love.
Our lives are grounded in the faith,
in one God we all move.
Benediction
God of our hearts, bless us as we part. Be
with us as we face the quandaries, fears, and puzzles of the coming days. Send
your peace amongst us, and through our troubled world…
And may we carry that love with us…as we
reach out our hands…in all that we feel, all that we think, all that we say and
all that we do…
Amen
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