Prelude Clouds by Elizabeth Harley
Opening Words
In this time of continuing insecurity and social upheaval,
When most of us are unable to meet in person,
I invite you into this time of online worship.
For this short space of time,
Let us put our worldly cares aside,
Close our eyes and imagine ourselves
To be in our places of worship,
Surrounded by members of our beloved community,
And be together, if only virtually,
For this one hour.
Chalice Lighting (you may wish to light a candle in your own home at this point. I will be lighting my chalice for worship at 11.00 am on Sunday morning) words by Cliff Reed (adapted)
As the true prophets of God have always told us,
the Divine will is for mercy and compassion,
love and justice.
May we, and all true worshippers of the one true God,
never suppose that vengeance and cruelty,
hatred and murder, serve the Divine purpose.
In the spirit of human solidarity and oneness,
we light our chalice flame,
we join in worship.
Opening Prayer
Spirit of Life and Love,
Be with us as we gather for worship,
each in their own place.
Help us to feel a sense of community,
even though we are physically apart.
Help us to care for each other,
in this difficult time of lockdown,
keeping in touch however we can,
and helping each other,
however we may.
We hold in our hearts
the brave and dedicated staff of the NHS,
and other key workers,
who are carrying on in impossible conditions,
and all those
whose lives have been touched,
in whatever way,
by painful events, in their lives,
and in the wider world,
of which we are all a part.
Amen
Reading from Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope by Brian D. McLaren, quoted by Richard Rohr in Daily Meditation, 11th January 2021
Brian says a framing story “gives people direction, values, vision, and inspiration by providing a framework for their lives. It tells them who they are, where they come from, where they are, what’s going on, where things are going, and what they should do.” While we all have stories that answer those questions on a personal level, a “framing story” dictates the general beliefs of a culture, nation, religion, and even humanity as a whole.
Brian writes convincingly that “our growing list of global crises, together with our inability to address them effectively, gives us strong evidence that our world’s dominant framing story is failing.” He reflects:
“If it [our framing story] tells us that the purpose of life is for individuals or nations to accumulate an abundance of possessions and to experience the maximum amount of pleasure during the maximum number of minutes of our short lives, then we will have little reason to manage our consumption. If our framing story tells us that we are in life-and-death competition with each other . . . then we will have little reason to seek reconciliation and collaboration and nonviolent resolutions to our conflicts…
But if our framing story tells us that we are free and responsible creatures in a creation made by a good, wise, and loving God, and that our Creator wants us to pursue virtue, collaboration, peace, and mutual care for one another and all living creatures, and that our lives can have profound meaning if we align ourselves with God’s wisdom, character, and dreams for us . . . then our society will take a radically different direction, and our world will become a very different place.”
Alternative Lord’s Prayer
Spirit of Life and Love, here and everywhere,
May we be aware of your presence in our lives.
May our world be blessed.
May our daily needs be met,
And may our shortcomings be forgiven,
As we forgive those of others.
Give us the strength to resist wrong-doing,
The inspiration and guidance to do right,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
We are your hands in the world; help us to grow.
May we have compassion for all living beings,
And receive whatever life brings,
With courage and trust. Amen
Reading from Clutter by Penny Johnson, from With Heart and Mind
‘Come as the wind; sweep clean away what dead within us lies, and search and freshen all our souls with living energies’ – which is the last verse of the hymn, Spirit divine, attend our prayer, by Rev Andrew Reed.
When I sing these words, I think of ‘clutter’. It is difficult to get rid of clutter, because it is so much a part of us that we rarely realise it is there. Clutter can be seen in our own libraries. Have you got books on your selves that you could do without? When did you last read most of them? Clutter can be found in our homes (our china cabinets and cupboards hold much that we could do without). No, not so? Not true for you? Look again.
What do we hold on to that is really precious? Is some of the clutter build-up over the years masking the pearl of great price, which cannot shine as brightly as it should because it is cluttered by the rubbish of the past? We must answer that question individually. Are we afraid to let go of the past in case we should ever need it? Hanging on to all of our past is quite a temptation. It is safe and comfortable. But why not review our nick-nacks? Do others have more need of them than we do? Can our clutter help our charity shops, bring and buy sales, money-raising efforts? Our no-longer-needed past is other people’s much-needed future.
Prayer Lighten our steps by Cliff Reed, from Sacred Earth
God of our hearts,
lighten our steps as we walk upon the earth.
Help us to read your book of life in the lilies
of the field, as Jesus did.
Teach us new ways to live,
that our cities may be safe and beautiful,
our countryside bountiful and green to
nourish our bodies and our souls.
In the tragedies and disasters we blame on nature,
show us how often it is our folly and injustice
that cause them or make them worse.
Give us the wisdom and compassion for which
our struggling world hungers and thirsts.
Remind us that we all need them – not just our rulers
and other people, but each one of us.
God of our hearts,
enlighten our spirits as we walk upon the earth.
We ask this in the name of all who have made
your Spirit theirs.
Amen.
Reading from Clutter by Penny Johnson, from With Heart and Mind
The past is always with us. So is the light, if it can find a gap to get through!
It is not only our possessions, but also our beliefs and our lives that deserve our attention. What religious beliefs are we holding on to that are useless to us? Do our experiences and our beliefs hang together, or are we lazily still accepting other people’s views which we have not been quite brave enough to drop? When are we going to explore beliefs and live more bravely? When are we going to think for ourselves?
We should not be weighed down by the clutter of the past, but review it, dismiss as much of it as we feel able, and march into the future with a lightness of heart. Life moves on, and so do we. Let us start today.
Hold on, or move on? Be weighed down by all that we have, or make some changes? What real effort do we need to make? Simple really. Make a choice. Be in control of the past, not allow the past to control us.
Clutter can drag us down. Let us free ourselves of unwanted baggage and be lifted into the future, with fresh insights for life today.
Time of Stillness and Reflection words by Geoffrey Usher, from With Heart and Mind 2 (adapted)
God of the simple life, we withdraw
from the noise and confusion of the world around us,
and seek the stillness at the heart of life.
Help us to put aside the many distractions
that clamour for our attention:
the concern with getting and spending,
rather than listening and reflecting,
the accumulation of material goods,
rather than spiritual insight,
the assumption that wealth of possessions
will satisfy all our needs.
Help us to clear away the confusion of our daily lives,
and to focus on what is truly important,
not only for our physical needs but also for our spiritual welfare.
Help us to be satisfied with enough,
and not always to crave more.
[silence]
May we be grateful for the abundance of good gifts
that are available to us,
but may we not be wasteful.
May we build right relationships with our families,
with our neighbours and friends,
with you,
and with ourselves.
Amen
Musical Interlude A Welsh Wedding by Elizabeth Harley
Address Choosing Our Framing Story
Two things were brought to my attention this morning (Monday, when I was writing this address): first, that it was the 330th anniversary of the death of George Fox, founder of the Religious Society of Friends, now better known as the Quakers, on 13th January. Second, Brian McLaren’s idea that we can choose our “framing story”, which “gives people direction, values, vision, and inspiration by providing a framework for their lives. It tells them who they are, where they come from, where they are, what’s going on, where things are going, and what they should do.”
This framing story not only works for individuals, but can also, as Richard Rohr comments, “dictate the general beliefs of a culture, nation, religion, and even humanity as a whole.” The second and third readings, by Rev Penny Johnson, show us what can happen if we become too much attached to what McLaren calls “our world’s dominant framing story” – caring only to accumulate more and more possessions, and exploiting the earth on which we live. She warns us that if we cling on to material things, and are unable to let go of the past, it can lead to us “masking the pearl of great price [in our lives], which cannot shine as brightly as it should because it is cluttered by the rubbish of the past.”
For me, this fits in with commemorating the death of George Fox, because the Quakers are very clear about the dangers of not being clear about the “direction, values, vision, and inspiration” we choose to provide a framework for our lives. Their ‘little red book’, Advices and Queries, challenges Quakers (and all readers of it) to deeply consider the values we espouse and the direction we choose for our living. For example, no. 7 says, “Be aware of the spirit of God at work in the ordinary activities and experience of your daily life… Do you approach new ideas with discernment?” No. 33 asks us to “bear witness to the humanity of all people, including those who break society’s conventions or its laws,” and asks, “Are you working to bring about a just and compassionate society which allows everyone to develop their capacities?” No. 37 asks, “Are you honest and truthful in all you say and do? Do you maintain strict integrity in business transactions and in your dealings with individuals and organisations?”
The last two advices are two of my favourites. No. 41 says, “Try to live simply. A simple lifestyle freely chosen is a source of strength… Do you keep yourself informed about the effects your style of living is having on the global economy and environment?” and no. 42 reminds us that, “we do not own the world, and its riches are not ours to dispose of at will,” and asks us to have consideration and respect for other forms of life. Between them, the 42 advices are what I would choose as my “framing story.”
In his book, Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope, McLaren explains that there are two very different ways of building up a framing story: “If it tells us that the purpose of life is for individuals or nations to accumulate an abundance of possessions and to experience the maximum amount of pleasure during the maximum number of minutes of our short lives, then we will have little reason to manage our consumption. If our framing story tells us that we are in life-and-death competition with each other . . . then we will have little reason to seek reconciliation and collaboration and nonviolent resolutions to our conflicts…
But if our framing story tells us that we are free and responsible creatures in a creation made by a good, wise, and loving God, and that our Creator wants us to pursue virtue, collaboration, peace, and mutual care for one another and all living creatures, and that our lives can have profound meaning if we align ourselves with God’s wisdom, character, and dreams for us . . . then our society will take a radically different direction, and our world will become a very different place.”
It is undoubtedly easier to go with the flow of our current society’s mores, and concentrate on Number One, making sure we (and perhaps our nearest and dearest) have plenty of “stuff” and that our lives are as pleasurable as possible. And the devil take the hindmost. It is far more challenging to see ourselves as tiny individual cogs in an enormous wheel, all interdependent, all needing care and consideration. More challenging to “pursue virtue, collaboration, peace and mutual care for one another and all living creatures.”
In the lovely words of our Time of Stillness and Reflection, by Geoffrey Usher, he pleads for the “God of the simple life” to “Help us to put aside the many distractions that clamour for our attention: the concern with getting and spending, rather than listening and reflecting, the accumulation of material goods, rather than spiritual insight, the assumption that wealth of possessions will satisfy all our needs.”
Let’s say we co choose to re-frame our framing story. How can we achieve this? Being aware that we have a choice is an important part of it, I think. That we don’t just blindly have to “keep up with the Jones’s” but can choose our own path. We are all thinking beings, we can all choose to live our lives in consonance with our best values. But it is not an easy way to live. It is not a one-off decision that we can make. Yes, choosing to live our lives following the best that we know is (or can be) a one-off choice. But keeping on making the right choices, day in, day out, when we are feeling tired and stressed as well as when we are feeling well and rested, is much more difficult. It takes a conscious awareness of ourselves and our actions in relation to the world as a whole, so that we choose to “lighten our steps as we walk upon the earth” as Cliff Reed suggests.
But if we are serious about our responsibilities to the planet that bore us, and to the next generations, we need to critically consider what impact our current lifestyles are having on, well, everything. My husband and I were watching the latest David Attenborough programme last night, The Perfect Planet. He commented that if all the energy released by volcanoes, together with wind and solar power, was utilised properly, we would no longer have to use gas and coal for light and warmth. And that is just one example. On a smaller scale, there are things that each of us could do, if we really wish to reframe the world story, stop being irresponsible consumers, and turn our backs on conflict and competition as be-all and end-alls. We can choose to live our values, rather than just trumpeting them. Maybe that way, as Brian McLaren suggests, we can change the framing story in our society to one that asks us to live in a spirit of collaboration, peace and mutual care for one another and all living creatures. So that “our society will take a radically different direction and our world will become a very different place.”
In the 17th century, George Fox taught of the Light within us all and founded the Religious Society of Friends. In our 21st century, can we find that Light again and choose to live by it? I believe that with the help of like-minded, like-hearted friends, we can. So that, as George Fox recommended in 1656, we may, “Be patterns, be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations, wherever you come, that your carriage and life may preach among all sorts of people, and to them; then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone.”
May it be so.
Closing Words
Our time together is drawing to a close.
May we return to our everyday world refreshed,
May we share the love we feel,
And do the work that is ours to do,
In consonance with our core values.
May we look out for each other,
And may we keep up our hearts,
Now and in the days to come,
Amen
Postlude Lady of Lewesdon Hill by Elizabeth Harley