Prelude Chanson de Matin by Edward Elgar
Opening Words by Cliff Reed
We gather to share
Our faith in the spirit of freedom,
Our doubts in the spirit of honesty.
We gather to focus
our love in prayer,
To send it to those
who suffer and grieve –
In our own community
And in the wider world.
We gather to strengthen
The good that is in us,
That goodness may be
Stronger on the earth.
We gather to worship.
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
We kindle a light against the darkness.
We affirm hope against despair.
We invoke love against indifference.
Living Spirit,
healer, comforter,
come among us,
enflame our souls
as we meet in your name.
Opening Prayer
Spirit of Life and Love,
Be with us as we gather for worship,
Each in our 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 world in which Covid has not yet gone away,
And the clouds of war and climate change overshadow us.
May we keep in touch however we can,
And help each other,
However we may.
Help us to be grateful for the freedoms we have
and to respect the wishes of others.
May we hold in our hearts all those
Who are grieving, lost, alone,
Suffering in any way,
Amen
Reading Do Unitarians mix religion with politics? From Unitarian? What’s that? by Cliff Reed
Unitarians tend to see their faith in this-worldly terms. This means that we see the spiritual sphere as inextricably linked with the ordering of human affairs. Our religion is in constant dialogue with the world as it is, and thus with the political and social issues of the day….
Inasmuch as these matters are political in the broadest sense, then Unitarians do mix religion with politics. This means, for some, active involvement in campaigns, marches, and demonstrations. It may mean lobbying politicians and making legislators aware of Unitarian concerns in particular areas of policy. It means using one’s democratic rights responsibly and purposefully for the common good. It means focusing on political and social issues in worship in order to explore their spiritual implications.
Unitarians are interested in the whole range of challenges facing our society and our world. We believe that our liberal religious ethos, our affirmation of human dignity, and our one-world vision have something valuable to offer in this regard.
However, although many Unitarians are active in the social and political sphere, as a movement we are not aligned with any political party or single-issue political organisation. Unitarians can be found across the whole spectrum of democratic political parties, sometimes as dedicated activists. They can also be found in all manner of groups campaigning on humanitarian and environmental issues.
As a movement, Unitarians are religious, not political, but our religion has political implications, and our politics have a spiritual foundation.
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 Politics and religion should be influenced by each other from Unitarians Together in Diversity by Sue Woolley
Many respondents believed that politics and faith are influenced by each other. One stated firmly: “I am a political person and have been for most of my life…. My politics and my faith are influenced by each other, and both are very important to me.” Another believed: “The two are inseparable, but it must always be kept in mind that there is no such thing as absolute certainty in either.” [A third] said: “My faith informs my daily living, therefore all aspects of my life. My faith therefore informs my political choices. It would be wrong to ask those in politics to do otherwise. This is at a personal level. In government, all voices should be heard, and a democratic process duly observed.”
Others saw a clear link between people’s morality and ethics and their political decision making: “Ethics should influence politics, but they need not stem from religion.” Another agreed, writing: “Religious views should not influence politics. Shared moral values should.” But a third commented: “Our nature as spiritual beings means we will inevitably be shaped by questions of morality in our decision-making.”
Prayer Unanswered Prayer from Carnival of Lamps by Cliff Reed
O God, who doesn’t seem to answer prayer,
who leaves the hungry to starve, the poor to die,
the oppressed to suffer, and the wars to rage,
why don’t you answer prayer, if you’re there at all?
But maybe that’s the wrong question.
Rather, why don’t we, humanity, answer prayer?
Why do we leave the hungry to starve,
when there is food enough to feed them
and the means to grow more?
Why do we leave the poor to die
when there are resources enough
to heal the sick, clothe the naked,
and shelter the houseless?
Why do we leave the oppressed to suffer
for want of liberation, and wars to rage,
when we could stop them if the will for peace
ruled our counsels?
O God who can only answer prayer
with human hands, human courage,
and human caring, stir us to the love
that feeds the hungry and heals the sick,
strikes down oppression, frees the slaves…
You are the will for peace with justice.
You are the love that reaches out to us
from others in our need.
God of our inmost hearts,
who calls us to see you there,
may we find you and so become
your loving presence in this
suffering world.
Amen
Reading Politics and religion should not be influenced by each other from Unitarians Together in Diversity by Sue Woolley
Some respondents were more cautious about the influence of religious views on politics. One gave an example: “We must be careful here. What about religion influencing decisions about sexuality, abortion, women’s rights? What about the benefits cap for a woman who has two children, is then raped and becomes pregnant, decides not to have an abortion and then is denied child benefit for the third child she brings up?” Another commented: “Organised creedal religions have exerted a baleful influence in the past of our own country and continue to do so in others round the world.”
A third wrote: “I decided not to tick ‘should influence politics at all levels’ because of course some people attribute really hateful views to their religious teachings, and it appals me when these are used for justification of oppressive politics.”
Time of Stillness and Reflection Golden Threads by Andrew Hill (adapted)
We gather the golden threads of life and weave from them a rich tapestry:
The golden thread of common, everyday human life, speckled with small, unidentifiable little decencies;
The golden thread of human pain, and human pleasure, from which together each human biography is writ;
The golden thread of vision, and example set by known and unknown prophets, saviours and good Samaritans;
The golden thread of communal sorrow and public despair transformed by Easter resurgence, Passover liberations and the resurrection of crucified human spirits;
The golden thread of broken promises mended, held slaves freed, captive people liberated, exiled friends returned;
The golden thread of hope, and life, which shines despite social cold, political darkness and autocratic power;
The golden thread of many-splendored life – spider, human, and lion, fish, plant and toad;
The golden thread of human families when the generations sensitively appreciate their roles and times;
The golden thread of literature, art and music – Job, Beethoven, Hamlet, Renoir, Burns and ‘Greek Thompson’;
The golden thread of wonder, increased human understanding, walking hand in hand with a greater sense of mystery;
The golden thread of human communities, loyal to commanding and transforming visions of how things may be.
[silence]
O God, we thank you that in the texture of our common life, there shine forever these golden threads.
Amen
Musical Interlude Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy
Address We Are Responsible
As you will know, unless you have been hiding your head in a bucket for the past few weeks, the United Kingdom will be holding a General Election on the 4th of July – next Thursday. So I thought it would be interesting to explore the relationship between religion and politics, because it is by no means a simple one. (And I hope this will not be seen as an abuse of my freedom of the pulpit!)
You may have guessed from the general tenor of the readings and prayers I have chosen for this week’s service, that I personally believe that religion and politics are inextricably interwoven. But I want to be careful here – I don’t mean that any religious denomination or faith tradition should be linked to any particular political party. That would be wrong, on so many levels… yet it seems to be happening, in other countries around the world – in theocracies such as Iran, in the support of Donald Trump by the religious right in the United States, to give but two examples.
Yet I do believe two things. First, by the very fact of our existence on the planet, both at an individual and at the collective level, we have a profound influence on the world around us. We cannot help it. Every human being is inextricably linked to every other human being, to every other living thing. The actions we take (or do not take) will have an impact on our world. And whether that impact, that influence makes a positive or negative difference is up to us.
Second, I believe very strongly that we have a moral responsibility to stand up and be counted. The system of democracy which we have in this country may not be the best, the most effective, but it is what we have, and the right of everyone over the age of 18 to cast their vote is a precious one, which has only been in place in comparatively recent times. I did a bit of digging, and discovered that it was only in 1918, with the passing of the Representation of the People Act, that all men over the age of 21 and all women over the age of 30, were given the right to vote. That playing field was only levelled ten years later, in 1928. So, less than one hundred years ago.
And yet, the voter turn-out in the 2019 General Election was only 67.3%… in other words, nearly one-third of the UK’s eligible voters decided not to bother. I find this baffling – why wouldn’t you? Even if you have little (or no) faith that your vote will make a difference (for example, if you live in a “safe seat” constituency long held by the party you disagree with); if you are disillusioned with the current system (and honestly, why wouldn’t you be?); or if you genuinely can’t make up your mind between rival candidates; you should Still Vote. Even if you choose to spoil your paper, as my father did once, scrawling “A plague on both your houses” across it, you are still exercising your democratic right to vote and that vote will still be counted.
Voting is about caring what happens in our society. We may “vote with our feet”, as the popular saying goes, by choosing any number of ways to make our opinions known. As Cliff Reed wrote in our first reading, “This means, for some, active involvement in campaigns, marches, and demonstrations. It may mean lobbying politicians and making legislators aware of Unitarian concerns in particular areas of policy. It means using one’s democratic rights responsibly and purposefully for the common good. It means focusing on political and social issues in worship in order to explore their spiritual implications.”
What I’m saying is, that as conscious human beings, we are in an unique position to influence the world around us. In fact, we have a responsibility to do so – to strive to make a positive difference, so that we leave our society, our planet, in a better state than we found them. What we do, or don’t do, matters, at a fundamental level. It is in our power as human beings to answer the prayers of the struggling and grieving world – to feed the hungry, heal the sick, look after the marginalised, strike against oppression, care for our planet. Or not.
We Are Responsible.
And even if the vote on Thursday doesn’t go the way we hope, we are *still* responsible. It is no good if we simply shrug our shoulders at a policy we don’t agree with, saying “Well, I didn’t vote for them.” I believe that as responsible human beings, who care about the future of the Earth and its myriad inhabitants, we need to stand up and be counted. We need to be active, not passive. And I believe that is a spiritual position, as well as a political one.
Of course, none (or very few of us) have real power to change the world. Our influence as individuals is microscopically small. Which is why I believe it is important for each of us to sit down and really think about what it is that matters to us, then commit to doing something about it. We may not be able to do much, but as the supermarket slogan has it, “Every little helps.” We may not be physically able to march in a demonstration, but we can surely write to our MP, or sign a petition. The slow and steady drip, drip, drip, of such small actions can eventually lead to real and positive change.
I also believe that it is when we come together in groups that we have genuine power to alter our society for the better. To take just one example from the recent past, it was when Unitarians came together with Quakers and Liberal Jews and lobbied fiercely over the course of months and years, that the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act was passed, nearly eleven years ago, on 17th July 2013.
We are also responsible for making our own decisions about what we think is right and what we think is wrong, so as to be able to decide how to act. And that can be daunting. This is where the Unitarian reliance on reason and conscience and lived experience comes in. Because in many ways, we are profoundly influenced by our past experiences, and by what we have learned, from them, from books, from talking with other people. (But probably not from newspapers, or from social media, who habitually tell only half a story).
I think that being a member of a Unitarian faith community can help us, in so far as it is (or should be) a safe and sacred space in which to talk about and think about the larger moral and ethical issues we will encounter during our lifetimes. We Unitarians are quite good at bouncing ideas off each other, and inspiring one another to become involved in the larger community around us. And as congregations, we are in a position to open our doors to that wider community, to welcome the stranger and to make a positive difference in our small corners of the world. On a larger level, we can become involved with various Unitarian groups, such as Unitarians for Climate Justice, or the Unitarian Peace Fellowship. And we can choose to participate in events such as local Pride marches. All of which are “political” acts.
Yes, it can sometimes be difficult to discern what is the right path for us… Whenever I feel that way, I remember the words of Aragorn to Eomer, from The Lord of the Rings. Eomer says, “It is hard to be sure of anything… the world is all grown strange. How shall a man judge what to do in such times?” And Aragorn answers, “As he has ever judged. Good and ill have not changed since yesteryear; nor are they one thing among Elves and Dwarves and another among Men. It is a man’s part to discern them, as much in the Golden Wood as in his own house.”
In other words, we are responsible for making up our own minds about the social and ethical issues of the day. And the tools we have to do this are our hearts, our minds, and our souls. We may discuss our decisions with others, but ultimately, only we can decide, as individuals.
May we at least decide to exercise our democratic rights, and vote on Thursday. Because each of us is responsible for the outcome, one way or another. Amen.
Closing Words
Spirit of Life and Love,
Our time together is drawing to a close.
May we choose to think deeply
About what is important to us,
Knowing that we are responsible
For our own actions.
May we share the love we feel,
May we look out for each other,
Sharing our joys and our sorrows,
And may we keep up our hearts,
Being grateful for the many blessings in our lives,
Now and in the days to come, Amen
Postlude Romance No. 1 by John Brunning