The Joy of Movement – 6/11/22

Musical Prelude: Waltz by J Brahms played by Abby Lorimier and Jess Scott

Opening Words: ‘Here in this Sanctuary’ by Jack Mendelsohn

Here in this sanctuary of ancient dreams,
of wisdom and beauty, we come
to grow, to be healed,
to stretch mind and heart,
to be challenged, and renewed;
to be helped in our own continuing struggles for meaning and for love;
to help build a world with more justice and mercy in it;
to be counted among the hopers and doers.

In the face of cynicism, darkness, brutality around us and within,
we seek to align ourselves with a living community
that would affirm rather than despair,
that would think and act rather than simply adjust and succumb.

Here we invite the spirit of our own humanity
and the healing powers under, around, through and beyond it,
to give us the nerve and grace, the toughness and sensitivity,
to search out the truth that frees, the love that moves,
and the onward-flowing life that makes all things new. (pause)

Words of Welcome and Introduction:

These opening words by Jack Mendelsohn, welcome all those who have gathered this morning for our Sunday service. Welcome to those of you who have gathered in-person here at Essex Church and also to all who are joining us via Zoom from far and wide. For anyone who doesn’t know me, my name is Jane Blackall, I’m ministry coordinator with Kensington Unitarians.

I want to extend a special welcome to anyone who’s joining us for the first time today. Please do hang around to chat after the service or drop us a line. Since we’ve been holding hybrid services I notice there are a few new regulars joining us online and I haven’t had a chance to say hello or get to know you – please know we see you and appreciate you – and it’d be great to find out more about how you found us and who you are sometime. And of course we appreciate the regulars too, all those who help keep the show on the road, week-in week-out. I hope each and every one of you finds something of what you need here, something that will help you get through the day or the week. Whoever you are, however you are, wherever you are, you are welcome with us, as you are.

Today’s service is titled ‘The Joy of Movement’ – a topic chosen with Sonya in mind – most of you will know Sonya is our resident teacher of Nia Dance classes every Friday lunchtime (and she offers online classes as well) – later in the service Sonya will reflect on movement’s benefits for body, mind, and spirit, whatever our age or physical ability. We’ll hear a contribution from Caroline Walters too, another member of our congregation who joins us via Zoom, on her experience with a powerchair, which has enabled her to rediscover the joy of movement in a new way after contracting long Covid.

Let’s take a moment before we go any further to settle ourselves. Let’s pay attention to our bodies. When we pay attention to the body, and how comfortable or uncomfortable we feel, we might move a little bit, we might adjust our posture, or take a deep breath. Each of us will know intuitively what we need to feel a bit more centred in ourselves. Let’s set aside any distractions if we can. And as we breathe in, and out, let’s allow the gentle movement of each breath to reset our nervous system, to bring peace to every cell of our body, as we consecrate this hour with our presence and intention.

Chalice Lighting: ‘True and High and Strong’ by Beatrice Hitchcock

Let’s light our chalice flame now, as we do each week. 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 we are a part.

(light chalice)

The flaming chalice is the symbol of Unitarianism.
It is an everlasting flame for this community.
It offers its warmth to those who are cold.
It provides light to those who would see.
It purifies and transforms this sanctuary into sacred space,
this congregation into sacred community.
May its flame burn true and high and strong.

Hymn 88 (SYF): ‘Let it be a Dance’

Let’s sing together now. We’ve got some great hymns today and our first hymn is ‘Let it be a Dance’. It’s number 88 in the purple hymn book and for those joining via Zoom the words will be up on your screen to sing along at home. Please feel free to stand or sit as you prefer, or bob about if you’re feeling adventurous, as we sing our first hymn: ‘Let it be a Dance’.

Let it be a dance we do.
May I have this dance with you?
Through the good times and the bad times, too,
let it be a dance.

Let a dancing song be heard.
Play the music, say the words,
and fill the sky with sailing birds.
Let it be a dance, Let it be a dance, Let it be a dance.
Learn to follow, learn to lead,
feel the rhythm, fill the need
to reap the harvest, plant the seed. Let it be a dance.

Let it be a dance we do.
May I have this dance with you?
Through the good times and the bad times, too,
let it be a dance.

Everybody turn and spin,
let your body learn to bend,
and, like a willow in the wind,
let it be a dance. Let it be a dance. Let it be a dance.
A child is born, the old must die;
a time for joy, a time to cry.
Take it as it passes by. Let it be a dance.

Let it be a dance we do.
May I have this dance with you?
Through the good times and the bad times, too,
let it be a dance.

Morning star comes out at night,
without the dark there is no light.
If nothing’s wrong, then nothing’s right.
Let it be a dance. Let it be a dance. Let it be a dance.
Let the sun shine, let it rain;
share the laughter, bear the pain,
and round and round we go again. Let it be a dance.

Let it be a dance we do.
May I have this dance with you?
Through the good times and the bad times, too,
let it be a dance.

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. This time we’re going to go to the people in the building first, and take all of those in one go, and then I’ll call on the people on Zoom to come forward.

So I invite some of you here in person to come and light a candle and then if you wish to tell us briefly who or what you light your candle for. We’re asking people to keep their masks on for this candle lighting – please keep your masks on – if you use the hand-held microphone, get it really close to your mask, and SPEAK UP, people should be able to hear what you’re saying.

(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 Tamara Lebak

And let’s take those joys and concerns into an extended time of prayer now. This prayer is based on some words by Tamara Lebak.

You might first want to adjust your position for comfort, close your eyes, or soften your gaze. There might be a posture that helps you feel more prayerful. Whatever works for you. Do whatever you need to do to get into the right state of body and mind for us to pray together – to be fully present here and now, in this sacred time and space – with ourselves, with each other, and with that which is both within us and beyond us. (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)

We gather this day to be reminded of the sacred in the ordinary.
The holy moments of waking yet again to a new day.
The feel of the earth beneath our feet
The sun and the breeze on our skin
The joy of being welcomed by our fellow travellers
The warmth of this gathered community.

Help us this day to be fully present in our living,
awake to each breath, attentive to the possibilities.
Remind us that Life is taking place in the in-between,
the seasons of lethargy, disappointment, and frustration,
as well as in our lofty goals and peak experiences.
Remind us that the detours and the details
craft the path, and make it our own.

Help us to remember that we did not make this day.
But that we have the pleasure to greet each moment as it unfolds;
To reach out and embrace it wholeheartedly as though it were
an honoured guest who has come a long way just to see us. (short pause)

In a few moments of shared stillness now, let us call to mind those people and situations who are on our hearts this morning, and let us hold them gently in loving-kindness. (pause)

And let us hold ourselves in loving-kindness too. Each of us carries our own private burdens.
So let us rest in self-compassion now as we ask silently for what we need this day. (pause)

And let us take a moment to reflect on the week just gone in a spirit of gratitude; let us notice and give thanks for those blessings, large or small, that have helped to lift our spirits. (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 125 (SYF): ‘One More Step Along the World I Go’

Let’s sing together now. Our next hymn is ‘One More Step Along the World I Go’. For those of you present at the church in-person it’s number 125 in the purple hymn book and for those joining via Zoom they’ll be up on your screen to sing along at home. Please feel free to stand or sit or tap your feet, as you prefer, as we sing: ‘One More Step Along the World I Go’.

One more step along the world I go,
One more step along the world I go;
From the old things to the new,
Keep me travelling along with you;
And it’s from the old I travel to the new,
Keep me travelling along with you.

Round the corners of the world I turn,
More and more about the world I learn;
All the new things that I see
You’ll be looking at along with me;
And it’s from the old I travel to the new,
Keep me travelling along with you.

As I travel through the bad and good,
Keep me travelling the way I should;
Where I see no way to go
You’ll be telling me the way, I know;
And it’s from the old I travel to the new,
Keep me travelling along with you.

Give me courage when the world is rough,
Keep me loving though the world is tough;
Leap and sing in all I do,
Keep me travelling along with you;
And it’s from the old I travel to the new,
Keep me travelling along with you.

You are older than the world can be,
You are younger than the life in me;
Ever old and ever new,
Keep me travelling along with you;
And it’s from the old I travel to the new
Keep me travelling along with you.

Introductory Words by Jane Blackall:

Our service theme today is ‘The Joy of Movement’ but in the spirit of authenticity and full disclosure I feel I ought to put my hands up and say that movement hasn’t always been – and still isn’t always – something I’ve felt unreservedly joyful about. It may be that old cliché of British reserve and self-consciousness, an inability to let myself go – there’s a bit of that in there – but more of my reluctance was probably the result of living in a culture where body shaming is rife – someone of my size, shape & age has absorbed a lot of negative messages along the way. So throughout my life, whenever there’s been an invitation to get up and dance, or do anything sporty, my default mode has been to shrink into a corner, to opt out, for fear of being seen and mocked. I bet I won’t be the only one here who has been a bit scarred by memories of PE lessons.

And that’s the thing – I realise it wasn’t movement per se that I was averse to – as a kid I would be dancing to Duran Duran in my bedroom, or pretending I was an Olympic triple jumper in the back garden. As long as nobody was looking. Because I didn’t trust other people to be kind. And that was with good reason – we know that women especially have long been put off joining in active pursuits because of this sort of concern – and hopefully many of you are aware of the ‘This Girl Can’ campaign from a few years back which aimed to celebrate ‘active women who are doing their thing no matter how they look, how well they do it, or how sweaty they get’.

Some of you will know that, a few years back – inspired by watching Strictly from the comfort of my armchair – I plucked up courage and went along to ballroom and swing classes at the (now sadly defunct) Irreverent Dance, which was a very intentionally inclusive space, explicitly welcoming to all body types, and centred on LGBTQ+ people with no assumptions made about fitting into conventional gender roles. With the help of my old chum and dance teacher Rachel Sparks we put on inclusive tea dances here at church for a few years, with that same ethos, until the pandemic rudely intervened. Those events embodied the ‘Joy of Movement’ accessible to all.

It’s important that we acknowledge the barriers of various sorts – physical, psychological, social, financial, and more – which prevent people from engaging in movement in ways that bring joy. Movement is good for us – good for our body, mind, and spirit – and although some of us might be more limited in our ability to move there is nearly always some way in which we can engage. This came to mind when I saw an Instagram post last week from congregation member Caroline Walters who had just got her hands on a new powerchair – she posted this very joyful picture – I invited her to share something about the joy of movement it enabled and this is what she said.

Mini-Reflection: ‘The Gift of Freedom’ by Caroline Walters: (read by Jane)

At the start of August 2022, I fell ill with Covid that has developed into long Covid, robbing me of concentration, mobility and energy. However it’s not all doom and gloom, as a couple of weeks ago I took the plunge and hired a powerchair bringing me the gift of freedom. After 3 months at home, I can see trees, a change of view and feel the wind on my skin. Plus hear a new set of sounds in comparison to the quiet of home. It’s all black, can handle curbs and I can nip along at my friends’ side rather than tottering behind needing to sit down regularly and feeling too tired to talk.

Many people look at a wheelchair and have said: why are you giving up? Don’t you want to walk anymore? Are you saying that you’ll never walk again? Instead it makes me feel less disabled right now because I have more energy as I’ve done less physically. It’s enabled freedom from my 4 walls to new ventures: dates with my boyfriend, food shopping alone and a visit to the park.

On my second day with my powerchair, I visited the park with the farmer’s market for the first time in months. A place of familiarity and simultaneously newness. I sat there for a while with a mug of mulled apple juice overlooking a water feature teaming with autumnal colours: rust, ochre, crimson and oranges. This world was noisier than the quiet of home filled with children playing, adults chatting, and birds tweeting. There were so many kinds of wheels: bikes, scooters, pushchairs and my wheelchair – all embracing movement in its many forms. The most exciting thing about that adventure was while I felt tired when I came home, I finally had the energy to write about the adventure rather than just sleep for a few hours.

To me, in these past few months with long Covid discovering different mobility aids has been joyous, as each one facilitates freedom. Don’t pity me with my rollator or powerchair – see it through my eyes that now the world feels more accessible again. Mobility aids bring freedom.

Words from Caroline Walters. Thanks Caroline for giving up some spoons to write that for us.

Meditation: ‘Await, Allow, Accept, Attend’ attributed to Julian of Norwich

We’ve come to a time of meditation. Sonya is going to lead us in a body prayer attributed to the 14th century Christian mystic, Julian of Norwich. As always this is an invitation not an obligation! Please make this work for you and if you need to adapt the instructions or you would rather just listen that is also OK. This guided meditation 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 from Abby and Jess. As we always say, the words and music are just an offering, feel free to use this time to meditate in your own way.

Sonya: This prayer is attributed to Julian of Norwich. After suffering immense pain she created this body prayer as a simple and beautiful way to pray without words. This body prayer can help us resist the idea that the body is something we need to renounce or transcend in order to experience communion with God (however you understand God; if God-language doesn’t work for you feel free to ‘translate’ to make it more meaningful; you might like to think of it as getting in touch with the highest good or the ground of our being). Julian invites us to be in our bodies, embrace our physicality as a way to ground ourselves, and find oneness with the divine and with all living things. As you pray this prayer it can help you connect your heart, mind and body and to more fully experience God’s love for every part of you. The prayer has four simple postures. And intentions.

• AWAIT (hands at waist, cupped up to receive): Await God’s presence, however it may come to you.
• ALLOW (reach up, hands open): Allow a sense of God’s presence to come…or not…and be what it is.
• ACCEPT (hands at heart, cupped towards body): Accept as a gift whatever comes or does not come. Accept that you don’t know everything, that you are not in charge.
• ATTEND (hands outstretched, ready to be responsive): Attend to what you are called to, willing to be present and be God’s love in the world, however God calls you to.

As we move into a few moments of shared silence now you might want to rest in the stillness, or you might want to repeat these movements, this body prayer, tune in to what you feel called to do.

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

Musical Interlude: ‘Autumn Leaves’ by Joseph Kosma played by Abby and Jess

Address: ‘The Joy of Movement’ by Sonya Leite

‘The Joy of Movement’ – I wonder what those words mean to you?

What I have learned is that moving my body when I am tired or wired balances me. It calms my nervous system down, I notice I breath deeper, then I think clearer and I am a nicer person to be around. Putting on a piece of your favourite music, having a little dance first thing in the morning can set the tone and mood of your day.

Joy of Movement is actually one of the principles of Nia Dance – the movement practice I teach. Joy of Movement is described as a natural state of being and we can choose it or let it arise naturally by moving our bodies in a way that is enjoyable to you. This connects us to our life force or Spirit and the sensation of being alive.

At the risk or embarrassing myself, there is a home movie of me when I was age 3 or 4 dancing to my shadow that was projected onto the wall. I didn’t need people or toys to entertain me, dancing to music was magical. It is a natural form of self – soothing and connects us to joy and wonder. Next time you are around a baby or toddler watch what happens when you play a piece of music or clap. They will automatically start to move and some of them if you are lucky burst into a delightful belly laugh.

Can you recall a time where doing some movement delighted you? Whether it was dancing, walking, gardening or any other form of movement that is enjoyable to you. If we can’t move for whatever reason, we can still use our imagination and by watching others move their bodies we get stronger from this. It’s called a visual placebo effect. This approach is now being used by physiotherapists and in rehabilitation centres.

I can vouch for this. I broke my arm over Christmas last year, I was told not to do any physio for the first 4/6 weeks. So I imagined myself swimming, reaching for something on a shelf, teaching again. I also watched dancers or sports events on television. This gave me speedier results once I started physio and I felt emotional stronger for doing it. It gave me hope when I couldn’t physically move.

The act of moving our bodies can lift our mood, get us out of our heads, and shift our perspective on life. If we are incapacitated in anyway – listening to music and moving are head or tapping are fingers on our lap is a form of physical therapy.

One of the most moving experiences I had as a movement teacher is when I taught a class called Ageless Grace to a group of 90-year-olds. It was at a community centre where they didn’t seem to be getting any stimulation. They were left to sit all day (before their relatives or carers came to collect them.) They were lifeless and seemed depressed. I encouraged those who wanted to, to put their chairs in a circle. I played music from the 40’s 50’s and 60’s. I asked them to listen to the music and play the instruments they heard, to hold onto their chairs and sway to the music, to wiggles their tailbones and suddenly we were smiling, laughing and engaged with each other. The mood in the room transformed all of us. I felt their spirits were back. The class was only about 10 or 20 minutes long and they all wanted more – it was very comforting to know something so easy could make such a difference.

The mind, emotions and spirit are all stimulated when we move, whether we are aware of what is going physiologically, benefits. We just know we feel better when we take a walk, a stretch or a yawn.

What is exciting to hear now are all the various studies coming out proving the healing properties of dancing to music. This week I was sent an email from one of my students. An article from Positive News, it says: “Young people the ages of 11 to 18 in England who experience depression and anxiety are being prescribed dancing by their GP’s as part of a mental health trial in England.” The premise being that through movement we find health.

And in a recent study, Dancing was quoted as having had the most profound effect in reversing signs of ageing unlike any other traditional fitness. The hippocampus which declines with age increases. This is the area of the brain that relates to learning and memory. Moving improves our memory, learning and balance. The brain is dancing too. Actually, dancing is brain jogging and endurance training in one. It produces a reduction in our stress response, we increase self – awareness, and we connect to our Spirits or life force.

Most cultures and world religions use dance and movement to merge with the Divine within: The Whirling Dervishes of the Sufi tradition; The hand Mudras in the Hindu tradition; Ecstatic dancing developed by the ancient Greeks and Liturgical dancing in the Christian faith.

Today we have things called: Sweat Your Prayers, Biodanza and 5 Rhythms – all forms of group dancing where the intention is to feel the oneness with the Divine. I remember at one of our Services here years ago we were taught a circle dance from the organisation Dances of Universal Peace. Their intention is to raise consciousness and promote peace between diverse religions. They consider their dances as a spiritual practice, which uses singing, dancing and sacred phrases of the world’s religions. Ultimately it is a form of Worship or ritual.

Many years ago Carole Grace (many of you know her, a member of this congregation) told me how much she loved liturgical dancing. She often wanted to dance when we were singing our hymns or when the musicians would play their solo pieces. I told her I would join her if she started but we were too shy and well behaved. Liturgical dancing has many references in the bible. In Exodus: Miriam, who was a prophetess and sister to Moses, gathered the women to perform a song and dance in worship after they had crossed the Red Sea.

I don’t know about you but when the musicians play or we sing together, I sense the music in my body, and feel moved to tears or joy by the words of our hymns. It’s an embodied moment of release. The body heals with Movement, the mind heals with Play and the spirit heals with Joy.

Here are 3 surprising quotes I found by the philosopher Friedrich
Nietzsche, a painfully inhibited figure in his day to day life, and he declared: “I would believe only in a God who could dance”; “Without music life would be a mistake”; “All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.”

To conclude: Our bodies love movement. When we stretch or dance, our bodies adjust, realign and start to become fluid with the rhythm of life. Our moods lift and we feel more connected with the world around us. If you are feeling stuck, ready to release old energy, or eager to feel more alive, try moving your body. By giving your muscles and your brain a chance to do what they were created for, you may find that all areas of your body and your life benefit as well. Amen.

Hymn (on sheet): ‘Lord of the Dance’

Sonya: Time for our last hymn, and it’s a well-known one, ‘Lord of the Dance’. The imagery is a bit more straightforwardly Christian than we usually go for at Essex Church but we couldn’t resist picking such a lively celebration of dancing. For those in the building it’s on your hymn sheet and the words will also be up on screen. Feel free to stand or sit or dance as we sing: ‘Lord of the Dance’.

I danced in the morning
When the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon
And the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven
And I danced on the earth,
At Bethlehem I had my birth.

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the Dance, said he.

I danced for the scribe
And the pharisee,
But they would not dance
And they wouldn’t follow me.
I danced for the fishermen,
For James and John –
They came with me and the Dance went on.

Dance, then…

I danced on the Sabbath
And I cured the lame;
The holy people
Said it was a shame.
They whipped and they stripped
And they hung me on high,
And they left me there on a Cross to die.

Dance, then…

I danced on a Friday
When the sky turned black –
It’s hard to dance
With the devil on your back.
They buried my body
And they thought I’d gone,
But I am the Dance, and I still go on.

Dance, then…

They cut me down
And I leapt up high;
I am the life
That’ll never, never die;
I’ll live in you
If you’ll live in me –
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.

Dance, then…

Sharing of News, Announcements, Introductions

Thanks to Sonya for your personal reflections on this theme. Thanks to Ramona for tech-hosting and Maria for co-hosting, to Caroline for her thoughts, to Sandra, Abby and Jess for playing for us. For those of you who are at church in-person, Julia will be serving coffee, tea and biscuits in the hall after the service, if you want to stay for refreshments – thanks Julia – and thanks Juliet for greeting. We are still looking for more people to help out with coffee and greeting so please speak to Liz or Marianne if you can volunteer for that. For those of you who are on Zoom today there will be virtual coffee time afterwards so do hang around for a chat.

We have various small group activities for you to meet up. Coffee morning is online at 10.30am Wednesday. There are still spaces left for our Heart and Soul gatherings (online Sunday/Friday at 7pm) and this week’s theme is ‘Loyalty’. Our service next Sunday will be hybrid once again and it’ll be our Remembrance Sunday service, led by Sarah Tinker, with music from our Quartet. Details of these and all our other events are on the back of the order of service and in the Friday email.

Our own Heidi Ferid and Roy Clark are about to have an exhibition of their paintings and photography – it’s called ‘Terrain: A Testimony to Nature in a Time of Change’ and it opens this Tuesday evening with a private view from 6pm to which all church chums are invited. It’s at the Peggy Jay Gallery in Hampstead. Details this and its other opening times were in Friday’s email.

Looking further ahead – next month we’re planning to have a congregational service on the theme of ‘Simple Pleasures’ – that’ll be on the 20th November – if you might like to offer a short reflection on something that gives you enjoyment or a little uplift in daily life please do get in touch – we’ll have some slots for people to speak in person at the church, some live via zoom, and some short pre-recorded ‘show-and-tell’ videos where you can share the things that you enjoy with us all. I really need to firm up who’s going to be involved in that so if we’ve spoken about this can you get in touch in the next day or so to let me know one way or the other so I can finalise the line-up? Ta.

The congregation very much has a life beyond Sunday mornings; we encourage you to keep in touch, look out for each other, and do what you can to nurture supportive connections.

I think that’s everything. Just time for our closing words and closing music now.

Benediction: based on words by Susan Karlson

We leave blessed by our connections to one another, to the spirit of life.

Walk lightly that you see the life that is below your feet.
Spread your arms as if you had wings and could dance through the air.
Feel the joy of the breath in your lungs and the fire in your heart.
Live to love and be a blessing on this earth.

May it be so for the greater good of all. Amen.

Closing Music: ‘The Entertainer’ by Scott Joplin performed by Abby and Jess

Sonya Leite and Jane Blackall

6th November 2022