Pride: Past and Future – 2/7/23

Hybrid Service: ‘Pride: Past & Future’ – Jane & Lizzie & Rory – 02/07/23

Musical Prelude: ‘March of the Women’ – Ethel Smyth (played by Abby Lorimier and Peter Crockford)

Opening Words: ‘You Are Beloved and You Are Welcome’ by Joan Javier-Duval (adapted)

You are beloved and you are welcome here:
Whoever you are, however you are,
Wherever you’re at on life’s journey.

Whether you are feeling brave or broken-hearted;
defiant or defeated; fearsome or fearful:
You are beloved and you are welcome here.

Whether tears have fallen from your eyes this past week
or gleeful laughter has spilled out of your mouth;
You are beloved and you are welcome here.

Whether you have untold stories buried deep inside
or stories that have been forced beyond the edges of comfort:
You are beloved and you are welcome here.

Whether you have made promises, broken promises,
or are renewing your promises day-by-day:
You are beloved and you are welcome here

Whatever is on your tender, precious, heart,
However it is with your soul in this moment:
You are beloved and you are welcome here.

In this space of welcome and acceptance, commitment and re-commitment, of sacred
covenant and connection – in all our glorious variety – let us join in worship together. (pause)

Words of Welcome and Introduction:

These opening words – based on some by Joan Javier-Duval – welcome all who have gathered this morning for our Sunday service. Welcome to those of you who have gathered in-person 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, and I’m Minister with Kensington Unitarians.

This morning’s service theme was chosen to coincide with Pride weekend here in London – the big Pride parade took place yesterday – and also (slightly belatedly) to mark LGBT+ History Month. Later in the service we will hear from Lizzie Kingston-Harrison and Rory Castle-Jones from Essex Hall (our Unitarian HQ) about ‘LGBT+ Unitarian Voices’, a new exhibition and online resource recording stories of LGBT+ pioneers in our movement. We’re rightly proud that Unitarians have often been ‘ahead of the curve’ in standing up for LGBT+ rights and offering a genuine welcome to LGBT+ people who, quite understandably, might not expect to find a wholehearted embrace in a church community. Our forebears – some of them at least – were radical in reaching out (in a time when social attitudes were very hostile and it was really controversial to be inclusive) and accepting openly LGBT+ people even into leadership roles. So how do we honour that radical tradition now? It’s too easy to look back with rose-tinted glasses, pat ourselves on the back about how we were on the right side of history, now that wider society has, by and large, come round to the same view. But what is required of us now? How are we Unitarians going to stand up and be counted in the ongoing struggles of the present day? In the coming hour, through readings and reflections, I’ll invite you to reflect on these questions.

But before we go any further let’s take a moment to pause and catch up with ourselves. One way or another, you’ve made it here, you’ve gathered together with others in spiritual community. So do whatever you need to do to feel grounded here and now – maybe stretch a little and shake out any tension you came in carrying – maybe take a conscious breath or two as you settle in. And inwardly set your intention for this hour; to be receptive, to be open, to be connected more deeply, perhaps.

Chalice Lighting: ‘The Pride Flame’ by Linda Lee Franson (freely adapted)

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)

We light this flame to ignite our hearts and minds—
the spark of insight that enlightens,
the shimmering hope that burns,
the blazing love that empowers our actions,
the fire of our commitment to true liberation for all.

We light this flame, this Pride weekend,
for those who celebrate themselves,
who fear, who hope, who persevere
in the face of life’s setbacks and uncertainties,
and resist conformity and oppression in all its forms.

We light this flame to affirm our faithful calling
to honour the divine light in every human soul,
and celebrate the full kaleidoscope of diversity,
in keeping with our proud Unitarian tradition:
standing, working, and living on the side of Love.

Hymn 62 (purple): ‘Here We Have Gathered’

Let’s sing together now. Our first hymn is ‘Here We Have Gathered’ – it’s 62 in the purple book – for those joining via Zoom the words will be up on your screen to sing along at home. Feel free to stand or sit as you prefer as we sing.

Here we have gathered, gathered side by side;
circle of kinship, come and step inside!
May all who seek here find a kindly word;
may all who speak here feel they have been heard.
Sing now together this, our hearts’ own song.

Here we have gathered, called to celebrate
days of our lifetime, matters small and great:
we of all ages, women, children, men,
infants and sages, sharing what we can.
Sing now together this, our hearts’ own song.

Life has its battles, sorrows, and regret:
but in the shadows, let us not forget:
we who now gather know each other’s pain;
kindness can heal us: as we give, we gain.
Sing now in friendship this, our hearts’ own song.

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. Please do get up close to the microphone as that will help everyone hear (including the people at home). You can take the microphone out of the stand if it’s not at a good height and have it microphone pointing right at your mouth. And if you can’t get to the microphone give me a wave and I’ll bring it over to you. Thank 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 Horton-Ludwig

And let’s take those joys and concerns into an extended time of prayer now. This prayer is based on some words by Laura Horton-Ludwig. 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.
As we turn our attention to the depths of this life –
the cosmic mystery and wisdom that abides in All-That-Is –
we tune in to your Holy presence, the light within and without.
Be with us now as we allow ourselves to drop into the silence
and stillness at the centre of our being. (pause)

As people of faith, we seek to live in a spirit of love,
a spirit of community, justice, and peace.
And yet, in so many corners of the world both far and near,
we see exploitation and coercion, divisiveness and hate.
We struggle to respond to the outer world
and our inner dramas in ways that manifest love.
At times we may fear that love will not be strong enough.
At times we may question whether love really is at the root of all things,
in this world with so much struggle and suffering and discord.

This is the mystery within which we live and die.
These are the questions that haunt our days and nights.
And yet – despite everything – we are not quite without hope.
Our struggles and our questions testify to our longing for peace, for love.
In the stillness and silence of our own heart
we read the imprint of love: a light within.
May it keep hope alive, even through the toughest times.
May it guide us all, through our days, as we seek to act wisely and well.
May it help us to be vessels of compassion for one another and for our world. (pause)

In our company this morning, and every time we gather in community, there will be
those whose hearts are freshly broken open by all the world’s sufferings:
by loss and grief, rejection and loneliness, disappointment and meaninglessness,
by all the injustices of this world that we witness with growing 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.
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.
Let us spend a moment asking for what we need this day to face life’s many ups & 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 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 (on sheet): ‘God Cherishes You’

Let’s sing together now. Our next hymn is on your hymnsheet (and the words will be up on screen as usual). It’s called ‘God Cherishes You’ – new words to an old hymn-tune – a hymn especially for pride. I’m not sure this is going to be a super-familiar tune – I think it’s better known in the US but not so much over here – so I’m going to ask Peter to play it through. Feel free to stand or sit as you prefer and let’s give it our best shot as the words are really lovely.

There are those who would say we must all be the same,
and that differences must be denied;
But we know that each soul is belov’d in God’s eyes
and we claim all God’s blessings with pride!

So remember God cherishes you;
You are precious, and worthy, and loved.
When you live out the truth that is yours,
There’s rejoicing in heaven above!

There are voices of fear that deny what we know:
That all of God’s people are blessed.
So we sing loud and clear, with our words and our lives,
and we share the good news we confess:

Please remember God cherishes you;
You are precious, and worthy, and loved.
When you live out the truth that is yours,
There’s rejoicing in heaven above!

When hate threatens to harm, may we speak out as one
and declare that love conquers all fear.
No one shall stand alone; we will walk side by side,
and proclaim that God’s kindom is near!

So remember God cherishes you;
You are precious, and worthy, and loved.
When you live out the truth that is yours,
There’s rejoicing in heaven above!

Introduction to Safford Reading:

I chose this first reading to fit in with our theme – looking back and looking forward in relation to LGBT+ equality and inclusion – as it was first published 20 years ago. I think it subtly shines a light on how things have changed (and how, in some ways, they’ve not) in the last 20 years. The basic sentiment is right on message but these days I imagine we’d want to broaden the language, to recognise that there’s a lot more to sexual and gender diversity than ‘gay’ and ‘straight’ (these days, for sure, such a reading would also make a stand in support of transgender rights, as trans people are being most viciously persecuted right now). Later in the service we’ll hear a contemporary reading from a nonbinary UU leader, Zeb Green. But back in 2003, let us remember, marriage equality was still over a decade away, and would have seemed a distant dream. Welcoming churches were still very much outliers (and I would like to note in passing that it was the Unitarians’ LGBT-affirming stance that brought me here when I was first looking for a congregation to try out back in the late 1990s). In those days, we were just taking baby steps. We’ve come a long way since then, there’s no doubt. But there seems to be a turning tide, politically and socially speaking, and it’s one we need to acknowledge and face. Many of the gains of recent decades, protections for LGBT+ people, are being rolled back or threatened around the world. So with that context in mind, how it was back then, and how it is right now, I’ll share this piece by a senior UU minister, as a reminder of our Unitarian stance.

Reading: ‘Any Other Questions?’ by Victoria Safford

People ask me sometimes, “Is this a gay church?”

It is a privilege to answer: “Ours is absolutely, gladly, hopefully and humbly, gaily, a gay church, a gay tradition, where everyone, including heterosexuals, is welcome, where everyone is needed, where everyone’s experience is cherished as a sacred text, because no one’s experience of living or loving can be comprehensive, because each of us holds clues the others need about how to live with dignity and joy as a human person, and none of us knows enough about that yet to be considered whole.

“It is absolutely a gay church, even as ours is a gay world, if you would look around. Gay church, straight church, peoples’ church, a human congregation made holy by the holy hopes and fears and dreams of all who wish to come. Come in, we say. Come out, come in. We’re all in this together.”

I will not speak of “tolerance,” with its courteous clenched teeth and bitter resignation. I will not speak about “acceptance,” of “other” people and some “other” kind of “lifestyle.” I can only look in laughing wonder at human life in all its incarnations. I can taste only in passing the breath of the spirit of life on my mouth and understand our common longing to breathe in deep, deep gulps of it. I cannot think of being anybody else’s “ally,” even, because even that implies some degree of separation—some degree of safety for some of us, not all. We are “allied” with no one and with nothing but love—the larger Love transcending all our understanding, within which all the different, differing, gorgeously various, variant, beautifully deviant aspects of ourselves are bound in elegant unity.

I know that on some sad and disappointing days these words describe the church that yet shall be and not the church that is. I know, I know… But I know too that to answer is an act of creation. To answer this question, and some others, is a privilege, a prophetic imperative, a joy, a duty, and a holy sacrament.

Meditation: ‘Blessing for Kin’ by Sean Parker Dennison (read by Brian)

We’re moving into a time of meditation now. I’m going to share a few words to take us into the time of meditation, a ‘Blessing for Kin’ by UU minister Sean Parker Dennison, which connects to our pride-related theme, but it’s broader than that, it’s a message that speaks to all of us. That will take us into a few minutes of silence which will end with the sound of a bell. And then we’ll hear some music for meditation from Abby and Peter. Let’s each do what we need to do to get comfortable – adjust your position if you need to – put your feet flat on the floor to steady yourself – maybe close your eyes. As we always say, the words and music are just an offering, feel free to use this time to meditate in your own way.

I wish you a single story, not a simple
fairy tale with only happiness, but one life
without secrets or omissions, without the need
for fake faces, one pointed outward,
the other, inward and real.
I wish for you the twin beauties
of clarity and consistency, knowing the singular
word that holds all of you together,
all of you at once, all of you.

I wish you no need to hide. No reason to live
In shadows or half-truths. No need to cover the
spark and sparkle of your heart, to keep it
from catching the light of sun or moon.
I wish you whole-heartedness that arises
from the liberty before needing to be freed,
the completeness that precedes breaking,
the integrity of your being, a unity,
undivided and boundless.

I wish you a far-reaching welcome from within,
full and absolute acceptance, nothing withheld
from yourself, unrealised or unfinished.
And I wish you a place and a people who
do not want you in pieces, incomplete and partial,
a world that no longer asks anyone
to wrench apart their heart or divide soul
from mind, from nature, from core.
I bless you with all that is Whole.

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

Musical Interlude: ‘Valse Sentimentale’ – Tchaikovsky (played by Abby Lorimier and Peter Crockford)

Reading: ‘The Sacred Truth’ by Zeb Green (read by Antony)

This piece, by Unitarian Universalist Zeb Green, opens with a quote from Eli Clare: “What I really want is for all the many gendered possibilities in the world to be, not normal, but rather profoundly ordinary and familiar.”

Zeb continues: It was my first Sunday in the pulpit of the congregation that I serve. I’m not typically a worship leader and felt particularly nervous this Sunday—not because of preaching, but because it was my first time taking a public role while wearing a skirt and presenting as more feminine.

I was raised as a boy. People look at me and see a strong, healthy young man. However, I have an invisible disability and am gender-nonconforming, and people get uncomfortable when what they see doesn’t match their expectations. I was also raised with the southern conservative teaching that church is about conformity, fitting in, and being respectable. Anything that could make people uncomfortable, ask questions, or draw any scrutiny was not allowed in church. (Thank the Heavens that I haven’t attended a church like that in decades.)

I still come to church with a voice ringing: Don’t rock the boat; be who they want you to be. That voice and conditioning are at odds with everything the faith traditions that I love tell me about myself and my relationship with the divine. The challenge I face is to share the authentic and sacred truth inside of me.

That morning, I began the service with, “My name is Zeb Green. My pronouns are they/them.” I’ve got my scraggly beard, brand new skirt, and cute scarf, and I am here to share a word or two about love. It’s just who I am.

At coffee hour following the service, one of the youth came over to me and said — with so much pride — “I’m a they/them too, and my brother is a he/him.”

I would have loved it as a kid to have a church that encouraged us to listen to our heartfelt yearning of self, to express ourselves with authenticity, a church that had adults who modelled those behaviours for us. That’s why I work past the inner voice. That’s why I risk uncomfortable situations, strange looks, questionable comments, and the microaggressions as people figure it all out.

Trans and nonbinary people are under attack in this country (and in many countries the world over). The pressure for all of us, especially our youth, to hide our true selves is immense. I’m so glad that we have faith traditions that embrace multiple paths through life. I’m grateful that I risked scrutiny to appear as my true self, and deeply touched that in doing so, I was able to affirm and support the journey of others.

Zeb concludes with a few words of prayer: Beloved Spirit, Thank you for seeing, knowing, and loving us all in the full mystery and unfolding of our being. Through you, we remember that our souls yearning to know our true selves, true identity, and true loves is stronger than any conditioned voice of doubt. May we be blessed with the grace to support all people exploring the ever-unfolding journey of self-discovery and pride. Amen and Blessed Be.

(VIDEO) Introduction to ‘LGBT+ Unitarian Voices’ by Lizzie Kingston-Harrison and Rory Castle-Jones (https://www.unitarian.org.uk/lgbt-unitarian-voices-timeline/)

Lizzie: Good morning everyone! I’m Lizzie Kingston-Harrison, and I’m the Congregational Connections Lead for the GA, and I’m here with Rory Castle-Jones, who’s our Communications Officer. Jane invited us here today to introduce to you our exciting new project which is the LGBT+ Unitarian voices project.

Rory: So this project some of you might be familiar with. We’ve been developing it for the past couple of years now at Unitarian headquarters and the idea was to gather together, to record, to archive – and crucially to share – LGBT+ people’s experiences, stories, and wisdom as well. We wanted to share those within our denomination, within the Unitarian and Free Christian denomination, also with the wider public, and with people from other faith groups who were perhaps in a different place in the journey of LGBT inclusion. So Lizzie and myself have been working with an amazing advisory group of LGBT Unitarians, also with Harris Manchester College, where all of our project will be archived, and with various different Unitarians around the denomination in the UK as well, to develop a really amazing online exhibition and a pop-up exhibition as well. So I’m going to hand over now to our former Chief Officer, Derek McAuley, who in this video is going to say a little bit about why the project has been so important to him.

Derek: Thank you Rory. I think the project’s important because we need to place on record the actions and steps of our involvement as a denomination within the whole arena of LGBT+ rights over several decades. This is probably a timely occasion to do that. It’s good to look back. It’s good to also remember the struggles that people went through and not to look back on the past with rose-tinted glasses. Some people had a really difficult time. But it was through their struggles, through their difficulties, that we all benefit today. I think we should mark that, and honour those individuals, and groups within our movement.

Lizzie: Rory and I really enjoyed putting together the LGBT+ Unitarian Voices project and the outcomes are varied and hopefully in many different ways allow you to access the stories that we collected. We had documents sent to us from congregations across the country and we also spoke to a number of prominent LGBT+ Unitarians in oral history interviews. And so you can find those stories in different ways and I’m going to share that now on screen. For example, here on YouTube, there is a playlist that shows all of the interviews in full, but it also shows snippets. So if you go onto the Unitarians YouTube channel you can find the playlist here and there are full oral history interviews – this one is with Ann Peart – and there are snippets from the interviews as well, so you can see shorter interviews there on different themes. So that’s one way you can access some of the work that we put together. Another way that you can access what we put together is through our new page on the website so I’m going to share that as well. This is the website, you can access this through the main GA website, you can see here that we have photos of some of the people that we interviewed, we have quotes from our interviews, we have a summary of what happened as we were putting things together, and then we have a timeline which takes you through the story of LGBT+ Unitarian history and contextualises that as well, in terms of other events that were happening in wider society. Each of these events you can click on and then they show you the archival material that we collected and also recordings, interviews, and quotes as well. And finally, the other way that you can access the project and find out a little bit more about what we’ve been doing is by having a look at the exhibition banners that we put together. So these are a set of eight banners that take you across the timeline, they use original documents, they use quotes from our oral history interviews, and again they tell the story of our movement and LGBT+ rights within that movement. So the struggle for rights and of course the prominent role that Unitarians played in gay marriages as well. So that’s some of the team there in front of the banners. So there are many ways to see the material we collected and we really hope that you’re able to explore the exhibition both online and on YouTube and in person as well. I’m going to hand back to Rory to say a bit more about that.

Rory: I thought at this point we’d just share with you one of the stories that features in our timeline and this is one that is fairly close-to-home for you in Kensington because it happened in London. So in the very early 1970s in a couple of Unitarian churches in London, one of the first grass-roots church initiatives in the UK which was for LGBT people started. It was called Integroup and it was led by Dudley Cave, who you can see in that photo there, and the Rev Tony Cross at Lewisham Unitarian Church and also at Golders Green Unitarian Church with the Rev Keith Gilley, who was also conducting same-sex blessings as early as the 1970s. And that group, Integroup, which began to spread then, around the UK and around the world, was one of the first attempts really to bring together gay and lesbian people, at that time, and heterosexual people, together in the same room, to talk and learn from each other, to start to develop an idea of tolerance and inclusion. And so one of our interviewees, the Rev Jeff Gould, said about that time and about Integroup, that the intention was to get heterosexual people and homosexual people together in one room to talk and to have direct experience of each other. This was radical thinking and action back then. As a result of Integroup, which was very successful, the Unitarian denomination became slowly more inclusive, more accepting, but it had a much wider impact on society as well. From Integroup, other groups developed, including the Gay Switchboard – the LGBT phone helpline – the Lesbian and Gay Bereavement project as well, and these are huge parts of LGBT British history that started in two Unitarian congregations in London, not so far from you in Kensington. That’s the story of Integroup.

Lizzie: And finally, thanks for listening to our story of the way we put this project together, we’re just so excited and proud to be part of telling that story. We’re still archiving materials so if you’d like to send anything you can send it to us and it’ll go to Harris Manchester College. And finally we’re still looking for congregations who’d like to host the in-person exhibition so please do get in touch and we’re just organising the logistics of that now. We hope that in that way all of our congregations can become part of the story and really to celebrate what we’ve done so far, and also what we still have to do, and the work that still has to be done to be a truly inclusive community.

Hymn 130 (purple): ‘Ours is a Town for Everyone’

Thanks to Lizzie and Rory for telling us about that excellent project and for all the work they’ve put in to pull it together. You can explore the timeline yourself on the GA website and it links to the YouTube channel too. https://www.unitarian.org.uk/lgbt-unitarian-voices-timeline/. I’m hoping we might be able to host the in-person exhibition further down the line and make a bit of an event of it. Let’s see. Time for our last hymn now. It’s number 130 in the purple book and the words will be up on screen: ‘Ours is a Town for Everyone’.

Ours is a town for everyone
Who wants to play their part
In making it a better place
To practice living’s art.

Ours is a town where every faith,
All creeds of hope and peace,
Can worship freely, yet recall
We are one human race.

Ours is a town where we must care
For those whose lives are hard,
For whom bright mornings turn to tears
And all once fair seems marred.

Ours is a town where, side by side
In friendship and goodwill,
We’ll build a place where all can be
Respected and fulfilled.

So let us celebrate our town
And pledge ourselves to be
The ones who make it beautiful,
Safe, prosperous and free.

Sharing of News, Announcements, Introductions:

Thanks to Ramona for tech-hosting, Charlotte for co-hosting, and Antony and Brian for reading. Thanks to Lizzie/Rory for telling us about their excellent project. Thanks to Abby and Peter for lovely music. Thanks to Juliet for greeting. For those of you who are here in-person, if you want to stay, Liz will be serving refreshments next door (including Bakewell Tart – in honour of Hannah’s birthday). Maybe pick yourself up a slice and come and sit out in the garden. If you’re online I’m afraid you’ll have to bring your own snacks but why not hang around for a bit and have a chat with Charlotte.

We have various small group activities for you to meet up. There are still spaces left for our online Heart and Soul contemplative spiritual gatherings (Sunday/Friday at 7pm) and this week’s theme is ‘Solitude. The in-person poetry group is this Wednesday here at church – have a word with Brian. Heidi’s cultural outing to the Tate Britain will now take place on Wednesday 12th July (do email or call Heidi for details). Next Sunday Sarah Tinker will be leading the service on William Byrd, composer of a lot of church music, to mark the 400th anniversary of his death.

I’ve got a couple of ‘Save the Dates’ to remind you about: Next month we are going to hold a special celebratory service and lunch, belatedly thanking our previous Minister Sarah Tinker for her many years of ministry with our congregation, and thanking Harold Lorenzelli for his contribution to five decades of church music. That ‘End of an Era’ service and celebration is going to take place in our usual Sunday service slot on 23rd July. If you are planning to come to that please let Patricia know ASAP so we can organise the catering. And looking much further ahead we’re planning an Induction Service this autumn, at 2pm on Saturday 14th October, to mark the start of the new ministry.

Details of our various activities are on the back of the order of service and also in the Friday email.

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. These closing words have a response if you’d like to join in: ‘May we live the Spirit of Pride’.

Benediction: based on words by Elizabeth Ketcham

With gratitude for the freedom to be our true authentic selves,
may we live the Spirit of Pride.

With the courage that comes from challenging fear,
may we live the Spirit of Pride.

With sorrow for those who are not here with us,
may we live the Spirit of Pride.

Looking ahead to the justice still withheld,
may we live the Spirit of Pride.

With the confidence that a sense of community
banishes isolation and loneliness,
may we live the Spirit of Pride.

With a renewed sense of solidarity across our differences
celebrating our diversity with one voice,
may we live the Spirit of Pride.

With the rainbow flag flying high,
a sense of beloved community among us,
and the joy that comes from making connections,
may we live the Spirit of Pride.

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

Closing Music: ‘Over the Rainbow’ (played by Abby Lorimier and Peter Crockford)

Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall

2nd July 2023