Being Brave
- Jul 11
- 17 min read
Sunday Service, 12 July 2026
Led by Rev. Sarah Tinker
Musical Prelude: The Swan from Carnival of the Animals (performed by Katie Taunton and Andrew Robinson)
Opening Words: ‘Put Away the Pressures of the World’ by Erika Hewitt (adapted)
As we enter into worship, (let’s) put away the pressures of the world
that ask us to perform, to take up masks, to put on brave fronts.
Silence the voices that ask you (us) to be perfect.
This is a community of compassion and welcoming.
You (we) do not have to do anything to earn the love contained within these walls.
You (we) do not have to be braver, smarter, stronger, better
than you (we) are in this moment - to belong here, with us.
You only have to bring the gift of your body,
no matter how able;
your seeking mind, no matter how busy;
your animal heart, no matter how broken.
Bring all that you are, and all that you love, to this hour together.
Let us worship together.
(pause)
Good morning everybody and welcome to this your Sunday gathering with Kensington Unitarians here at Essex Church – a congregation that for over 250 years has been encouraging people to think for themselves and to find a spiritual and religious path that speaks to them, a community that gives us space to be ourselves. Thanks for coming and joining us today, both here in person and those of you joining us on Zoom. If we’ve not met before I’m Sarah Tinker, minister with this congregation a while back now – and always happy to be back with this community. And a special welcome to anyone listening to this service some time in the future on a podcast or via the Kensington Unitarians YouTube video. I hope life is treating you well.
I’ve created this service as an exploration of bravery, courage, and resilience in our human lives. And as always we’ll hear different perspectives in poetry and song, and have time in stillness to think our own thoughts. There’s no one Unitarian view of ‘being brave’, and we could spend a whole day exploring what these words mean to each of us. But we only have an hour together so do feel free to bring your own thoughts and your own meaning to this topic today.
(Light chalice)
So let’s take a moment to settle ourselves here and now … as I light this chalice flame to shine a light upon the brave souls that established this as a place where people could worship in peace and freedom. May all peoples of the world know some form of peace and freedom, a chance to be who they truly. Our small Unitarian flame shines out as a beacon of kinship and reminds us that we are one people, living one life, on this our one planet home.
Hymn (on sheet): ‘When the Knights Won Their Spurs’
(Sarah to introduce hymn)
When the knights won their spurs in the stories of old
They were gentle and brave, they were gallant and bold
With a shield on their arm and a lance in their hand
For love and for valour they rode through the land
No charger have I, and no sword by my side
Yet still to adventure and battle I ride
Though back into storyland giants have fled
And the knights are no more and the dragons are dead
Let faith be my shield and let joy be my steed
‘Gainst the dragons of anger the ogres of greed
And let me set free with the sword of my youth
From the castle of darkness the power of the truth
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. We’ll go to the people in the building first, then to Zoom.
So I invite some of you here in person to come and light a candle and then if you wish to tell us who or what you light your candle for – please keep it brief – be considerate of others. I’m going to ask you to come to the lectern to speak, as we want people to be able to hear 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)
In-Person Reading: ‘An Invocation for Courage’ by Tess Ward
Healing Spirit,
midwife of my newness and growth,
tend the fresh shoots of my emerging as I set foot this day.
Heal my birthing soul when I pass through the ring of fire and broken waters
on my journey through this world.
Fuse my backbone mettle with your courage
as I stand against all that is unjust.
Craft my words that they might meld heart and mind
and mend with fiery precision.
Befriend my creaturely ways that I might be friend to all your creatures that share
our precious planet.
Create in me a prophetic eye that I might see the new thing you are doing this day
and have vision for tomorrow.
Healing Spirit, be with me as I walk this new day.’
from ‘The Celtic Wheel of the Year’, used with thanks.
Time of Prayer and Reflection: for all beings
Let’s take that healing spirit with us know into our time of reflection and prayer.
Let us pray for our world, with all its grievous troubles. Our hearts ache for those suffering through violence in Gaza and the West Bank, in Ukraine, the Sudan and Iran, as well as the people of Venezuela who are dealing with the aftermath of the recent earthquakes. May the spirit of love and compassion touch all whose hearts are hardened or despairing. May the spirit of peace and possibility whisper its healing message in the ears of all whose only response is violence In a shared time of silence now let us pray for all who are suffering and include in our prayers all living beings, with whom we share this planet earth home..
(pause)
Let us pray for the peacemakers, those who dedicate their lives to finding solutions to the most difficult of situations and the medics who seek to heal the wounded, sometimes in the hardest of circumstances. May they be inspired and strengthened in their work. May they be protected and supported in all they do.
At times many of us feel that we live in a far too complex world, with too many matters calling for our attention and too many irresolvable issues filling our awareness. Life is confusing and we make mistakes. In such moments of error may we be generous and forgiving both to ourselves and others. When we find ourselves in a mess may we slow down and re-consider, rather than rushing ever onwards. May we discover once again the simplicity of stillness and balance, a quiet calm centre in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of both our inner and our outer lives.
May we remember when we claim to be certain and sure that there is indeed so much for us yet to understand. When we are assailed by doubts and uncertainties, may we discover an inner strength that allows us to rest gently in our unknowing. To be human is to be at times confused and bewildered; may we remember that when we are about to judge other people or ourselves and resolve to be a little kinder than we might sometimes be.
Let us take time now in quietness for our own thoughts and prayers, for those we love, for the aspects of our lives that are troubling us, for all that we are carrying this day …….
That all who are troubled might know the comfort of a loving presence and a helping hand. And may this be so for the greater good of all beings, so may it be, Amen.
Hymn 88 (purple): ‘Let it Be a Dance’
(Sarah to introduce hymn)
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.
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.
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.
In-Person Reading: ‘Go Boldly’ by Jean M Olson
This reading by Jean Olson comes from a Unitarian Universalist book called Becoming: A Spiritual Guide for Navigating Adulthood. The book is described as a spiritual companion for young adults and all who live amid transitions and tensions. Dozens of carefully selected readings address themes that are prominent for people in their twenties and early thirties.
So this reading was written for young adults, yet its message is of value to anyone, whatever age we are. Except perhaps the line about graffiti – most of us have perhaps left it too late to get into that as a hobby. Jean Olson writes:
May you be brave enough to expose
your aching woundedness
and reveal your vulnerability.
May you speak your deepest truths, knowing that they will change as you do.
May you sing the music within you,
composing your own melody,
playing your song with all your heart.
May you draw, paint, sculpt, and sew,
showing the world your vision.
May you write letters, poetry, biography,
slogans, graffiti, the great novel,
laying bare your words to love and hate.
May you love even though your heart
breaks again and again.
And until the end of your days,
may your life be filled
with possibilities and courage.
Words for Meditation: Words of Encouragement We Have Heard
I’ve called this meditation ‘words of encouragement we have heard’ and my suggestion is, if you wish, to think of the word itself – encourage – the way that other people can inspire and influence us to be of good heart, to find our inner strength, our inner wellsprings of bravery. I think it’s one of those special acts that we humans can perform for one another – for don’t we all go through times of doubt and uncertainty, and just sometimes when we are wavering there is someone who offers a helping hand, or a steadying arm, someone who lifts us up, reminds us of our capabilities and encourages us to take that necessary next step.
After a few words to lead us into meditation, we’ll hold a couple of minutes in silence together and then we’ll hear music from our musicians.
So as we move into a time of meditation you might like to adjust your position a little, get as comfy as you can in your seat, maybe enjoy straightening your position a bit, or feel your feet upon the floor connecting you with the earth itself. ……. Enjoy a deepening breath perhaps, no need to force it in anyway, just allowing the body to breathe as it will, that gentle rhythm taking us a bit deeper, making space for an inner journey where we can explore in our own way – maybe thinking of the people who have encouraged us in some way in life, the people who’ve helped us to tap into our own reserves of bravery when that’s what is needed. Let’s share the fellowship of silence together.
Period of Silence and Stillness (~3 minutes) – end with a bell
Interlude: Meditation from Thaïs by Jules Massennet (performed by Katie Taunton and Andrew Robinson)
In-Person Reading: ‘Small Steps' by Elena Mikhalkova
This short poem with its title 'Small Steps' is written by Russian author Elena Mikhalkova and it’s become very popular on social media for its gentle message of dealing with life’s difficult times by taking small steps. It’s a useful message for all of us who can feel overwhelmed by life’s demands or by our own contradictory impulses.
I wonder what small steps you encourage yourself to take in life when you start to feel a bit stuck?
It’s only a short poem so I’ll read it twice.
My grandmother once gave me a tip:
In difficult times, you move forward in small steps.
Do what you have to do, but little by little.
Don’t think about the future, or what may happen tomorrow.
Wash the dishes.
Remove the dust.
Write a letter.
Make a soup.
You see?
You are advancing step by step.
Take a step and stop.
Rest a little.
Praise yourself.
Take another step.
Then another.
You won’t notice, but your steps will grow more and more.
And the time will come when you can think about the future
without crying.
Hymn 106 (purple): ‘Nothing Distress You’
(Sarah to introduce hymn).
Nothing distress you,
nothing affright you,
everything passes,
God will abide.
Patient endeavour
accomplishes all things;
who God possesses
needs naught beside.
Lift your mind upward,
fair are his mansions,
nothing distress you,
cast fear away.
Follow Christ freely,
his love will light you,
nothing affright you,
in the dark way.
See the world's glory!
Fading its splendour,
everything passes
all is denied.
Look ever homeward
to the eternal;
faithful in promise
God will abide.
Love in due measure,
measureless goodness,
patient endeavour,
run to love's call!
Faith burning brightly
be your soul's shelter;
who hopes, believing,
accomplishes all.
Hell may assail you,
it cannot move you;
sorrows may grieve you,
faith may be tried.
Though you have nothing,
he is your treasure:
who God possesses
needs naught beside.
Some Thoughts on Being Brave by Rev. Sarah TInker
I really like going swimming and one of my favourite pools is in the Olympic Park in east London, built for the 2012 Olympic Games. It’s a marvellous design – with a beautiful long pool and a huge curved wooden roof and at one end a separate diving pool. At the time when I swim the diving pool is used by professional divers for their practice session – and I can watch them take truly heroic dives – backwards from the top diving platform, somersaulting several times before they enter the water at such speed and with such a perfect angle that they hardly make a ripple. An astonishing level of skill. And I would say bravery. But that’s because I’ve been scared of diving into water ever since I bounced off a springboard as a child, hit the water all wrong and managed to …. best not listen if you are a bit squeamish …. I managed to turn my eyelids slightly inside out and it was agony. That painful physical experience put a stop to my diving career. Just like that.
I imagine that each of us has some aspect of life that we avoid, out of fear or lack of confidence. Diving into water is just one of a number of activities that I avoid! And of course we each have our own particular areas of enjoyment and even expertise – where others might see us as brave, but we know we’re doing something that is meaningful and valuable to us, or something that simply comes naturally to us. Bravery and courage mean different things to different people.
There’s a saying isn’t there – be kind because you never know what hard battle another person is fighting.
Sometimes we are so debilitated by what life is throwing our way, that all we can do is to take those small steps that Russian writer Elena Mikhalkova describes in her poem that we heard earlier on:
In difficult times, you move forward in small steps.
Do what you have to do, but little by little.
Don’t think about the future, or what may happen tomorrow.
Wash the dishes.
Remove the dust.
Write a letter.
Make a soup.
There’s bravery expressed in each of those small steps for me.
There’s bravery in accepting how little control many of us have over what life throws our way. Life just does what it does – and sometimes the only control we have is in our responding to life. And when life becomes very difficult, sometimes all we can do is to accept – that this is what is, this is the phase of life we are now in.
We’re living, many of us, lives that we know to be privileged, and yet still we can be assailed by anxiety and uncertainty. And these are not stable times in which we live. The affairs of our world feel far from steady and secure. We wonder what is round the next corner in international politics.
On today’s order of service there’s a quote from author Romaine Rolland ‘There is only one heroism in the world: to see the world as it is, and to love it.’
I doubt this is the only heroism but the quote made me think. It speaks of those qualities of faith and hope, that require us to face what truly is, and despite everything that we know to be wrong, to love and accept our world as it is; yet still work towards the righting of wrongs, still protest against injustice, still aim for greater equality.
And when our own lives feel tough, when we doubt our own wellsprings of courage, we can be inspired to be something greater, by the example of others, by those who have faced life in brave and heroic ways. I wonder who inspires you. I asked some friends to name people they admired for their bravery and three names stood out
- Rosa Parks, who sat on that bus seat in 1955 and refused to give it to a white person, and became a leader in the civil rights movement in the States.
- Nelson Mandela who endured 27 years of imprisonment and emerged in 1990 with compassion in his heart and a quiet determination to bring South Africa’s apartheid system to an end.
- Malala Yousafzai, who at the age of 15, was shot in an assassination attempt by the Taliban, for speaking up for the education of girls and women. I admire her bravery in continuing to be a public voice for women, despite the on-going threats made against her.
Sometimes we might imagine channelling the bravery of others, bringing their example into ourselves to encourage us to go boldly forward, to take those difficult next steps. And I know some of us here have a sense of a divine presence, within us and beyond us, the God of our hearts and understanding, that we can call on to accompany us as we walk difficult pathways in life. I wonder who or what helps you to feel brave in life’s challenging times. And let’s remember that bravery and fear are not opposites, they are not ‘either this or that’ qualities that we have to choose between. They exist together. The Buddhist teacher and writer Pema Chodron puts it well I think in her book ‘Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times’ when she writes ‘The next time you encounter fear, consider yourself lucky. This is where the courage comes in. Usually we think that brave people have no fear. The truth is that they are intimate with fear.’
I can’t leave this topic of ‘being brave’ without mentioning some of bravery’s negatives. Don’t we shudder when we hear of ways in which the exhortation to ‘be brave’ is used to encourage youngsters to sign up in times of war. It’s perhaps understandable, but still shocking. What is even more repellent to me is the way that the word ‘coward’ can be hurled at those youngsters who choose not to fight in war, those who will not take up arms against a fellow human being. To be a conscientious objector and refuse to enlist surely requires true bravery, the bravery to go against the social mores of one’s time and stand instead for what someone knows to be morally correct for them.
A smaller example of bravery’s negatives for is when someone shares their own fears with another person and instead of having their feelings supported they are met with an unsupportive response. ‘ Man up, could be worse, there’s others having it far worse than you’ etc etc. I wonder if words like those have ever been said to you by someone who’s wanting to be helpful – but who is really invalidating the feelings of anxiety you have just shared with them. Yes, of course it’s part of any friendship to encourage one another to be brave and to step on into the unknown. But let’s be people with the sensitivity to let others be truthful in expressing their feelings of fear and cowardice. It’s ok for use to need to stay under the duvet sometimes.
It’s not easy to live a life is it, being the conscious and aware creatures that we are. So let’s cut each other some slack when we can, let’s recognise that we cannot always go boldly in life. Small steps or no steps at all are at times all that we can achieve.
And let’s also be great encouragers of ourselves and one another, cheering from the sidelines or walking alongside, helping one another to travel courageously as we each walk our own particular and unique path in life. And I look forward to hearing of the small steps you take to help yourself get going again when life feels stuck as well as brave and bold steps you have made at times in your lives. For every life is surely made of both small steps and bold steps - as well as occasional splashes of water when we tumble into a swimming pool.
Hymn 181 (purple): ‘Wake, Now, My Senses’
(Sarah to introduce hymn)
Wake, now, my senses, and hear the earth call;
feel the deep power of being in all;
keep with the web of creation your vow,
giving, receiving as love shows us how.
Wake, now, my reason, reach out to the new;
join with each pilgrim who quests for the true;
honour the beauty and wisdom of time;
suffer thy limit, and praise the sublime.
Wake, now, compassion, give heed to the cry;
voices of suffering fill the wide sky;
take as your neighbour both stranger and friend,
praying and striving their hardship to end.
Wake, now, my conscience, with justice thy guide;
join with all people whose rights are denied;
take not for granted a privileged place;
God's love embraces the whole human race.
Wake, now, my vision of ministry clear;
brighten my pathway with radiance here;
mingle my calling with all who would share;
work toward a planet transformed by our care.
Announcements:
Thanks to Ramona for hosting and Aisha for co-hosting. Thanks to Katie and Andrew for lovely music and Edwin for supporting our singing so well. Thanks to Liz and Brian for reading. Thanks to Juliet for greeting and Liz for making coffee. If you’re online stay for a chat with Aisha if you can. If you’re in-person please do stay for refreshments and good conversation.
Tonight and Friday at 7pm we’ve got our online ‘Heart and Soul’ online contemplative spiritual gathering – this week it’s on the theme of ‘Blossoming’ – sign up with Jane by email ASAP (note that we don’t have many sign-ups for tonight so contact her soon or tonight might be called off).
There’s also due to be an in-person Heart and Soul this Wednesday – again we need to know how many people are planning to come – so please contact Jane ASAP if you intend to be there .
This month’s Better World Book Club has been cancelled as it turns out too many regulars are going to be away. Jane has told me you’ll reschedule the book ‘Calling In’ by Loretta J. Ross. The next book club will now be on 30th August when you’re reading ‘Upstream by Dan Heath.
There will be a congregational lunch after the service on Sunday 26th July. Liz Tuckwell will be coordinating so please let her know what food or drink you’ll be bringing to share.
Next week Jane will be back to lead our Flower Communion service so please do bring a flower to church with you next week if you can (and if you’re at home try to have one on hand to meditate on). Next week there are all sorts of other events going on too! Yoga with Hannah, Crafternoon, Quilting.
Details of all our various activities are on the order of service, also in the Friday email, so sign up for our mailing list if you haven’t already done so. 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. Just time for our closing words and closing music now.
Closing Blessing: with words by Robert Ross
‘For all who see God, may God go with you.
For all who embrace life, may life return your affection.
For all who seek a right path,
May a way be found, and the courage to take it, step by step.’
Closing Music: Badinerie by JS Bach (performed by Katie Taunton and Andrew Robinson)
Rev. Sarah Tinker
12th July 2026