Creative Powers

Sunday Service, 1 March 2026

Led by Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KypB3kQcmf4

Musical Prelude: I Remember When – Alexis Ffrench (performed by Jack Campbell)     

Opening Words: ‘We Co-Create this Sanctuary’ by Jack Mendelsohn (adapted)

With our presence and intention we make this gathering a sanctuary:

A space of dreams and wisdom and beauty, where we come to grow,

to be healed, to stretch mind and heart, to be challenged, 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, shadows, and brutality around us and within,

we seek to align ourselves with a community that would affirm rather than despair,

that would think and act to bring about a better and more beautiful world

through our creative efforts, 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, and the life that makes all things new.

Words of Welcome and Introduction: 

These words from Jack Mendelsohn welcome all who have gathered this morning for our Sunday service. Welcome to those who have gathered in-person at Essex Church, to all who are joining via Zoom, and anyone tuning in at a later date via YouTube or listening to the podcast stream.  For anyone who doesn’t know me, I’m Jane Blackall, and I’m minister with Kensington Unitarians.

This morning we will be reflecting on our 'Creative Powers' – our capacity to participate in the work of creation – and to make some sort of difference in this world. The story of the universe is still unfolding and for as long as we’re still here we have a chance – many, many chances, in fact – to contribute to that story, if we own our own creative power, and harness it to bring something new into being. As Martha Graham once said: ‘There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.’

Later in the service, in the spot where we’d usually have a sermon-y bit, we’ll have an opportunity for you – whether you are in person or online – to tell us a little about some aspect of your own creative expression – and you can take that in the widest possible sense. You might think about something you’d like to share (quite briefly!) later on – something you have created which has made the world better or more beautiful – perhaps in the form of visual art, music, written word, performance, gardens, buildings, communities, events or happenings, even social change. I think of us as quite a creative congregation so I bet some of you will struggle to choose just one thing to mention – but no matter how small or quirky your creative contribution might seem – let’s celebrate it today (…and don’t worry, this is an invitation, not an obligation, nobody is going to pressure you to speak).  

Chalice Lighting: ‘Intention and Creativity’ by Deanna Vandiver (adapted)

Let’s light our chalice flame now, as we do each week. It’s a moment for us to stop and take a breath, settle ourselves down, put aside any preoccupations we came in carrying. 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 this gathering is part.

(light chalice) 

As we light our chalice,

this ritual of our faith reminds us

that we are part of a collective—

a community of care and connection,

courage and questions,

scared and sacred together.

Today we gather with intention and creativity,

releasing what we must,

shaping what we will,

in a space made possible

by generations of community care

and the courage of connection.

Hymn (on sheet): ‘Song of Thanksgiving’

Our first hymn this morning is on your hymn sheet: ‘Song of Thanksgiving’. For those joining on zoom the words will be up on screen. Feel free to stand or sit as you prefer.

We sing now together our song of thanksgiving,

Rejoicing in goods which the ages have wrought

For Life that enfolds us and helps and heals and holds us,

And leads beyond the goals which our ancestors sought.

We sing of the freedoms which martyrs and heroes

Have won by their labour, their sorrow, their pain;

The oppressed befriending, our ampler hopes defending,

Their death becomes our triumph, their loss is our gain.

We sing of the prophets, the teachers, the dreamers,

Designers. creators, and workers, and seers;

Our own lives expanding, our gratitude commanding,

Their deeds have made immortal their days and their years.

We sing of earth's comradeship now in the making

In every far continent, region and land;

With folk of all races, all times and names and places,

We pledge ourselves in fellowship firmly to stand. 

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)

Time of Prayer & Reflection: based on words by Laura Horton-Ludwig & Hilary Allen

Let’s take those joys and concerns into an extended time of prayer. This prayer is based on some words by Laura Horton-Ludwig & Hilary Allen. You might 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, 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 are here, this day, because we know that what we do with our life matters.

We are here because we know the choices we make each day matter.

That with every act of kindness or meanness, courage or fear, love or hate,

we are weaving the fabric of the universe that holds us all.

We are here, this day, because we need encouragement.

Because we need strength. Because so often, we get distracted.

We get in a rush, we don’t think, we sometimes choose the easy way

when the hard path of integrity may be what our spirits truly long for.

We are here, this day, because none of us is infallible or perfect,

but together we inspire one another. To try again. To take another step.

We are here because we have felt the stirrings of love and grace

in our hearts and hands, and we are called to co-create that shining life,

for ourselves and for everyone on this planet; for the greater good of all. (short pause)

And let us take a few moments now to look inward, get in touch with what’s real,

what is going on beneath the surface of our lives this morning.

Let us notice what we’re carrying. What troubles us. What is bubbling up.

What questions or uncertainties we are faced with. What hopes and dreams we nurture.

And from that place of realness – silently, inwardly, ask for

what you most need – ask God, or cast it out into the Universe –

even if you’re the only one to hear your prayer – name what you need this day. (pause)

And let give thanks for what we already have. Look back on the week

and recall all those moments of kindness, comfort, pleasure, even joy.

Silently, inwardly, take the time to savour those gifts, and take in the good. (pause)

And let us turn outwards now, shifting our attention to the world around us,

starting with those dear ones closest to our heart, stretching ever outward,

and spreading all around this planet, holding all beings in the light of love. (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.

In-Person Reading: ‘Creativity and the Divine Imagination’ by John O'Donohue (excerpt, adapted) (read by Antony)

Creativity is the supreme passion of God; God created the world because God had to create. There was such a fullness brimming in the divine presence that God had to come to expression. The divine imagination has infused the things of the world with secret depths. We are the ultimate participants here – the more we give ourselves to experience and strive for expression – the deeper it opens to us.

We carry in our minds and hearts the ripple of the divine mind. There are depths that keep watch in us, depths we have not created. The individual imagination is not its own invention: its source is elsewhere.

At the deepest level, creativity is holiness. To create is to further the dream and desire of the creator. When the world was created, it was not a one-off, finished event. Creation is a huge beginning, not a finished end. Made in the image and likeness of the Divine Imagination, human creativity helps to add to creation. The unfinished is an invitation to our imagination. This is what happens in experience: the unfinished reaches towards us in order to come to form and expression. Experience is also how we develop and grow.

The human self is not a finished thing, it is constantly unfolding. Experience is, then, essentially creative. Everything we feel, think and do, even the smallest thing, expresses and unfolds the dream of God. The life within us calls out for expression. This is what creativity serves. It endeavours to bring some of our hidden life to expression in order that we might come to see who we are. When we are creative, we help the unknown to become known, the visible to be seen, and the rich darkness within us to become illuminated.

No human being is ever actually there. Each of us is emerging in every moment. When we discover our creativity, we begin to attend to this constant emergence of who we are. While the outside world has long settled for who we are in terms of name, personality and role, when we creatively engage our life, we enable the signature, taste and imprint of our uniqueness to emerge.

This is what begins to emerge when we come to the desk and look into the mirror of the white page. Beneath the white page, in the stillness, a harvest of untouched possibility waits. Every heart is full of creative material. When creativity awakens, we discover that nothing is truly complete or closed in life. The deeper we attend to the soul, the more we realize what a treasure-house we have inherited.

There are depths in us hungering towards the light.

Hymn 104 (purple): ‘Name Unnamed’

Thanks Antony. Let’s sing again now – our second hymn is number 104 in the purple books – ‘Name Unnamed’. We haven’t sung this in ages, so it won’t be familiar to most, and I’m going to ask Jack to play it through in full before we sing. It speaks of the many dimensions of that unnameable spirit in which we live and move and have our being – including the creative dimension we all participate in. And as such I think it links up with that reading we’ve just heard. Number 104, ‘Name Unnamed’.

Name unnamed, hidden and shown, knowing and known. Gloria!

Beautifully moving, ceaselessly forming,

growing, emerging with awesome delight,

Maker of Rainbows, glowing with colour, arching in wonder,

energy flowing in darkness and light:

Name unnamed, hidden and shown, knowing and known. Gloria!

Spinner of Chaos, pulling and twisting,

freeing the fibres of pattern and form,

Weaver of Stories, famed or unspoken, tangled or broken,

shaping a tapestry vivid and warm:

Name unnamed, hidden and shown, knowing and known. Gloria!

Nudging Discomforter, prodding and shaking,

waking our lives to creative unease,

Straight-Talking Lover, checking and humbling, jargon and grumbling,

speaking the truth that refreshes and frees:

Name unnamed, hidden and shown, knowing and known. Gloria!

Midwife of Changes, skilfully guiding,

drawing us out through the shock of the new,

Woman of Wisdom, deeply perceiving, never deceiving,

freeing and leading in all that we do:

Name unnamed, hidden and shown, knowing and known. Gloria!

Daredevil Gambler, risking and loving,

giving us freedom to shatter your dreams,

Life-giving Loser, wounded and weeping, dancing and leaping,

sharing the caring that heals and redeems.

Name unnamed, hidden and shown, knowing and known. Gloria!

In-Person Reading: ‘We Are All Creative’ by Ana Levy-Lyons (excerpts, adapted) (read by Azita)

This piece, by Unitarian Universalist minister Ana Levy-Lyons, is an excerpt from a longer reflection, inspired by reading ‘The Artist’s Way’, the well-known book on creativity by Julia Cameron. She writes:

We are all creative beings. Creativity is not something that only successful artists possess; it’s part of our nature; part of our inner child, part of the factory settings of each human being, installed by the greatest Creator of all. Julia Cameron, the author, uses the word “God,” but she’s quick to say that it doesn’t matter what you call it; there is a creative force at the foundation of the universe and part of the evolution of the world as we know it has been the transmission of that creative capacity itself to us. The feminist theologian Mary Daly put it this way: “It is the creative potential itself in human beings that is in the image of God.”

This natural creativity that we have is abundant in our childhood. We pretend, make believe, dream vividly, conjure imaginary friends. We love colour, we love sparkle, we love twirling and running. We ask fresh questions and make astute observations about our world. We’re funny. But at some point in our childhoods, many of us find that the adults in our lives are trying to dampen that expansive dream-filled way of being. The grownups don’t take us seriously as artists. Some of us get told that we’re no good at it. Creativity is for other people, not us. And so our tender creative venture withdraws.

There is a kind of spiritual / creative injury that we suffer in that process. The creative part of ourselves, the divine gift that is so essential to who we are, gets suppressed. And along with it, the channels of spiritual flow get stopped up. We live smaller, less expansively. Our childhood dreams grow dim. We put our heads down, and do our jobs, sometimes living vicariously through other creative people.

But creative flow is part of who we are. Each of us. And I have come to believe that it is un-killable. We have the ability to nurture that part of us and let it flourish again. Julia Cameron calls it creative recovery. And it is clearly also spiritual recovery. When we unclog our spiritual plumbing and allow the natural current of creativity to flow through us, we become more fully ourselves. And when that happens, watch out, world. It’s so powerful. Amazing things begin to happen.

This is not just for people who want to be writers or musicians or painters. We can bring creativity to our whole lives, whatever we do. There is creative potential everywhere. When it’s flowing, our whole life can be a work of art, and we realize: this is how it’s meant to be. This is who we are meant to be.

Words for Meditation: ‘Your Creative Life’

Thanks Azita.  We’re moving into a time of meditation now. To take us into stillness I’m going invite you to reflect on your own creative life. If you’re in the building we’ve put a pen on your chair and there are some spares at the back of the room. Hopefully if you’re joining from home you’ll have a pen and paper or other note-taking wherewithal to hand. Following just a few introductory words of invitation, we will hold a few minutes of shared silence, which will end with the sound of a bell. Then we’ll hear music for meditation from Jack, some Chopin, a nice long piece for you to settle in to. So let’s do what we need to do to get comfortable – adjust your position – put your feet flat on the floor to ground yourself – close your eyes. As ever, these words and music are just an offering, feel free to use this time to meditate in your own way.

So I invite you to survey your creative life. Think about this as broadly and freely as you can. Consider things you’ve made or initiated which have made the world a tiny bit – or a lot – better or more beautiful. Things that wouldn’t exist or wouldn’t have happened without your creative spark or initiative. Jot down anything that comes to mind from across your lifetime – visual art, music, written word, performance, gardens, buildings, communities, events or happenings, even social change. This list of suggestions is not comprehensive, it’s just to get you started. Things you have created alone, or with others, or which you still aspire to create.

As John O’Donohue said: ‘Each of us is emerging in every moment. When we discover our creativity, we begin to attend to this constant emergence of who we are... when we creatively engage our life, we enable the signature, taste and imprint of our uniqueness to emerge.’

So as we move into stillness now I invite you to recognise and affirm your own creative powers.

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

Interlude: Nocturne in C-sharp minor op. posthumous – Frédéric Chopin (performed by Jack Campbell)    

Sharing on ‘Our Creative Powers’

So we have about ten minutes now for a few of us to share about something we have created which has made the world better or more beautiful – like I said, perhaps it’s visual art, music, written word, performance, gardens, buildings, communities, events or happenings, even social change – it doesn’t have to be something huge or spectacular – but something you’re quietly proud of, perhaps. I’m sure many of you have got a long list of things you could choose from – so just pick one to share for now – we can always chat about the others over tea and cake after the service (or at the next crafternoon!)

I invite anyone who wants to join in to come up to the mic in turn – please come up to the lectern this time – and we’ll do it like joys and concerns, we’ll go to the people in the room first and then zoom.

As always there’s a balance to be struck; I’m not sure how many people will want to join in, and I don’t want to inhibit anyone’s sharing, but do bear in mind how long you’re speaking for so that everyone who wants to join in can get a chance to do so without us overrunning massively (but I think there is a chance we’ll overrun a bit as these things are unpredictable). Just to let you know this will be default stay in the service recording; if you want to be edited out let me know straight after the service as I’ll edit the video later this afternoon. And as with everything else it’s an invitation not an obligation.

(people come up and speak out – if nobody from online joins in say ‘anyone from on zoom?’)

If everyone who wants to speak has spoken – thank you for your contributions – it’s good to share our stories – it’s another way to build connection – and to lift each other up. Let’s encourage each other in all these creative endeavours as we use our unique gifts in the service of love, justice and peace.

Hymn 198 (purple): ‘We’ll Build a Land’

Time for one last hymn, and it’s an old, number 198 in the purple book, and it celebrates the ultimate use of our creative powers – building a better world. Hymn 198: ‘We’ll Build a Land’.

We'll build a land where we bind up the broken.

We'll build a land where the captives go free,

where the oil of gladness dissolves all mourning.

O, we'll build a promised land that can be.

Come build a land where sisters and brothers,

anointed by God, may then create peace:

where justice shall roll down like waters,

and peace like an ever flowing stream.

We'll build a land where we bring the good tidings

to all the afflicted and all those who mourn.

And we'll give them garlands instead of ashes.

O, we'll build a land where peace is born.

Come build a land where sisters and brothers,

anointed by God, may then create peace:

where justice shall roll down like waters,

and peace like an ever flowing stream.

We'll be a land building up ancient cities,

raising up devastations of old;

restoring ruins of generations.

O, we'll build a land of people so bold.

Come build a land where sisters and brothers,

anointed by God, may then create peace:

where justice shall roll down like waters,

and peace like an ever flowing stream.

Come, build a land where the mantles of praises

resound from spirits once faint and once weak;

where like oaks of righteousness stand her people.

O, come build the land, my people we seek.

Come build a land where sisters and brothers,

anointed by God, may then create peace:

where justice shall roll down like waters,

and peace like an ever flowing stream.

Announcements:

Thanks to Ramona for hosting and Shari for co-hosting. Thanks to Jack for lovely music, and for standing in at the last minute, and Benjie for his singing support. Thanks to Antony and Azita for reading and to everyone who contributed to the sharing. Thanks to Juliet for greeting and Liz for making coffee. If you are in-person do stay for cake (it’s Apple and Sultana or Coffee and Walnut this week).  If you’re online stay for a chat with Shari if you can.

After the service at 1pm we’ll have our first ‘Each Child a Light’ Quilting Session – it’s a memorial project to honour children killed in Gaza – Fiona is here to help get you started – I don’t think you need any special skills to take part and all materials will be provided.

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 ‘Commitment’ – email Jane if you want to join.

You can come along to the Poetry Group with Brian on Wednesday night – have a word with him.

Sonya will be here with her Nia Dance class on Friday lunchtime – have a word with Sonya.

This month the Better World Book Club is reading ‘Afropean: Notes from Black Europe’ by Johny Pitts and we have copies of that to loan out if you’d like to join on the 22^nd. Another good read.

And looking further ahead there are a couple of events in March to add to your diary and I could do with you signing up for these events please so that I know who’s coming and what’s viable. We’re going to go to Rainham Marshes RSPB for a spring walk on 12^th March. Let me know if you plan to join us for that. And we’re going to have another labyrinth mini-retreat, that’s co-led by me and Sarah Tinker, to mark the spring equinox after the service on Sunday 22^nd March.

Next Sunday we’ll be back here at 11am for a service on ‘Our Hurting World’. We’ve got a new hymn, ‘Resistance Song’, that I want us to try next week, and it isn’t out there on the web, so Benjie and Andrew have very kindly recorded a version for us so you can have a listen and a practice beforehand! So please do have a listen and we’ll give it our best shot next Sunday.

Details of all our various activities are printed on the back of the order of service, for you to take away, and also in the Friday email. And the brand new spring newsletter is out! I posted copies on Thursday so I hope most will have received it already but if you’re not on that mailing list do take a copy.  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 – and these simple closing words by Steve Crump are very familiar to me – they were the words we used at the church creativity group (the very first Engagement Group we ran at Essex Church back in the noughties) for over a decade.

Benediction: based on words by Steve J. Crump

That which is worthy of doing, create with your hands.

That which is worthy of repeating, speak with a clear voice.

That which is worthy of remembering, hold in your hearts.

And that which is worthy of living, go and live it now. Amen.

Closing Music: Spiritual Suite, no. 1, The Valley of the Bones – Margaret Bonds (performed by Jack Campbell)

Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall

1st March 2026