Strawberries

Sunday Service, 15 June 2025

Led by Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall

Musical Prelude: Minuet by L Boccherini (performed by Abby Lorimier and Andrew Robinson)  

Opening Words: ‘Surrender to This Life’ by Gretchen Haley

Give up the fight for some other moment, some other life, than here, and now.

Give up the longing for some other world; The wishing for other choices to make,

other songs to sing, other bodies, other ages, other countries, other stakes.

Purge the past; forgive the future— for each come too soon.

Surrender only to this life, this day, this hour,

not because it does not constantly break your heart

but because it also beckons with beauty, startles with delight

if only we keep waking up.

This is the gift we have been given:

these “body-clothes,” this heart-break, this pulse, this breath,

this light, these friends, this hope. Here we re-member ourselves

all a part of it all— Giving thanks, Together. (pause)

Words of Welcome and Introduction: 

These words from Gretchen Haley 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 us via Zoom, and anyone tuning in at a later date via YouTube or the podcast.  For anyone who doesn’t know me, I’m Jane Blackall, and I’m minister with Kensington Unitarians.

In a change to the previously advertised programme, our service today is all about ‘Strawberries’! Bear with me. This may seem an inappropriately whimsical topic given all that’s going on in the world. But hopefully as the hour progresses it will become apparent that our explorations are intended to help us cope in a turbulent and unpredictable world – to stay connected with sources of pleasure and joy, remember what’s worth living for – instead of becoming consumed by outrage and frozen in fear.

The spirit of this hour, I hope, is captured in these words by the Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön (which are on your order of service, and on the website along with the full service text, as a bit of a teaser for the stories and poems to come). She says: ‘Each moment is just what it is. It might be the only moment of our life; it might be the only strawberry we’ll ever eat. We could get depressed about it, or we could finally appreciate it and delight in the preciousness of every single moment of our life.’

Chalice Lighting: ‘A Spacious Welcome’ by Shari Woodbury (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) 

Welcome, you who come in friendship, who long for genuine community...

May you be graciously received here as your authentic self.

Welcome, you who come in curiosity, full of questions or simply open...

May you embrace wonder and encounter new delights.

Welcome, you who come heavy with fatigue, weary from the troubles of the world

or the troubles of your particular life... May you rest and be filled in this sacred space.

Welcome, you who come with joy for gentle breezes, changing skies, and trees in blossom...

May the grace of the greening world leave a lasting imprint in you.

Welcome, you who come with thanks for the altruism of the earth and the gift of human care...

May your grateful heart overflow and bless those around you.

May this chalice be to us a symbol of the community we’re ever co-creating;

a welcoming container of all the light and life we bring and share together.

Hymn (on sheet): ‘Life’s Great Gifts’

Our first hymn this morning is number on your hymn sheet, ‘Life’s Great Gifts’. For those on zoom the words will be up on screen for all our hymns. Feel free to stand or sit as you prefer.

Life is the greatest gift of all

The riches on this earth;

Life and its creatures, great and small,

Of high and lowly birth:

So treasure it and measure it

With deeds of shining worth.

We are of life, its shining gift,

The measure of all things;

Up from the dust our temples lift,

Our vision soars on wings;

For seed and root, for flower and fruit,

Our grateful spirit sings.

Mind is the brightest gift of all,

Its thought no barrier mars;

Seeking creation's hidden plan,

Its quest surmounts all bars;

It reins the wind, it chains the storm,

It weighs the outmost stars.

Love is the highest gift of life,

Our glory and our good;

Kindred and friend, husband and wife,

It flows in golden flood;

So, hand in hand, from land to land,

Spread sister-brotherhood.  

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

Let’s take those joys and concerns into an extended time of prayer. This prayer is based on some words by Laura Horton-Ludwig. 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, 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)

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,

fellow humans engaging in senseless acts of war and destruction.

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)    

Let us take a few moments now to look back over the past week, sit quietly for a while,

   and inwardly give thanks for those joys and pleasures we have felt along the way:

            moments of love, friendship and camaraderie, 

            experiences of wonder and delight; reassurance and relief ,

            bursts of playfulness, spontaneity and generosity, 

feelings of achievement, creativity, and flow,

            all those times when we felt most alive and awake. (pause – about 30s)

Let us also take some time to ask for the consolation, forgiveness,

     and guidance we may need, as we acknowledge our sorrows and regrets:

            times of loss, pain, anger, and fear, 

            periods of uncertainty and anxious waiting,

realisation of our own weaknesses, mistakes and failings, 

            awareness of missed opportunities, those things left unsaid or undone, 

            those moments when we struggled and felt like a mess. (pause – about 30s)

Expanding our circle of concern, let us bring to mind those people,

      places and situations that are in need of prayer right now:

            - maybe friends or loved ones, those closest to our heart. 

            - maybe those we find difficult, or where there’s a conflict going on.  

            - maybe those we don’t know so well, or who we’ve heard about in the news. 

And let us take a few moments now to hold them in the light of love. (pause – about 30s)

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 Story: ‘Two Tigers and a Strawberry’ (read by Hannah) (traditional Zen story as told by Bill Darlison)

A man was walking through the forest one day when he spotted a tiger in the distance. What was worse, the tiger had spotted him, and because it hadn’t eaten for a day or two, it bounded at great speed after the poor man. Now a human being is no match for a tiger in the speed department, and very soon the hungry beast was so close that the man could almost feel its hot breath on his neck.

Ahead of him was a cliff, and he had no option but to throw himself down in order to escape the tiger’s salivating jaws. Fortunately, he was able to grab hold of a thick vine which was trailing down the cliff side, and he clung on to it for dear life, congratulating himself on his good fortune.

It was a long drop to the ground below, but a sprained ankle was a small price to pay for his life, so he determined to let go of the vine and fall to the ground, but before he could do so, he heard a growl, and, glancing down, he saw another tiger looking hungrily up at him! Up above him was a tiger; down below him was a tiger; both of them wanted to eat him; what could he do? ‘Perhaps one of them will get tired of waiting and move away…’ he thought.     ‘If I can just hang on here for an hour or so I should be fine.’

Then, two mice, one white, one black, came out of a small hole in the cliff side and began to gnaw at the vine. The poor man could see that it wouldn’t be long before they had chewed through and he would fall to his certain death into the waiting mouth of the tiger down below.

Then, a beautiful smell caught his attention. Just near his right hand a big, juicy, wild strawberry was growing. Holding on to the vine with his left hand, he picked the strawberry with his right hand, and popped it into his mouth – ‘Ah, how sweet!’ - it was the most delicious strawberry he had ever eaten in his life!

Hymn (on sheet): ‘The Harvest of Truth’

Thanks Hannah. Let’s sing again – our second hymn is also on your hymn sheets – ‘The Harvest of Truth’. This isn’t one we sing that often so let’s hear it through once in full before we sing.

O live each day and live it well -

All else is life but flung away:

Who lives a life of love can tell

Of true things truly done each day.  

Be what thou seemest live thy creed;

Hold up to earth the torch divine;

Be what thou prayest to be made;

The thirst for righteousness be thine.

Fill up each hour with what will last;

Use well the moments as they go;

Into life’s soil thy seed is cast —

Thy deeds into a harvest grow.

Sow truth, if thou the true wouldst reap;

Who sows the false shall reap the vain;

Erect and sound thy conscience keep,

From hollow words and deeds refrain.

Sow love, and taste its fruitage pure;

Sow peace, and reap its harvest bright;

Sow sunbeams on the rock and moor,

And find a harvest-home of light.

In-Person Reading: ‘Ye Tang Che’ by James Crews (read by Roy)

When you’re more tired

than you’ve ever been,

and you’re fed up with

consuming all the news –

endless voices streaming

from each of your screens –

when you’ve had it with

nightly glasses of wine

to dull the day’s noise

and pills to grease the track

that leads to white sleep,

when you’re at the end

of your rope, just hanging

over the steep edge

of the cliff of your life,

chased on all sides

by the tigers who stalk

above and below –

then you are at last

ye tang che, as the Tibetans

say, meaning exhausted

and freed from the hope

that there’s something

more to be. You can

reach out, pick the strawberry

growing in front of you

and place it in your mouth,

enjoying every bite

without sugar or cream,

even while the tigers

keep nipping at your heels.

Words for Meditation: Savouring the Strawberry

Thanks Roy. We’re moving into a time of meditation now. And the focus of our meditation is really simple – my glamorous assistants are going to come round and offer you each a strawberry – and I hope those of you joining from home also got the memo about having a strawberry on hand. If that isn’t possible then I’d encourage you to find some other piece of fruit or delicious morsel of food. And if you’re here in the church and you don’t like strawberries we do have some grapes as an alternative. Or you can just imagine some other edible item that you would take pleasure in.

One you’ve got your strawberry in hand we’ll hold a few minutes of shared silence which will end with the sound of a bell. Then we’ll hear some music for meditation. So let’s do what we need to do to get comfortable – adjust your position if you need to – perhaps put your feet flat on the floor to ground yourself. As we always say, feel free to use this time to meditate in your own way.

So when you have a strawberry in your hand, or a strawberry substitute, I invite you to sit with it for a while – look at it, maybe breath in its smell, and when you’re ready, taste it – fully savour the strawberry. As Pema Chödrön said: ‘Each moment is just what it is. It might be the only moment of our life; it might be the only strawberry we’ll ever eat. We could get depressed about it, or we could finally appreciate it and delight in the preciousness of every single moment of our life.’

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

Interlude: La Cinquantaine by G. Marie (performed by Abby Lorimier and Andrew Robinson) 

Online Reading: ‘The Strawberry Poem’ by Keaton St. James (read by Charlotte)

i tell myself that once i make it to tomorrow, i will get up

with the gold glow of the sun, tighten my scarf

against the restless cold, & walk to the nearest

grocery store. i will buy the biggest box of strawberries

i can find, sit on my kitchen floor, eat them

with my hands all in one shot.

                                                     like a child or like god,

i will stain some things red on accident.

& still the foam-mouthed seas will churn

under the gaze of the moon, & cardinals with snow-

brushed wings will nestle themselves into pine

branches the way a heart nestles itself into the ribs,

& still i will have my laughter, yes, even when pain

fills up my pockets like stones.

                                                     but isn’t that the miracle?

i was close enough to the river to kiss it, & i went home

anyway. home, where it is so easy to spill

sugar on the counter, drop tea leaves on the floor,

forget splinters of cinnamon sticks & find them later

behind the kettle, your mess the proof that you

were not a ghost here but a body, solid & awake

& true. home, where it is

                                                    so easy to make a big joy

from a small strawberry, to hold that sweet-

ness in your mouth, its red as bright as wanting. its red

that says, & how much more joy can we hold in another

year, another decade, a whole recklessly beautiful life?

In-Person Reading: ‘Strawberries’ by Tamara Madison (read by Liz)

Fragole, fresas, klubniki, fraises —

is there a term that names them better

than strawberry? I think of sunshine

and straw hats, picnics, boating parties,

a barber shop quartet, home-made

ice cream, grainy and sweet, everything

warm, wholesome, innocent, old fashioned.

Near my house there’s a strawberry field

that begins its work in spring, the stray seeds

emerging unbidden in neighbouring gardens,

on walkways, from cracks in the sidewalk,

the clean white petals yielding pale-green

hearts that swell, redden, and fill

with so much happiness to give in their sweet-tart

flesh, their fertile seeds that linger in your teeth

and remind you of a gentle time only moments

ago when you tasted the essence of summer

on your joyful tongue.

In-Person Reading: ‘What is Given’ by Ralph Murre (read by Brian)

The likelihood of finding strawberries

tiny and wild and sweet

around your ankles

on any given day

in any given place

is not great

but sometimes

people find strawberries

right where they are standing

just because it is their turn

to be given a taste

of something wild and sweet

Mini-Reflection: by Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall

Thanks Brian, Liz and Charlotte. Who knew there were so many poems about strawberries!

I only want to offer a very short reflection of my own today. And, as I said at the very top of the service, I want to acknowledge that it might seem a strange decision on my part to swerve at the last minute to this apparently whimsical theme, given the state of the world and all its terrors. I had been planning to talk about theological matters, but I didn’t have the heart for it, and then I chanced across the poem by James Crews (which Roy read earlier). Its closing lines seemed so perfect:

You can / reach out, pick the strawberry /

growing in front of you / and place it in your mouth, /

enjoying every bite / without sugar or cream, /

even while the tigers / keep nipping at your heels.

Doesn’t it feel as if the tigers are, increasingly, nipping at our heels? Even if we’re not living in Gaza, Tehran, Ukraine, Sudan or any other spot on this earth that is blighted by war. Even if we’re not (yet) living in a state like Trump’s America. I’m not going to stand here and list all the horrors that we all know about. We are all too aware, most of us, of so many unfolding global catastrophes – and it is an important part of what we do here, to bear witness – and to lament all the evil and injustice that’s happening in the world – we’re not going to stop doing that. And, in whatever small ways we can, we have to do something to help put things right. That’s something we talk about most weeks, we encourage each other in our personal commitments for justice, and we strive to be a counter-cultural community of resistance, in our modest way, by embodying a different way of being in the world, that’s centred on love, justice, and peace.  

But at least once a year I think we need to pause and remember that even in the worst conditions we can still connect with pleasure, and beauty, and joy. As we read the news headlines we might feel we are caught between two thousand tigers – not just two – but it is important not to get drawn so deeply into despair that we fail to see the metaphorical strawberries that are still within reach. Perhaps it’s in these extreme circumstances that we need them the most. I appreciate these words by M.J. Ryan which I included in Friday’s email: ‘It is precisely because life is unpredictable that we have the duty of delight, a responsibility to relish, cherish, and value the gifts we have been given so that when they are taken away — through death or other changes that life's impermanence brings our way — we will not have to also bear the pain of having failed to appreciate what we had.’

Some of you may be familiar with the work of adrienne maree brown, perhaps her most famous work to date is a book titled ‘Pleasure Activism’, and she’s one of a number of voices in recent years – I’m also thinking of Tricia Hersey who wrote ‘Rest is Resistance’ which we read in the Better World Book Club last summer – voices reminding us of the risk of burning out, if we take the woes of the whole world on our shoulders, and act as if we are not allowed to rest until everything is put right. There’s an important message to take note of – about this balancing act which I also alluded to last week in our service on ‘Faith’ – we need to remain engaged with both the troubles and the delights of this simultaneously terrible and beautiful world – it doesn’t help anyone if we close ourselves off to either dimension – and taking pleasure in strawberries (or whatever else it might be that we choose to take pleasure in) can recharge us so we’re ready to return to the work of saving the world. Yes, we’ve got work to do. But we can’t do it (or worry about it) 24/7. We need to take a holistic view.

I want to share some words on this from adrienne maree brown. She writes: ‘Pleasure reminds us to enjoy being alive and on purpose... True pleasure—joy, happiness and satisfaction—has been the force that helps us move beyond the constant struggle, that helps us live and generate futures beyond this dystopic present, futures worthy of our miraculous lives. Pleasure—embodied, connected pleasure—is one of the ways we know when we are free. That we are always free. That we always have the power to co-create the world. Pleasure helps us move through the times that are unfair, through grief and loneliness, through the terror of genocide, or days when the demands are just overwhelming. Pleasure heals the places where our hearts and spirit get wounded. Pleasure reminds us that even in the dark, we are alive. Pleasure is a medicine for the suffering that is absolutely promised in life... Feeling good is not frivolous, it is freedom.’

So that’s the very simple takeaway message I have for you today. Despite everything that’s going on in the world, we can – we must – take our pleasures where we can. We are still here, and there are still things to be glad about, so let’s make time for joy and take in the good. Savour the strawberries.

I want to close with one last strawberry poem. I feel like this one was a bit of a gift from God – when I woke up on Saturday morning it was in my email box – the poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer writes a new poem every day and this was her freshly minted offering yesterday. It couldn’t be more in tune with what I wanted to say. ‘Please’ by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer.

If you are one who has practice

meeting the pain of the world,

we need you. Right now we need you

to teach us it is possible to swallow

what is weighty and still be able to rise.

We need you to remind us we can

be furious and scared and near feral

over injustice and still thrill at the taste

of a strawberry, ripe and sweet,

can still meet a stranger and shake

their hand, believing in their humanness.

We need you to show us how

we, too, can fall into the darkest,

unplumbed pit and learn there

a courage and beauty

we could never learn from the light.

If you have drowned in sorrow

and still have somehow found

a way to breathe, please, lead us.

You are the one with the crumbs

we need, the ones we will use to find

our way back to the home of our hearts.

Amen.

Hymn 37 (purple): ‘For the Fruits of All Creation’

Let’s sing one last time. Our final hymn is number 37 in your purple books: ‘For the Fruits of All Creation’. Again we don’t sing it often so I’ll ask Andrew to play it through first. Hymn 37.

For the fruits of all creation, thanks be to God;

for the gifts to every nation thanks be to God;

for the ploughing, sowing, reaping,

silent growth while we are sleeping,

future needs in earth's safe-keeping, thanks be to God.

In the just reward of labour, God's will is done;

in the help we give our neighbour, God's will is done;

in the world-wide task of caring

for the hungry and despairing,

in the harvests we are sharing, God's will is done.

For the harvest of the spirit, thanks be to God;

for the good we all inherit, thanks be to God;

for the wonders that astound us,

for the truths that still confound us,

most of all, that love has found us, thanks be to God.

Announcements:

Thanks to Ramona for tech-hosting and Charlotte for co-hosting. Thanks to Abby and George for lovely music and to Edwin for supporting our hymn singing. Thanks to Hannah, Roy, Charlotte, Liz and Brian for reading. Thanks to Hannah for greeting and Liz for making coffee. If you are here in-person – we’ve got pear and ginger cake – I thought about making strawberry cake but I didn’t want to overdo it!

We haven’t got any in-person events this afternoon – Margaret’s singing group is on an irregular date this month – she’ll be here on Sunday 29th June. And we’ve called off this month’s crafternoon as lots of our regulars are away. Please do let me know if you want it to go ahead next month.

Tonight and Friday at 7pm we’ve got our ‘Heart and Soul’ online contemplative spiritual gathering – this week we’re considering ‘Gratitude’ – email me if you want to join us and I’ll share the link. We’ve also got our in-person H&S on Wednesday night so please let me know if you’re coming.

This month’s Better World Book Club is on ‘They’ by Sarfraz Manzoor. We’ve got one copy left to lend out. Let me know if you want to join and I’ll send the link nearer the time. And all the titles for the rest of the year have now been announced so take a flyer if you want all the information.

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.  Or if you haven’t already got one why not take home a copy of our summer newsletter? Or you could take a copy for a friend – please help us spread the word.

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.

Time for our closing words and closing music now.  

Benediction: based on words by Barbara Cheatham

And now we take our leave.

Before we gather here again--

may each of us bring happiness into another's life;

may we each be surprised by the gifts that surround us;

may each of us be enlivened by constant curiosity --

And may we remain together in spirit

til the hour we meet again. Amen.

Closing Music: Scherzo by C. Webster (performed by Abby Lorimier and Andrew Robinson) 

Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall

15th June 2025