The Cosmic Ocean

Sunday Service, 14 September 2025

Led by Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall

Musical Prelude: Smetana - Vltava (performed by Georgia Dawson and Toby Morgan)  

Opening Words: ‘The Strength of Water’ by Jamila Batchelder and Molly Housh Gordon

The strength of water takes on many, many forms—

just as each of you has a unique and necessary strength

that you bring to our community and to the work of love.

Take a moment, as we gather, to drop down

into the deep wellspring of your own spirit

and bathe yourself in the strength

that is the groundwater of your person.

Are you a roaring waterfall wearing rock away with sheer force of will?

Are you a tiny drop of water in a crevice, breaking it open slowly, steadily?

Are you buoyant, like a great salt lake, practiced at holding others aloft?

Are you tenacious like the mountain stream,

finding your way down and around every obstacle you face?

Are you still and calm like the pond at daybreak, offering radiant peace by your shores?

Are you in touch with hidden depths, pulling from a vast well?

Do you soothe like the steam rising from a cup of tea?

Do you dissolve away stubborn muck, like water left in a pot to soak?

Do you soften and smooth the edges like a creeping fog?

Do you clear away distraction like a cleansing rain?

Do you roll with the ebb and flow like the ocean waves?

Settle your mind upon the strength, the power that is yours.

Draw that strength into your heart. Draw it up into your soul.

As we gather together the many waters of this community,

we need each of your power, each of your resilience,

each of your love to make us whole. (pause)

Words of Welcome and Introduction: 

These words from Jamila Batchelder and Molly Housh Gordon 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.

Today’s service is our annual Gathering of the Waters – once a year we regather to participate in this ritual of connectedness and interdependence – this symbolic affirmation of our church community.

This year I’ve given this service the title ‘The Cosmic Ocean’ – we’re going to take the watery symbolism and extend it into this spiritual metaphor you might have encountered before and which pops up in a number of religious traditions – I’ve heard versions of it from Hindu, Buddhist, mystical Jewish teachers and Sufi poets – this idea that we are waves on a cosmic ocean. It’s a symbol of unity, non-duality, oneness. A powerful way to think about existence and our place in the scheme of things.

Chalice Lighting: ‘We Gather as Many Drops’ by Leslie Takahashi

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) 

We gather as many drops,

each winding our own path

down life’s surfaces and ruts.

Here we pool together as a single body,

flowing together for a time.

Together we are a stream, at times even a river,

for with our shared power and intention we can travel

toward oceans of meaning and seas of profound connection.

Hymn 229 (green): ‘One World This’

Our first hymn this morning is number 229 in your green books, ‘One World This’. For those on zoom the words will be up on screen for all our hymns. Feel free to stand or sit as you prefer.

One world this, for all its sorrow;

One world shaping one tomorrow;

One humanity, though riven –

We, to whom a world is given.

From one world there is no turning;

For one world the prophets’ yearning.

One, the world of poets, sages;

One world, goal of all the ages.

One, our world from the beginning;

One, the world we would be winning;

World so eagerly expected;

World so recklessly rejected.

One, enfolding every nation:

One, our mightiest creation:

Dream, to guide the mind’s endeavour;

Hope, to hold the heart for ever.

One world, land and air and ocean;

One, upheld by our devotion.

One, as common folk have willed it;

One, as government can build it.

World of friendly ways and faces,

Cherished arts and honoured races.

One world, free in word and science;

People free, its firm reliance.

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 Becky Edmiston-Lange

Let’s take those joys and concerns into an extended time of prayer. This prayer is based on some words by Becky Edmiston-Lange. 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)

Mysterious force giving shape to life,

   miraculous source and river of being,

      help us to know who we are, to see our place

          in the history of earth and in the family of things;

Help us to see that we are part of all that ever was –

   our grandmother’s prayers and our grandfather’s dreamings,

      our mother’s courage and our father’s hope –

         a unique expression of the unfolding universe.

In our bones lies the calcium of antediluvian creatures,

   in our veins courses the water of seas;

we are part of all that ever was,

   born of this earth, waves of a cosmic ocean;

we are not separate from nature, we are nature,

   part of that same spirit that turned

      scales into feathers and birdsong into speech;

we live by the sun; we move by the stars…

   we eat from the earth; we drink from the rain.

Help us know who we are and fill us

   with such love for this holy creation

      and gratitude for this awesome gift we call living,

that we might claim our inheritance and live out our calling

   to bless the world and each other with our care. (pause)

And in a few minutes of quietness now, let us seek a higher perspective, a longer view;

starting right where we are, let us shift our awareness ever outward, in circles of concern.

Let us bring to mind those we know to be struggling this day – perhaps including ourselves –

those friends and family we hold dearest – our neighbours in community –

others around the globe we may only have heard about on the news.

And let us take time to send prayers of loving kindness to all who suffer. (longer pause)

Let us take stock of our own lives – the challenges we face – and our part in those difficulties –

perhaps we are all too aware of mistakes we have made, or missed opportunities –

times in this week where things didn’t turn out how we intended or had hoped.

And let us take time to ask for what we need to start afresh this week and do better. (longer pause)

Let us look back over the last week, taking time to notice what was good, to count our blessings –

all the ways in which others helped or encouraged us, inspired or delighted us –

all the goodness and beauty we have known even in the midst of struggle.

And let us take time to give prayers of thanks for all we have been given. (longer pause)

Spirit of Life – God of all Love – as this time of prayer comes to a close, we offer up

   our joys and concerns, our hopes and fears, our beauty and brokenness,

      and we call on you for insight, healing, and renewal.

As we look forward now to the coming week,

     help us to live well each day and be our best selves;

     using our unique gifts in the service of love, justice and peace. Amen.

Hymn 233 (green): ‘Others Call It God’

Let’s sing again – our second hymn is number 233 in the green books, ‘Others Call it God’ – and it makes reference to the ‘mystic ocean’ which is the theme of our service today. We don’t sing it that often so I’ll ask George to play it through once before we sing.

A fire-mist and a planet,

A crystal and a cell,

A star-fish and a saurian,

And caves where cave-folk dwell;

The sense of law and beauty,

A face turned from the clod —

Some call it evolution,

And others call it God.

Haze on the far horizon,

The infinite tender sky,

The ripe, rich tints of cornfields,

And wild geese sailing high;

And over high and lowland,

The charm of golden rod —

Some people call it nature,

And others call it God.

Like tides on crescent sea-beach,

When the moon is new and thin,

Into our hearts high yearnings

Come welling, surging in,

Come from the mystic ocean

Whose rim no foot has trod —

Some people call it longing,

And others call it God.

A picket frozen on duty,

A mother starved for her brood,

And Socrates drinking hemlock,

And Jesus on the rood;

And millions, who, though nameless,

The straight, hard pathway trod —

Some call it consecration,

And others call it God.

Reading: ‘The Story of Wavy and Wisdom’ by Shamash Alidina (read by ?Hannah ?John ?Brian)

Once upon a time, in a vast ocean, lived a little wave named Wavy. Wavy had always felt like something was missing. He observed the other waves around him, rising and falling, crashing and subsiding, and yet he wondered, "Is this all there is?"

One day, Wavy heard whispers among the currents about an ancient wave named Wisdom, who held the secrets of the ocean. Filled with intrigue, Wavy ventured far and wide until he found Wisdom calmly rippling near a coral reef.

"Ah, you must be Wavy," said Wisdom, as if expecting him. "I sense you're searching for something more."

"How did you know?" asked Wavy, surprised.

"In the ocean, the currents tell more tales than you'd think," Wisdom replied with a chuckle.

Wavy eagerly shared his yearnings and asked, "What's the secret of this existence? What are we waves doing here?"

Wisdom took a deep breath, the sort of breath that tides take when turning. "Have you ever questioned what you're made of, Wavy?"

"Water, I presume?"

"Ah, exactly!" Wisdom exclaimed. "And what's the ocean made of?"

"Water as well, but what's your point?"

"Don't you see? You're not just a wave - you're the ocean expressing itself as a wave. You've created this distinction, this duality between you and the ocean. But in reality, you are one and the same."

Confusion swirled in Wavy's mind like a whirlpool. "So, I'm the ocean? But then, why do I feel so separate?"

Wisdom sighed, the sort of sigh oceans give when a storm has passed. "It's the cosmic joke, my dear Wavy. We create the notion of 'self' and 'other,' as if we're individual actors on this grand stage. But it's all a play, and the ocean is both the playwright and the stage."

Wavy felt both puzzled and enlightened, as if a fog had lifted but the path ahead was yet unclear. "So, what should I do with this knowledge?"

Wisdom chuckled, a sound like gentle waves lapping a sandy shore. "That's the beauty, Wavy. There's nothing you 'should' do. You're already doing it. Just be. Be the wave that you are, and know that you're also the ocean. It's all just a cosmic play, unfolding for the sheer joy of it."

"Even when we crash? Even when we dissolve?" Wavy queried, still grappling with this new understanding.

"Especially then," said Wisdom. "Crashing and dissolving are also expressions of the ocean's play. Just think, without the lows, how would you recognise the highs? It's all an eternal dance of form and formlessness."

As the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple, Wavy felt an immense sense of relief and even joy. He realised that he wasn't lost; he was exactly where he needed to be—neither just a wave nor solely the ocean, but both, inseparable in their existence.

And so, Wavy returned to his part of the ocean, sharing what he had learned. Some waves listened intently; others shrugged it off as mystic nonsense. But it didn't matter to Wavy. He knew the essence of his non-dual nature, and that was enough.

Whenever he would rise, he rose with the joy of knowing he was but an expression of something much greater. And whenever he would crash, he would laugh—a sound like rolling thunder under the sea—realising that even in his dissolution, he was participating in the cosmic play of existence.

And so, dear friends, just as Wavy and Wisdom were never separate, neither are we separate from the universe. We are both the actors and the audience in this grand, bewildering and beautiful play we call life. It's a play replete with joys, sorrows, twists, and turns, but it's all underpinned by a single truth: we are not individual waves, but manifestations of the same cosmic ocean.

Words for Meditation: based on ‘The Cosmic Ocean’ by Osho

Thank you. We’re moving into a time of meditation now and I’m going to offer a longer-than-usual introduction to take us into our time of stillness. This is based on words by Osho – a guru who had some issues – this might be one of those occasions where we want to separate the art from the artist – his words are a continuation of this idea of the ‘Cosmic Ocean’ and they said what I wanted to say. This will take us into a few minutes of shared silence which will end with the sound of a bell. Then we’ll hear music for meditation. So let’s do what we need to do to get comfortable – maybe adjust your position – put your feet flat on the floor to ground yourself – close your eyes. As we always say, the words are just an offering, so feel free to use this time to meditate in your own way.

The natural world outside can be a mirror for what’s happening inside us.

As waves come with water, and flames with fire, so the universal waves with us.

Try to understand what a wave is, and then you can feel how

this consciousness of waves can help you to enter into meditation.

You see waves in the ocean. They appear; they are in a sense,

and still in a deeper sense they are not.

This is the first thing to be understood about a wave.

The wave appears; it is there in a sense, but still it is not there in a deeper sense.

In a deeper sense, only the ocean is.

You cannot have a wave without the ocean,

and even while the wave is there, only the ocean is.

The wave is just a form, not a substance.

The ocean is substantial; the wave is just a form.

Many problems are created by language.

Because we say wave, it looks as if a wave is some thing.

It would be better if we use not wave, but waving.

There is no wave, just waving—just an activity, not a thing;

just a movement, not a substance; just a process, not matter.

The matter is the ocean; the wave is just a form.

The ocean can be silent. The waves will disappear, but the ocean will be there.

Secondly, waves appear as individuals.

Each wave has its own personality—unique, different from any other.

No two waves are similar. One wave may rise, another may die.

While one is rising, another is dying. The reality behind both is the same.

They look different, they look separate, they look individual, but the look is fallacious.

We are just waves in a cosmic ocean.

Meditate on it, allow this feeling to go deep down within you.

Start feeling your breathing as just the rising of a wave.

You breathe in, you breathe out, and the breath that is entering you

was someone else’s breath just a moment before, and the breath that is

leaving you will become someone else’s breath the next moment.

Breathing is just waving in the ocean of life.

You are not separate—just waves.

We are one deep down.

We have a togetherness; individuality is illusory.

The real is the oceanic, the togetherness.

While breathing, feel that the ocean is breathing in you.

The ocean comes to you, goes out, comes in, goes out.

Think of yourself as a wave, or as a continuum of waves,

rising and falling, and just be a witness to this.

You cannot do anything. Only one thing can be done,

and that is to be a witness of this wave form.

You will become aware of something

which is beyond the wave, which transcends the wave,

which is in the wave also and out of the wave also,

which forms the wave and still goes beyond, which is the ocean. 

The universal waves with us.

You are not, the universal is—and it is waving through you.

Feel it, contemplate over it, meditate on it.

Allow it to happen to you in many, many ways.

Meditation is the way, and this harmony of oneness,

this feeling of oneness with all is the end, is the only goal.

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

Interlude: Debussy - Raindrop Prelude (performed by Georgia Dawson and Toby Morgan) 

Reading: ‘Making Holy Water’ by Ana Levy-Lyons (adapted)

This is a longer-than-usual reading – words written for a gathering-of-the-waters ceremony in a UU church in the States by Ana Levy-Lyons – titled ‘Making Holy Water’. I’m going to share her words with you and then later in the service I’ll invite you to join in with something similar.

What makes water holy? Most of the religions of the world have some concept of holy water – water with the power to clean us, not only our bodies but our souls, water that blesses or nurtures us and brings us closer to the divine. For Catholics, holy water is water than has been specially blessed by a priest. For Hindus, the Ganges River and other rivers are considered holy, each connected to a Goddess. In Judaism to make a mikveh, or ritual bath, you take pure rainwater, pour it into a basin with stone walls, and make sure that it’s flowing, not still. This water is considered so holy, so spiritually charged, that nothing can ruin it. Even if you were to throw a pig into it (which I don’t recommend), it still keeps its purity and potency. Holy water, in all these traditions, has power. Just as water conducts electricity, it’s also a medium for transmitting blessing – the juicy goodness of life.

And what about Unitarians? Can we get in on this holy water thing? What, if anything, makes water holy for us? To the extent that Unitarians can agree on a theology, it entails the idea that the holy is to be found in the collective. The “illuminated moment of our gathering.” That when we come together, when we each bring a piece of our authentic selves to the community, we create something far greater than the sum of our parts. That something greater – that ineffable sparkle of electricity – is what some of us call God. And so, for us, I believe that holy water is water that all of us make holy together. It’s water that sparkles with the energy of a little bit of each of us, a little bit of each of our experiences, our history, our stories, our hopes, our love. It’s where the one includes the many and the many become one.

Making holy water is what we’re going to do in our water ceremony today. We are each going to pour a little bit of the water we’ve brought – from home or from our travels – from the tap or from the sea – into one collective bowl. The water that results, maybe part salt-water, part fresh water, some chlorine, millions of microorganisms, molecules from near and far, atoms from the age of the dinosaurs, that water will reflect the diversity of all of us. This water will be greater than the sum of what we pour into it. This water will hold a spiritual charge because it has been intentionally charged with love from each of us. And this water is water that we together will pronounce holy.

What are we going to do with this holy water? Well, first I suggest that we boil it. I assure you, this will not diminish its holiness in any way but it will hopefully diminish the headcount of the microorganisms in there. And then we’ll use this water to bless people. We could use it in our baby dedication ceremonies. When we touch that water to a baby’s head, it will transmit the blessing from each of us in this room to the baby. And when one of our gathering is ill or dying, if they would like it, they can also be touched with this holy water and receive our blessing.

What is it to give a blessing? It’s to give a part of yourself – part of your own internal electric charge. It’s to say, “Here. Here’s a little bit of me that can become a little bit of you. It can strengthen you, connect you a little more to the universe. Because of course I am made of the little bits of everyone and everything that came before me. Here’s a little bit of my love; a little bit of the juicy goodness of life as I experience it that I am sharing with you.”

And we’re going to save a little of our holy water to include in next year’s holy water, so each year will also include molecules from each of the past years. If we do this for the next hundred years, your water will still be there, however diluted, taking part in making the blessing. Babies born to people not born yet will receive your blessing. Elderly people in their final days on this earth will receive your blessing. You may even receive your own blessing some day.

So I invite you: lift up your container of water and bless it. Fill it up with your best prayers and visions for our world, saturate it with your you-ness and then, when you’re ready, stand up, walk it up to the front and let it go. This water we have made into holy water. May all whom it touches receive the blessing and the love of this gathered community.

Gathering the Waters

Words from Ana Levy-Lyons from the First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn.

So we’re going to do likewise now and enact our annual ‘Gathering of the Waters’ ceremony – make our own holy water – we did it in this particular way for the first time last year and I have saved some of last year’s vintage to pour back in for this year. Hopefully most of you brought some water from home or from somewhere you’ve travelled this summer; if not then hopefully you were given a bottle of water from the church tap when you came in (if you haven’t got one now is the time to pick one up from the back). And please do join in this process at home too if you’d like to; perhaps you could hold your water up to the camera so we can see that you are joining in. I have faith that in some mysterious way our blessings will mingle even at a distance.

I invite you to focus on the water which is in your hands and – in whatever way this makes sense to you – to bless it. As Ana Levy-Lyons said: ‘fill it up with your best prayers and visions for our world; saturate it with your you-ness’. Imagine those prayers and visions and intentions mingling as we pour the waters into a common bowl, and symbolically, mysteriously, being transmitted onward. Or think of that symbolism of us all being waves on the cosmic ocean.

George is going to play some gentle music for us now and the invitation is for each of you to come up with the water you have brought and blessed, and silently, reverently, pour it into our common bowl. Or pour a bit of it! I will pour some on behalf of everyone who’s joining us via Zoom too. And George you can come up first before you start playing or last after you finish! And when we’re done I’ll invite you to join in with a responsive reading to close our ceremony.

(pour water – George to play 111 in the purple book ‘Brother Sun, Sister Moon’)

Responsive Reading: ‘The Water is Sacred’ by Ranwa Hammamy

So I invite you now to join in with a responsive reading to conclude the blessing of the water, it’s by Ranwa Hammamy. If you’re in the building it is on your hymn sheet, but it actually has a very simple refrain which you’re invited to join in with – simply respond ‘the water is sacred’.

This water is sacred. It is made sacred by the many hands

that have poured it with intention and love,

the many stories that each drop contains,

the many lives surrounding it in this unique moment,

connected by commitment and faith.

This water is sacred.

May it continue to flow through this community,

with shining reflections of the unique gifts

that flow through each of its members.

This water is sacred.

May it continue to nurture this community,

with sustaining hope that we journey together

through ripples of growth and change.

This water is sacred.

May it continue to bless this community

with loving reminders of our collective responsibility

to one another and the world.

This water is sacred.

May its ripples be a reminder that the changes and growth

within this community bring movement and transformation

to the world beyond our doors.

This water is sacred.

May its purity offer grace to our community,

and the willingness to forgive ourselves and

one another when we make mistakes.

This water is sacred.

In moments when we are confused or uncertain,

may it bring us clarity of purpose and commitment.

This water is sacred.

In moments when the reservoirs of hearts and spirits

are drained by sorrow or pain, may it nourish them

with the knowledge that we are surrounded by a deep and abundant love.

This water is sacred. Amen.

Hymn (on sheet): ‘Blue Boat Home’

Our final hymn is an old favourite and it’s on your hymn sheet: ‘Blue Boat Home’  

Though below me, I feel no motion

Standing on these mountains and plains

Far away from the rolling ocean

Still my dry land heart can say

I've been sailing all my life now

Never harbour or port have I known

The wide universe is the ocean I travel

And the earth is my blue boat home.

Sun, my sail, and moon my rudder

As I ply the starry sea

Leaning over the edge in wonder

Casting questions into the deep

Drifting here with my ship's companions

All we kindred pilgrim souls

Making our way by the lights of the heavens

In our beautiful blue boat home.

I give thanks to the waves upholding me

Hail the great winds urging me on

Greet the infinite sea before me

Sing the sky my sailor's song

I was born upon the fathoms

Never harbour or port have I known

The wide universe is the ocean I travel

And the earth is my blue boat home.

Announcements:

Thanks to Ramona for hosting and Charlotte for co-hosting. Thanks to Georgia and Toby for lovely music, to George for accompanying our hymns, and Benjie for supporting our singing. Thanks to ???Hannah, ??John and ??Brian for reading. Thanks to John for greeting and Pat and Anna for making coffee and organising the shared lunch today. Please do stay for lunch and cake! Or if you’re online please do hang on for a chat with Charlotte.   

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

Sonya is back with Nia Dance from on Fridays at 12.30pm.

Our Art Play Crafternoons are coming back on the third Sunday of the month. I would love to know if you’re planning to come along and support this endeavour – I’d appreciate the company – we simply get all the art materials out of the cupboard to play with (or you can bring your own crafts).

The Better World Book Club is reading ‘Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal: Adventures in Neurodiversity’ by Robin Ince so let me know if you want to come along on the 28^th September.   

I want to draw your attention to a new course that me and Charlotte are offering online this autumn – it’s a re-run of the engagement group we ran at summer school this year on ‘The Religious Life’. It’s a chance for you to reflect on how to integrate your faith into your daily life. At the moment I’m only advertising it to the congregation so you have ‘priority booking’ but I’m going to open it up soon and I think it might fill up quite quickly. Places are strictly limited to twelve and we need you to commit.

Next Sunday I’ll be back to lead our harvest service and we love to have a nice display of fruit, and vegetables, and baked goods so please do bring something along to help decorate the table.  

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 there’s also our glossy autumn newsletter, you can take a copy of that away, or share it with a friend. 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.  

Benediction: based on words by Mel Hoover and Rose Edington

Water unites us.

All water is one water,

shape-shifting as it goes

on and on in its unending cycle.

The stream we gather by unites us

with all the waters of the world,

for all of life depends on water.

That’s why this common, everyday element

on which our very lives depend is sacred.

So in our thankfulness for water,

let us remember to honour, cherish, and care for it—

for our own lives, for all life touched by water,

and for those who come after us. Amen.

Closing Music: Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water (performed by Georgia Dawson and Toby Morgan) 

Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall

14th September 2025