Pride Sunday 2021
Welcome and Theme (Kim)
Welcome to the Upper Room community. We extend a special warm welcome to our guests. Friends from One Spirit and specifically Erika Allison and Nancy Nogood join us today. Our theme today is Pride. We all deserve to feel pride in who we are yet we know that for the LGBTQ+ community, pride was elusive as homosexuality itself was considered a mental illness and a crime. Today we celebrate just a few of the heroes and sheros of our movement. The African American community and the drag queen communities made up so much of the original activist communities. We are grateful for their presence. We welcome our guest co-presider Rev. Erika Allison and our liturgy participant Nancy Nogood.
Opening Prayer (Suzanne)
Divine One, bless our Pride. Bless our celebration. Bless our laughter, our joy, our exuberance. Bless the memories of those who came before us. Those who lived, worked, experienced persecution, suffered, were tortured and died for us so that some of us may have a measure of freedom. Bless those, Divine One, who oppose us in the hope that one day your blessing will help bring about peace. Bless our differences and may we learn to celebrate that which is the unique spark of Grace in each one. Bless those for whom it takes great courage to be out. Bless those who have lost family, friends, jobs and homes because they found the courage to be proud. Bless our calls for equity and freedom. May we honor you in our pursuit of justice.
By Rev. Robert Coats from blog post,
Pentecost is the Day the Church Came Out!
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading (Suzanne)
Our task now is not just to demythologize Jesus. It is to let the breath of the Galilean sage fall on the neck of the church again. First we have to listen not to formulas of salvation but to a gospel that is all but forgotten. After centuries of being told that “Jesus saves,” the time has come to save Jesus from the church.
If the door is locked, we will break in through the windows. If anyone forbids us to approach the table, we will overturn it and serve Communion on the floor. If any priest tells us we cannot sing this new song, we will sing it louder, invite others to sing it with us, and raise our voices in unison across all the boundaries of human contrivance—until this joyful chorus is heard in every corner of the world, and the church itself is raised from the dead.
These are the inspired words of Rev. Robin Meyers, from his book: Saving Jesus from the Church. And the community affirms them by saying “Amen.”
Second Reading: (Erika)
Unfortunately, my parents didn’t get the same memo [that some churches had an accepting view of gay people]. They held strong with their church’s view that my “lifestyle” was wrong and sinful. Thus ensued a multi-year battle of my mom and I desperately trying to prove to and convince the other that each of us was right. Books, letters, and Bible verses were sent back and forth. My name was given to “prayer warriors” and pinned on prayer walls in hopes that a diligent group of prayerful servants could save me. We were in a fight for my soul, and neither of us was willing to give up.
The truth, I could have the acceptance of everyone in the world – the town of Austin, my professors, my friends, my friends’ parents, my extended family, the more progressive churches and pastors – but the one person’s acceptance I wanted more than any in the world was my mom’s. It wasn’t my soul I was actually fighting for; it was her approval.
I wanted her to tell me I was okay and lovable exactly as I am. That she loved me just as I am, regardless of what her church said. That she understood me and saw my true beauty. That she trusted the depth and truth of my relationship with God. That she would fight for me against her church’s mistrust of me. I hated this reality because this seemed to be the one person’s approval I couldn’t get no matter how hard I tried.
This longing for my mother’s approval mixed with all of those messages that religion implanted in me led to a string of serially monogamous relationships that I cycled through about as often as my serially monogamous careers. I longed for approval, praise, and understanding. I kept tight control on the situation with all of my people-pleasing tools to ensure I got exactly that, and I only revealed the parts of me that I was sure would be accepted.
The reality was that my sensitive heart couldn’t bear another significant disapproval from someone I cared about. I sought out relationships with people who were a little wounded and disempowered because they were safe to be with: they were unlikely to reject me. And if I could “fix” them, what an even better way to earn lasting approval. All the while, I found myself tending to everyone else’s hearts rather than my own. I could manipulate myself into a pretzel to be exactly what they wanted, both in relationships and at work. But in doing so, each time I led my heart further down the path of abandonment and disappointment.
These are the inspired words from my book:
Gay the Pray Away: Healing Your Life, Love, and Relationships from the Harms of LGBT Conversion Therapy, and the Community affirms them by saying “Amen”
Alleluia (Dennis)
Gospel (Nancy Nogood)
When Jesus had crossed again in the boat
to the other side,
a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.
One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward.
Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying,
“My daughter is at the point of death.
Please, come lay your hands on her
that she may get well and live.”
He went off with him,
and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.
While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said,
“Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?”
Disregarding the message that was reported,
Jesus said to the synagogue official,
“Do not be afraid; just have faith.”
He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside
except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official,
he caught sight of a commotion,
people weeping and wailing loudly.
So he went in and said to them,
“Why this commotion and weeping?
The child is not dead but asleep.”
And they ridiculed him.
Then he put them all out.
He took along the child’s father and mother
and those who were with him
and entered the room where the child was.
He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,”
which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!”
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.
At that they were utterly astounded.
He gave strict orders that no one should know this
and said that she should be given something to eat.
These are the inspired words from the Gospel attributed to Mark, and the Community affirms them by saying “Amen.”
Shared Homily
Dave DeBonis: Let us pray our Statement of Faith.
Statement of Faith
All: We believe in one God, a divine mystery
beyond all definition and rational understanding,
the heart of all that has ever existed,
that exists now, or that ever will exist.
We believe in Jesus, messenger of God's Word,
bringer of God's healing, heart of God's compassion,
bright star in the firmament of God's
prophets, mystics, and saints.
We believe that We are called to follow Jesus
as a vehicle of God's love,
a source of God's wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of God's peace in the world.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
The life of God that is our innermost life,
the breath of God moving in our being.
The depth of God living in each of us.
We believe that God's kin-dom is here and now,
stretched out all around us for those
with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it,
and hands to make it happen.
Eucharistic Prayer of Belonging
As we prepare for this sacred meal, we are aware of our call to serve, and just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. We bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns.
Kim: We pray for these and all unspoken concerns. Amen.
Suzanne: We are a priestly people. We are anointed.
With open hands let us pray our Eucharistic prayer as one voice:
O Nurturing, Mothering one, You are always with us. We are grateful for Your constant loving and unconditional presence. At times we forget that You are holding us, attending to us. We fall and You pick us up. You send strangers, friends and family to our aid. We are never without Your Light and Spirit.
We experience great joy and we experience great pain and suffering. You are with us in the joy and the pain and suffering. When we experience Your Presence we long to sing our hymn of praise:
Waiting For You by Christopher Grundy
Kim: Creator and Lover of all beings, we cannot grow in the darkness of this world without Your Light. Our desire to be in Your light is a gift from You. Help us keep our hearts and minds open to You through our love and care for each other and all creation.
Please extend your hands in blessing:
This bread and wine is a sign of Your nourishment and a sign of Your great love. Your Spirit is upon us and we belong to You and one another.
We thank you for Jesus, simple servant, lifting up the lowly, revealing you as God-With-Us, revealing us as one with you, and all creation.
On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for the Seder supper with the people closest to him. Like the least of household servants, he washed their feet. Once again he showed us how to love one another.
(All lift their plates and pray the following)
Back at the table, he took the Passover Bread, spoke the grace, broke the bread and offered it to them saying, Take and eat, this is my very self.
(All lift their cups and pray the following)
Then he took the cup of blessing, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying:
Take and drink of the covenant
Made new again through my life in you.
Whenever you remember me like this,
I am among you.
Bread and wine is transformed by Your Spirit and we are transformed when we open ourselves to Your Spirit. Every time we share this bread and wine we choose to be transformed. We choose to love as You love us.
As we celebrate and recognize You in this bread and wine we love and recognize you in each other. We are filled with gratitude and joy.
(Please receive communion)
Communion Song
How Could Anyone Ever Tell You? by Karen Drucker
Suzanne: Let us pray together the prayer of Jesus:
O Holy One, who is within, around, and among us, we celebrate your many names. Your wisdom come. Your will be done, unfolding from the depths within us. Each day you give us all that we need. You remind us of our limits, and we let go. You support us in our power, and we act with courage. For you are the dwelling place within us, the empowerment around us, and the celebration among us, now and forever. Amen.
The Prayer of Jesus as interpreted by Miriam Therese Winter
Dennis: Rainbow Prayer
Rainbow Christ, you embody all the colors of the world. Rainbows serve as bridges between different realms: heaven and earth, east and west, queer and non-queer. Inspire us to remember the values expressed in the rainbow flag of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community
Red gives us life. Self-Loving Christ, you are our Root.
Orange stirs our passion. Erotic Christ, you are our Fire.
Yellow awakens our courage. Out Christ, you are our Core.
Green moves us to love. Transgressive Christ, you are our Heart.
Blue frees us to speak. Liberator Christ, you are our Voice.
Violet clears our vision. Interconnected Christ, you are our Wisdom.
The colors of the rainbow are distinct, but they all shine together to make one light. Hybrid Christ, you are our Crown.
Rainbow Christ, you are the light of the world. May the rainbow lead us to experience the whole spectrum of life! Amen.
BLESSING
Kim: Please extend your hands and pray our blessing together
May we continue to be the Face of God to each other. May the certainty of our connectedness to one another and all creation ignite us to love more fully. May we, like Jesus be a shining light and a blessing for all.
All: Amen.
Closing Song offered by Nancy Nogood
SMASH: I Got Love
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.