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phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Liturgy of Inclusion for Pride Sunday,
Welcome and Theme: (Denise) Welcome to Pride Weekend at the Upper Room. On this special day we celebrate the strides made through the persistence, sacrifice, and determination of the LGBTQ community and their allies. At the same time we recognize the growing perils facing these souls, and so we pray….
Opening Prayer: (Mary Theresa) Holy One, in a world divided, help us bring peace. In a world where ruthless judgement reigns, help us bring understanding. In a world of fear, give us the courage to speak truth to power. Amen.
Opening Song: Love Can Build a Bridge
https://youtu.be/laI791ZTrWE?si=2TcXX0sd_-e0AvRx
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: “A Blessing for Abby Wambach,” by Nadia Bolz-Weber
A Blessing for Abby Wambach
Abby, you said that when you got hurt, your body let you down and you felt mortal for the first time.
I get that “mortal” refers to being subject to death. But there’s another definition I really love which is “belonging to this world.”
So for you, Abby, I offer a blessing of that belonging.
I bless the young queer girl who felt she did not belong in in the pews of a church that told her she was an abomination. Because the real abomination is an imaginary hell created by anxious men, unconvinced of their own belonging.
But you? You belong here.
I bless the athlete, who did superhuman things on the field, who collected more goals and trophies and titles and wins than anyone else. When you tried to buy your belonging with excellence, that deep loneliness you felt was proof that you really are so much like the rest of us.
And you? You belong here.
I bless your divorce, which is no more a curse than marriage is a reward.
I bless the pain that you tried to medicate away.
I bless you for holding so tight to what you thought made you lovable.
I bless that moment in jail when you sobered up enough to realize that no, the breathalyzer wasn’t broken, and you were just a very drunk, very dangerous woman.
Which means even when it sucks, you still belong here.
So, I offer you a blessing of belonging, Abby.
May you luxuriate in your ordinary humanity, I’m so glad that you are here with us in it.
So may you wake up each morning, stretch your mortal body and hear Love whisper, “you belong.”
These are the words of Nadia Bolz-Weber, pastor, writer, and disciple of Jesus. We affirm her words by saying, Amen.
Alleluia: Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker
Gospel: A reading from the Gospel of Luke
Luke 19:1-9
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.
A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.
He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."
So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a `sinner.'"
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to Jesus, "Look,! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I pay back four times the amount."
Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.”
This is a story by the gospel writer we know as Luke. We affirm it with Amen.
Homily Starter/Shared Homily – Denise
“You belong here.” “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
Why is inclusion so hard for us? Where does our tendency to build walls come from? It certainly isn’t new; we can see that from the two-thousand-year-old story about Jesus and his encounter with Zacchaeus the tax collector. When Jesus invites himself to Zacchaeus’s house, the crowd mutters and grumbles. For that crowd (and we might include the disciples as part of that crowd), they were the insiders. Tax collectors, not so much. So, what was Jesus doing, reaching out to this small man up in the tree? Calling Zacchaeus down from his high branch, looking into his face, human-to-human, it seems to me that Jesus was allowing Zacchaeus in. Zacchaeus was finally allowed to be, just as he was, in the whole of his humanity, part of the circle; because one person widened that circle.
The community of LGBTQ human beings have known well what it’s like to be outside the circle. In the years since the raid on the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village on June 27, 1969, through the AIDS epidemic of the 1980’s, and onward, this community of diverse, multi-hued people of varied beliefs, income levels and interests, both men and women, have come together in an astounding spirit of self-advocacy. And although there have been allies along the way, the strides they have made, culminating in the Supreme Court sanctioning of same-sex marriage on June 28, 2015, have been powered by their own indominable persistence.
But for some, this rainbow community remains outside the circle. Like Zacchaeus, they remain out of sight, perched on a high branch. And in a growing number of places there are fewer and fewer voices calling them down, inviting them in, seeing them in their full humanity. This is especially true for the trans community. According to the New York Times, in an article updated on March 21st of this year, there are now 20 states (over a quarter of the country) which have passed laws banning or restricting medical care for transgender youth, regulating which bathrooms these children can use, and not allowing schools to affirm their identities. In a recent decree from the governor of Florida, the lights on state bridges will not be lit in rainbow colors, as has been the custom during the month of June, but if colored at all, they must only be lit in red, white, and blue. This governor is calling the summer of 2024 “freedom summer.”
So, we remember, we celebrate, and we continue to strive, so that all may, like Zacchaeus and Amy Wambach, be welcomed to “luxuriate in [their] ordinary humanity.”
What are your thoughts on today’s readings
Statement of Faith
Mary Theresa: Let us pray together our Statement of Faith
We believe in the Holy One, 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 the Divine Word,
bringer of healing, heart of Divine compassion,
bright star in the firmament of the Holy One's
prophets, mystics, and saints.
We believe that We are called to follow Jesus
as a vehicle of divine love,
a source of wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of peace in the world.
We believe in the Spirit of the Holy One,
the life that is our innermost life,
the breath moving in our being,
the depth living in each of us.
We believe that the Divine 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.
Mary Theresa: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we are aware that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. We bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns. Please feel free to voice your concerns beginning with the words “I bring to the table….”
We pray for these and all unspoken concerns. Amen.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Denise: With open hands let us pray our Eucharistic Prayer together
All: Holy One, source of all life, you enchant all that exists with your Spirit of Love. You call everyone, exactly as we are, into oneness with yourself. You call us to recognize your presence in everyone we meet.
Since the beginning of our Holy Universe you have called us forward, your invitation always open to us, pulling us like gravity out of darkness. Again and again you have stretched out your hand to rescue us from our own folly, again and again sending wise and holy people to show us the way back to you.
May our eyes be opened to the path of life. May we join with every one of our companions on this journey in solidarity and friendship, as we share the joy and abundance of this, our common home.
For every time we see your hand in the outstretched hand of a stranger; for every time we hear your call in the cries of the oppressed; for every time we see your light in the sparkling eyes of a beloved; we join today with the song of the Universe and sing your praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy
(Words and music by Karen Drucker)
Mary Theresa: Please extend your hands in blessing.
All: Spirit of Love, Fountain of Creation and Creativity, you have made us and we are good. Every shape, every size, every color. Every gender, every ability, every sexuality. We are yours, and we are holy.
We come into community today to celebrate your gifts that shine in one another, and in the bread and wine on this table. All are infused with and transformed by your abundant Spirit. All are called to nourish and sustain. All are created by and given in Grace.
On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for a meal 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.
Back at the table, he took the bread, spoke the grace, broke the bread and offered it to them saying, Take and eat, this is my very self.
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.
Denise: Let us share Communion with the words, “You are the face of the Divine.”
Communion Meditation Song: Pray it Away, Alex G
Dear anyone
I grew up believing that you were the one
But now I'm afraid that the doubting has won
Either way, I'm scared of you
The breaking is loud
I'm terrified of what I'm thinking about
Maybe you'll hear if I say it out loud
Or maybe the silence is truth
Oh I just want to know
Are you making
Space for my saving?
Or am I breaking?
Should I pray it away
Pray it away?
Dear anyone
Is it really you throwing punches at us?
Or throwing us out when we're coming undone?
Cause I'm so afraid to be wrong
The voices are loud
They're saying I'm dirty and going to hell
I'm starting to think I am screwed up as well
I just wanna know if if s true
Oh I just wanna know, I just wanna know
Are you making
Space for my saving?
Or am I breaking?
Should I
If you made me
Why do they hate me?
Never been this free
Why would I pray it away
Pray it away?
Dear anyone
I'm not really sure if I'm getting it right
But since I've been real I've been coming alive
I think that you'd say the same too
Prayer After Communion
Mary Theresa: Please join in praying our prayer after Communion
In faith and hope we are sustained,
In grace our dignity reclaimed,
In praise we thank our God.
As we walk through this world may we leave footsteps of justice. As we touch this world may our hands bring healing. As we look at the beauty of this creation may our hearts open wide to the possibility of dignity for all. God of life, we ask this in the here and now, where we hold one another in your presence, as we continue to build your kin-dom. Amen.
Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
All: 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 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 (Miriam Therese Winter)
Blessing
Denise: Let us raise our hands and bless each other.
Dearest Holy One, You have made us, and we are good. Each of us, in our own truthful nature, is exactly as we should be, exactly as you created us to be. Help us to see that truth in ourselves and in one another. May no one be a stranger. AMEN
True Colors – video by Denise-Hackert Stoner
https://youtu.be/pgdSyQ6SzrQ?si=NP5mNNn2eSJ46WZb
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