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Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Moment of Oneness: For Hope and Freedom of Fear Wednesday, October 30, 2024 - Prepared by Dennis McDonald and Denise Hackert-Stoner

 


Welcome.  This evening as we gather as friends we are aware of the sharp edges of fear and the crushing sense of anxiety many of us feel.  Let us take a moment to remember that hope is stronger than fear.  We have, as individuals and as a community, done what we can.  Now let us release ourselves into the unbounded Love of our Holy One, and breathe.


Opening Song:  Be Still And Know by Shaina Knoll 


https://youtu.be/CCGsExqtYKo

Welcome

Opening Prayer: Psalm 56 (From Psalms for Praying, Nan Merrill)

If You had kept count of my transgressions, 

Your tears could fill a lake. 

Are they not in your book?

Now my fears will be turned back, 

in the day when I call. 

This I know, that the Beloved dwells within. 

In You, whose Word I praise, 

in the Holy One, whose Word I praise, 

In You shall I trust without fear. 

What can others do to me? 

 

My vows to You I must uphold, 

O Beloved; 

I give You thanks, my heart 

overflows with gratitude. 

For you deliver me from the depths of despair. 

You, my fears you help me to face; 

they are put to rest. 

That I may walk with You, 

O Beloved, 

into the light of a new dawn. 

Poem: Hoping in the Darkness by Henri Nouwen

 

Hope means to keep living

Amid desperation

And to keep humming

in the darkness.

Hope is knowing that there is love,

it is trust in tomorrow

it is falling asleep

and waking again

when the sun rises.

In the midst of a gale at sea,

It is to discover land.

In the eyes of another

it is to see that you are understood ...

And as long as there is still hope

There will also be prayer ...

And you will be held

in God's hands.

 

Meditative Song: Come Hope by Amanda Udis Kessler


https://youtu.be/KcOMCej9VXs?si=Ke5pkgQKz9S42g-L

 

Reading:  From Carrie Newcomer, “A Gathering of Spirits, September 15, 2024

“Fear is the cheapest room in the house

I would like to see you living

In better conditions.” ~Hafiz

This is a season filled with fear messaging. It is human to be afraid. There is a very old part of our brain that is designed to keep us safe, to always be scanning the landscape for the tiger in the bushes, to be assessing which berry is healthy or poisonous. This part of brain has a function, we learn to not touch a hot stove or jump from places too high to land safely. But at the same time that it is ok to have very human experiences with fear, we also learn that we don’t have to “be” the fear. Our fears can be debilitating and may or may not be based in current reality. And in a season of fear messaging, fear can be manipulated by unscrupulous players. When we are afraid, we are more likely to abdicate our reason, or lose our compass and follow what proposes the easiest way to some version called safety. When that happens, fear is indeed “the cheapest room in the house” and we all can claim better accommodations.

One of the fears being played upon is that of difference, that that difference is dangerous. But we don’t have to “be” that fear. As [Thomas] Merton wrote we are all walking around shining like the sun, we are all intimately connected in deep and powerful ways. There is not just comfort in sensing that elemental connection, but also empowerment.

When an individual chooses to not “be” the fear, but act in small daily ways that some folks would just call “being neighborly”, the pillars that support fear and division are chipped away - and eventually brought down.

So this week when every news outlet is calling for our fear, let us be courageous. Let us seek better accommodations. Let us reach out and have conversations that extend welcome and connection. Let us help one another to step back from messages that divide and destroy the essential threads of connection in our communities. Let us speak a different message, sing a better song.

We are all shining like the sun and we all deserve better accommodations.

Ok….and let us vote, and encourage others to exercise their right to vote.

Intentions:

A Prayer for Unity in Diversity at this Time of Crisis –

Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP, modified by Dennis McDonald (2024)

Let us pray for a peaceful election and transition of power in post-election days.  

Response: Holy One, we believe that you speak and work through us. 

 

Let us pray and pledge ourselves to work for equality and justice for everyone in our country-no exceptions as we confront discrimination and conspiracy theories that are rooted in hatred, untruth, and threats of violence.

Response: Holy One, we believe that you speak and work through us. 

 

Let us pray for wisdom for our political leaders as they respond to the results of the election.

Response: Holy One, we believe that you speak and work through us. 

 

Let us pray and pledge ourselves to foster unity in diversity in our country.  

Response: Holy One, we believe that you speak and work through us. 

Let us pray that all civil and military leaders will follow their oath to the Constitution.

Response: Holy One, we believe that you speak and work through us. 

 

Let us pray and pledge ourselves to treat others with kindness.

Response: Holy One, you speak and work through us. 

 

Closing Prayer: Prayer of Jesus adapted by Miriam Therese Winter

Let us pray as Jesus taught us: 

Holy One, you are 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.  

Closing Song:  Ode to Joy, Flash Mob


https://youtu.be/kbJcQYVtZMo


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