phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Welcome
Suzanne: Dave and I are so pleased that each of you are here with us on this Holy Thursday evening. Just as Jesus gathered his dear friends for a meal and a powerful lesson in humility and service, we are here, among friends, to celebrate and remember.
Opening Prayer
Dave: Source of mystery and love, you call us to humility and service, especially to the ‘least of these.’ Enliven our hearts with hope and trust that we can do hard things. We are not alone in walking the journey of our lives, right now, in this chaotic world. We are born for these times. Bless us as we join our hearts and our hands to walk together in courage and compassion. May we listen deeply, act justly, and love fiercely. In the face of fear, may we choose faith. In moments of doubt, may we cling to wonder. Let us be the light that kindles hope, the hands that offer healing, and the voices that speak truth. May our shared journey become a living prayer—one of grace, resilience, and transformation. Amen.
Opening Song: At This Table by Idina Menzel; video by Denise Hackert-Stoner
Reading 1: Reflection on Humility Inspired by John Shelby Spong
Humility, in Spong’s view, is not about self-deprecation but about embracing the vastness of mystery. It is the recognition that no single individual or institution holds all truth. He urged believers to approach faith with open minds and open hearts, acknowledging that our understanding of God is always evolving.
Spong challenged traditional religious hierarchies, suggesting that true humility comes not from blindly accepting doctrine but from the courage to ask questions. He believed that faith without doubt is not true faith—that questioning is an act of reverence, not rebellion.
In his teachings, humility is also about inclusivity. It means acknowledging that we are all interconnected and that no one is superior in God’s eyes. He called for a faith that is not rooted in exclusivity or judgment but in radical love and justice.
As Spong often suggested, humility is not thinking less of ourselves — it is about thinking beyond ourselves. It is recognizing the divine in every person and seeking a deeper, more compassionate way of living.
These are the inspired words of John Shelby Spong, Episcopal Bishop and author and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Gospel Acclamation: Inspired by Leonard Cohen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYfgEiQtzS8
Gospel: A reading from the anonymous author of the Gospel of John (adapted by Dennis)
It was before the Feast of Passover, and Jesus realized that the hour had come for him to pass from this world to Abba God. He had always loved his own in this world, but now he showed how perfect this love was.
So, during supper, Jesus—knowing that God had put all things into his own hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God— rose from the table, took off his clothes and wrapped a towel around his waist. He then poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and dry them with the towel that was around his waist.
When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said, “Rabbi, you’re not going to wash my feet, are you?” Jesus answered, “You don’t realize what I am doing right now, but later you’ll understand.” Peter replied, “You’ll never wash my feet!” Jesus answered, “If I don’t wash you, you have no part with me.”
Simon Peter said to Jesus, “Then, Rabbi, not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!”
After washing their feet, Jesus put his clothes back on and returned to the table. He said to them, “Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me “Teacher,” and “Master”—and rightly, for so I am. If I, then—your Teacher and Master—have washed your feet, you should wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.
These are the inspired words of the anonymous author called John and we affirm them by saying, Amen.
Video: created by Fred Rogers in 1969
https://youtu.be/QgPkXlkEvWI?si=qFcPJr6spH70P6bD
Shared Homily: Dave and Community
What is it about foot washing as used by Jesus that is so meaningful? At the time of Jesus, roads were dusty and dirty, well-known for mud pits, wash-outs and cave-ins. The feet were considered one of the dirtiest parts of the body and washing them would typically be the work of servants. Jane Barter notes that this gesture is Jesus’ way of signaling that there is no place that Jesus will not go for us. Barter writes of Jesus, “he touches us, washes us, renews us, even in the places we would rather hide.” He cleanses us of our shame and reminds us that we are loved. (Women in Theology, 2018)
Minister Fred Rogers, better known as the creator and star of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which aired on public television from 1968-1991, was well aware of this symbolism when, in a 1969 episode, he created the scene that we have just seen. Francois Clemmens portrays the police officer in the scene. Note how the camera focuses on two white feet and two black feet sharing the same water. And when the officer states that he does not have a towel, Rogers says “You can use mine.” In a 1993 reenactment of this scene, Mister Rogers actually helps Clemmons dry his feet.
Not only did Fred Rogers know about the symbolism of washing one’s feet, he was also well aware of the civil unrest in those days regarding swimming pool segregation. At that time, some believed that whites should not share a pool with blacks. In one televised report of blacks and whites swimming together in a park, racists entered the park and poured toxic chemicals into the water.
Rogers also knew that Clemmons was not happy to be asked to play a kind police officer because of his past traumatic experience with police as a young black male growing up in the ghetto. Clemmons writes: "Policemen were siccing dogs and water hoses on people, and I really had a hard time putting myself in that role. I was not excited about being Officer Clemmons at all." (Maura Hohman, This Mister Rogers Moment Broke Race Barriers, 2020).
In the foot-washing scene just watched, Mr. Rogers took on discrimination. No small task. Further, by asking Clemmons to play a kind police officer, knowing of his difficult history with law enforcement, Rogers helped Clemmons to heal some of his own past trauma. Reflecting on the scene, Clemmons states, “It was transformative to sit there with him, thinking to myself, 'Oh, something wonderful is happening here. This is not what it looks like. It's much bigger. That scene touched me in a way that I was not prepared.’”. (https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/mister-rogers-moment-broke-race-183700720.html)
Choosing to create and broadcast the pool scene took great courage and love for justice on Rogers’ part, especially considering the heightened state of the nation with respect to race. Asking Clemmons to face his past demons required insight and awareness regarding his friend’s need for healing. Rogers possessed both and acted decisively. And all of this took a desire on Rogers’ part to take seriously Jesus’ message that we embrace our call to be servants. All of this is consistent with Roger’s stated view that our purpose is to repair a broken world (D. Robinson, The Theology of Mr. Rogers, 2023).
You might be thinking that Mr. Rogers was very different from us and therefore he could model Jesus in ways that we cannot. You might also think that because he was an ordained ministerhe had some advantage over us. But you should also know that as a child, Rogers was insecure and shy, bullied due to being overweight, and often house-bound with bouts of asthma. As an adult, he struggled emotionally and had challenging times in his role as a dad. He was sometimes ridiculed for what some perceived to be his lack of masculinity and he was demonizedby extremists for his friendships with members of the LGBT community. At his death some of these same extremists carried signs reading “Fred Rogers will burn in hell.”
We can be reassured by Fred Rogers because he was like all of us here. We too are courageous, compassionate, insightful and vulnerable people who are open to the call to serve. It might be worth remembering that we are invited to participate in this radically loving process of service not only because of our strengths but for all of who we are. We, our authentic selves, are the “fertile ground for God to make something new and to make something beautiful” (Natalie Bolz-Weber, 2015).
The first reading from Bishop Spong, and chosen by Suzanne, connects the quality of humility, something that Fred Rogers certainly possessed, with the idea of service. Without compromising our own self-love, our humility allows us to see beyond the external differences that are so often used to divide, and helps us to see that we are all one. The concern that Jesus demonstrated for children and the forgotten are but two examples of humility opening the doors to radical love.
Through Jesus, we have learned how we can be an active partner in the task of creating a better world and through this process the brokenness of those we help, as well as our own, will be repaired. (Denise Robinson The Theology of Mr. Rogers). Fred Rogers believed in God’s love for us as an enduring presencewhich continues to work in and through the love that people have for one another. Rogers summarized his perspective this way: “People won’t know God’s love if the people of God don’t love.” (Denise Robinson The Theology of Mr. Rogers, 2023).
So, grab a basin and towel (cardigan sweater is optional) and let’s continue our great work.
Hand Washing Ritual
Please proceed to one of the two stations where your hands will be washed by the Presiders.
Music during ritual:
Make Me a Servant sung by Marantha Singers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6U8O_WnPZY
Dave: Let us continue with our Statement of Faith
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.
Prayers of the Community
Suzanne: 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. Please state your intentions beginning with “I bring to the table…”
We bring these and all deeply held blessings, cares, and concerns to the table of friendship and peace.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Dave: Let us pray our Eucharistic Prayer together:
All: Source of Love and Light, we come together in unity of heart, compassion, and shared purpose with people everywhere—those here and those we remember.
With all living beings across this Earth, we open our hearts to connection, understanding, and care. In your loving presence, we are freed from division, fear, conflict, pride, and injustice.
We are made whole through love and compassion. With gratitude, we offer ourselves to the work of healing, growing, and supporting one another. Together, we speak with one voice, honoring the beauty of life and our shared responsibility to nurture it, with these words of thanks and praise:
Holy, Holy: Cello and Piano @Tenacity Music
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fmosHXYcZHY
All: We thank you, Holy One, for the incarnation of Jesus, a radical balance of human and divine who points our way and who strives with us in our time of need. We yearn to live with compassion, as Jesus did, one with you and your Spirit, in peace and justice with all. May our desire to a part of the Body of Christ join us to all living things. We seek to heal the differences that isolate us across the globe so that we may live and breathe in solidarity with all your people, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender or class. May we have the imaginative sympathy and love of Your Spirit to go beyond the confines of time and space into the Oneness of forever and ever where Love abides.
Suzanne: Please extend your hands in blessing.
All: Together, we call on Your Spirit, present in these gifts-bread that satisfies our hunger and wine that quenches our thirst–to make us more deeply One, living in the fullness of holy compassion and Sophia wisdom. Anticipating the likelihood of betrayal, arrest and pain, Jesus wanted more than anything to be with his friends at a Seder, to share the meal, exchange stories and create fond memories. To strengthen the bonds of friendship that evening, Jesus washed the feet of his friends in an act of love and humility.
All: Back at the table, he took the Passover Bread, spoke the grace, broke the bread and offered it to them saying: Take and eat, the bread of life for all who hunger for peace and justice. (pause)
Then he took the cup of blessing, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying: Take and drink. Whenever you remember me like this, I am among you. (pause)
All: What we have heard with our ears we will live with our lives. As we share Communion, we become Communion, both Love’s nourishment and Love’s Challenge.
Please receive the bread with the words: “We are family and you are important”
Communion Song: Now We Are Free written by Hans Zimmer for Gladiator & performed by Hauser
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_7MGy6SaMM
Post-Communion Prayer:
All: Knowing that Jesus spent his time with the lowly and hurting, the needy and shunned, we seek to be alert to how we can bring the love and unity of the Body of Christ to wherever and with whomever is in need. We ask for the grace to see with the eyes of Jesus, touch with the hands of Jesus and heal with the heart of Jesus. Amen.
Prayer of Jesus
Dave: Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
All: 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 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
Suzanne: Let us raise our hands and bless each other.
All: May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.
May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.
May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.
May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really can make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God’s grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.
-Franciscan Blessing
Closing Song: Go Light Your World sung by Fountainview Academy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcD9uhRC3Ew
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