Dear Members and Friends:
Although a pandemic may separate us physically, it need not sever us from community. While we cannot be together in body at this time, we can be together in spirit. Let us then, set aside some time today to gather in spirit with one another and, through ritual and reflection, support one another by strengthening our resolve to remain faithful to our principles and maintain the bonds of community, friendship and love.
Below is an abbreviated worship service for use at home while limits on public gatherings are in place due to Covid-19. A new service will be posted and emailed each week until we can resume worship in the sanctuary at BUUC.
Today’s service was planned by John Kennison.
If you can, please join us on-line or telephone via Zoom, at 9:30 AM on Sunday. A separate email will have the details.
Announcements
Announcements are listed at the end of this document. If you have any announcements for the Zoom service, please type them into the Chat box or let the leader know you have an announcement.
Singing Bowl
Chalice Lighting
Light a candle at home or in your mind’s eye mindful of people from our church community and around the world who, though physically separated, are gathered in spirit.
Recite aloud or in silence:
A Communion of Heart and Soul
By Bruce Southworth
For the gift of this day and for our community of spiritual nurture and compassion,
we give thanks.
We light this chalice as a symbol of our faith.
May our many sparks meet and merge in communion of heart and soul.
Affirmation:
Joys and Concerns
If participating on Facebook: As you feel so moved, post a joy or concern you are holding this week. Remember this is a public forum so please exercise discretion, respect confidentially and refrain from moralizing.
If participating as on ZOOM recipient: You may raise your hand and wait to be called on or post your joy and concern in the chat box
If participating as an email recipient: As you feel so moved, speak aloud a joy or concern you are holding, mindful you are not alone, but one among many with joys and concerns seeking expression.
Moment of Silent Meditation/Prayer
Take a moment to be still and listen to the wisdom of your heart and /or pray or chant words meaningful to you or in your own words.
Reading or Brief Sermon for Reflection
These are excerpts from Scott Alexander’s sermon, "Answering the Religious Right with the Big Heart of Universalism" The first section is taken from the historical perspective that the sermon provides and the second section is a remarkable example of what it means to have a religion based on love.
Historical Perspective
Let us—as we struggle to gain perspective on these conflicted times and how we as religious people should respond—begin back at the beginning. American Universalism (like its spiritual sister American Unitarianism) began as a radical and optimistic Christian heresy in response to the grim doctrines of 18th Century Calvinistic Puritanism. The story of how and why Universalism took root in America can
perhaps clearly be told by contrasting the messages of two of the greatest preachers of that day, Jonathan Edwards and Hosea Ballou.
Jonathan Edwards was a Puritan’s puritan, who was the most renowned preacher of what was called "The Great Awakening," an early version of a Born-Again Christian fundamentalist revival that occurred in the late 1700s. Listen to a portion of one of his more famous sermons where he tells the listeners that they are "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."
The world of misery, the lake of burning brimstone, is extended abroad under you...Hell’s gaping mouth [is] wide open, and you have nothing to stand upon or take hold of...It is only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up...The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you.
It was over this dark and forbidding spiritual landscape that blew the fresh and warm breezes of Universalism—a theology of love, reconciliation and hope. The early Universalists, in direct spiritual contradiction to Puritanism’s gloomy gospel, simply proclaimed that the essential qualities of God were not wrath, disgust and judgment, but goodness, mercy and love. The heart-felt good news of Universalism was that by God’s grace and power all of God’s children (every man, woman, and child--
regardless of station or personality, weakness or wickedness) would ultimately be saved, welcomed back by an embracing and understanding creator. The greatest Universalist theologian and preacher of the day was the Rev. Hosea Ballou. Every bit the orator of his "Great Awakening" adversaries, Ballou used to hold his large congregations spellbound as he gently and joyfully proclaimed this gospel of universal salvation.
Scott Alexander's Personal Example
During my final year in seminary, I decided to do a chapel for the faculty and students at the school. . . The morning the chapel was to happen, I arose early, poured over my powerful and polemically perfect text. I was privately proud in advance of the depth and passion with which I grasped the essence of my Universalist heritage. As I walked the mile or so up the hill from my home to the school, my head was down as I silently rehearsed to myself all of the beautiful phrases I had crafted to make my sermon on
Universalism come alive. As I approached the busy intersection at Shattuck Street, I happened to glance up and suddenly saw an incredibly large woman sitting on a bench waiting for the bus. Now I have always had a personal obsession about my own weight (it’s why I run marathons), and in those years was quite prejudiced and opinionated about people who weighed more than I thought they should...anyway, before I could censor the unkind, judgmental thought, I blurted out to myself, "Oh, dear God look at that gross woman...she must weigh 400 pounds...how could anyone ever let
themselves get like that...and who could ever love that?" And at that moment, as if it were a bolt of spiritual lightening aimed right at me, the skinny little guy sitting next to her on the bus stop bench looked lovingly into her eyes, leaned over, and gave her the
most gentle and loving kiss I have ever seen one human being bestow upon another. I was stunned and ashamed. And while I was still reeling from the jarring disparity between my petty and unkind judgment and his pure and simple love, a voice came to me (without words, but in unmistakable clarity, holiness and power)...a voice came out of the whirlwind and said to me (and to me alone) "Don’t you get it, you dope? Here you are, at this very moment going up the hill to preach your clever little sermon on God’s love and universal salvation for every human person, and all you can do is sneer inside at someone you deem unworthy and unbeautiful. Don’t you understand that, in the eyes of all that is sacred and beautiful and holy and true in this creation, she is as utterly lovely as human beings get? Don’t you get it? If the pleasures and prerogatives, graces and goodnesses of this creation are made for you (and you certainly claim them as a natural birthright for yourself) then they are made for her too. And you call yourself a Universalist."
Let me tell you that I was startled as I was chastened. In that moment of pure and precious spiritual revelation, a spirit of holiness I can only call God spoke to me with heart-numbing clarity, and I finally began to understand Universalism viscerally...deep to my bones.
Question(s) for reflection:
What is your response to the reading?
Did it touch/move or disturb you?
In what way is the reading relevant to your life experience past or present?
What might you take from this reading into the week ahead?
Extinguishing the chalice
Recite aloud or in silence
We Are One by Amy Zucker Morgenstern
Never has it been more true than now:
We extinguish this flame,
But the sparks within us remain alight.
From each of us, in our supposed solitude,
The signals buzz and hum, sparkling through space one to another,
Connecting us invisibly
But palpably.
We are one.
And from every window,
Our light shines.
Blow out the candle you lit physically or in your mind’s eye.
Benediction
Recite aloud or in silence:
Peace be my companion
Have courage
Hold onto what is good
Return to no person evil for evil
Strengthen the fainthearted
Support the weak
Help the suffering
Honor all beings
Amen and Blessed Be
Benediction Response: “Peace Be Unto This Congregation”
Announcements
Book Club - August 11th, 7pm. We will be discussing How To Be Less Stupid About Race: On Racism, White Supremacy and the Racial Divide by Chrystal M. Fleming.
Although a pandemic may separate us physically, it need not sever us from community. While we cannot be together in body at this time, we can be together in spirit. Let us then, set aside some time today to gather in spirit with one another and, through ritual and reflection, support one another by strengthening our resolve to remain faithful to our principles and maintain the bonds of community, friendship and love.
Below is an abbreviated worship service for use at home while limits on public gatherings are in place due to Covid-19. A new service will be posted and emailed each week until we can resume worship in the sanctuary at BUUC.
Today’s service was planned by John Kennison.
If you can, please join us on-line or telephone via Zoom, at 9:30 AM on Sunday. A separate email will have the details.
Announcements
Announcements are listed at the end of this document. If you have any announcements for the Zoom service, please type them into the Chat box or let the leader know you have an announcement.
Singing Bowl
Chalice Lighting
Light a candle at home or in your mind’s eye mindful of people from our church community and around the world who, though physically separated, are gathered in spirit.
Recite aloud or in silence:
A Communion of Heart and Soul
By Bruce Southworth
For the gift of this day and for our community of spiritual nurture and compassion,
we give thanks.
We light this chalice as a symbol of our faith.
May our many sparks meet and merge in communion of heart and soul.
Affirmation:
- Together: We unite in an atmosphere of care and support to foster spiritual health and growth.
- Together: We focus on sharing our ideas and histories, with warmth, hope, loving friendship and an open mind.
- Together: We nurture stability for our daily lives and seek motivation to reach out to the larger community.
Joys and Concerns
If participating on Facebook: As you feel so moved, post a joy or concern you are holding this week. Remember this is a public forum so please exercise discretion, respect confidentially and refrain from moralizing.
If participating as on ZOOM recipient: You may raise your hand and wait to be called on or post your joy and concern in the chat box
If participating as an email recipient: As you feel so moved, speak aloud a joy or concern you are holding, mindful you are not alone, but one among many with joys and concerns seeking expression.
Moment of Silent Meditation/Prayer
Take a moment to be still and listen to the wisdom of your heart and /or pray or chant words meaningful to you or in your own words.
Reading or Brief Sermon for Reflection
These are excerpts from Scott Alexander’s sermon, "Answering the Religious Right with the Big Heart of Universalism" The first section is taken from the historical perspective that the sermon provides and the second section is a remarkable example of what it means to have a religion based on love.
Historical Perspective
Let us—as we struggle to gain perspective on these conflicted times and how we as religious people should respond—begin back at the beginning. American Universalism (like its spiritual sister American Unitarianism) began as a radical and optimistic Christian heresy in response to the grim doctrines of 18th Century Calvinistic Puritanism. The story of how and why Universalism took root in America can
perhaps clearly be told by contrasting the messages of two of the greatest preachers of that day, Jonathan Edwards and Hosea Ballou.
Jonathan Edwards was a Puritan’s puritan, who was the most renowned preacher of what was called "The Great Awakening," an early version of a Born-Again Christian fundamentalist revival that occurred in the late 1700s. Listen to a portion of one of his more famous sermons where he tells the listeners that they are "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."
The world of misery, the lake of burning brimstone, is extended abroad under you...Hell’s gaping mouth [is] wide open, and you have nothing to stand upon or take hold of...It is only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up...The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you.
It was over this dark and forbidding spiritual landscape that blew the fresh and warm breezes of Universalism—a theology of love, reconciliation and hope. The early Universalists, in direct spiritual contradiction to Puritanism’s gloomy gospel, simply proclaimed that the essential qualities of God were not wrath, disgust and judgment, but goodness, mercy and love. The heart-felt good news of Universalism was that by God’s grace and power all of God’s children (every man, woman, and child--
regardless of station or personality, weakness or wickedness) would ultimately be saved, welcomed back by an embracing and understanding creator. The greatest Universalist theologian and preacher of the day was the Rev. Hosea Ballou. Every bit the orator of his "Great Awakening" adversaries, Ballou used to hold his large congregations spellbound as he gently and joyfully proclaimed this gospel of universal salvation.
Scott Alexander's Personal Example
During my final year in seminary, I decided to do a chapel for the faculty and students at the school. . . The morning the chapel was to happen, I arose early, poured over my powerful and polemically perfect text. I was privately proud in advance of the depth and passion with which I grasped the essence of my Universalist heritage. As I walked the mile or so up the hill from my home to the school, my head was down as I silently rehearsed to myself all of the beautiful phrases I had crafted to make my sermon on
Universalism come alive. As I approached the busy intersection at Shattuck Street, I happened to glance up and suddenly saw an incredibly large woman sitting on a bench waiting for the bus. Now I have always had a personal obsession about my own weight (it’s why I run marathons), and in those years was quite prejudiced and opinionated about people who weighed more than I thought they should...anyway, before I could censor the unkind, judgmental thought, I blurted out to myself, "Oh, dear God look at that gross woman...she must weigh 400 pounds...how could anyone ever let
themselves get like that...and who could ever love that?" And at that moment, as if it were a bolt of spiritual lightening aimed right at me, the skinny little guy sitting next to her on the bus stop bench looked lovingly into her eyes, leaned over, and gave her the
most gentle and loving kiss I have ever seen one human being bestow upon another. I was stunned and ashamed. And while I was still reeling from the jarring disparity between my petty and unkind judgment and his pure and simple love, a voice came to me (without words, but in unmistakable clarity, holiness and power)...a voice came out of the whirlwind and said to me (and to me alone) "Don’t you get it, you dope? Here you are, at this very moment going up the hill to preach your clever little sermon on God’s love and universal salvation for every human person, and all you can do is sneer inside at someone you deem unworthy and unbeautiful. Don’t you understand that, in the eyes of all that is sacred and beautiful and holy and true in this creation, she is as utterly lovely as human beings get? Don’t you get it? If the pleasures and prerogatives, graces and goodnesses of this creation are made for you (and you certainly claim them as a natural birthright for yourself) then they are made for her too. And you call yourself a Universalist."
Let me tell you that I was startled as I was chastened. In that moment of pure and precious spiritual revelation, a spirit of holiness I can only call God spoke to me with heart-numbing clarity, and I finally began to understand Universalism viscerally...deep to my bones.
Question(s) for reflection:
What is your response to the reading?
Did it touch/move or disturb you?
In what way is the reading relevant to your life experience past or present?
What might you take from this reading into the week ahead?
Extinguishing the chalice
Recite aloud or in silence
We Are One by Amy Zucker Morgenstern
Never has it been more true than now:
We extinguish this flame,
But the sparks within us remain alight.
From each of us, in our supposed solitude,
The signals buzz and hum, sparkling through space one to another,
Connecting us invisibly
But palpably.
We are one.
And from every window,
Our light shines.
Blow out the candle you lit physically or in your mind’s eye.
Benediction
Recite aloud or in silence:
Peace be my companion
Have courage
Hold onto what is good
Return to no person evil for evil
Strengthen the fainthearted
Support the weak
Help the suffering
Honor all beings
Amen and Blessed Be
Benediction Response: “Peace Be Unto This Congregation”
Announcements
Book Club - August 11th, 7pm. We will be discussing How To Be Less Stupid About Race: On Racism, White Supremacy and the Racial Divide by Chrystal M. Fleming.
