Sunday Service 12/27/2020

Teresa of Ávila, Jedi Master

Sunday, December 27, 2020 
A Lay-Led Worship with Cooper Garrett

A long time ago, in a country far far away, there lived a cloaked order of women so radical in their love, so radical in their existence, the dark side sought to eradicate their order. It would not be incorrect to think that we are talking about the Jedi Order from Star Wars. However, there was a real life Jedi living in the mid 1500s albeit sans light saber. Come worship with us this Sunday as we talk about Jedi Master, Teresa of Ávila.

In order to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus, the UUCLV congregation has suspended most in-person programs and events for the time being.

UUCLV will be holding Virtual Worshipful Gatherings on Sundays until such a time that we can come together in-person again.

#UUCLV #UU #UnitarianUniversalist #UnitarianUniversalism #UUCLVEvent #SundayService #TeresaofÁvila #JediMaster #DoctorOfTheChurch #Prioress #ReligiousReformer

Painting: Detail of St. Theresa, 1827, by French painter François Gérard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teresa_of_%C3%81vila#/media/File:Fran%C3%A7ois_G%C3%A9rard_-_St_Theresa_(detail).jpg

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Service Details

Welcoming with Terri Boling (She/Her), Worship Associate

Good Morning. Welcome to our Unitarian Universalist congregation. I’m Terri; I serve as worship associate of this growing, journeying community. We welcome all of you to our service, especially those of you who are searching for a spiritual home. Many of us were once, too, seeking for something larger than ourselves to which we could belong: a sense of rootedness to hold us as we create meaning together. We do that well here—though not perfectly. In this congregation, we strive not for perfection but for authenticity and connection.

Whether it's your first time in worship with us or your hundredth time, we hope that you’ll find here questions that stretch you, people to befriend you, and progressive religious values that challenge you to love boldly, live justly, and welcome radically.
We are about to enter sacred time. We are about to make this time and this place sacred by our presence and intention.
Please add your pronouns to your name on Zoom, using the three dots on the top right-hand corner of your picture. We ask that you be present with us today, and loosen the armor around your hearts.

Breathe.

Let go of the expectations placed on you by others—and those they taught you to place on yourself.

Drop the guilt and the shame, not to shirk accountability, but in honest expectation of the possibility of forgiveness.

Let go of the thing you said the other day. Let go of the thing you dread next week. Be here, in this moment. Breathe, here. Know that you are held in this beloved community. Let us take in a full belly breath. 

Invocation & Opening Words with Cooper Garrett (They/Them)

Good morning! My name is Cooper Garrett, and I am serving as the worship leader this morning while Rev. Gordon is away. It is so wonderful that you have made a commitment to join in community this morning. Community is such a miraculous aspect in many people’s lives. It is a place to grow, to laugh, to cry together. There is something magical that happens when those who make time to be together are united. Are committed and invested to each others’ spiritual growth. How serendipitous that we have all found this community together, whether this is your second time or your 22nd year. After all, the force acts in mysterious ways. For whatever reason, we were all meant to be here right here right now. We will open up our service this morning with an invocation. This allows us to transform everyday spaces into holy spaces. We are crafting divine spaces to welcome enlightenment, kindness, and spiritual growth. As Unitarian Universalists, we may be invoking one divine spirit, multiple divine spirits, no divine spirit, or some hodgepodge mixture of all and none of the above. If you are having trouble thinking about what you want to welcome within your mind’s eye this morning, I would suggest serenity. And now, if it is your will, please join with me with the words on the screen:

Spirit of our Mind, that which guides us to logic and reason,
(All) we welcome you into our temples.
Spirit of our Heart, that which leads us to empathy and compassion,
(All) we welcome you into our temples.
Spirit of our Community, that which connects and holds us together,
(All) we welcome you into our temples.
I invite you to take in a full belly breath if that is your will.

Into Greater Union with the Mysterious Rev. Joan Javier-Duval
Spirit of Life, Mother of All Mystery Beyond Our Understanding,
​Here we are living breathing creatures with minds that wonder and hearts that feel awe
We face questions that we know can’t be answered and tragedies that we know can’t be explained,
May we find patience in all that is unanswered and peace in all that will never be explained
Here we are living breathing creatures with open minds and tender hearts
May hold ourselves with gentleness with all that brings us worry and all that makes our hearts break
May the living breathing creatures that we are feel the breath of life moving in us and through all things bringing us into greater union with the mysterious universe of which we are a part
Blessed be. Ashae. Amen. May It be so. 

Opening Hymn: #389 Gathered Here
Chalice Lighting: Words by Rev. Joan Javier-Duval
     ​Our chalice lighting words this morning come from Rev. Joan Javier-Duval. She states, ”In these quiet moments we listen. We listen for the maybe still breathing, perhaps still whispering Faintest sign of the Universal Good."

In Our Hearts with Cooper (They/them)

Life is a balancing act of emotions and experiences. We may be feeling mixed emotions of elation and sorrow. There are times in our lives we are in celebration. We celebrate our accomplishments and the accomplishments of others. Today, we will be expressing our love and sorrow for the loss of our transgender siblings. However, I also invite you now to bring to your mind’s eyes other individuals who have a place in your heart. If you feel comfortable, please type those names in the chat, so we may hold them collectively. May we hold all those names and those names held in the silence of our hearts, in love and compassion.

Prayer: ​A prayer at Winter Solstice 2020 - from Laura Bogle

Creative Spirit of Life, God whose energy is Love:
You are the gentle darkness cradling us at our beginning and at our end.
You are the light that slowly awakes in the morning, and ebbs out at the close of day.
You are the rhythm of time and seasons.
You are the seed and the ground, and you are the force of life that transforms the seed into plant and fruit.
You are the earth that receives all and returns all to life again.
As we approach the longest night,
Let us simply settle in the dark, be with what is true, and wonder at the miracles that happen here.
Help us let the dark do its work on the earth and in us,
a time for slow and underground nourishment.
A time for resting and for stars that can only be seen in the dark.
Let us slow down, let us with no big fanfare reach out to nourish one another.
Let us rest, and let us look out for twinkling lights in the sky to show us the way.
If we can stay long enough here in the dark, we will also be ones who wait with faith, who know that no birth and no season can be rushed.
If we can stay long enough here in the dark, we might feel the light growing, day by day, in ourselves and one another.
Help us let the dark do its work, as necessary as the light, while we wait with expectation for:
another season of growth and change on this earth and in our lives,
transforming love, the force of life flowing again through all.
Help us let the dark do its work on us.

Silence/Personal Prayer
Pastoral Hymn: : Lumen (Abbie Betinis) - chant & 3-part canon | Perf. Lumina
     ​LUMEN
     Lumen accipe et imperti.          
     Do ut des.

     LIGHT
     Receive the light and pass it on.
     I give that you may give.

Meditation: Be Here, Be Still by Melissa Monforti, arr Adam Podd​
     Be here, be still.
     Breathe in awareness.
     Let go. Let go,
     Judgment and attachment.
     Accept what is,
     Gently, with compassion.
     You are where you should be.
     Be here, be still.​

Poem: Only Breath by Rumi with Terri Boling (She/Her)

Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu
Buddhist, sufi, or zen. Not any religion

or cultural system. I am not from the East
or the West, not out of the ocean or up

from the ground, not natural or ethereal, not
composed of elements at all. I do not exist,

am not an entity in this world or in the next,
did not descend from Adam and Eve or any

origin story. My place is placeless, a trace
of the traceless. Neither body or soul.

I belong to the beloved, have seen the two
worlds as one and that one call to and know,

first, last, outer, inner, only that
breath breathing human being.

Sermon: Teresa of Avila, Jedi Master with Cooper Garrett (They/Them)
     Notes: What are the Jedi? What do they believe? Scene from Star Wars when Yoda destroys the tree and sacred texts of the Jedi order... How does St. Teresa relate to the Jedi? St. Teresa is not your typical Jedi master. With her bravado, she is more akin to Master Yoda than to the softness of Obi-Wan Kenobi. What lesson can we learn from her? What about the stillness that we are experiencing now? “This is not the darkness of the tomb, but the darkness of the womb.” What will you do when this is over?

Musical Offering: I Am Light by India Arie
​I am light, I am light
I am light, I am light
I am light, I am light
I am light, I am light
I am not the things my family did
I am not the voices in my head
I am not the pieces of the brokenness inside
I am light
I am light

I am light, I am light - I am light, I am light - I am light, I am light
I'm not the mistakes that I have made
Or any of the things that caused me pain
I am not the pieces of the dream I left behind
I am light - I am light - I am light - I, I am light - I am light, I am light - Ay-yeah - I am light, I am light
I am not the colour of my eyes
I am not the skin on the outside
I am not my age
I am not my race, my soul inside is all light
All light - All light, yeah - All light - I am light, I am light - I am light, I am light, yeah
I am divinity defined
I am the god on the inside
I am a star
A piece of it all
I am light

Benediction & Extinguishing the Chalice with Cooper Garrett (They/Them)
     Before we release that which was called, we thank the Love that was present with us. The spirits who offered us the gifts of more knowledge, more compassion, and more wholeness during this sacred time. We also thank the spirits for gifting us the seeds of conflict which have been planted into our souls. Before a seed can sprout, it must push passed existing structures in place. That is growth. Let us honor these gifts by sharing them with the world. 

Closing Music: Morning Has Come by the LIACC Service Choir
Morning has come, arise and greet the day!
Dance with joy and sing a song of gladness!
The light of hope here shines upon each face.
May it bring faith to guide our journey home.

A new day dawns, once more the gift is giv’n.
Wonder fills this moment shared together.
The light of peace here shines upon each face.
May it bring faith to guide our journey home.

Open our eyes to see that life abounds;
open hearts to welcome it among us.
The light of love here shines upon each face.
May it bring faith to guide our journey home.