We Have Always Been Here: LGBTQ history for today

Welcome 4

Good morning, and welcome to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fayetteville. My name is Allison. I am a member of this congregation, and it is my pleasure to lead the service this morning. Our speaker this morning is Fern.

Feel free to grab a cup of coffee or use the restroom if needed during the service. Our restroom is located to your left. And please join us after the service for refreshments and a chat.

All of who you are is valued, all of who you are is welcome.

If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer.
If you’re a pretender, come sit by the fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!

(Shel Silverstein)

We light this chalice
for the quiet truths we carry,
and for the futures we’re brave enough to write.

In this circle, we honor
the courage it takes to live openly,
the softness that sustains us,
and the joy and power that grow when we gather.

As the chalice glows
may we feel steadiness rise in us.

May we trust that our becoming—
messy, radiant, unfolding—wholly belongs to us.

Come, come, whoever you are,
wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving.
Ours is no caravan of despair.
Come, yet again come.

Dear friends, dear friends,
Let me tell you how I feel.
You have given me such treasure.
I love you so.

"Joys and Sorrows

Ours is a welcoming community where we find connection;
…a spiritual community where we find meaning;

Ours is a sharing community where our joys are amplified;
…a caring community where our sorrows are lessened;

We take this moment to reflect on our joys and sorrows and acknowledge the mutual support of our community.

If you would like, you may come forward and release a stone in the water in silence or with a brief verbal expression of a special joy or sorrow.

Please keep comments appropriate for all ages and no longer than 1-2 minutes per person, so that there is enough time for everyone who would like to share.

……………………

Closing:
I will drop one last stone in the water for all those joys and sorrows which remain unspoken, but which nevertheless live in our hearts."

O God of many names, the personal and mysterious,
We have come to a quiet time, an interior place,
a place for the deepening of spirit, the enrichment of soul.
We seek to know ourselves by knowing you.

Let us have the courage to sit in the unknowing,
To look for the answers even if they are to sit with our own questions,
To be willing to be authentic with ourselves,
To be ready to bring our face to the world.

Let us be willing to know others by welcoming their genuine features,
By welcoming them into the world,
By appreciating the beauty that comes from seeing wholeness and truth.

Let us sit in that quiet depth.

May it be so. AMEN and Blessed be.

This congregation is a theologically diverse religious community with membership open to all who are in accordance with our principles, mission and vision. We are a Welcoming Congregation to people of all sexual orientations, and we unconditionally welcome any and all of you to our community of mutual caring and serious intent to grow as spiritual and moral beings.

Our congregation is entirely self-governed by democratic process. One of the privileges of our free church tradition is to provide all of the financial support for our many ministries from among ourselves. Generosity, therefore, is one of the spiritual values we recognize as central to our personal and our institutional well-being. You are now invited to participate in the blessing of giving as the [basket is passed] among you to accept the gifts of the congregation. Thank you.

How could anyone ever tell you
you were anything less than beautiful?
How could anyone ever tell you
you were less than whole?
How could anyone fail to notice
that your loving is a miracle?
How deeply you’re connected to my soul.

Dearest Spirit that accompanies us all—we of every gender, of every sex, of every orientation, of every shade; Divine force retained in us [all] and sourced in love,

We ask you to be protection for the vulnerable. Hold us with concern and comfort as we tread a harsh terrain of hardened hearts. May love guide and surround us as we each discover and embrace who we authentically are.

May calloused and closed minds be softened; be opened to heal and grow humanity,
of which we are all curators; of which we are all a part; to which we all belong.

May every life journey be met with the love and light of Spirit, and blessed with pride, peace, and acceptance.
May it be so. Amen. Ashe.

Go now in peace. Go now in peace.
May the light of love surround you
everywhere, everywhere you may go. "