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Sermon #60 (29th May 2022 at Essex Church \/ Kensington Unitarians)<\/strong><\/p>\n I promised you a short service today, on this day when we celebrate membership, commitment, and belonging, and hold our AGM. So I\u2019m going to do my best to distil this morning\u2019s message:<\/p>\n The church is us. Yes, us. (point around room, to camera, to self). We are it. We are all there is.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yes, we\u2019re part of a wider network of churches, our denomination \u2013 the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches \u2013 is a collection of independent congregations who have descended from the same historic roots and are pulling broadly in the same direction. We are connected to fellow Unitarians and UUs who have evolved in parallel worldwide as well. But knowing that we\u2019re part of a denomination might give you the false impression that there are people \u2018higher up\u2019 or \u2018at head office\u2019 who are running things on our behalf \u2013 who might swoop in to rescue us if we got into a pickle \u2013 or bung us a few quid if we were hard up. Surely someone else is in charge? I\u2019m afraid it ain\u2019t so. We\u2019re an independent community. And with that freedom comes responsibility.<\/p>\n And yes, we\u2019re part of a historic religious tradition, this congregation in particular traces its origins back nearly 250 years to Theophilus Lindsey who founded the original Essex Church congregation. We can, if we like, look back with gratitude and appreciation at the great and the good who got us off the ground and who kept the church going over the centuries. But thinking of it in historic terms might have a distancing effect. It might fool us into thinking that these people who came before us were somehow cut from a wholly different cloth. We might kid ourselves that our forebears were the proper grown-ups. Yes, they were responsible enough to be left in charge of a congregation \u2013 and, God bless them, despite all the challenges they no doubt faced, they did a good enough job of it to leave us with the resources that are keeping us afloat today \u2013 but we might feel a bit daunted by the realisation that it\u2019s our turn now. It\u2019s up to us. We are the church.<\/p>\n The church is, and has always been, made up of people. Just people. Real people. People like us \u2013 those of you I can see in 3D here in the church building and the ones I can see in 2D on screen \u2013 we are all equally real people. And we have each chosen to be part of this community, to join the unbroken line of people who have kept our chalice flame alight since dear old Theophilus all those years ago.<\/p>\n So let us each proudly claim our place in this historic tradition, and celebrate our connection to the worldwide fellowship of our Unitarian and Unitarian Universalist family, this beloved religious community. And let us each ponder what part we will play in furthering the mission of the church \u2013 our church \u2013 so that our Unitarian presence can proliferate and flourish for many years to come.<\/p>\n So I invite you now, if you wish, to take a moment to inwardly affirm your membership of this congregation. And I want to share some words from the UU minister Tom Owen-Towle, used in the membership ceremony of his own church. This is what they say to new members, but I reckon it\u2019s applicable to anyone who sincerely pledges commitment to the ongoing life and flourishing of this congregation, whether you\u2019ve been here five minutes, or five years, or fifty:<\/p>\n \u2018We are happy that you are with us. We gladly share with you in everything that strengthens this congregation. And we stand with you against anything that will injure or weaken it. We believe that membership in our beloved community will enrich and enlarge your life as well as ours. We want your gifts. We offer you ours. Know well that in our membership you are truly accepted to come as you are and to grow who you wish to become.\u2019<\/p>\n So with those words I\u2019m delighted to welcome six new members who are officially joining Kensington Unitarians this morning: Sara Helen Binney, Emily Ford, Cheryl Glinwell, Rachel Hills, Caroline Walters and \u2013 technically not a member until now \u2013 the former minister of this congregation, Sarah Tinker. We are really chuffed that you have decided to officially join us! Welcome aboard. And perhaps we can have a little round of applause for our new members.<\/p>\n To close this little virtual membership ceremony I\u2019d like to invite everyone \u2013 members old and new, near and far \u2013 anyone here today who wants to affirm their sense of belonging in this church \u2013 to join in with a shared affirmation \u2013 \u2018We Travel This Road Together\u2019. The words are in the centre of your yellow hymn sheet, if you\u2019re here in-person, and they\u2019ll be up on screen for those of you who are joining from home. And I\u2019ll leave it to you to choose \u2013 of course you don\u2019t have to join in at all if you don\u2019t want to \u2013 or you might just want to join in with the refrain \u2013 but I wonder if we might take it to heart more deeply if we read the whole thing in unison. So I invite you to join in these words of affirmation by Tess Baumberger, \u2018We Travel This Road Together\u2019.<\/p>\n Shared Affirmation: \u2018We Travel This Road Together\u2019 by Tess Baumberger (adapted)<\/p>\n From the busy-ness of everyday We travel this road together.<\/p>\n As companions on this journey, We travel this road together.<\/p>\n We share this journey across We travel this road together.<\/p>\n Through times of trial and turbulence, We travel this road together.<\/p>\n We are strengthened We travel this road together.<\/p>\n Today as we take the next steps, We travel this road together.<\/p>\n As we gather in beloved community, We travel this road together. Amen.<\/p>\n Sermon by Jane Blackall<\/strong><\/p>\n An audio recording of this sermon is available:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\nwe gather once a week
\nto remember who we are,
\nto dream of who we might become.<\/p>\n
\nwe share the milestones we meet along the way.
\nIndividual moments of joy and sorrow
\nbecome shared moments of comfort and celebration.<\/p>\n
\ndifferences of belief and opinion
\nbecause we value diversity and
\nbecause we care for one another.<\/p>\n
\nwe contribute as best we can,
\nsupporting each other\u2019s efforts
\nas we work to fulfil our mission.<\/p>\n
\nby those values that we share,
\ncalled onwards by the vision
\nof a better world for all.<\/p>\n
\nlet us notice our fellow travellers:
\nThe burdens that they carry,
\nthe songs that inspire their hearts.<\/p>\n
\nlet us open the holy havens of our hearts,
\nLet us share the sacred places of our souls
\nFor we are pilgrims who share a common path.<\/p>\n