Harvest and Honouring the Earth – Unitarians in Ringwood gather again in October 2023

We were pleased to welcome Christina Smith to lead and preside over our Zoom gathering in October, with the theme “Harvest and Honouring the Earth.”

Here is the order of service:

Prelude music – 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mURti-s0jc&list=PLuHoqBDN-aPI0LtadVRAlkXH7T42Ecxlr&index=1

Centring

Words of Welcome

Welcome

Welcome to this table

Whatever path has brought you here

Whatever load you carry

Let us rest a while together.

May our hearts be open to accept what comes to us as a stranger,

May our minds be open to wonder at what we do not understand,

And may our spirits be nourished by our time here together,

Before we again take up our loads and set off upon our many paths,

Welcome!

Chalice Lighting

Moment to Pause – A pause to reflect on what matters to us and how we have lived up to that, ending with:

‘This is what the Sacred asks of you; that you act justly, that you love tenderly, and that you walk humbly in its presence’ (from the book of Micah, chapter 6 v8)

 

Candles of Joys and Concerns

HYMN  (purple hymn book) 147 Spirit of earth, root stone and tree 

A Prayer by Roger Courtney

1st Reading – a re-telling of a Sufi Story

HYMN  (purple hymn book) 189 We Celebrate the web of life

Words for reflection – The Earth Speaks written by Richard Gilbert

Period of silence 

2nd Reading – For Five Thousand Years, Or More by Matthew Johnson 

Address – by Christina Smith

A Prayer – Mother Earth by Lucy Bunch

HYMN (purple hymn book) 188 We bring to the altar [a fantastically rousing hymn for a sing-song!]

Closing Words – Harvest Thanksgiving by Gabor Kereki 

Postlude music – 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JB7R2RokaY&list=PLuHoqBDN-aPI0LtadVRAlkXH7T42Ecxlr&index=2

I think we all appreciated how carefully crafted the whole piece was, with cross-references and careful re-emphasis of the key messages. These are some of the messages I think I heard: 

• "The earth simply turns; it is we who live." 
• "The harvest is a recognition of the eternal abundance." 
• "We show our gratefulness by how we share" (echoed in the postlude music).
• "We commit to seeing and supporting beauty and creativity for all." 

The sequencing of the pause to do the inward work near the beginning of the service, followed by the candles of joys and concern, worked really well.  It allowed us all to get our own baggage – if not dealt with – at least let go of, before addressing the main theme, which was the possibility of unending abundance and how we feel about that. That is to say, this sequence allowed the exchange of "problems brought" for "positivity received" – which is a notable feature of the classical Eucharist of certain Christian traditions.