Unitarian Sunday Reflections

(Hull and Lincoln Unitarians)

30 May 2021

Order of Reflection

“Where Have All The Flowers Gone?”

Reflections on the Transitory Nature of Life

QUOTES FOR OPENING REFLECTION

“April showers bring May flowers”

“Adversity is followed by good fortune. An old proverb, it was taken more literally in days gone by, and in fact it appeared in a British book of Weather Lore published in 1893.”

~ from: The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer

CHALICE LIGHTING/INVOCATION

We light our chalice, this candle, as a sign of our connectedness, of our journey on this spiritual quest….

We take a moment to reflect on our life and living of this week…

          What was good? Healthy?

          What was not good? Unhealthy?

          What moments, events, conversations, time alone

          that allowed me to connect to another, to life,

                               to that which may be called Divine.

May the Great Spirit of the Journey walk with us today.

Amen.

GATHERING HYMN

HFL 43

“Mother Spirit, Father Spirit”

words by Norbert F. Capek

Mother Spirit,

Father Spirit,

          Where are you?

In the skysong,

In the forest,

          Sounds your cry.

What to give you,

What to call you,

          What am I?

Many drops are

In the ocean,

          Deep and wide.

Sunlight bounces

Off the ripples

          To the sky.

What to give you,

What to call you,

          Who am I?

I am empty,

Time flies from me;

          What is time?

Dreams eternal,

Fears infernal

          Haunt my heart.

What to give you,

What to call you,

          O, my God?

Mother Spirit,

Father Spirit,

          Take our hearts.

Take our breath and

Let our voices

          Sing our parts.

Take our hands and

Let us work to

          Shape our art.

READINGS:

“God is a River”

by Peter Mayer

In the ever-shifting water of the river of this life

I was swimming, seeking comfort; I was wrestling waves to find

A boulder I could cling to, a stone to hold me fast

Where I might let the fretful water of this river ‘round me pass

And so I found an anchor, a blessed resting place

A trusty rock I called my saviour, for there I would be safe

From the river and its dangers, and I proclaimed my rock divine

And I prayed to it “protect me” and the rock replied

God is a river, not just a stone

God is a wild, raging rapids

And a slow, meandering flow

God is a deep and narrow passage

And a peaceful, sandy shoal

God is the river, swimmer

So let go

Still I clung to my rock tightly with conviction in my arms

Never looking at the stream to keep my mind from thoughts of harm

But the river kept on coming, kept on tugging at my legs

Till at last my fingers faltered, and I was swept away

So I’m going with the flow now, these relentless twists and bends

Acclimating to the motion, and a sense of being led

And this river’s like my body now, it carries me along

Through the ever-changing scenes and by the rocks that sing this song

God is a river, not just a stone

God is a wild, raging rapids

And a slow, meandering flow

God is a deep and narrow passage

And a peaceful, sandy shoal

God is the river, swimmer

So let go

“I’m Not The River”

by Mary Oliver

I’m not the river

that powerful presence.

And I’m not the black oak tree

which is patience personified.

And I’m not redbird

who is a brief life heartily enjoyed.

Nor am I mud nor rock nor sand

which is holding everything together.

No, I am none of these meaningful things, not yet.

“Where Have All The Flowers Gone”

by Pete Seeger & JoeC Hickerson

Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?

Where have all the flowers gone, long time ago?

Where have all the flowers gone?

Young girls have picked them everyone.

Oh, when will they ever learn?

Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone, long time passing?

Where have all the young girls gone, long time ago?

Where have all the young girls gone?

Gone for husbands everyone.

Oh, when will they ever learn?

Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the husbands gone, long time passing?

Where have all the husbands gone, long time ago?

Where have all the husbands gone?

Gone for soldiers everyone

Oh, when will they ever learn?

Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the soldiers gone, long time passing?

Where have all the soldiers gone, long time ago?

Where have all the soldiers gone?

Gone to graveyards, everyone.

Oh, when will they ever learn?

Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the graveyards gone, long time passing?

Where have all the graveyards gone, long time ago?

Where have all the graveyards gone?

Gone to flowers, everyone.

Oh, when will they ever learn?

Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?

Where have all the flowers gone, long time ago?

Where have all the flowers gone?

Young girls have picked them everyone.

Oh, when will they ever learn?

Oh, when will they ever learn?

“After Reading Lucretius, I Go To The Pond”

by Mary Oliver

The slippery green frog

that went to his death

in the heron’s pink throat

was my small brother,

and the heron

with the white plumes

like a crown on his head

who is washing now his great sword-beak

in the shining pond

is my tall thin brother.

My heart dresses in black

and dances.

THOUGHTS

How does Mary’s poetry speak of the transitive nature of life?

How do rivers speak to this, or example it for you? Or model a way of living?

While I did not use the reading in the Book Tales of the City, Anna Madigal speaks of women in the life (female prostitutes) having an aversion to cut flowers, as it represents beauty cut down in it’s prime, how does this speak to you of transition and transitory existence?

* * * * *

I find rivers fascinating, well big bodies of water. I tend to annoy my partner when we go to the beach as I simply want to sit and watch the waves.

For hours, pure contentment….

The movement, the sound, the simple peace or bliss of it all.

Each moment is different, yet similar, yet new.

It beckons us to live in the moment, the now.

It calls us to simply be.

PRAYER:

 “O God who in the loneliness”

by A. Powell Davies

O God who in the loneliness and mystery of life has given us friendly meeting places and fellowship with one another, be with us in the purpose of this time.

The pace of our lives is slackened now and we are unhurried. There is time for confusion to be dispelled and the fevers of haste can melt away.

If we will, we can see more clearly, think more truly, choose more worthily,  and our lives can be lifted up to a higher plane.

So let it be with us, O Holy Spirit!

Help us to be willing for what we most need rather than eager for what, in our carelessness, we thought we wanted.

Remind us how much contentment can come to us when we do our duty and how radiant life can be when we give ourselves to its highest meanings and its noblest purposes.

Cleanse us, O God! Heal us and make us whole! Show us that the truth we see with our minds will never be greater than the truth we love in our hearts.

May we know that only when we do your will can our hearts contain your peace.

Amen

REFLECTIVE HYMN

SYF 88

“Let it be a dance we do”

by Ric Masten

          Let it be a dance we do, May I have this dance with you?

          Through the good times and the bad times, too,

          Let it be a dance.

Let a dancing song be heard. Play the music, say the words,

and fill the sky with sailing birds. Let it be a dance.

Let it be a dance. Let it be a dance. —

Learn to follow, learn to lead, feel the rhythm, fill the need

to reap the harvest, plant the seed, Let it be a dance.

          Let it be a dance we do, May I have this dance with you?

          Through the good times and the bad times, too,

          Let it be a dance.

Everybody turn and spin, let your body learn to bend,

and like a willow in the wind, Let it be a dance.

Let it be a dance. Let it be a dance. —

A child is born, the old must die, a time for you,

a time to cry, take it as it passes by. Let it be a dance.

          Let it be a dance we do, May I have this dance with you?

          Through the good times and the bad times, too,

          Let it be a dance.

Morning star comes out at night, without the dark there is no light,

if nothing’s wrong then nothing’s right, Let it be a dance.

Let it be a dance. Let it be a dance. —

Let the sunshine, let is rain, share the laughter, bear the pain,

and round and round we go again. Let it be a dance

BLESSING

The Eternal Now

          is always breaking into our lives

          is always pushing our comfort zones

          is always beckoning us to life….

So what is keeping you from saying yes…..

May we each say yes,

          each moment,

          each movement,

          each step into life and living…

yes, Yes, YES

The eternal now

          is breaking into our lives…

                     and we say yes!