Patchwork Interfaith was graced with the opportunity to host a second open service at the Cathedral of the Pines in Rindge, NH. Different from our first service, this one included both Rev. Allyson and the wonderful Baha'is of Dublin, NH in a hybrid service that praised the Divine in wonderful and unique ways!
Strive!– July 21, 2013
Prelude Piano Concerto No. 21 Andante by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Words of welcome
Sunday provides us with a moment to enjoy quietude of the soul. Coming here, to the Cathedral of the Pines, is one way to celebrate that inner calm. Welcome to our interfaith worship, and thank you for joining us in this wonderful “church not made with hands.”
Call to Worship
Leader: Gloria
People: The tenacity of Earth and its creatures
Leader: Kyrie eleison
People: These children who will go on to save what we cannot
Leader: Baruch ata Adonai
People: The ordinary tenacity of plants and of people
Leader: Om
People: The center of the universe which is everywhere, not the least place in the human heart
Leader: Alleluia
People: Love that survives anger, and winter, and despair, and sorrow, and even death
Leader: Shalom
People: Love that persists
Leader: Nam myo-ho renge kyo
People: Calm that is the seed in the dark
Leader: Amen
People: For endings that are beginnings, for beginnings that are endings
Leader: Alleluia
People: For the circle, the spiral, the web, the egg, the orbit, the center, the seed, the flower, the fruit, the opening, the death, the release, the seed
Leader: Amen
People: We are going on
Leader: Amen
People: It is going on
Leader: Amen
People: Blessed be.
Hymn Here We have Gathered by Shelley Jackson Denham (music / lyrics)
Unison Prayer
“Blessed is the spot, and the house, and the place, and the city, and the heart, and the mountain, and the refuge, and the cave, and the valley, and the land, and the sea, and the island, and the meadow where mention of God hath been made, and His praise glorified.” - Bahá’u’lláh
Holy Words
There are sacred and holy words in every religion, and in none. They reside in scripture, on parchment, rolled or bound or carved in stone. At one end of things, all words are sacred, being created by we who are also sacred. Some words, however, remain in the soul, singing within us. Today we share with you two spiritual texts. The first is from the Baha'i faith, read by Ruthie Gammons:
Baha'i: Oh Thou Kind Lord!
Buddhist: The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path
This second reading is from the Buddhist Theravada tradition. The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path were taught by Buddha about 2500 years ago. They are the foundation beliefs of Buddhism, and are essentially the same through every sect and tradition of Buddhism. They are:
The Day's Lesson: STRIVE!
Strive! That is what 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote and what Joe Crone put to music. Strive is an action word. It's not passive, not quiet. It's moving, full of energy and life. It denotes forward movement, but without imposing success. In other words, when you strive for something, you are reaching for it, working toward it, and it's positive... but you may not reach your goal. It doesn't matter, though; what matters is that you are actively striving.
Strive that your actions, day by day, may be beautiful prayers. What an amazing comment. It matches so closely with the Christian edict to pray without ceasing. This is a wake-up call for us, in this hustling, bustling world where we spend most of our time planning the next play date for the kids, or the next chore that needs to be done.
Strive to make everything we do a prayer. Strive to make our actions beautiful, meaningful, even joyful. Imagine a world where everyone worked to see the best in the day. There are psychological studies out there that show how effective it is to focus on a positive thing, to strive toward it, in helping to alleviate depression.
Turn towards God and seek always to do that which is right and noble. By whatever name or face of the Divine you call on, just do it. Our lives are like a car – what we focus on will be what we steer toward. If our focus is on the bad things in life (and all of us have bad things, even the most pious and joyous of us), then we will head down the negative, self-hating path. If our focus is on the positive, on the things that are good (and again, ALL of us have good things, if we can just open our eyes to see them) then our spiritual car will go in the direction of the positive, life-affirming path. The power is our own!
Doing what is right can sometimes seem a chore, it's true. I know there are times when I've done “the right thing” so many times with another person, and gotten hurt, that to do it even one more time feels like an assault on my soul. I want to shout and point fingers and throw things, and tell the world how awful the other person is. But that's not doing what is right and noble, and it's not steering myself in the direction I really want to go.
Doing it right, though, has its own rewards. Initially, there's the knowledge that you've done right inside yourself. As time goes forward, though, other people begin to see that positive, noble streak. Those that don't are likely lost in their own spiritual car, careening off the road. Have a bit of pity, rather than anger or frustration. It may not do anything for them, but it certainly does a lot for you!
Enrich the poor, raise the fallen, comfort the sorrowful, bring healing to the sick, reassure the fearful, rescue the oppressed, bring hope to the hopeless, shelter the destitute. He doesn't ask for much, does he? And yet... and yet... Each of these actions is something to continue to strive for in our lives. When we help someone in more dire straights than we're in, we not only enrich them, but ourselves. When we offer a hand to help someone stand up, figuratively or literally, we're acting as the hands of the Divine.
A friend of mine is going through a rough patch right now, and she's quite sorrowful. Her father died three years ago, she's out of work, managed to get herself in trouble with the law, and she just broke her foot. She is the sorrowful one, the sick one, the fearful one. She's so lost in those things that it's really difficult for her to reach out for help, and almost impossible to take the hand that's offered to her. Still, it's important for me to offer. Why? Because it helps her, and it helps me.
When I comfort the sorrowful, I am also bringing hope to the hopeless me... to myself. By offering comfort to someone who is in pain, I am requesting and allowing the Divine to work through me, using me as a conduit for love and healing. In doing so, how can that love and healing not affect me? As it passes through from heaven to earth, I also get the benefits of this love, this divine generosity.
There's such a depth to the Baha'i faith that should be shared with the world. Their viewpoint is that we are servants to one another, rather than leaders. They have no ministers, no priests, because all are equal in the eyes of God. That's why we've covered the altar today, and why I'm down here instead of up there.
Part of the interfaith movement, and part of Patchwork's goal, is to strive to get past the differences. This isn't to say we should ignore differences; quite the contrary! I think we should celebrate and venerate our differences as much as our similarities. There's a level of excitement knowing that at a Baha'i meeting I will hear very deep, peaceful quotes from Bahá'u'lláh and his son, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and that a United Church of Christ service I'll get to sing old and familiar hymns. The two are worlds apart, and feed very different needs and wants in people, and that's something to be enjoyed!
There are similarities, too, which we can hold onto. The Golden Rule is threaded throughout pretty much all religions. Hindus say “This is the sum of duty: do naught to others that which if done to thee would cause pain.” The Jewish version is, “What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow men. That is the entire Law, all the rest is commentary.”
Zoroastrians say “That nature only is good when it shall not do unto another whatever is not good for its own self.” Buddhists tell us, “Hurt not others with that which pains yourself,” and Christianity says “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Islam states, “No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.” And the Baha'is say “Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself.”
So many religions and yet they all say basically the same thing: be nice to one another. That's the base of it all. That's the ground floor, where everyone's pretty much the same. It isn't until we get into the fancy writing and the prayers and songs and bells and whistles that we begin to see differences.
So I say, STRIVE to have your person, your soul, your very being be the best you can be. That is the part which touches all the other religions and beliefs out there. Then, STRIVE to celebrate your differences without taking away from another. The clothing that you were is very different from mine, and yet it is beautiful, flatters your figure, brings out the color of your eyes. That dress on me would look horrific, because I'm not you. The differences can be enjoyed, even loved, without having to take them on ourselves.
I'd like to finish up my sermon with a poem by Mark L. Belletini, entitled Go In Peace
Go in peace. Live simply, gently, at home in yourselves.
Act justly.
Speak justly.
Remember the depth of your own compassion.
Forget not your power in the days of your powerlessness.
Do not desire to be wealthier than your peers and stint not your hand of charity.
Practice forbearance.
Speak the truth, or speak not.
Take care of yourselves as bodies, for you are a good gift.
Crave peace for all people in the world,
beginning with yourselves,
and go as you go with the dream of that peace alive in your heart.
Hymn Down to the River to Pray by Alison Krauss
Concerns and Joys
One of the most wonderful parts of the various religious services I've attended or presided at is the sharing of community and personal joys and concerns. In some services, people bring up flowers, and at others they light candles. Today, you'll find that at the end of each row is a little bowl of stones.
If you have a joy or concern that you'd like to share, please take one of these stones and bring it up to the altar and place it here (indicate). If you feel moved, please tell us of your joy or concern, but please don't be pressured to do so... the Divine hears things spoken in our hearts as well as from our mouths. After the service, these stones will be taken over to a natural offering bowl, just there (point), and left for a day or two in this natural, grace-filled setting.
Pastoral Prayer
By all the names known in heaven and earth, may you be blessed. Amen.
Silent Reflective Meditation
The Baha'i faith has such a wonderful understanding of Divinity. The following words were written by Baha'u'llah, but apply to everyone. I will read the nine statements, and then take a moment for reflection and meditation on the reading. Please be comfortable and quiet during this guided meditation.
Be generous in prosperity and thankful in adversity.
Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face.
Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge.
Be fair in thy judgement, and guarded in thy speech.
Be unjust to no man and show meekness to all men.
Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression.
Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts.
Be a home for the stranger, a balm for the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.
Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility.
Hymn My Sweet Lord by George Harrison
Benediction
Written by Lauralyn Bellamy for the Unitarian Universalist hymnal:
If, here, you have found freedom, take it with you into the world.
If you have found comfort, go and share it with others.
If you have dreamed dreams, help one another, that they may come true!
If you have known love, give some back to a bruised and hurting world.
Go in peace.
Postlude Arise by Minoo Mohager (Persian Baha'i Chant)
Strive!– July 21, 2013
Prelude Piano Concerto No. 21 Andante by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Words of welcome
Sunday provides us with a moment to enjoy quietude of the soul. Coming here, to the Cathedral of the Pines, is one way to celebrate that inner calm. Welcome to our interfaith worship, and thank you for joining us in this wonderful “church not made with hands.”
Call to Worship
Leader: Gloria
People: The tenacity of Earth and its creatures
Leader: Kyrie eleison
People: These children who will go on to save what we cannot
Leader: Baruch ata Adonai
People: The ordinary tenacity of plants and of people
Leader: Om
People: The center of the universe which is everywhere, not the least place in the human heart
Leader: Alleluia
People: Love that survives anger, and winter, and despair, and sorrow, and even death
Leader: Shalom
People: Love that persists
Leader: Nam myo-ho renge kyo
People: Calm that is the seed in the dark
Leader: Amen
People: For endings that are beginnings, for beginnings that are endings
Leader: Alleluia
People: For the circle, the spiral, the web, the egg, the orbit, the center, the seed, the flower, the fruit, the opening, the death, the release, the seed
Leader: Amen
People: We are going on
Leader: Amen
People: It is going on
Leader: Amen
People: Blessed be.
Hymn Here We have Gathered by Shelley Jackson Denham (music / lyrics)
Unison Prayer
“Blessed is the spot, and the house, and the place, and the city, and the heart, and the mountain, and the refuge, and the cave, and the valley, and the land, and the sea, and the island, and the meadow where mention of God hath been made, and His praise glorified.” - Bahá’u’lláh
Holy Words
There are sacred and holy words in every religion, and in none. They reside in scripture, on parchment, rolled or bound or carved in stone. At one end of things, all words are sacred, being created by we who are also sacred. Some words, however, remain in the soul, singing within us. Today we share with you two spiritual texts. The first is from the Baha'i faith, read by Ruthie Gammons:
Baha'i: Oh Thou Kind Lord!
Buddhist: The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path
This second reading is from the Buddhist Theravada tradition. The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path were taught by Buddha about 2500 years ago. They are the foundation beliefs of Buddhism, and are essentially the same through every sect and tradition of Buddhism. They are:
- All life knows suffering. Nobody gets what they want out of life.
- The cause of suffering is ignorance and clinging. Wanting it is the problem.
- There is a way to end suffering. By learning not to want it.
- This is the way to end suffering: The Eightfold Path.
- Right Understanding Learning the nature of reality and the truth about life.
- Right Aspiration Making the commitment to living in such a way that our suffering can end.
- Right Effort Just Do It. No Excuses.
- Right Speech Speaking the truth in a helpful and compassionate way.
- Right Conduct Living a life consistent with our values.
- Right Livelihood Earning a living in a way that doesn’t hurt others.
- Right Mindfulness Recognizing the value of the moment; living where we are.
- Right Concentration Expanding our consciousness through meditation.
- Right Understanding Learning the nature of reality and the truth about life.
The Day's Lesson: STRIVE!
Strive! That is what 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote and what Joe Crone put to music. Strive is an action word. It's not passive, not quiet. It's moving, full of energy and life. It denotes forward movement, but without imposing success. In other words, when you strive for something, you are reaching for it, working toward it, and it's positive... but you may not reach your goal. It doesn't matter, though; what matters is that you are actively striving.
Strive that your actions, day by day, may be beautiful prayers. What an amazing comment. It matches so closely with the Christian edict to pray without ceasing. This is a wake-up call for us, in this hustling, bustling world where we spend most of our time planning the next play date for the kids, or the next chore that needs to be done.
Strive to make everything we do a prayer. Strive to make our actions beautiful, meaningful, even joyful. Imagine a world where everyone worked to see the best in the day. There are psychological studies out there that show how effective it is to focus on a positive thing, to strive toward it, in helping to alleviate depression.
Turn towards God and seek always to do that which is right and noble. By whatever name or face of the Divine you call on, just do it. Our lives are like a car – what we focus on will be what we steer toward. If our focus is on the bad things in life (and all of us have bad things, even the most pious and joyous of us), then we will head down the negative, self-hating path. If our focus is on the positive, on the things that are good (and again, ALL of us have good things, if we can just open our eyes to see them) then our spiritual car will go in the direction of the positive, life-affirming path. The power is our own!
Doing what is right can sometimes seem a chore, it's true. I know there are times when I've done “the right thing” so many times with another person, and gotten hurt, that to do it even one more time feels like an assault on my soul. I want to shout and point fingers and throw things, and tell the world how awful the other person is. But that's not doing what is right and noble, and it's not steering myself in the direction I really want to go.
Doing it right, though, has its own rewards. Initially, there's the knowledge that you've done right inside yourself. As time goes forward, though, other people begin to see that positive, noble streak. Those that don't are likely lost in their own spiritual car, careening off the road. Have a bit of pity, rather than anger or frustration. It may not do anything for them, but it certainly does a lot for you!
Enrich the poor, raise the fallen, comfort the sorrowful, bring healing to the sick, reassure the fearful, rescue the oppressed, bring hope to the hopeless, shelter the destitute. He doesn't ask for much, does he? And yet... and yet... Each of these actions is something to continue to strive for in our lives. When we help someone in more dire straights than we're in, we not only enrich them, but ourselves. When we offer a hand to help someone stand up, figuratively or literally, we're acting as the hands of the Divine.
A friend of mine is going through a rough patch right now, and she's quite sorrowful. Her father died three years ago, she's out of work, managed to get herself in trouble with the law, and she just broke her foot. She is the sorrowful one, the sick one, the fearful one. She's so lost in those things that it's really difficult for her to reach out for help, and almost impossible to take the hand that's offered to her. Still, it's important for me to offer. Why? Because it helps her, and it helps me.
When I comfort the sorrowful, I am also bringing hope to the hopeless me... to myself. By offering comfort to someone who is in pain, I am requesting and allowing the Divine to work through me, using me as a conduit for love and healing. In doing so, how can that love and healing not affect me? As it passes through from heaven to earth, I also get the benefits of this love, this divine generosity.
There's such a depth to the Baha'i faith that should be shared with the world. Their viewpoint is that we are servants to one another, rather than leaders. They have no ministers, no priests, because all are equal in the eyes of God. That's why we've covered the altar today, and why I'm down here instead of up there.
Part of the interfaith movement, and part of Patchwork's goal, is to strive to get past the differences. This isn't to say we should ignore differences; quite the contrary! I think we should celebrate and venerate our differences as much as our similarities. There's a level of excitement knowing that at a Baha'i meeting I will hear very deep, peaceful quotes from Bahá'u'lláh and his son, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and that a United Church of Christ service I'll get to sing old and familiar hymns. The two are worlds apart, and feed very different needs and wants in people, and that's something to be enjoyed!
There are similarities, too, which we can hold onto. The Golden Rule is threaded throughout pretty much all religions. Hindus say “This is the sum of duty: do naught to others that which if done to thee would cause pain.” The Jewish version is, “What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow men. That is the entire Law, all the rest is commentary.”
Zoroastrians say “That nature only is good when it shall not do unto another whatever is not good for its own self.” Buddhists tell us, “Hurt not others with that which pains yourself,” and Christianity says “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Islam states, “No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.” And the Baha'is say “Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself.”
So many religions and yet they all say basically the same thing: be nice to one another. That's the base of it all. That's the ground floor, where everyone's pretty much the same. It isn't until we get into the fancy writing and the prayers and songs and bells and whistles that we begin to see differences.
So I say, STRIVE to have your person, your soul, your very being be the best you can be. That is the part which touches all the other religions and beliefs out there. Then, STRIVE to celebrate your differences without taking away from another. The clothing that you were is very different from mine, and yet it is beautiful, flatters your figure, brings out the color of your eyes. That dress on me would look horrific, because I'm not you. The differences can be enjoyed, even loved, without having to take them on ourselves.
I'd like to finish up my sermon with a poem by Mark L. Belletini, entitled Go In Peace
Go in peace. Live simply, gently, at home in yourselves.
Act justly.
Speak justly.
Remember the depth of your own compassion.
Forget not your power in the days of your powerlessness.
Do not desire to be wealthier than your peers and stint not your hand of charity.
Practice forbearance.
Speak the truth, or speak not.
Take care of yourselves as bodies, for you are a good gift.
Crave peace for all people in the world,
beginning with yourselves,
and go as you go with the dream of that peace alive in your heart.
Hymn Down to the River to Pray by Alison Krauss
Concerns and Joys
One of the most wonderful parts of the various religious services I've attended or presided at is the sharing of community and personal joys and concerns. In some services, people bring up flowers, and at others they light candles. Today, you'll find that at the end of each row is a little bowl of stones.
If you have a joy or concern that you'd like to share, please take one of these stones and bring it up to the altar and place it here (indicate). If you feel moved, please tell us of your joy or concern, but please don't be pressured to do so... the Divine hears things spoken in our hearts as well as from our mouths. After the service, these stones will be taken over to a natural offering bowl, just there (point), and left for a day or two in this natural, grace-filled setting.
Pastoral Prayer
By all the names known in heaven and earth, may you be blessed. Amen.
Silent Reflective Meditation
The Baha'i faith has such a wonderful understanding of Divinity. The following words were written by Baha'u'llah, but apply to everyone. I will read the nine statements, and then take a moment for reflection and meditation on the reading. Please be comfortable and quiet during this guided meditation.
Be generous in prosperity and thankful in adversity.
Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face.
Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge.
Be fair in thy judgement, and guarded in thy speech.
Be unjust to no man and show meekness to all men.
Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression.
Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts.
Be a home for the stranger, a balm for the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.
Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility.
Hymn My Sweet Lord by George Harrison
Benediction
Written by Lauralyn Bellamy for the Unitarian Universalist hymnal:
If, here, you have found freedom, take it with you into the world.
If you have found comfort, go and share it with others.
If you have dreamed dreams, help one another, that they may come true!
If you have known love, give some back to a bruised and hurting world.
Go in peace.
Postlude Arise by Minoo Mohager (Persian Baha'i Chant)
