Prelude Melodia Africana I by Ludovico Einaudi
Opening Words May Day: an Invocation by Cliff Reed
May is here
and spring approaches her climax.
This is a celebration more ancient than we can know.
As we worship, our spirits join
with those of countless generations –
‘For the winter is past, the flowers appear on the earth,
and the time of the singing of birds is come.’
Chalice Lighting (you may wish to light a candle in your own home at this point. I will be lighting my chalice for worship at 11.00 am on Sunday morning) words by Yvonne Aburrow
The trees are green, the forests awakened from the sleep of winter.
Deck the boughs with ribbons;
make bowers in the field for Robin and Marian.
Make merry; sing, dance, laugh and make love.
As the Beltane fires are kindled on the hilltops,
So we light our chalice flame,
in honour of the Spirit of Life,
ever resurgent, leaping and laughing.
Opening Prayer
Spirit of Life and Love,
Be with us as we gather for worship,
Each in our own place.
Help us to feel a sense of community,
Even though we are physically apart.
Help us to care for each other,
In this world in which Covid has not yet gone away,
And the clouds of war and climate change overshadow us.
May we keep in touch however we can,
And help each other,
However we may.
May we remember that
caution is still needed,
that close contact is still unwise.
Help us to be grateful for the freedoms we have
and to respect the wishes of others.
May we hold in our hearts all those
Who are grieving, lost, alone,
Suffering in any way,
Amen
Hymn no. 263 Earth Awakes Again
Reading Beltane from The Wheel of the Year by Celia Cartwright
In the Scottish Gaelic, Bealtuinn means ‘May Day’ and in the modern Irish Gaelic, Bealtaine means the month of May. The original meaning is ‘the good fire’ or the ‘Bel-fire’ [after] Bel, the Bright One – the god of light and fire. Bel fires were lit on hilltops to celebrate the coming of life and fertility with the Spring as crops grew. … The major feature of the Beltane festival in many lands, was jumping over the fire. Young people are thought to have jumped over to find or wed a wife / husband; travellers to ensure a safe passage; pregnant women to ensure a safe delivery; young women to ensure their fertility and so on.
Beltane is a time of renewing energy, of thanksgiving and hope. It is also… a time for dancing around the phallic Maypole, to ensure fertility, a time for ritual dances, and for young men and women to find a mate. The cycle of Summer is ushered in at Beltane, a time for warmth, sunshine and for crops and cattle to grow strong and fat, and so provide a rich harvest to last the winter….
Going a-Maying, collecting the boughs of white blossomed hawthorn overnight to parade the sweet blossom through the village / town in the early dawn, to leave as gifts upon door steps and window ledges, afforded many an opportunity for young couples to do more than collect branches, and on the soft grassy beds of the green-wood; the result of such pairings were often called ‘merrybegots’!
Alternative Lord’s Prayer
Spirit of Life and Love, here and everywhere,
May we be aware of your presence in our lives.
May our world be blessed.
May our daily needs be met,
And may our shortcomings be forgiven,
As we forgive those of others.
Give us the strength to resist wrong-doing,
The inspiration and guidance to do right,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
We are your hands in the world; help us to grow.
May we have compassion for all living beings,
And receive whatever life brings,
With courage and trust.
Amen
Hymn no. 264 Spring Buds of Hope
Reading May Day Song by Anon.
The moon shines bright; the stars give a light
A little before ‘tis day:
So God bless you all, both great and small,
And send you a joyful May.
We have been rambling all the night,
And almost all the day,
And now, returning back again,
We have brought you a branch of May.
A branch of May we have brought you,
And at your door it stands,
It is but a sprout, but it’s well budded out
By the work of our Lord’s hands.
The hedges and trees they are so green,
As green as any leek,
Our heavenly Father he watered them
With His heavenly dew so sweet.
The heavenly gates are open wide,
Our paths are beaten plain,
And if a man be not too far gone,
He may return again.
The moon shines bright; the stars give a light
A little before ‘tis day:
So God bless you all, both great and small,
And send you a joyful May!
Responsive Prayer The Splendour and Fellowship of Life from Songs for Living (adapted)
Spirit of Life and Love,
We rejoice in this fair world; in the unfolding splendour of each morning; in the radiance of high noon; in the soft shadows of evening; in the mystic meanings of the night:
In nature’s wealth of beauty we rejoice.
In comrades of the way; in the sense of a friend’s presence; in words of love and cheer that remove distrust and doubt; in the power to help one another; in all the sharing of life:
In the gifts of companionship we rejoice.
In aged ones whose faces reveal the peace of understanding hearts; in those in the prime of life whose labour enriches each day; in little children whose innocence and laughter keep the world young:
In the unending charm of people we rejoice.
In the serenity of books; in the messages of prophets, the songs of poets and the wisdom of sages; in all discovery of truth and all visions of freedom:
In free minds and in their thinking we rejoice.
In the faith that right will triumph; in heroes and pioneers of all ages who have loved justice and sought mercy; and in all fellowship of this gathering here:
In all resources of the spirit we rejoice.
Spirit of Life and Love, make us truly thankful, Amen
Hymn no. 24 (SYF) Come, sing a song with me
Reading Religion by Vincent B. Silliman, from Songs for Living (adapted)
Let religion be to us life and joy.
Let religion be to us a voice of recurring challenge to the best we have and may be; let it be a trumpet call to action that is utterly generous.
Let religion be to us the dissatisfaction with things that are, which bids us serve more eagerly the true and the right.
Let religion be the sorrow that opens for us the way of sympathy, understanding and service to suffering humanity.
Let religion be to us the wonder and the lure of that which is only partly known and understood.
Let religion be to us appreciations that are keen and enthusiastic; the eye that glories in nature’s majesty and beauty, and the heart that rejoices in human deeds of kindness and of courage.
Let religion be to us ideals that are true and right, yet ever beyond our finest achievement.
Let religion be to us security and serenity because of its truth and beauty, and because of the enduring worth and power of the loyalties which it engenders in us.
Let religion be to us hope and purpose, discovering for us opportunities to express our best through daily tasks and associations:
Uniting us in fellowship with all that is admirable in human beings everywhere, and holding before our eyes the prospect of a nobler life for all humankind, which each may in some measure help to make actual.
Time of Stillness and Reflection (words by Cliff Reed)
In the glory and beauty of springtime
we turn to you in humble gratitude,
O Spirit of unbounded life.
Our hearts leap as the skylark sings
in the heavens, and all around us is
blossom and bursting, freshest green.
We rejoice, and bow our heads in wonder.
But for too many, the season’s joy
and beauty is dimmed by fear –
fear of unemployment and poverty,
fear of homelessness and bankruptcy,
fear of a future without hope.
[silence]
Spirit of unbounded hope,
come to all who dwell in fear’s shadow.
And come to us, that our community of
faith may help to lift the gloom, reflecting
in our worship and our fellowship,
in our words and our deeds,
the ancient promise that ‘All shall be well’.
In love for all who despair this day, we
pledge ourselves to be your messengers
of better days to come.
May it be so, Amen
Musical Interlude Melodia Africana III by Ludovico Einaudi
Address Beltane
Beltane, which is the Pagan festival celebrated on 1st May, is the third Spring festival of the Pagan year. The first is Imbolc, celebrated on 2nd February and the second is the Spring Equinox, celebrated on 21st March. As Celia Cartwright wrote, “The cycle of Summer is ushered in at Beltane, a time for warmth, sunshine and for crops and cattle to grow strong and fat, and so provide a rich harvest to last the winter.”
It is also, as she wrote, “a time of renewing energy, of thanksgiving and hope.” And this Spring, I can sense all these things in the world around us. The Annual Meetings of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches are always held during the Spring. And this year, they too were a time of renewing energy, thanksgiving and hope. More than three hundred Unitarians from all over the country attended and I think most of us left with hearts uplifted and new hope for the future. Ant Howe’s Anniversary Service was particularly inspirational.
I think it is important that we can continue to experience the wonder of Spring – the sense of divine renewal, the small annual miracles of the first flowers and the first buds appearing. They have got to be a sign of hope, that Winter cannot last forever. There is the wonderful dichotomy between the revelation of the eternal round, and the revelation of that which is new. Every Spring we encounter something never before seen, a glimpse of potential for the future.
Spring is also the time when we feel renewed and have new resources of energy. It is no accident that Spring cleaning has endured as a tradition through the centuries. Partly it is a necessity (more so in times past, when people almost hibernated during the cold winter months, and Spring was the time of the big clear out). But it is almost an instinct too – it is a time for taking stock of what we have, of discarding the broken and useless, of repairing what is worn but useful, and of setting our faces forward for the year ahead. If we don’t carry out a periodic Spring clean, our lives can become cluttered and stagnant, with no space for renewal and growth. You can guess by this that I’m not just talking about physical Spring cleaning, satisfying though that is, but also about mental and spiritual Spring cleaning. It is only too easy to plod along in the same old ways, carrying out the same old duties, not realising how flat and dull our lives have become. Sometimes we need to have a good breath of fresh air blowing through our lives, revitalising us and setting us on a new path in good heart.
It is fitting that we are celebrating Beltane now, as a time of renewing energy, thanksgiving and hope, as our world once more turns towards the warmer months of Summer. So I thought it appropriate to reflect on how we might be, how we might act, as congregations, and as a District, as we prepare to undertake the Sustainability Audit in the second half of the year. Which the District is hoping will be able to offer some constructive ideas for how our congregations might renew themselves.
In our third reading, Vincent B. Silliman has some wonderfully aspirational ideas of what our faith might mean to us – and not only to us, but to our local communities. Let me share some of it with you again:
“Let religion be to us a voice of recurring challenge to the best we have and may be; let it be a trumpet call to action that is utterly generous. Let religion be to us the dissatisfaction with things that are, which bids us serve more eagerly the true and the right. Let religion be the sorrow that opens for us the way of sympathy, understanding and service to suffering humanity. Let religion be to us ideals that are true and right. Let religion be to us hope and purpose, discovering for us opportunities to express our best through daily tasks and associations.”
I believe that our Unitarian communities can both reflect and inhabit these high ideals. And I also believe that our ability to do so could make all the difference in the weeks and months ahead. All our congregations suffered losses during the Covid pandemic and few are back up to their pre-Covid numbers. I am afraid that the long-term fall-out from the coronavirus will continue to be both difficult and complex to deal with. Not only the effect on people who have lost loved ones, although that of course is the worst, but also the number of jobs lost, companies closing down, has led to great changes in our economy, and not for the better. Not to mention the ongoing emotional and psychological effects that being in lockdown, in isolation, for so long has had on too many people.
So we need all the kindness, all the compassion, that we showed to each other during that time, to work together towards a better, more compassionate society. Because the shocking truth is, that although humankind suffered greatly during the pandemic, the rest of creation has thriven. Seas and rivers were less polluted, the air was cleaner, and the knock-on effects of those benefits on the natural world have been widespread. We need to build on this breathing space “now it is all over”, rather than going back to our old polluting ways. As I’ve said many times before, climate change is a reality, and time is running out. What can your congregation do to be greener?
We will also need hope and all the “renewing energy” we can lay our hands on, in order to undertake our Sustainability Audits and to make them a positive experience, which leads to renewed hope and growth, rather than depression and decline. In her wonderful book, The Gifts of Imperfection, Brené Brown shares her research about how we can practice what she calls wholehearted living, which is what we will need to do in the weeks ahead. One of her ten guideposts for doing this is, “Cultivating a resilient spirit: letting go of numbing and powerlessness.” Which is where hope comes in.
If we go back to the legend of Pandora and her box, Hope was the only virtue left to humankind when she had let all the others escape. And my dictionary defines hope as, “expectation and desire combined; feeling of trust”, which I guess is how most of us think of it. Brené, who is an accomplished sociological researcher, thought so too, and was shocked to find that, “hope is not an emotion; it’s a way of thinking or a cognitive process.” In other words, it is a way of believing that can be learned.
I’d like to share what she says about how hope happens: it is when “we have the ability to set realistic goals (I know where I want to go). We are able to figure out how to achieve these goals, including the ability to stay flexible and develop alternative routes (I know how to get there, I’m persistent and I can tolerate disappointment and try again). And we believe in ourselves (I can do this).”
She also grounds the ability to be hopeful in a foundation of spirituality, which she defines as, “the belief in connection, a power greater than self, and interconnections grounded in love and compassion.” I would also argue that it is much easier to find hope, to be hopeful, and resilient, when we have a belief in something greater than ourselves. This might be a higher power, which some of us might name ‘God’ or ‘Spirit of Life and Love’, or it might be a belief in the worth of working towards a lofty goal, such as world peace, an end to poverty, the spread of compassion…
The ’Covid years’ were eventful ones, in our own lives, in the life of Unitarian congregations, and in the wider world. Some of us have faced bereavement and grief, others have faced life-threatening or less scary but still serious health issues and all of us have watched the wider world seemingly going to hell in a hand-basket. And since then, some dreadful wars have broken out, thinking particularly of the ongoing conflicts in the Ukraine and Gaza. Yet humankind is resilient – the fact that we are Still Here is significant, in spite of everything the past few years have thrown at us. That is having hope. That is what we must strive to keep hold of, as we embark on a new era for our congregations.
We also need to look beyond our small communities and see the widespread fears of the poor and dispossessed in our towns and cities, in our wider communities. Cliff Reed, in our Time of Stillness and Reflection, numbers those fears: “fear of unemployment and poverty, fear of homelessness and bankruptcy, fear of a future without hope.”
We may be small in number, but everyone can do *something* to help those worse off than themselves. Whether it is regularly donating food to the local food bank, offering a warm and welcoming space to all, or simply buying an extra cup of coffee when we next visit a coffee shop and giving it to the next homeless person we see. Every town and city has a network of local charities who are battling to help those in need – why not get in touch with them and see what your congregation can do to help?
In the words of Carolyn McDade’s wonderful hymn, which we just sang, “And I’ll bring you hope, when hope is hard to find, and I’ll bring a song of love and a rose in the winter time.”
As we set our faces to the future, may we reaffirm our Unitarian values. May our hope and enthusiasm for building beloved community be rekindled and may we commit to becoming living banners for our precious faith. Amen
Hymn no. 280 Morning has Broken
Closing Words by Laura Dobson (adapted)
Spirit of Life and Love,
This day and every day
May you know Love
Within and without.
May the buds of your imagination
Blossom and bloom
Into ripe fullness.
May you flourish and flower
Like the incredible beautiful Being You Are
Amen
Postlude Melodia Africana II by Ludovico Einaudi