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Scripted Prayers

 

 

This column was written for the Wednesday Word that goes out to members of the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship.

 

I have a copy of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer and the King’s Chapel Book of Common Prayer in my library and reach for them often for their beauty of language and clear, effective liturgies. The bloody battles fought by my Dissenting and Puritan religious forebears against the use of set and scripted liturgies recorded in the BCP mostly feel too far off historically to be relevant to me today. I appreciate and savor the beauty of a traditional collect, such a the Collect For Peace,

“O God, who art the author of peace, and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom; defend us thy humble servants in all assaults of our enemies, that we, surely trusting in thy defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

That is a powerful incantation and I have turned to it many times in my personal devotions and translated its ideas and intentions for humanist Unitarian Universalists congregations with whom I have ministered.

All that said, during these past months I have felt increasingly grateful to be the heir of clergy who vehemently fought against the imposition of set prayers into their liturgies. These men (and the lay women who supported them) were persecuted and some died for the right to pray extemporaneously, as the Spirit moved them and for as long as they liked. Sometimes their prayers lasted for hours – much to the chagrin, I’m sure, of some of their cold and uncomfortable parishioners! While I would neither want to hear nor give a prayer that long and verbose in a worship service, neither do I feel that I could recite some of the prayers and collects that my liturgically scripted colleagues are required to give – and particularly for the nation’s leaders.

Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies, and I do. The Scriptures promise us that God will work in the hearts of even the most hard-hearted of humans, and I believe that God can and may. But right now, when I see daily evidence that my nation’s leaders are determined not to extend grace, not to learn wisdom and not in any way or moment to embrace the humility of spirit by which wisdom and grace may enter, I choose to direct my most ardent (and extempore) prayers to the victims of their follies and failures.

May the love of God and the peace of Christ be with you, guide you and sustain you this day and every day.

August 30, 2017

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Orlando

Weekends in my neighborhood are festive, with Latino music and parties and grilling. I could do without the 2AM firecrackers going off right outside my bedroom window, and I need to learn how to say both “firecrackers” and “heart attack” in Spanish and chat with a few of my neighbors.
I happened to go out for Mexican food last night and see a flier — in both Spanish and one in English — advertising a vigil for the Orlando victims – in a park about .3 miles from me. My stomach is a mess and I dare not head out, but I can hear the sounds of a distant song or chant through a megaphone through my open study window that faces the street.
We read the names of the 49 murdered today in church. We lit candles for them. I said this:

Again, hateful violence has exploded out of one angry, deranged individual and shattered the lives of countless people in the murdering of 49 of them, and the wounding by bullets of many others.

In Orlando, at a gay club called Pulse, these men and women died. They were all unique individuals with names and stories and circles of love and relationship that extended far beyond each of them, just as all our lives extend. We name them now, in solidarity and sorrow.

Stanley Almodovar III
Amanda Alvear
Oscar A Aracena-Montero
Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala
Antonio Davon Brown,
Darryl Roman Burt II
Angel L. Candelario-Padro
Juan Chevez-Martinez
Luis Daniel Conde
Cory James Connell

Tevin Eugene Crosby
Deonka Deidra Drayton
Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez
Leroy Valentin Fernandez
Mercedez Marisol Flores
Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz
Juan Ramon Guerrero
Paul Terrell Henry
Frank Hernandez
Miguel Angel Honorato

Javier Jorge-Reyes
Jason Benjamin Josaphat
Eddie Jamoldroy Justice
Anthony Luis Laureano Disla
Christopher Andrew Leinonen
Alejandro Barrios Martinez
Brenda Lee Marquez McCool
Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez
Kimberly Morris
Akyra Monet Murray

Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo
Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez
Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera
Joel Rayon Paniagua
Jean Carlos Mendez Perez
Enrique L. Rios, Jr.
Jean C. Nives Rodriguez
Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado
Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz
Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan

Edward Sotomayor Jr.
Shane Evan Tomlinson
Martin Benitez Torre
Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega
Juan P. Rivera Velazquez
Luis S. Vielma
Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez
Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon
Jerald Arthur Wright

May we continue to affirm, unequivocally, that sexuality is a gift of pleasure and joy and that no bodies are sinful or created wrong. Consensual sexual attraction between people who are not hurting or exploiting anyone else, whether for the purposes of procreation or just for the expression of the joy in being alive, is a BLESSING.

We affirm the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people of any self-chosen label or no label at all in the life of the church and affirm their equal rights under the law.

Unitarian Universalists are committed to anti-racism, and therefore we respect the significance of the fact that the murderer chose Latino night at the club to target his victims, almost all of whom were people of color.

Unitarian Universalists are committed to inter-faith work and understanding, and do not hold any entire people – in this case the Muslim community – responsible for the acts of one of their members.

Let us pray.
God, grant us strength to endure these outrages and to be present to reality rather than shielded from it.

May we be steadfast in our commitment to challenge all of the factors that make this kind of violence possible.

May we pray peace upon the victims and upon all those who mourn, and for our nation in turmoil, divided by ideologies that create rancor and divide us from each other.

La paz sea con ellos. Peace be upon them.

May our work, our presence, our benevolent rage, be our steadfast prayer.

Concédenos tu paz , la paz que sobrepasa todo entendimiento.
Grant us your peace, the peace that passeth understanding.

– Rev. Dr. Victoria Weinstein 19 June 2016
Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lynn

 

[Please pardon any errors in my Spanish. – VW]

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Blessed Thanksgiving

My new friend and neighbor came over yesterday and styled my living and dining room. She moved furniture, put everything up on walls, and made me see my possessions in a new and beautiful way. So many times, as she was arranging something and saying, “This is gorgeous, where did you get it?” I would respond, “It was a gift from one of my congregations.”

A beautiful handcrafted broom, given as a loving and whimsical momento during years that I had a “My Other Car Is a Broom” bumper sticker. A beautiful piece of pottery in mauve tones. A rich, large dark wood salad bowl from Africa. An exquisite painting of my former parsonage and parish. A custom-made pillow that bears a quote by the Rev. William Ellery Channing, father of American Unitarianism.

A charming little painting of my current seaside location given by the board of the church I started serving in August. A large volume on Shakespearean set design, gift of a church friend. Books on the Arts + Crafts movement and Art Deco fashion collected from the Victoria and Albert Museum when I was consulting with London congregations. A lovely painting from Haiti given as a gift of appreciation from a now-beloved friend I met through the exigencies of pastoral ministry. Textiles from Nicaragua, where I lived for six weeks during a sabbatical granted by my congregation.

I bow my head for all the times I felt abandoned and alone, frayed and God-forsaken. The evidence is all around me all the time that I am being woven daily into a strong and beautiful fabric. Today is about allowing myself to be as overwhelmed by that as I deserve to be. I hope today gives you an opportunity to have the most sentimental wellings of gratitude in your own heart. And that if you feel abandoned and alone, frayed and God-forsaken, that you will speak your truth somewhere it can be heard and held with the compassion you deserve. That you will be unconditionally accepted and understood by some friendly companion, and that it there is no human being who might fulfill that role for you, that you will feel it in the wind, the sky, the sun, the trees, the sea or the presence of the Holy Spirit, whom I know is making Her rounds today as every day, and wants to wrap you in comfort. Be blessed, everyone.