Sermon

In his poem, “A Ritual to Read to One Another,” William E. Stafford clarifies why humans must communicate with one another, and to do so well and clearly. Many of us are still struggling with grief and anxiety after both the election of 2016 and COVID 19. In a time of stress how are we listening to and hearing one another? Please come to a service where we will get a chance to consider this and speak to others. We will also listen to the words of poet Andrea Gibson and learn what questions and thoughts they have to share for our journey.

This service is intended to be interactive and has two moments where you will be asked to pause the video and have conversation among the participants. Please read through the transcript and be prepared for these stops. Please read the poem before starting the recording.

Presented by Rev. Sharon K Dittmar, Congregational Life Staff in the MidAmerica Region.

• The Signals We Give and suggested service elements (PDF)
• The Signals We Give (Vimeo)
• The Signals We Give (with embedded captions) (Vimeo)

Suggested Readings

• 434 in Singing the Living Tradition, Anonymous
  May we be reminded here of our highest aspirations,
  and inspired to bring our gifts of love and service
  to the altar of humanity.

May we know once again that we are not isolated beings
but connected, in mystery and miracle, to the universe,
to this community and to each other.

• “We Need One Another” #468 in Singing the Living Tradition, by George E. Odell

We need one another when we mourn and would be comforted.
We need one another when we are in trouble and afraid.

We need one another when we are in despair, in temptation, and in need to be recalled to our best selves again.
We need one another when we would accomplish some great purpose, and cannot do it alone.

We need one another in the hour of success, when we look for someone to share our triumphs.
We need one another in the hour of defeat, when with encouragement we might endure and stand again.

We need one another when we come to die, and would have gentle hands prepare us for the journey
All our lives we are in need, and others are in need of us.

• #646 in Singing the Living Tradition, by Wendell Berry
  We clasp the hands of those who come after us
  And the hands of those who come after us.
  We enter the little circle of each other’s arms
  And the larger circle of lovers,
  Whose hands are joined in a dance
  And the larger circle of all creatures
  Passing in and out of life
  Who move also in a dance
  To a music so subtle and vast that no ear hears it
  Except in fragments.
• Excerpt from The Cambridge Platform, written in 1648 
  A number of professing Christians cannot be formed into a church without their freely and mutually covenanting to walk together in all the duties and ordinances of the gospel. They may be real and visible saints, while they remain un-connected and separate; but they cannot be a proper church, without entering into covenant and laying themselves under certain obligations to each other, to live and act like Christians.

Suggested Hymns

• 1023 Building Bridges
• 1017 Building a New Way