1. How is everyone? Tea at the ready?
 
2. Song: ‘faithful one’ (from 58.34)

• What have we learnt over the past four weeks? How have we changed?
• What should our next steps be as a community in relation to this?

5 Silence is held
 
6 Prayer
Loving God,
We thank you for the significance of this month.
We lift up and thank you for our Black siblings who have shaped history.
We thank you for the opportunity to learn and reflect particularly at this time, here and now.
We pray that the learning happening in schools, homes and workplaces will be meaningful and deep-rooted.
We pray for open hearts and minds,
And spirits willing to learn and be transformed by you.
May we continue our time of curiosity and sharing,
Conversations and celebrations,
Challenge and encouragement.
Loving God, help us to dig deeper,
Look closer, and think bigger.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
 
 
7 Reading
One: You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;  you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place,when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Many: How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
 
 
Holy notices: please, help me do this week by week – will you read, pray, dance and sing?
 
8. Final song

Freedom is coming
O yes I know
Justice is coming
O yes I know

1. How is everyone? Tea at the ready?
 
2. Our BLM house group reading as our prayer
One: You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;  you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place,when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Many: How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
 
3. Sermon of the late Rev Vicky Gibbs: a guide to receiving the Holy Spirit
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/15/us/vickey-gibbs-dead-coronavirus.html
Rev. Vickey Gibbs, Activist in a Progressive Church, Dies at 57
Ms. Gibbs used her pulpit in Houston to treat broken parishioners in a broken social world. She died of the coronavirus.
In the last sermon she preached, the Rev. Vickey Gibbs tied together the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, the refusal to wear masks, the minimum wage, slavery, the destruction of Native Americans, Ta-Nehisi Coates, reparations, immigration policy, excessive executive pay and “the desire for power and money.”
It was June 7, Pentecost Sunday, and the 900-seat Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church in Houston, where Ms. Gibbs was associate pastor, was empty because of the pandemic. The congregants were in virtual attendance, watching a video feed at home.
As a nation, she told them, “We have not had our Pentecost moment,” referring to the religious belief that, after Christ’s ascension, the Holy Spirit descended on his disciples to begin Christianity’s mission in the world. Her answer: “Repent, be baptized, seek and give forgiveness, begin to build bridges of reconciliation.”

4 Silence is held
 
5 Prayer and reflection
Quotes taken from the sermon
Let us not be silent, let us not be complicit, let us not be complicit in injustice, let us be bridges over troubles waters.
We pray for our pentecost moment.
Let our hearts be open to the possibility of unity, of compassion, of transformation by the Holy Spirit. Let us be full heirs of God’s dominion.
We pray for our pentecost moment.
‘To hell with your money’. Let us not be tempted by power or money.
We pray for our pentecost moment.
We name people or situations that we want us all to pray for.
 
 
We pray for our pentecost moment.
 
Holy notices: please, help me do this week by week – will you read, pray, dance and sing?
 
6. Final song

1. How is everyone? Tea at the ready?
 
2. Song
Join with us (mute yourself) and sing as if no-one was listening.
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise

3. Prayer
By Kierra Stuvland (gifts coordinator/development officer at Bread for the World)
 
The presence of the Lord is here. We feel it in the atmosphere.
This holy hour, we bring ourselves into your presence, O God. To you we offer our prayers, our praise, and our supplications.
This month, we celebrate Black History Month and honour the culture of our brothers and sisters. We remember the legacy of those who came before us – who not only paved the way but carried the bricks on broken backs that then built that road. We remember the songs, stories, and fiery hope of old men and little girls, granny midwives and marvellous musicians, great orators and leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators – those who are earth-tone brown, black as night, fair like the sands of Egypt. We are kings and queens. We are descendants of royalty.
Lord, when it’s too hard living, we remember you are the great “I am” and our source of strength and purpose for each new day. Help us in our advocacy efforts with Bread for the World – to honour you with our work for justice, healing, and peace in our day. Help us as we labour for the end of hunger. Help us to stay educated and active as we read the unacceptable statistics that point to the fact that 1 in 4 African-American households is food-insecure as compared with 1 in 10 of white households, and that more than 1 in 3 African-American children live in food-insecure households compared to 1 in 7 white children.
God, help us to value diversity beyond variety. Help us value diversity with a vision for a progressive future that acknowledges our strength together as well as the power, creativity, ideas, and part that we all bring when we are all welcome – to come to the table and taste and see that the Lord is good.
Help us labour on until we all can sing, for good and right reasons: Oh happy day! Amen.
 
4 Clips to ponder upon and discuss
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-52939694 specifically, ‘a new play, written and performed by Paterson Joseph, tells the story of Britain's first black voter’, and, ‘David Matthews tells the story of his great-uncle who fought in World War One’.
5. Comments, discussion
We discussed last week about focusing both on hardship and liberation. Must both be present?
The actor talked about what it is to be ‘stranger’ and being ‘not much abused’. We can see this in ourselves, how can we make sure we see this in others?
The ‘windrush generation’ was unknown to many. What else is hidden? What can we do?
There were comments as to keeping knowledge relevant today, rather than simply a glimpse into the past. Is there something practical we can do? The service planned in 10 days’ time is open for discussion!  
6 Prayer and reflection
Silence is held
God of the nations, you bless us in creation with endless diversity. May we participate in this ongoing creation by enabling life in ongoing variety and expression. Help us to see what is acceptable.
Spirit of Love, receive our prayer.
God of the political, you give us free will to govern and manage our community living. May we choose our leaders wisely by changing patterns and voices in leadership, so that all needs are being addressed.
Spirit of Love, receive our prayer.
God of anger, you rage at the choices we make on earth even as we claim to do your will. May we learn to see ourselves with clarity, and learn to feel the rage you feel when we treat people, the earth and its creatures with contempt and disrespect.
Spirit of Love, receive our prayer.
God of the intimate, you speak to us in whispers and shouts, and it is up to us to pay attention. May we turn our attention to you, especially when it is painful, because we know love means having to make sacrifices.
Spirit of Love, receive our prayer.
 
7 Bible reading for this month
Extracts from Psalm 139
 
You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;  you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place,when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
 
Holy notices: please, help me do this week by week – will you read, pray, dance and sing?
 
8. Final song. Difficult to watch compared to last week … prohpetic not just prayerful.

 2. Song
Join with us (mute yourself) and sing as if no-one was listening.(skip to 1:02:33)

3. Prayer
Spirit of Abundance, God of Grace, Mother of Hope,
We pause now to remember those stories that are all around us,
But so often passed over,
Those stories that when told are shared because
Of what someone is, not who they are.
This month in our nation's character
Is Black History month.
Help us to realize that Black history is
All our histories.
May the day come when these stories
Are so wildly taught that no month need
Be separately divided.
We know this day will not come until we as a people
Make different choices.
We pray now for those new choices.
May we come to see a day where the prison system
Becomes redemptive, not punitive.
A day where the legal system learns to focus more squarely on the facts,
And the not colors of our skin.
A day where our schools are as well funded, as the needs demand.
May our role models be allowed to excel when they thrive,
And not be taken down for their rich heritage.
We know this will require a shift in power.
And this can be scary for some.
Give those full of fear - hope.
May we come to know grace,
So that our hearts will not be hardened to the pain around us.
There are so many beautiful stories needing to be told.
And we need to get the chance to hear them.
Widen our vision so that the history that is shared this month,
And every month,
Come to be known as our history too.
We are most human when we see the humanity in others.
 
4 Reading to ponder upon and discuss
The second reading is from the Quaker Faith and Practice (Fifth edition), Chapter 23:33, by Meg Maslin
Guided by the Light of God within us and recognising that of God in others, we can all learn to value our differences in age, sex, physique, race and culture. This enables mutual respect and self-respect to develop, and it becomes possible for everyone to love one another as God loves us. Throughout our lives, we see ourselves reflected in the facial expressions, verbal comments and body-language of others. We have a responsibility to protect each other’s self-respect.
Because of their commitment to social concerns, some Quakers may find it inconceivable that they may lack understanding of issues involving racism. Jesus stressed the unique nature and worth of each individual. It is unreasonable to expect assimilation or to ignore difference, claiming to treat everyone the same. This denies the value of variety, which presents not a problem, but a creative challenge to live adventurously.
Personality, sex, race, culture and experience are God’s gifts. We need one another and differences shared become enrichments, not reasons to be afraid, to dominate or condemn. The media have increased our knowledge of the world, but we need greater self-awareness if our actions are to be changed in relation to the information we receive. We need to consider our behaviour carefully, heeding the command of Jesus that we should love our neighbours as we love ourselves.
 
5. Comments, discussion, or awkward silence 😊
‘Throughout our lives, we see ourselves reflected in the facial expressions, verbal comments and body-language of others’. When have you seen this? Good or bad?
‘It is unreasonable to expect assimilation or to ignore difference, claiming to treat everyone the same’. Is it unreasonable? Is it evern reasonable?
‘A creative challenge to live adventurously’: have you any experiences of this?
‘The media have increased our knowledge of the world, but we need greater self-awareness if our actions are to be changed in relation to the information we receive’. Difficult to discern what is good or bad? Any examples of how we have learnt something and altered our actions?
 
6 Prayer and reflection
Silence is held
 
1.Reader: On Rights and Responsibilities, from Rosa Parks
I realized we should all be free people and we should have the same rights as other people. In the South, at that time, there was legally enforced segregation. There were places black people couldn’t go, and rights we did not have. This was not acceptable to me. A lot of other people didn’t disobey the rules because they didn’t want to get into trouble. I was willing to get arrested — it was worth the consequences.
All: We pray that the rights of all members of the African American community, and of all peoples, are respected, and that all take on the responsibilities of freedom.
 
2.Reader: Option for the Poor, Marian Wright Edelman, Founder, Children’s Defense League
God has blessed us with more riches than some of us know what to do with, yet we let millions of our children go hungry, without shelter, and without other basic necessities of life. Here we are blessed with the best of health technology, yet there are places where children’s lives are thrown away.We must take care of our children who suffer from poverty.
All: We pray that we see and respond to the poverty in the African American community and in all our communities.
 
3.Reader: Solidarity, from Maya Angelou, writer
 
Here, on the pulse of this fine day
You may have the courage
To look up and out upon me. . .
Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister’s eyes,
Into your brother’s face,
And say simply
Very simply
With hope, Good Morning.
 
All: We pray we stand with civility and in solidarity with all people including our African American siblings
 
4. Reader: Stewardship of Creation, from Alice
Walker, writer
Helped are those who love the entire cosmos rather than their own tiny country, city, or farm, for to them will be shown the unbroken web of life and the meaning of infinity.
Helped are those who love the Earth, their mother, and who willingly suffer that she may not die; in their grief over her pain they will weep and in their joy in her lively response to love, they will converse with all living things.
Helped are those who love and actively support the diversity of life; they shall be secure in their differences.
All: We pray that all members of our diverse human community respect Creation.
 
 
7 Bible reading
Extracts from Psalm 139
 
You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;  you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place,when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
 
 
Holy notices: please, help me do this week by week – will you read, pray, dance and sing?
 
8. Final song before tea and Bake Off. Dance as if no-one is watching