Give Me Children, or I Shall Die: Stories of the Barren | Oh Baby! God's Happy Lil' Surprises pt. 4
Zoom Link for The Sunday Liturgy | https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89752784023
The Call to Worship
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father in heaven, let Your name remain holy.
Bring about Your kingdom.
Manifest Your will here on earth, as it is manifest in heaven.
Give us each day that day’s bread—no more, no less—
And forgive us our debts as we forgive those who owe us something.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
A Prayer of Process (adapted from bell hooks)
Dominator culture has tried to keep us all afraid,
It has tried to make us choose safety instead of risk,
It has tried to make us choose sameness instead of diversity.
Moving through that fear,
finding out what connects us,
revelling in our differences;
this is the process that brings us closer,
the process that gives us a world of shared values,
the process of meaningful community.
Amen.
The Message
Conversation Series | Oh Baby! God's Happy Lil' Surprises
All birth is generative. It speaks to the possibility that yet exists in this world. As we move into the Advent season, we wanted to explore various birth narratives from within the biblical text read in light of Jesus’ birth in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. What possibilities do these stories still hold for us today?
Message | Give Me Children, or I Shall Die: Stories of the Barren
As we move into the fourth and final week of our Advent conversation series, Megan leads us in a provocative and needed conversation about barrenness. Christmas is always a season full of contrasts that seem to get overlooked in service of a singular narrative. But Megan asks us to stop and listen to the other stories being told.
The Eucharist Litany (portions of this litany were written by Naomi Lippett)
All: This is Christ's table
Reader: The table of remembrance, which on the night He was betrayed, in the company of friends, he took bread and broke it saying, this is my body given for you, eat this in remembrance of me. He then took the cup of wine, and gave thanks saying this is my blood of the new covenant. Drink this in remembrance of me.
All: This is Christ's table
Reader: Remembering, therefore, this command of the Saviour, and all that came to pass, we pray:
All: We consume the broken body of Christ becoming the broken body of Christ present in a broken world.
Formational Learning
Rules of the Table
It’s Christ’s table, and we are all guests, a good guest makes sure everyone present can stay at the table.
This is a place to process together. Questions of curiosity and process are encouraged, not questions to force agreement or coerce a specific answer.
Keep answers to 1-2 minutes so everyone has room to share.
The facilitator will interject when the conversation moves too far away from our explicit topic. All questions are good but they are not all useful for this specific time.
Brave Space Ideals for the Conversation
Controversy with civility
Own your intentions and your impact
Challenge by choice (allow ourselves to be challenged by what others share)
Respect
No Attacks
(Opening Question)
What stood out to you from the liturgy? What is one point of curiosity or a question that emerged as we walked through the liturgy together?
(Head) What do I think?
How can we converse and grapple with the stories of women and child-bearing in the Bible, including the stories of Mary’s pregnancy and Christ’s birth? Can we hold on to these stories and still create an inclusive and liberating space for women to be fully human?
(Heart) What do I feel as I am reflecting?
What feelings, if any, came up for you during this message?
Or
How have stories of barrenness or pregnancy in the Bible been used in your past traditions, and was there any physical or emotional response you had to those approaches?
(Hands) What do I do to respond?
How can we better expand our male-centric stories and language in our faith traditions and communities?
Examen
The Examen is a daily practice of reflection and prayer that helps us introspectively look at ourselves. Spend a few moments at the end of your day prayerfully reflecting. Grab a pen and journal and write your response out.
Is there a place where I have experienced an unanswered prayer or painful waiting today? What are ways I respond to that feeling and experience?
Was there a place I noticed male-centric language or the inclusion and empowerment of women today?
How can I name both what is terrible and what is bringing me life today?
Where is a place I find hope in the story and season of Advent?
Announcements
We have a Slow-Cooker Spirituality group that meets online at 9:30am PST every Thursday. This coming week’s reading will be Luke 2. Using the Head, Heart, Hands questions, spend some time reflecting on the passage and writing down what emerges for you.
(Head) What do I think about what I read?
(Heart) What do I feel as I am reflecting?
(Hands) What do I do to respond?
A reminder that we will resume our monthly Mental Health Check-in on Wednesday January 4th at 7pm (pacific time). The holiday season can be hectic, this will be an opportunity to just talk, and to explore wholeness and grounding together.
This week, Sunday, December 18th, 2022, will be our last Sunday Liturgy of the year. We will pause until January 8th, 2023. We want to ensure that we allow space for gathering with family and friends. We will continue our other weekly rhythms like Slow-Cooker Spirituality and the Examen. So, definitely keep an eye out for that.
One of the ways we invest in the future of FōS is through tithes and offering, generous giving. You can give online at www.fos.church/partner. Make sure to follow the instructions.
Our Benediction
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever they may send you;
may Christ guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm;
may Christ bring you home rejoicing: at the wonders they have shown you;
may Christ bring you home rejoicing: once again into our doors.*
*Claiborne, Shane. Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.