Zoom Link for The Sunday Liturgy | https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89752784023

The Call to Worship

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Amen.

Brave Space by Micky Scott Bey Jones

Together we will create brave space

Because there is no such thing as a “safe space”

We exist in the real world

We all carry scars and we have all caused wounds.

In this space

We seek to turn down the volume of the outside world,

We amplify voices that fight to be heard elsewhere,

We call each other to more truth and love

We have the right to start somewhere and continue to grow.

We have the responsibility to examine what we think we know.

We will not be perfect.

This space will not be perfect.

It will not always be what we wish it to be

But

It will be our brave space together,

And, we will work on it side by side.

The Message

Language for a God Who Transcends Gender | Dr Wilda Gafney

The Eucharist Litany (portions of this litany were written by Naomi Lippett)

Reader: This is Christ's table

The table of communion and relationship, where through the work of Christ and the power the Holy Spirit as we feast together on this single loaf and single cup, we are brought into union with the Triune God.

All: This is Christ's table

Reader: The table of shared human life, where no one is excluded and no one unwelcome, where unity is found in difference, where the other is embraced and seen.

All: This is Christ's table

Reader: The table of mystery, where this food nourishes more than just our physical hunger.

All: This is Christ's table

Reader: The table of thanksgiving and joy, where we lift up our lives in response to God's outrageous goodness.

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.

Remembering, therefore, this command of the Saviour, and all that came to pass, we pray:

All: Come Holy Spirit and transform these gifts into the means of grace that we need in this moment.

Reader: The gifts of god for the people of God.

Run to Christ's table.

All: “We consume the broken body of Christ

becoming the broken body of Christ

present in a broken world.”

Formational Learning

What stood out to you from the liturgy? Were there any points of curiosity, clarity, confusion, conviction, or conflict that emerged as we walked through liturgy together?

(Head)

The Scriptures are rich with references to God as feminine and as a mother. What changes when we refer to God as mother or with feminine language? How does gendered language for God affect our understanding of who God is and who humans are?

(Heart)

At this point in your faith journey, what are terms for God that you have found as helpful or harmful? How do you feel when you think about God or refer to her with feminine language? What is one way you wish you had heard God described, in the early formative years of your faith?

(Hands)

What are ways we can acknowledge God in her feminine and or motherly nature?

Look up the history of the biblical translation you currently read the most. Note what observations or questions you have about its history, and how that might affect the readers of that translation. If you are comfortable please share it in our FB chat this week.

Examen

Where did I notice that my assumptions about God were posed in toxic masculine projections today?

Where did I notice growth in seeing God beyond gender or posed in the famine characteristics and projections today?

Announcements 

• We have a Slow-Cooker Spirituality group that meets online at 9:30am PST every Thursday. This coming week we will be sitting in Luke 1

  • 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?

• Tonight after our regular gathering time we will be holding space to talk about future ways of gathering and cultivating community.

• 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 he may send you;

may he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm;

may he bring you home rejoicing: at the wonders he has shown you;

may he bring you home rejoicing: once again into our doors.*

*Claiborne, Shane. Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.