Depression & Her Gifts | Holy & Wholly Present 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.
We Would as Soon … a prayer by Walter Brueggemann
We would as soon you were stable and reliable.
We would as soon you were predictable
and always the same toward us.
We would like to take the hammer of doctrine
and take the nails of piety
and nail your feet to the floor
and have you stay in one place.
And then we find you moving,
always surprising us,
always coming at us from new directions.
Always planting us
and uprooting us
and tearing all things down
and making all things new.
You are not the God we would have chosen
had we done the choosing,
but we are your people
and you have chosen us in freedom.
We pray for the great gift of freedom
that we may be free toward you
as you are in your world.
Amen
The Message
Conversation Series | Holy & Wholly Present
A conversation series on mental health and wholeness explored through our spiritual journeys.
Message | Depression & Her Gifts
This week, Megan helps us explore depression. In a society that tends to askew away from anything uncomfortable, the idea that depression may have gifts to offer us is radical and potentially liberating.
The Eucharist Litany (from Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals)
Reader: The table of bread is now to be made ready.
It is the table of company with Jesus,
and all who love him.
It is the table of sharing with the poor of the world,
with whom Jesus identified himself.
It is the table of communion with the earth,
in which Christ became incarnate.
So come to this table,
you who have much faith
and you who would like to have more;
you who have been here often
and you who have not been for a long time;
you who have tried to follow Jesus,
and you who have failed;
come.
It is Christ who invites us to meet him here.
All: Loving God, through your goodness
we have this bread and wine to offer,
which has come forth from the earth
and human hands have made.
May we know your presence
in the sharing,
so that we may know your touch
and presence in all things.
We celebrate the life that Jesus has shared
among his community through the centuries,
and shares with us now.
Made one in Christ
and one with each other,
we offer these gifts and with them ourselves,
a single, living act of praise.
“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?
What changes when we no longer condition ourselves to avoid the negative? What is something you learned from seasons of depression or times of ongoing sadness in your life?
(Heart) What do I feel as I am reflecting?
What feelings showed up for you during this message? What is something you wish you had heard (or didn’t hear) from someone while experiencing depression or ongoing sadness?
(Hands) What do I do to respond?
What is one of your favorite daily practices? What is a practice you want to pick up this week?
Examen
Become aware of God’s presence. Review the day with gratitude. Pay attention to your emotions. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it. Look toward tomorrow.
Is there a way I am avoiding negative emotions or feelings today? If so, why am I avoiding it?
If not, what can I learn from these emotions?
Was there a place I felt the emotional histories of my ancestors, family, or upbringing today?
Where have I honored my pain or the pain of others today?
What is a daily ritual that I enjoyed today?
Announcements
We have a Slow-Cooker Spirituality group that meets online at 9:30am PST every Thursday. This coming week’s reading will be Matthew 5:14-16.
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?This Wednesday, October 12, at 7pm we will be holding space for a mental health check-in. It will be an opportunity to just talk, to explore some of the concepts we talked about in our last conversation series. we will use the same link as our Sunday Liturgy.
Based on our poll in the Facebook Messenger chat, Monday, October 17, 2022 at 7pm will be the next Townhall meeting. We will use the same Zoom link as our Sunday Liturgy.
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.