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The Nameless Speak | You Don't Know My Name pt. 1

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.

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.

Scripture Reading

Matthew 15:21-28

The Message

Conversation Series | You Don’t Know My Name

There are many stories of nameless women in the life of Jesus. We cannot name them but we can seek to learn and tell their stories. "You Don't Know My Name is a conversation series that is seeking to explore the stories of the these unnamed women in the gospels.

Message | The Nameless Speak

The first time around, God shows up in the promised land sacrificing the people to purify the land. The second time God comes to the land in the person of Jesus, God comes face to face with a nameless woman, a descendant of those sacrificed the first time around. In Matthew 15, this nameless Canaanite woman speaks, and it is God who is changed.

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

Rules of the Table

  1. It’s Christ’s table, and we are all guests, a good guest makes sure everyone present can stay at the table.

  2. This is a place to process together. Questions of curiosity and process are encouraged, not questions to force agreement or coerce a specific answer.

  3. Keep answers to 1-2 minutes so everyone has room to share.

  4. 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

  1. Controversy with civility

  2. Own your intentions and your impact

  3. Challenge by choice (allow ourselves to be challenged by what others share)

  4. Respect

  5. No Attacks

(Opening Question)

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 the liturgy together?

(Head)

When God came to Canaan the first time, he killed the inhabitants. God is coming into Canaan a second time, and a nameless woman faces him, expressing faithfulness and need. How does God having to face the nameless change the story's ending?

(Heart)

When have you experienced being nameless, and did anyone eventually see you?

If you see yourself as normative in many places within culture, when have you seen the nameless use their voice to challenge the expected and how we hold onto the idea of God?

(Hands)

How do we hold space for the nameless to find their voice, and how do we practice faithfulness towards them as they risk using their voice?

Examen

  • When did I feel nameless or unseen today?

  • When did I feel named or seen today?

  • When did I notice someone that needed to be seen and heard today?

  • How did I intentionally notice and listen today to those who tend to be overlooked 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 9:18-26.

    • 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?

  • FōS Townhall Meeting | Next Monday evening at 7pm Pacific Time. We will be holding space to continue talking about the future of FōS and how to move forward as community. Monday April 18, 2022 at 7pm PST.

  • 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.