Abstract
Sunday 7th September (Proper 18)
“Where two or three are gathered…”
Where two are three are gathered
When our love for each other is bigger than all of our arguments
When we need to be cared for
When we care for other people
We are gathered here today
Sunday 14th September (Proper 19) or 21st September (St Matthew)
This can be used in the context of an address, to explain forgiveness and absolution to an all age congregation, or as a stand-alone form of confession and absolution.
You need: Felt tip pens Wipe-clean tablecloth fabric. A bowl of soapy water. A towel (or a washing line with pegs)
Ahead of the service, cut your tablecloth into people shapes, remembering to cut large and small people of both genders. Test out the pens on the fabric: you need to be able to write on the tablecloth and wash it off.
Explain that all of us say, do and think things that we need to say sorry for. We need to admit these things to God; if we’ve hurt someone it’s also important to admit things to each other and say sorry. Explain that we can be totally honest with God, because God loves us and wants to wash away the wrongs we’ve done and give us a chance to start again.
Encourage people to write or draw the things they want to say sorry for, then invite them to bring their confessions to the front to be washed clean. Either hang up the washed people on the line so that everyone can see God’s forgiven people, or return the clean figure to the person as an expression of their having received a “clean slate”.
A variation on this is to cut the fabric into the shape of clothing, and compare the washing away of sins to the washing of clothes. The washing line is good for this option.
Thank you God, for loving us enough to wash away all the things that hurt us, and letting us start again. We promise that, as your forgiven people, we will forgive one another, and share your love with the world.
Sunday 21st : Feast of St Matthew
“Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
This talk / prayer is about invisible potential. Jesus was good at recognising potential in the most unlikely looking people. This is something we also need to become good at as we share in his ministry.
A variety of seeds and bulbs, ideally ones the young people won’t be familiar with (or perhaps ones that they won’t be familiar with as seeds). For example, you might take nasturtium seeds, a garlic clove, coriander seeds, or a variety of bulbs.
Explain that Jesus saw the potential in people who were looked down on by the rest of society. Jesus was able to see the goodness in them, to recognise their faith, and to love them so that they could grow. Our challenge as Christians is to do the same.
(If you have access to computer facilities in your church, you might want to use a YouTube clip such as David Attenborough’s Resurrection Plant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NewerMpHs64 . In this clip a plant that looks totally dead, blowing across the desert, is suddenly released into new life when it encounters water. Use this clip to make the point that you can’t tell from appearances what potential for new life might be present in someone.)
Show the young people the seeds, and encourage them to wonder what sort of potential might lie hidden within those seeds. Think aloud about how we might need to treat the seeds in order to bring out their potential – planting them in the right soil and with enough sunlight, committing to giving them water etc. Make the connection with the people around you – wonder what sort of potential might be hidden in people. If you have a friendly person in the congregation who doesn’t mind participating, you might brief them to tell you a particularly unusual but useful skill they have, and how it was discovered and nurtured. Wonder aloud about what needs to happen in order for each person to grow into their potential and use their gifts for the good of the kingdom – enough food and shelter to be physically comfortable, safety, love and respect etc. Explain that Jesus was good at seeing potential and enabling people even the most unlikely people, to express their faith and share their gifts. An important part of our task as Christians is to do likewise.
For the prayers, have enough pots for several children to plant one of your seeds. Use these or similar biddings:
Jesus, you saw potential in the most unlikely people. We plant this seed to pray for people in our community who are misunderstood or rejected today. We pray that, with your love and our support, they can grow, and share their beauty and goodness with the world.
Jesus, you saw hope in the most unlikely places. We pray for countries where there is fighting and where people are getting hurt. This seed represents our hope for peace. We pray that, with your love and our support, peace will grow and people will flourish.
Jesus, you see goodness hidden away in each of us. You know the parts of us that we are hide, and the things that make us feel ashamed. This seed represents us and our potential. We pray that, with your love and each other’s support, we will grow and share our love and talents with the world.
When life is fun and you have lots of energy may your joy cheer up those who feel tired and alone. When your life gets serious and you are feeling down may someone, God-sent, help you to laugh. When you feel challenged, and you fear you are failing, may you sense God’s huge pride in you, and discover new confidence. May the beauty and goodness in you shine out, here and now delighting those around you and making your heart sing for joy.
Sunday 28th (Proper 21). Also appropriate for Sunday 21st (St Matthew)
“Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.” Matthew 21.31
Jesus, when we think we are cleverer than we really are
When we are better at talking than at living our faith
When we think we are better than the people around us
When we realise how much we need you
Moral Philosophy and Ethics
Peter & Charlotte Vardy, Ethics Matters (London: SCM, 2012. £9.99. pp. xi + 290. ISBN: 978-0-334-04391-1).
Whether teacher or student, politician or surgeon, lay member or minister Ethics Matters is presented in such a way that accommodates to a wide array of readers. The text, having been separated into three distinct parts (Meta-Ethics, Normative Ethics, and Applied Ethics), progressively elaborates on the need for individuals to participate in discussions of ethical dilemmas. Peter and Charlotte Vardy attempt to create a fascination with ethics and moral philosophy by outlining and evaluating major approaches from Utilitarianism and Situation Ethics to Natural law and Virtue Ethics. They provide their readers with an engaging discussion that outlines the history of moral philosophy while engaging with modern ethical dilemmas. While mainly focusing on the Western tradition of ethics and moral philosophy they intentionally make space for the work of a few Eastern philosophers throughout their work (i.e. Confucius, Al Ghazali, as well as others). Reviewing the span of ethics from Plato and Aristotle to some of the most pressing topics of today, the authors have created a necessary handbook for all trained or self-proclaimed ethicists alike.
Peter and Charlotte Vardy have created a website for further inquiries (www.what-matters.org) which provides further readings, classroom activities, and links to free articles and books that were cited throughout the text. This external piece to the text promotes accessibility by making ethical dialogues more feasible to the readers. By doing so the authors have created an interactive element to the text that symbolizes the constant activity of the dialogue surrounding ethics.
For readers just beginning to wonder about ethics this text provides a rich history in philosophical thought; for the seasoned ethicist the text serves as a summarized outline of classical and western ethicists and their respective quadrants of thought. Ultimately the text is an elaborated table of contents of the history of ethical theory consistently pointing its readers deeper into moral philosophy while continually relating each theory to modern ethical dilemmas. Charlotte and Peter Vardy acknowledge that ‘the issues which face human beings are complex and demand mature attention. There are no easy answers, but that does not mean it is not worth asking the questions.’ Ethics Matters is engaging and accessible, informing its readers of the broad scope of ethical theory and the way in which ethicists of the past and present would respond to today’s biggest challenges.
ADAM JAMES
School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh