An evening remembering the words of wisdom of Harvey Milk on his birthday.

Good Evening Dear Ones!

Happy Wisdom Wednesday! Today's words of wisdom come from Harvey Milk who was born on this day and martyred in San Francisco in November 27, 1978. For those of us who are part of the LGBTQ community and allies he figures prominently in our struggle for universal rights. I remember when he was killed and the person who did it used the famous "Twinkie Defense". This was a hate crime pure and simple. We have made great strides since then, but we have miles to go before we sleep soundly and securely. Remember equality is for all and not some and that God created us in God's image and likeness. Remember last week's words of Thurgood Marshall? They apply here: "Equal means getting the same thing, at the same time and in the same place." ~ Thurgood Marshall 

So dear ones let us love one another and know that God loves you. Know this in your heart home for sure. Let us ponder these words of Harvey Milk as we celebrate his birth. 

“The only thing they have to look forward to is hope. And you have to give them hope. Hope for a better world, hope for a better tomorrow, hope for a better place to come to if the pressures at home are too great. Hope that all will be all right. Without hope, not only gays, but the blacks, the seniors, the handicapped, the us'es, the us'es will give up. And if you help elect to the central committee and other offices, more gay people, that gives a green light to all who feel disenfranchised, a green light to move forward. It means hope to a nation that has given up, because if a gay person makes it, the doors are open to everyone. 
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So if there is a message I have to give, it is that if I've found one overriding thing about my personal election, it's the fact that if a gay person can be elected, it's a green light. And you and you and you, you have to give people hope....” 
― Harvey Milk

"All young people, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, deserve a safe and supportive environment in which to achieve their full potential." ~ Harvey Milk


"If you are not personally free to be yourself in that most important of all human activities... the expression of love... then life itself loses its meaning." ~ Harvey Milk

"It takes no compromising to give people their rights. It takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no survey to remove repressions." ~ Harvey Milk


"Rights are won only by those who make their voices heard." ~ Harvey Milk


"Freedom is too enormous to be slipped under a closet door." ~ Harvey Milk


"I know that you cannot live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. And you...And you...And you...Gotta give em hope." ~ Harvey Milk


"Hope will never be silent." ~ Harvey Milk

"All men are created equal. Now matter how hard they try, they can never erase those words. That is what America is about." ~ Harvey Milk

"Lets make no mistake about this: The American Dream starts with the neighborhoods. If we wish to rebuild our cities, we must first rebuild our neighborhoods. And to do that, we must
understand that the quality of life is more important than the standard of living." ~ Harvey Milk

"It takes no compromise to give people their rights" ~ Harvey Milk

"Burst down those closet doors once and for all, and stand up and start to fight." ~ Harvey Milk

"Coming out is the most political thing you can do" ~ Harvey Milk

"If we wish to rebuild our cities, we must first rebuild our neighborhoods." ~ Harvey Milk


"The American Dream starts with the neighborhoods." ~ Harvey Milk

Come let us worship:

Almighty God, who created us in your own image: Grant us grace to follow the example of our brother Harvey Milk, that we might fearlessly contend against evil and make no peace with oppression; and, that we may employ our freedom and our privilege in the maintenance of justice in our communities and among the nations. Ground us in your love and in your compassion to be agents of change and proclaimers of the hope that will never be silent. All this we ask in the name of the One who created us in love and called us to walk in love together. Amen.
(From All Saints Church Pasadena)

"We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from the fear, the hatred and the mistrust. We must dissent from a nation that has buried its head in the sand, waiting in vain for the needs of its poor, its elderly, and its sick to disappear and just blow away. We must dissent from a government that has left its young without jobs, education or hope. We must dissent from the poverty of vision and the absence of moral leadership. We must dissent because America can do better, because America has no choice but to do better." ~ Thurgood Marshall

Let us continue to our nightly prayer vigil where we will light up the world with God's light.


Tonight we light our candles and pray for an end to hatred an fear that keep us from being reconciled to each other and ourselves.  We light these candles for all of our family members who live in fear because they are afraid to be who they are. We pray and light candles for reconciliation between all family members who have sought to be divided and not united. We pray and light our candles in memory of all indigenous peoples of the world and that we may respect their history, their persons, and their gifts to the world. We pray and light our candles this night so that we may light up the world with God's light as a message of Love, Peace, Hope, and Joy to all who have been affected by hatred, bigotry, racism, phobias, discrimination, violence, abuse, and terror. We pray that we may shine the light of God by authentically showing to others our true selves that God has made in God's image and likeness. We light our candles and celebrate each other's diversity and the gifts we bring to this beautiful world that God created. We lift up our prayers each day for the Orlando 49 and all who have been victimized by terror. We pray for_____________________. The Light of Christ in Me, Recognizes the light of Christ in you!

A Prayer attributed to St. Francis

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to
be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is
in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen.

2 Quare fremuerunt gentes?

1 Why are the nations in an uproar? *
Why do the peoples mutter empty threats?

2 Why do the kings of the earth rise up in revolt,
and the princes plot together, *
against the Lord and against his Anointed?

3 "Let us break their yoke," they say; *
"let us cast off their bonds from us."

4 He whose throne is in heaven is laughing; *
the Lord has them in derision.

5 Then he speaks to them in his wrath, *
and his rage fills them with terror.

6 "I myself have set my king *
upon my holy hill of Zion."

7 Let me announce the decree of the Lord: *
he said to me, "You are my Son;
this day have I begotten you.

8 Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for
your inheritance *
and the ends of the earth for your possession.

9 You shall crush them with an iron rod *
and shatter them like a piece of pottery."

10 And now, you kings, be wise; *
be warned, you rulers of the earth.

11 Submit to the Lord with fear, *
and with trembling bow before him;

12 Lest he be angry and you perish; *
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
13 Happy are they all *
who take refuge in him!

Micah 4:1�4

Peace and Security through Obedience

4In days to come

   the mountain of the Lord’s house

shall be established as the highest of the mountains,

   and shall be raised up above the hills.

Peoples shall stream to it, 

2   and many nations shall come and say:

‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

   to the house of the God of Jacob;

that he may teach us his ways

   and that we may walk in his paths.’

For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,

   and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 

3 He shall judge between many peoples,

   and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;

they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,

   and their spears into pruning-hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

   neither shall they learn war any more; 

4 but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees,

   and no one shall make them afraid;

   for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. 

A Song of God’s Love
1 John 4:7-11
Beloved, let us love one another, *
for love is of God.
Whoever does not love does not know God, *
for God is Love.
In this the love of God was revealed among us, *
that God sent his only Son into the world,
so that we might live through Jesus Christ.
In this is love, not that we loved God but that God loved us *
and sent his Son that sins might be forgiven.
Beloved, since God loved us so much, *
we ought also to love one another.
For if we love one another, God abides in us, *
and God’s love will be perfected in us.

Luke 23:26�32

The Crucifixion of Jesus

26 As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. 28But Jesus turned to them and said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29For the days are surely coming when they will say, “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.” 30Then they will begin to say to the mountains, “Fall on us”; and to the hills, “Cover us.” 31For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’

32 Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.

The Song of Mary Magnificat
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in you, O God my Savior, *
for you have looked with favor on your lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
you, the Almighty, have done great things for me,
and holy is your name.
You have mercy on those who fear you *
from generation to generation.
You have shown strength with your arm *
and scattered the proud in their conceit,
Casting down the mighty from their thrones *
and lifting up the lowly.
You have filled the hungry with good things *
and sent the rich away empty.
You have come to the help of your servant Israel, *
for you have remembered your promise of mercy,
The promise made to our forebears, *
to Abraham and his children for ever

Most Merciful God, who blessed your servant Helena with such grace and devotion to you that she venerated the very footsteps of our Savior; may we too, assisted by her prayers and example, be given the same grace to always see your glory in the cross of your Son. Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

A Song of Our Adoption

Ephesians 1:3-10

Blessed are you, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, *

for you have blessed us in Christ

with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

Before the world was made, you chose us to be yours in Christ, *

that we should be holy and blameless before you.

You destined us for adoption as your children through Jesus Christ, *

according to the good pleasure of your will,

To the praise of your glorious grace, *

that you have freely given us in the Beloved.

In you, we have redemption through the blood of Christ,

the forgiveness of our sins,

According to the riches of your grace *

which you have lavished upon us.

You have made known to us, in all wisdom and insight, *

the mystery of your will,

According to your good pleasure which you set forth in Christ, *

as a plan for the fullness of time,

To gather together all things in Christ, *

things in heaven and things on earth.

“Hope is never silent.”
― Harvey Milk

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We pray for and remember Harvey Milk

We pray for  and remember Matthew Shepard

We pray for  and remember those who died in the violent acts at Stonewall

We pray for and remember the Martyrs of Orlando

We pray for and remember all transgender persons who have been murdered and who have taken their own lives.

We pray for and remember all people who have died from A.I.D.S. and those who had the courage to ACT- Up.

We pray for  and remember all people who still live in the closet with fear. Help them to come out and be accepted authentically for who they are and who God made them to be.

We pray for  and remember all people in the LGBTQIA community who are resisting and persisting at this present time for equality and human rights.

We pray for and remember all the youth who are discovering who they are as people We pray that we may lovingly support them and give them courage to love and be loved.

We pray for  and remember all allies, families, and friends who are standing in solidarity shoulder to shoulder with us.

We pray for  and remember all people who are suffering mental health issues as they strive to live authentically. 

We pray for and remember all the communities and nations of the world where being LGBTQIA is a crime and punishable by death. We pray for universal human rights for all people no matter who they are. We pray for the gay community in Chechnya. 

We pray for and remember all those whom we name now who are precious to you O God,  and us ________.

We pray for and remember our heroes and mentors who gave us courage to speak truth to power and come out

We pray for and remember that You O God Created us in your image and likeness in love, for love, and to be loved. Amen. 

Almighty God, whose prophets taught us righteousness in the care of your poor: By the guidance of your Holy Spirit, grant that we may do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly in your sight; through Jesus Christ, our Judge and Redeemer, who lives and reigns with you and the same Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen


The almighty and merciful Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
bless us and keep us. Amen.

An optional vigil for this evening:

We light our candles and pray this night in solidarity with all our brothers and sisters here and throughout the world.


We begin  this vigil as we light a single candle in unity and with love for one another.

God we pray that we may love one another as you love us.
God hear the cries of your children as we pray.

Listen to the words and music of  this piece of music as we reflect on God's love and how we are to respond to God's call to love God, our neighbors, and ourselves.

Ubi Caritas - Durufle 

Pause, breathe, and listen

Ubi Caritas -Bob Hurd


We light out next single candle and pray for and end to all division, hatred, bigotry, violence, and any thing that draws us from our love of one another and from God as God's beloved children.

God we pray that we all may be one and that our divisions may cease and that we will carry this light into the world as your beloved children and peacemakers.
God hear the cries of your children as we pray.


Let us reflect on how we can come together as your children and what that  will look like.


Let us pause, breathe, and listen to the words of  this piece of music. Meditate on the instruction and sing along.

There's Honey in the Rock


God we light the next candle in solidarity with everyone who is a different faith and loves you just the same.

God we pray that we may learn from each other and be lovingly accepting of everyone's faith.

God hear the cries of your children as we pray.


We reflect upon how we have used religion as a divider, destroyer of our family members throughout the world, and a way to build walls in fear.

Pause, breathe and Listen

Let us listen to this peace mantra sung by Tina Turner.

Peace Mantra - Tina Turner

Origin: Hindhuism
Language: Sanskrit

Om Om Om
Sarvesham Svastir Bhavatu
Sarvesham Shantir Bhavatu
Sarvesham Poornam Bhavatu
Sarvesham Mangalam Bhavatu
Om, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti

Mantra's Meaning:

May there be happiness in all
May there be peace in all
May there be completeness in all
May there be success in all


Let us engage in the "Be Stills"

Be Still and Know that I am God.
Be Still and know  that I am.
Be Still and know.
Be Still.
Be.


We light candles and place them in a circle  and pray for all nations of the world.

God we come to you and pray for all nations of the world where there is division, war, hatred, and daily acts of violence. We pray especially and remember, Santa Fe, Parkland, Gaza, Syria,,  Manchester Chechnya, United States, France, Turkey, Sudan, Iraq, Belgium, and the cities of Orlando, Istanbul, Dhaka, Baghdad, Medina, Jeddhah, Ankara, Dallas, St. Paul, Baton Rouge and all other places known and unknown.

God hear the cries of your children as we pray.

Pause, breathe, and listen in silence as we reflect upon what peace is supposed to be like.

We light out candles in loving memory of all your children who have lost their lives to any kind of violence. 

The Mourner's Kaddish In English

Glorified and sanctified be God’s great name throughout the world
which He has created according to His will.

May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days,
and within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon;
and say, Amen.

May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity.

Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored,
adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He,
beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that
are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen.

May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us
and for all Israel; and say, Amen.

He who creates peace in His celestial heights,
may He create peace for us and for all Israel;
and say, Amen

The Beatitudes Matthew 5:3–12 

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. (5:3)

Blessed are those who mourn: for they will be comforted. (5:4)

Blessed are the meek: for they will inherit the earth. (5:5)

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they will be filled. (5:6)

Blessed are the merciful: for they will be shown mercy. (5:7)

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they will see God. (5:8)

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they will be called children of God. (5:9)

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (5:10

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake
we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.


Lord, you now have set your servant free *
to go in peace as you have promised;
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, *
whom you have prepared for all the world to see:
A Light to enlighten the nations, *
and the glory of your people Israel.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake
we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace

The almighty and merciful Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
bless us and keep us. Amen.

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Good Night Dear Ones! I love you. Remember that we are one in the family of God and that translates into the Family of Love.

Love and blessings,

Sara

Resources:

All Saint's Church Pasadena

A to Z Quotes

Satucket Lectionary - Helena of Constantinople

Enriching our Worship

Walk With Me On Our Journey

Book of Common Prayer