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God’s Glory Cannot Be HiddenA Worship Service for Black History Month
prepared by Alydia Smith
Call to Worship:
One: Have you not known the God of the downtrodden:
the God of Hagar and Ruth and Paul?
All: Yes, we know this God
and surely this God knows us.
One: Have you not heard the gospel of the oppressed:
the story of liberation, freedom, and salvation?
All: Yes, we have heard this story
and surely this story lives in us.
One: We know and we have heard that God is good,
All: all the time!
One: And all the time,
All: God is good. Amen!
Hymn of Praise:
Know That God Is Good (MV 104)
Let Us Praise the God of Truth (VU 237)
Prayer of Confession:
The gospel is for all people.
Yet sometimes we hide the gospel,
keeping the good news to ourselves.
Sometimes we proclaim our own version of the story;
a version that excludes
those who challenge our comfortable understandings;
a version that does not remind us of our complicity
with forms of human oppression.
Forgive us, God, when we change history to feed our egos.
Forgive us, when we celebrate an end result,
without remembering the long and difficult journey.
Forgive us, God.
Amen.
Possible Chorus:
Senzeni Na? (MV 66)
Words of Assurance:
Although many have tried,
God’s glory cannot be hidden!
Although many have tried,
God’s grace cannot be hoarded.
God’s glory is wild and everlasting;
it cannot be tamed to suit
our prejudices or beliefs.
God’s grace is bountiful and free;
it cannot be earned or stockpiled.
Surely, God is good.
Sung Response:
Stand, O Stand Firm (MV 99)
Children’s Time:
Many children and people around the world are still bullied because of the colour of their skin, the shape of their nose, or the bend in their hair [point to each body part each time you say it]. Sadly, if you are bullied long enough because of the colour of your skin, or the shape of your nose or the bend in your hair, it becomes really easy to start disliking your skin colour, nose, and hair. The more you are bullied, the harder it is to like yourself as God made you.
One day, a little Black boy who was being bullied because of the colour of his skin was feeling really bad about himself. He told his Sunday school teacher that he wished that God had made him a different colour. His Sunday school teacher told him something that he never ever forgot. She said:
[you may wish to project images to correspond with the descriptions in the poem]
“I thank God for the skin you’re in!
God made you the colour
of chocolate,
of earth
and of wood.
God made you with
thick,
curly,
versatile hair.
God made you with unique
gifts,
talents,
and skills.
God made you part of a story
of oppression,
of liberation
and of freedom.
God made you and the skin that you are in!
Just as God made me and the skin I’m in!”
As that little boy grew up, every time he felt sad or bullied because of the colour of his skin, the shape of his nose, or the bend in his hair, he would remember that God made him and that God loved him. Just as God made and loves each one of you!
Let us pray:
Holy God, help us to see
all of our siblings in Christ as beautiful and loved.
Help us to celebrate each other,
and to love each other and ourselves fully. Amen.
Children’s Hymn:
Asithi: Amen (VU 431)
He Came Singing Love (VU 359)
Scripture:
First Reading: Isaiah 40:21–31
Psalm: 147:1–11, 20c [VU 868 part 1]
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:16–23
Gospel: Mark 1:29–39
Notes for Preparing a Reflection:
There is an old African proverb (with many variations around the continent): “Until lions start writing down their stories the hunters will always be glorified.” This wise proverb states a seemingly obvious truth that has only recently been brought to the forefront of historical discussion: if the oppressed are not given the opportunity to tell their story, our history will always focus on the oppressor. His-story is almost always the story of the hunter (the oppressor); the story is “his.” We are forced to rely on the hunter’s words, because we do not know what happened to the lion in the jungle. Celebrating Black History Month is one way that we attempt to get a fuller picture and understanding of our narrative as the whole people of God, a people that includes both lions and hunters.
Today’s scripture passages focus on the importance of our Christian story and the need to share it widely to all people. Paul stresses, “woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel.” On the first Sunday of Black History Month, how can your congregation proclaim the gospel from new perspectives? Are their people in your congregation who can add a different interpretation to the scripture lessons read? You may wish to get three or four people to prepare a reflection from their own experience, separating each reflection with a chorus or spoken response. If Black voices are not available, think of adding the reflections of Black and womanist theologians.
For instance:
Isaiah, a prophet, is speaking to a people in exile, a people struggling “to sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land” (Psalm 137:4). Is there someone in your congregation who can speak to the experience of the Black diaspora and testify to how their faith gave them strength when they grew weary or faint?
Possible Call: Have you not heard the story of the Black diaspora?
Possible Response: Yes, we have heard and will share this story!
Possible Chorus: Listen, God is Calling (MV 97)
The first half of the gospel speaks to the healing of Simon’s mother-in-law. Is there someone in your congregation who can speak to the experience of Black women who historically were, if not forced, expected to be in service and care-giving roles. Sickness was sometimes the only Sabbath these women could afford. For many Black women, service became their form of ministry. Is there someone in your congregation who can share a story of service as an example of proclaiming the gospel?
Possible Call: Have you not heard the story of the Black woman in service?
Possible Response: Yes, we have heard and will share this story!
Within your congregation there may be many experiences that speak to proclaiming the gospel from a Black Canadian perspective. Brief reflections from different members of your congregation can act as testimonies to how the Christian story has transformed and continues to transform the lives.
Hymn Suggestions:
Bring Many Names (VU68)
Send Me, Lord (VU 572)
Prayers of the People:
Let us praise God together in prayer.
Response: Hush! Hush! (MV 167)
How good it is to sing praises of your goodness, God;
for you have called us each here,
and have marked us with a desire to learn about the gospel.
We come with many names:
terms of endearment that we cherish
and labels that we seek to one day destroy.
But you call us by one name, beloved.
How can we not respond and give thanks to such a call of love?
Response
How good it is to remember your healing acts of salvation.
We remember how you gathered the dislocated
and dispersed Black peoples in Nova Scotia
to build communities
and relearn cultures that were torn away.
Response
We remember the Maroons,
who with their hands built a mighty fortress on a hill.
We remember Viola Desmond, Harriet Tubman,
Frederick Douglass, Lincoln Alexander, Michaëlle Jean,
Wilbert Howard,and other heroes
and she-roes of the faith that we name to you now…
Response
We remember how your everlasting love
healed the self-esteem and rebuilt the self-worth of Black peoples
who were stripped of their human rights and dignity.
We remember that you continue to heal
the brokenhearted, and bind up their wounds.
In the silence of our hearts
we bring to you those in need of your healing…
Response
How good it is, O God, to remember your steadfast presence.
With hands in the air we offer you all of the things
that we can no longer carry on our own:
our burdens, our worries and our concerns …
We offer to you all of the situations
that we feel ill-equipped for …
[name/list prayers for the world and local community]
Response
When we feel downtrodden by our burdens
and weary to the point of collapse,
when we find ourselves in exile,
help us to hear the words of the prophet:
“those who wait for the Lord shall…mount up
with wings like eagles, they shall run
and not be weary,
they shall walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)
Hush, our weary souls God
and remind us once more of your everlasting love.
Response
Amen.
Prayer of Dedication:
O God, it is up to us to share your gospel,
using all the resources that you provide.
It is up to us to learn our whole story,
as your whole people.
With these gifts, God, empower us
to do your work of sharing the gospel
and welcoming all who seek to share in your story.
Amen.
Closing Hymn:
Siyahamba (VU 646)
Commissioning:
In Uganda there is a saying:
One who sees something good must narrate it.
We who have heard, felt, and experienced
the good news must share it.
Go, then, into the world
to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ,
in your words, actions, and deeds.
Amen.
Blessing:
May the God of Peace (MV 224)
The United Church of Canada/L’Église Unie du Canada God’s Glory Cannot Be Hidden