Cover:

Land Acknowledgement

Welcome/Announcements

Call to Worship: A Protest and a Party by Hannah Roberts Villnave

One: People sometimes ask: Is Pride a protest Or a party? And the answer is, Of course

Many: Yes. And why not?

One: Why not rejoice as we resist?

Many: Why not dance as we demand change?

One: Why not Celebrate as we create community that delights in all of who we are?

Many: So bring all of that with you this morning.

One: Bring your policy demands and bring your glitter

Many: Bring your supreme court broken heart and bring your rainbow socks

One: Bring the emptiness you feel for our siblings gone too soon and bring your Gloria Estefan remix

Many: Bring your tender hope for change and bring your most garish eyeshadow

One: Bring your spirit, tattered and battered by a world that seems insistent on choosing fear and hate.

Many: Gather up all these things and bring them to God.

One: Bring them to this sacred place where we don’t have to shoulder these burdens, or celebrate these joys, alone.

Many: Come, let us worship, in party and protest, tears and laughter. Amen.

Opening Song: They’ll Know We Are Christians (Chalice 494)

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord (repeat)

And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.

Refrain:

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,

Yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand (repeat)

And together we’ll spread the news that God is in our land. REFRAIN

We will work with each other, we will work side by side (repeat)

And we’ll guard each one’s dignity and save each one’s pride. REFRAIN

Scripture: 1 John 4:7-12 (The Voice version, with gender neutral and religious trauma informed language)

        Responsive Reading:

One: My beloved ones, let us devote ourselves to loving one another. Love comes straight from God,

Many: Everyone who loves is born of God and truly knows God.

One: Anyone who does not love does not know God, because. This is how love became a reality among us:

One: God sent Their sacred Child into the world so that we could find true life through Christ.

Many: This is the embodiment of true love: not that we have loved God first, but that God loved us and sent Their child on a mission of love.

One: God sent their child atoning sacrifice for our sins - to heal and reconcile all that is broken into wholeness. So, my loved ones, if God loved us so sacrificially,

Many: Surely we should love one another.

One: No one has ever seen God with human eyes; but if we love one another, God truly lives in us.

Many: Consequently, if we live love, God’s love has accomplished its mission among us.

One: May Holy Wisdom enter through our ears

Many: And may she find a home in our hearts.

Sermon: Love is the first and last word

Responsive Space

Prayers of the People:

One: In Your Loving Name

Many: Hear our Prayer

Rainbow Christ Prayer, by Kittredge Cherry Patrick S. Cheng

Rebecca: Rainbow Christ, you embody all the colors of the world. Rainbows serve as bridges between different realms: heaven and earth, east and west, queer and non-queer. Inspire us to remember the values expressed in the rainbow flag of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community.

Katy: Red is for life, the root of spirit. Living and Self-Loving Christ, you are our Root. Free us from shame and grant us the grace of healthy pride so we can follow our own inner light. With the red stripe in the rainbow, we give thanks that God created us just the way we are.

Rebecca: Orange is for sexuality, the fire of spirit. Erotic Christ, you are our Fire, the Word made flesh. Free us from exploitation and grant us the grace of mutual relationships. With the orange

Katy: Yellow is for self-esteem, the core of spirit. Out Christ, you are our Core. Free us from closets of secrecy and give us the guts and grace to come out. With the yellow stripe in the rainbow, build our confidence.

Rebecca: Green is for love, the heart of spirit. Transgressive Outlaw Christ, you are our Heart, breaking rules out of love. In a world obsessed with purity, you touch the sick and eat with outcasts. Free us from conformity and grant us the grace of deviance. With the green stripe in the rainbow, fill our hearts with untamed compassion for all beings.

Katy: Blue is for self-expression, the voice of spirit. Liberator Christ, you are our Voice, speaking out against all forms of oppression. Free us from apathy and grant us the grace of activism. With the blue stripe in the rainbow, motivate us to call for justice.

Rebecca: Violet is for vision, the wisdom of spirit. Interconnected Christ, you are our Wisdom, creating and sustaining the universe. Free us from isolation and grant us the grace of interdependence. With the violet stripe in the rainbow, connect us with others and with the whole creation.

Katy: Rainbow colors come together to make one light, the crown of universal consciousness. Hybrid and All-Encompassing Christ, you are our Crown, both human and divine. Free us from rigid categories and grant us the grace of interwoven identities. With the rainbow, lead us beyond black-and-white thinking to experience the whole spectrum of life. Free us and enliven us to celebrate You in all genders, sexualities, and family shapes and sizes.

All: Rainbow Christ, you light up the world. You make rainbows as a promise to support all life on earth. In the rainbow space, we can see all the hidden connections between sexualities, genders and races. Like the rainbow, may we embody all the colors of the world! Amen.

Communion:

Liturgy:

One: God is with you.

Many: And also with you.

One: Lift up your hearts.

Many: We lift them up to God.

One: Let us give thanks to God.

Many: It is right to give God thanks and praise.                

Meditation:

Words of Institution:

Communion Song: We Are Setting the Rainbow Table

We are setting the rainbow table, we are planning a giant feast.

We are birthing a new creation for the lonely, the lost and least.

At that table will sit the weary, knowing welcome in their souls.

There is magic at that table for the broken know they are whole.

Come and sit at the rainbow table, full of colors and bathed in light.

Come and learn how the rainbow table offers grace to our rainbow lives.

Closing Communion Liturgy

One: We give thanks for these holy mysteries.

Many: Your glory has filled our hearts.

One: You have given yourself to us, God.

Many: Now we give ourselves to you and to all.

Closing Song: Love, Love, Love, Love (canon)

Love, love, love, love,

Christians this is your call.

Love your neighbor as yourself

For God loves all.

Benediction:

One: Church, God is good.

Many: All the time.

One: All the time,

Many: God is good.

One: Church, God is love.

Many: All the time.

One: All the time.

Many: God is love.

One: So church, go live love.

Many: All the time.

One: All the time.

Many: We will live love. Amen.

Postlude: Peace by Soul Junk