Hope, Loving Children

From and For a Beloved Child or Teen

July 20, 2018 Cynthia

If your granddaughter or great nephew tells you

That they are a different gender than what

People thought at their birth,

What can you do?

Listen.

Educate yourself and ask experts to help.

Find a safe place where people

Not always your son, daughter or their children

Are knowledgeable and supportive of

Multiple genders

And express your confusion or questions to them.

Learn words and terms that may be

Completely new to you, but are extremely important

To your family member or dear friend’s family –

Words such as transgender, cisgender, non-binary

And more.

Do more than say

“I accept whatever Jill or John says she or he is”.

Ask what pronouns your relative or friend

Wants to have used when speaking about them –

Then Practice, Practice, Practice

When they are not around.

So when they are around (or on the phone)

Their favored term is second nature.

Become an even better listener

To your grandchild or great niece,

An even better listener to your daughter or son.

If you are reading about gender diversity,

If you are going to a professional who is Knowledgeable and supportive of

More than two labels that were assigned at birth,

If you are listening and learning,

You can become an even more supportive grandparent, great aunt, friend or neighbor.

You can watch a child or youth become

More completely who they are meant to be.

And you may even – slowly and carefully –

Become one of the people who encourages them

To be their best self

And share their awesome gifts with the world.

©July 19, 2018 Rev. Cynthia Langston Kirk

Rev. Langston Kirk, a writer, fabric artist and a retired United Methodist pastor, has had amazing opportunities to get to know families with children and youth who are gender diverse.

Community, Loving Children, Poetry, Prayers

Young Teacher

November 18, 2017 Cynthia

Young Teacher

Eager laundry helper, our godson.

Placing clothes in washer, adding soap, pulling the knob.

Then the dryer!

Cleaning lint trap, adding clothes, pushing start.

He’s five.

Our hope is for his never-waning enthusiasm in mundane chores.

Lately his added desire

Has been not only cleaning the screen

But saving the lint for an art project!

How could anyone ignore such a request?

Last week we made three linten bowls –

Or Lenten bowls –

With glue, paint, plastic-wrap covered containers and our salvaged goods.

A time-consuming project

With my silent, concluding response:

I’m glad this is done.

But, as is often the case with wise teachers and art,

The bowl is not done with me.

Flecks of fibers that clog the dryer

Or are tossed into the trash,

Are they not like some people we encounter –

Friends or acquaintances, strangers or co-workers

Who impede our goals or desires?

Are there not some of God’s beloved who we treat as expendable?

As less than?

As suited for the garbage?

Holy One, thank you for a little boy

Who can see wonder

In something that I would discard.

Thank you for his unabashed engagement in life.

Shake me from busyness and preconceived notions

That I might be awestruck by beauty

Even and especially in unexpected places.

©November 18, 2017 Cynthia Langston Kirk

Grieving, Gun Violence Prevention, Sandy Hook Remembrance

We Remember

December 14, 2016 Cynthia

We Remember

We remember twenty children, six adults

And far … far … too many gun violence victims before and since.

We remember faces, young and old

Brimming with courage and determination,

Radiating mischief and love,

Faces frozen in time on desks and walls.

We remember tastes that formed and sustained:

Birthday cakes and Thanksgiving, picnics and potlucks –

Family and friends breaking bread together.

We remember joy overflowing,

Laughter reverberating with raucous delight,

Now echoing dimly within.

We remember smells – precious, illusive,

That threaten to unravel composure,

Whisking mourners warp speed to a moment in time, as they inhale deeply,

Holding a memory as long as possible.

We remember grieving hearts in need of resuscitation

Mouth to mouth, chest-thumping assistance

To make it through each day.

Lost in a lingering limbo of despair

Seeking to find footing and rediscover direction.

With each sight, smell, taste, sound

May we remember victims’ dreams and daring

Their curiosity and caring

Striving to honor them with our lives.

May we remember their gifts, irretrievable,

As we pledge to establish a safer world.

©December 1, 2016 Cynthia Langston Kirk

Fourth Anniversary of the massacre at Sandy Hook

To use this or any liturgy written by Cynthia Langston Kirk please include the copyright in your bulletin and/or on your screen. If you want to use the writing in any other way than one time worship use, please contact Cynthia at: calkirk@aol.com

Advent, Community, Prayers, Worship

Advent Candle Lighting Liturgy – Fourth Sunday of Advent – Love

December 12, 2016 Cynthia

Fourth Sunday of Advent – Love

In the midst of grieving, when our hearts feel faint, praise often comes, much to our surprise. In the aftermath of destruction, we can bear witness to God’s life-affirming presence that sustains and guides us. We light the fourth candle of Advent to symbolize God’s enduring love that calls us to liberate, comfort, rejoice and be in community with all God’s creation.

Let us pray:

Spirit of Grace, help us plant seeds though we may never see the mature trees or lives. Give us your vision, broad and far-reaching, that we will not be undone by matters of the moment. Give us the perspective of the Star with a wisdom born of longevity and its constant commitment to shining in the darkness. Amen.

Advent, Community, Joy, Liturgy, Prayers, Worship

Advent Candle Lighting Liturgy – Third Sunday of Advent – Joy

December 6, 2016 Cynthia

Third Sunday of Advent – Joy

Happiness is easily shattered by greed, disregard or circumstances, but joy can bloom in the bleakest of situations, confident in God’s faithfulness. Joy looks despair and hatred in the eyes and is moved to action. We light the candle of Joy with Mary’s song about God’s subversive love echoing through the centuries.

(Light two purple candles; then pink/rose candle.)

Let us pray:

Loving Spirit, from generation to generation, you have called us to lift up the downtrodden, feed the hungry and shower the world with your mercy. Give us the bold courage of that young, dark-skinned, Middle Eastern woman named Mary who risked everything for Love. Equip us to be midwives for a world in pain. And may the world be moved by our rejoicing as vital, diverse communities of care come to life. Amen.

Advent, God's Faithfulness, Liturgy, Peace, Prayers

Advent Candlelighting Liturgy – Second Sunday of Advent – Peace

November 29, 2016 Cynthia

Second Sunday of Advent – Peace

How often we are blown about by whirlwinds of hatred and division, by the aftermath of grief and storms! We are shaken to the core or stimulated for battle. Before any word is uttered, before long-lasting decisions made, we are invited into the silence. We light the second Advent candle to serve as a reminder of God’s peace that exceeds our comprehension and distress, a peace offered to each of us today.

Light two purple candles.

Let us pray:

Grace-filled God, soothe our quivering souls. Fill our hearts with peace and resolve; with tenderness and courage. Assist us in speaking truth to power and countering rudeness with kindness. Strengthen us to be harbors of refuge for those who are oppressed and fierce advocates for all people and lands that are threatened. We pray confident in and expectant of the Prince of Peace. Amen.

Advent, Hope, Prayers, Worship

Advent Candlelighting Liturgy – First Sunday of Advent – Hope

November 23, 2016 Cynthia

Advent One – Hope

When days shorten and the lights of reason, of reverence are threatened, our hearts cry out in the wilderness. And the Word leaps off the page with encouragement, “You are the ones who will turn swords into ploughshares; who will forge community in the face of assault”. We light this first Advent candle, the candle of Hope, grateful for God’s persistent love.

Light one purple candle.

Let us pray together:

Holy One, we often cross our fingers wishing life different. Teach us that Hope is a delicate seed that requires our commitment and care. Teach us that Hope is a wild-winged companion intent on justice. This season help us give birth to Hope by our love and labor. Help us say yes to the journey in spite of our fears. Amen.

Communion, Faithfulness, Lyrics, Remembrance and Hope January 8th, Saints, Songs

Communion of Saints

November 1, 2016 Cynthia

Communion of Saints

Courage profound and grace-filled ministries

Used by the saints to weave faith tapestry

And generations still the beauty see

Alleluia, Alleluia

God, bless the saints who show to us Your way

O make us like them for these gifts we pray

Compassion tender birthing brand new day

Alleluia, alleluia

Broken and dying people in the cold

We long to touch them yet have fears untold

Help us bring mercy may we be so bold

Alleluia, alleluia

Community of faith, communion sweet

Diverse our thinking, but in Christ we meet

Bless now these symbols of the grapes and wheat

Alleluia, alleluia

Sung to the tune of “For All the Saints”

Piecing Stories

From and For a Beloved Child or Teen

Young Teacher

We Remember

Advent Candle Lighting Liturgy – Fourth Sunday of Advent – Love

Advent Candle Lighting Liturgy – Third Sunday of Advent – Joy

Advent Candlelighting Liturgy – Second Sunday of Advent – Peace

Advent Candlelighting Liturgy – First Sunday of Advent – Hope

Communion of Saints

Soul Connections