SPIRITUAL   L I N K S

a   program   of 

The                                     
Alethia Foundation

30 November 2000 at

Calvary United Methodist Church,   Philadelphia

praying for

Turn to the Lord your strength: and constantly seek God’s presence. Remember the marvelous things the Most High has done, the wonders, and the judgments God has given. Psalm 105:4-5

God, Creator, bring us new life.
Jesus, Redeemer, renew us.
Holy Spirit, strengthen and guide us.
                                                           --New Zealand Prayer Book

Great is your name, O God our maker and redeemer, Giver of every good gift. To You, who choose to clothe your might and majesty in self-sacrificing love, we lift up our hearts with thankful praise.

We come here to praise and thank you for the gift of sex. 

What a wondrous thing among the blessings of life is the strange and marvelous blessing of love making and physical, sexual union!

For the creative, renewing power of sex, thank you, God.

For the satisfaction it can bring to us in body and emotion, thank you God.

For the self-understanding it can impart, thank you God.

For all that sex can teach us about the other-than-self, thank you God.

For the power to engender life in an act of love, thank you God.

For the delights of sexual intimacy that deepen human communion, thank you God.

For the capacity to give and receive pleasure in sex, thank you God.

With the gift of sexuality, you show us that as adults we are still meant for play, for an abandonment to a joy that can heal, calm, restore, and fulfill.

But we are mindful that we have not always known how to give thanks for this gift, nor how to use it very well. Fearful of the power of our sexuality, the Church has usually sought to control it through oppressive interpretations and regimentation, rather than to explore and learn this gift. 

Even now, our sexual needs, our sexual vulnerability, and our capacity for sexual ecstasy terrify us. And so we have demonized women; we have vilified homosexuality; we have made a virtue of persecution and double standards.

Thus our fears have driven us to everything contrary to your will and revelation.

We repent of our inability to receive this gift with joy, curiosity, and creativity. We repent of the ways we have denied the legitimacy of this gift to so many. Most of all, Merciful God, we repent of our failure to receive our sexuality in faith and thus have failed to receive from it every good thing you intended

We remember also, there are more than six billion of us here now, Lord, and we need to accept our accountability for reproduction. Help us to use every resource to be responsible in our sexuality.

Help us approach our sexuality without shame, without sneaking or smirking, but boldly, frankly, intelligently, and with a healthy sense of humor.

Let us, O God of Light, approach sex without ignorance and never at the mercy of mere self-seeking.

Well we know its potential for abuse, for addiction, as a tool of crushing manipulation and control of others, as a means to exploit and alienate, as an accelerant to violence. We live in a fallen world, trapped in cycles of sin, its victims as much as its agents.

Have mercy upon us, God, "for you are good and forgiving and abounding in steadfast love toward all who call on you."

Merciful God, who created us for happiness, and who ever seeks our good; whose redemption works to the very depths of all of our sickness; let your healing restore also our love-making.

Make us unashamed to learn the arts of sex as true love-making. At the same time, make us grateful as well for those few to whom you have given the gift and calling of celibacy. Help us all to learn from them something about good stewardship of human passions. Let our sexual energy always play itself out in the light of your liberating love, that it may strengthen bonds of affection and trust with you and with each other.

We come here tonight to thank you for BEBASHI.

For planting them in our city, thank you, God.

For laying it upon the hearts of these people to meet an urgent need for sex education, thank you, God.

For all that they do to raise awareness of sexually transmitted disease and for its prevention, thank you God.

For their steady care and support for those affected by AIDS, thank you God.

For their advocacy for those who are marginalized and in need, thank you, God.

For their witness to independence, self-reliance, initiative, and for their rejection of paternalism and of silence about sex, thank you, God.

For their respect for ethnic identity and determination to honor specific cultural needs, thank you, God. 

Tonight we raise them up in prayer before you, Christ. We call you down to us now, Friend and Savior, you who have promised to be among us when we pray together.

Hear us as we ask you to do for BEBASHI the things that will help them prosper in their purpose.

Of one mind, we seek your power applied to this agency.

Send your Holy Spirit into each of those who give of themselves to this mission.

Supply their energy, imagination, endurance.

Give them daily the insight, ideas, and determination that they need.

Provide the tools they need, the funding, the public support, the personnel, and all that supplies their efforts.

All this we ask in the powerful name of Christ Jesus, Amen.

BEBASHI asks us to pray for:

1. Financial Blessing, especially with the Gala Anniversary

2. Directions, to become aware of other sexual and social health issues within the community

3. Food for needy, & clients in need, there is always never enough

4. Office equipment and supplies.

5. Strength for the Agency to stay committed to its mission.

 

 

 

Calvary United Methodist Church

The Calvary United Methodist Church is located at in the heart of West Philadelphia at 48th St. and Baltimore Ave. Most of the members of our small and diverse congregation live within walking distance of the church.

We are committed witnesses to the presence of the Living Christ and to a vision of a just and inclusive world.

As a Reconciling Congregation we welcome all persons regardless of sexual orientation.

Each Sunday we gather around our table to celebrate the Eucharist as a sign of our oneness with the Living God, each other, and with the world.

All are truly welcomed to join us each Sunday at 11:00 A.M. Calvary is also a center for community life. Several community groups call Calvary their home. And the newly created Calvary Center for Culture and Community is committed to sharing our vision of a just and inclusive world through the arts and other community activities.

 

Calvary United Methodist Church

815 S. 48th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19143
215-724-1702

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About

BEBASHI

BLACKS    EDUCATING     BLACKS 
ABOUT    SEXUAL    HEALTH    ISSUES

BEBASHI provides culturally sensitive health and prevention information, education, direct services and advocacy to African American communities in metropolitan Philadelphia.

Organized in 1985, BEBASHI focuses on HIV prevention education, HIV prevention counseling, antibody testing, case management, emergency food and support groups for people living with HIV/AIDS.

BEBASHI is registered in Pennsylvania as a tax-exempt, non-profit organization. If you, or someone you know, would like to have more information on services, volunteer opportunities or to make a tax deductible contribution to support its unique programs, please contact BEBASHI at: 215-769-3561.

About

The                                            

is an ecumenical, scholarly organization, dedicated to a Christian synthesis for a new age. The Alethia Foundation draws from classical Christian theology in order to provide a Christian interpretation of the paradigm shift now taking place in human understanding. The Alethia Foundation seeks to make heard a voice of Christian enlightenment.

The Alethia Foundation is a non-profit organization incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is designated a tax exempt public charity under the United States Internal Revenue Service Code Section 501(c)3. It is not a private foundation.   Contributions are tax deductible.

93 Old York Road
Suite 1481
Jenkintown, Pennsylvania 19047
info@alethia.org 

Spiritual Links Staff

K. Brian Anderson Rebecca Carr
the Rev. Eugene Devers
the Rev. Dr. Sandra Ellis-Killian 
Lynn C. Jaeger
the Rev. Dr. Peter C. Wool

Service composed by Sandra Ellis-Killian
© Copyright 2000 The Alethia Foundation.