The Neighborhood Podcast
This is a podcast of Guilford Park Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, North Carolina featuring guests from both inside the church and the surrounding community. Hosted by Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing, Head of Staff.
The Neighborhood Podcast
Mary’s Yes And The Courage To Begin (December 10 Midweek Prayer Service)
What if the words do not be afraid are less command and more shelter? We open the season by sitting with two call stories—Jeremiah’s reluctant start and Mary’s steady yes—and discover how fear, hope, and community braid into courage. The readings from Jeremiah 1:4–10 and Luke 1:26–39 set the stage: a young prophet who feels too small, a young woman who asks how and then moves with haste toward a trusted cousin. Both are met by a God who does not erase fear but accompanies it, placing words in mouths and signs in reach.
We bring those themes to life through art and reflection. Lyle Gwen Garrity’s “Mary’s Yes” becomes a visual homily: light cascading like an angel’s greeting, a lantern earring that turns Mary into a bearer of flame, and garments inscribed with do not fear and here I am. That imagery reframes courage as a posture—pivoting toward warmth in the shadows—rather than a personality trait. Along the way, we talk about why Elizabeth’s visible pregnancy matters for faith that needs something to touch, and how community becomes the first step after consent to calling.
Our prayers root the message in real streets and real lives: a sister’s illness, a home sifted after loss, violence close to where we gather. We ask for healing, for peace, and for the grace to keep placing one foot in front of the other. The Lord’s Prayer centers us, and a closing reflection traces everyday rites of passage—from first steps to first lullabies—as a map of how calling grows. If you’ve ever felt too young, too late, too ordinary, or simply too afraid, this conversation offers a small, steady light to carry. If it speaks to you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs courage, and leave a review to help others find the hope they’re looking for.
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All right, folks, good afternoon. To the faithful gathered here and those in you who might be joining us via our live stream, we are grateful that you are with us this day. Friends, let us prepare our hearts and minds for worship. With uh Dr. Bill playing for us, Lo, how a rose air blooming. Let us worship God. All right, there are four of y'all, and I need four volunteers, so well done. Who wants to do call to worship? All right, Mark's gonna do the call to worship. Who wants to do prayer for illumination? Ellen will do prayer for illumination, and Mary, why don't you do the first reading? And Lynn, you can do the second reading.
SPEAKER_00:All right, Mike, thank you. Call to worship. Jeremiah said, I am the only boy. I'm only a boy. Mary said, How can this be? Even when we are afraid, God invites us closer. May we heed God's invitation. Let us worship our courageous, inviting, calling God.
SPEAKER_05:We've heard this tale before. We've seen the nativities, watched the plays, sung the songs, and witnessed the children acted out. The story of this season is not a new one. And yet we long to hear it as if it is. So spark our spirits awake, call forth awareness, attention, and reverence in us. Allow us to hear this ancient tale with brand new ears. With hope, we pray. Amen.
SPEAKER_07:Scripture reading is Jeremiah chapter 1, verses 4 through 10. Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. And before you were born, I consecrated you. I appointed you a prophet to the nations. Then I said, Ah, Lord, truly I don't know how to speak, for I am only a boy. But the Lord said to me, Do not say, I am only a boy, for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord. Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant. Holy wisdom, holy word.
SPEAKER_01:Thanks be to God. Thank you, Mary. All right, folks, for our first reflection, um, we're gonna show uh a music video of a song that was commissioned, um, as we've done this before, um, with uh other Advents and Lens that were that was commissioned by an artist. Um forgive me, I forget the name, but I will tell you all next week. Um and then you'll see in the music video some of the art that we were gonna be uh that we've already started exploring so far in this season of Advent setting early, get out the candles, so much repealed in a spine.
SPEAKER_04:What do you picture in these growing shadows? What do you fear in the dark? Thoughts run like branches losing their leaves, worries the loved ones will fall, questioning safety as the rules change around me, knowing that safe is my tong. I believe that a god born into empire carries the message that hope is a little grave candle against growing shadows before none we show we show. You who are tired, you are warm, weary and slow on your feet. Know that your actions will carry beyond you. Know you are more than believed. Fear can be given if met with a curious heart. Be not afraid of the fear that's beside you. Let it be known who you are, and I believe that a God born into a high carries the message that hope is enough. A little bright candle against growing shadows, for not we show we I believe I got the best that all grave candles and growing shadows.
SPEAKER_06:A reading from Luke 1, 26 to 39. In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary, and he came to her and said, Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you. But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. Mary said to the angel, How can this be since I am a virgin? The angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be holy. He will be called Son of God. And now your relative Elizabeth, in her old age, has conceived a son. And this is the sixth month for her, who is said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God. Then Mary said, Here am I, the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word. Then the angel departed from her, and she hurried up to see Elizabeth.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, yes. The very next verse, which somehow keeps on getting let out, uh get kept out, is to say that she went with haste to the Judean town where Elizabeth was. Kay, Kay, would you be so kind as to I didn't put it on OBS, but would you take it back to the scene that we used for the music video so our guest on the live stream can see what's on the TV? Thank you. All right, so this is the art um for this week that was uh made by Lyle Gwen Garrity, a seminary colleague of mine, friend, and the uh the creative uh founder of uh sanctified art. And it's called Mary's Yes. Take a moment and just see what you see and what stands out to you. All right, what do you see? Len Lynn Carey cannot answer because she she saw this twenty-four hours ago and already has all the answers and all the huh? Oh yes, yeah, I can't see that, but her her earring has a lamp that's actually part of the logo for our sermon sermon series, what do you fear? So what do you all notice? What stands after you? And I can't I will I do have the ability to zoom in, so if you have any things you would like to see a little bit closer, I can go up to the laptop and zoom in. But what what do you notice first? So, Mary, you notice her facial expression. What does it what does it say to you? Oh my gosh. Just kind of taking a moment just to breathe in God's mercies. What else? The lights and angel are you talking about on the upper left? Yeah, it kind of looks like palm branches. Um actually, it looks it looks very similar to the shadows that were in the um in the music video, actually. Yeah. Yes, there is writing. Huh? Yes, time to enlarge. Let's see if we can figure out what is written on her clothing. Good eye, Jan. All right, can you can you see what that says? It says, do not fear, over and over and over and over and over again. So this is her headdress, if you will. But there's also writing on her guard. So I'm gonna scooch over here. And what does that say? Here I am, right? So that so her clothing says, do not fear, and here I am. And uh, if you wanted to see the earring, there it is, a little lamp. You may notice there was a lamp in the art from last week as well. Remember his the art from last week was John the Baptist in the in his prison cell. There was a lamp there as well. So kind of seeing a motif, uh, a theme, if you will. All right, and here's the devotional from Lyle from Lyle, and she talks a little bit about what inspired her to write this. She said, in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, the angel goes to Nazareth to find Mary. I was six months pregnant with my second daughter when I reread the scripture and began this image. So at first, this detail seemed like a happy coincidence. But as I pondered it, I wondered if Elizabeth's pregnancy might have everything to do with Mary's willingness to say yes to this wild, wonderful, but risky and terrifying undertaking. Elizabeth's pregnancy provides reassurance that Mary can trust the angel's impossible news. By the sixth month, Mary will be able to see for herself that Elizabeth is truly pregnant. By the sixth month, Mary can place her hands on Elizabeth's belly and giggle as the baby leaps and kicks. By the sixth month, the risk of miscarriage has significantly decreased. By the sixth, Elizabeth will be emotionally, mentally, and physically preparing for birth. Her miracle is real even as it is yet to be born. Therefore, Mary can rest her hope in an emerging but not empty promise. Mary's willingness to say yes is also fortified by the assurance that she is not stepping forward alone. Even as fears surly surround her, Mary will go to Elizabeth for protection and comfort. She won't fulfill her calling without support. Her hope will be strengthened in solidarity. In this image, we see the angel greeting Mary in the form of dappled light. So there we go. Mary's back is turned to the angel, but we see her in the process of pivoting toward the warmth of the cascading light. I imagine this to be the moment after the angel responds to her initial question. How can this be? After hearing the angel's response, Mary closes her eyes, imagining her cousin Elizabeth and perhaps her many ancestors holding her up as she prepares to step forward. The wrap around her head carries the angel's good news, anointing her with the promise that fear won't stop her. Embroidered along her neckline is Mary's willing response, here I am. Her lantern earring is assigned to each of us, to anyone who is fearful. It's as if Mary herself becomes a lantern, emanating courage in the face of a fearful calling, lighting away forward. Amen. All right. So not not exactly a quick little hop and a jump. All right. Thank you, Kay. You can go back to whatever scene was on the on the queue. All right, what prayers do we have this day? Any prayer requests? If I may share Barbara, um Barbara is cleaning out um her mother's how how her parents' house today. Um so we we pray for for Barbara. Um bittersweet day for her. So Barbara, wherever you are, we love you. We're praying for you. Any other prayer requests today? Yeah, Mike. Yes, thank you. Um yeah, so Mark's Mark uh Mark Schumacher's sister Kristen had her gallbladder removed yesterday. Oh, she didn't didn't? Okay. Okay. Well Mark Mark's sister Kristen is is not doing very well. And they're down in Texas, I think, so we we pray for. I I texted with Mark and Donnie yesterday, and they know that we're we're praying for them. So um prayers for Barbara and her sister's name, and his sister's name is Kristen, right? Any other prayer requests today? Yeah, there was a shooting at north, was it north for Syth High School? Um, there was also a lot of I I just heard yesterday that there was a there was a shooting just down the street from here, uh, in front of the speakeasy tavern right down the street there. Um 33-year-old gentleman. So for for those who whose lives were touched by violence far and near to us, I was right. Yeah. Let us pray. May the Lord be with you. Calling God, if you tapped on our shoulders today, would our knees shake? Would our minds race? Would our voices waver? Or knowing the stories of all the faithful folks you've called before, would we be ready? Would we be brave enough to follow? Would we hear your call for what it is? Would we reply, let it be with me according to your will? It's hard to know, but what we do trust is that you are a God who calls. You called Mary and Moses. You called Jeremiah and Peter, you have called ordinary people throughout all of time. You have called artists and activists, poets and prophets, teachers and healers, young and old alike. So as we move through this world, open our eyes to hear your voice. As we move through this world, open our hearts to the invitations, the inspiration, and the nudges you place in our lives. As we move through this world, God, allow us to hear whatever call you have in store for us in this season. For no matter how big or how small, we trust that you are a calling, inviting, nudging, inspiring God who sees us in the best light. God of every prayer, we lift up to you those that we have mentioned this day. We pray for uh Donna and for Mark as they travel to be with Mark's sister Kristen. We ask that you would uh help heal her in mind, body, or in spirit and give uh give that whole family a sense of of peace. We pay for we pray for Barbara as she is at this moment cleaning out um her parents' home. So we pray for her as she does that and continues to uh to grieve their loss. So we pray for Barbara and for Dottie, whom you have you have welcomed into your eternal arms. We pray for all those who need healing among us, those who are going through various treatments and procedures. We lift up Mike's prayer to all of the young men and women, boys and girls around us, especially today. We lift up those whose lives are touched by violence not very far from where we gather this day. O Prince of Peace, be with us and help lean us towards a day when death will be no more and every sword will be bent into how shares. So with hope, God, we lean forward, we listen for your word, and we pray together the words your son taught us to pray, even if our voices shake, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Friends, let us sing. Watch any parent. It starts with the first step. They kneel down, they smile with anticipation, they reach for their baby, calling and cooing them forward, and then before they know it, they're running behind a bike. They're yelling, keep pedaling, you got it, I'm right here. And they're jumping up and down because that little red helmet passed the mailbox. And then, just like that, they're driving circles in the church parking lot. They're giving instructions about easing on and off the pedal. They're having conversations about curfew and heartbreak. And then, before they know it, they're standing in a hospital room. Their heart is bursting, and they say, put her head right here, rock her gently. Do you remember the nursery rhymes? You were born for this. The first step is always the hardest, but you, beloved, were born for this.