June 15, 2025 Sunday School Lesson Children’s Sunday
Draw The Circle Wide! A hymn written by Gordon Light

Our Sunday School Lessons follow a very similar pattern from week to week, don’t they? Well, this week’s lesson is taking a bit of a turn, for sure! As you know all you kids will be doing nearly the entire service. And we have worked on lots of different ways to talk about what it might mean for us if we were to make “drawing the circle wide” a part of our lives. It is a concept deeply rooted in the teachings of Jesus and the later teachings of the apostles. It actually has roots in all major religions. It feels like a really good thing to talk about, don’t you think? So I am going to copy and paste certain portions of Children’s Sunday into this lesson. It will be a bit disjointed, but I think it will give us a very clear understanding of what it means to Draw the Circle Wide.

I will start with Jaya Cherian’s reading of what I have labeled our – as in our Sunday School’s Statement of Faith:

If you wear a hijab, we will sit with you on the train.
If you are trans, we will go to the bathroom with you.
If you are a person of color, we will stand beside you.
If you are a person with disabilities, we will hand you our megaphone.
If you are an immigrant, we will help you find resources.
If you are a survivor, we will believe you.
If you are a refugee, we will make sure you are welcome.
If you are a veteran, we will take up your fight.
If you are LGBTQ, we will remind you that you are the beautiful, beloved person God created.
If you are a woman, we will make sure you get home safely.
If you are tired, we are too.
If you need a hug, we have an endless supply.
If you need us, we will be with you.
All we ask is that you be with us, too. Together, we will be the strong arm of God.

By stating those things out loud, we are saying to the world that we will stand with you, always. We are all Children of God, and therefore perfectly and gloriously made. We will incorporate this statement of faith into our “formal” Christian Education curriculum….and together we will stand up and stand beside all people and be the strong arm of God together!

Now I will read the words to the hymn Draw the Circle Wide, to give you a sense of the power of the words. First is the refrain:

Draw the circle wide. Draw it wider still.
Let this be our song, no one stands alone,
standing side by side, draw the circle wide. Now verse one:

God the still-point of the circle,
’round whom all creation turns;
nothing lost, but held forever,
in God’s gracious arms. Refrain Then the refrain

Let our hearts touch far horizons, Verse two, followed by the refrain
so encompass great and small;
Let our loving know no borders,
faithful to God’s call. Refrain

Let the dreams we dream be larger, Finally verse three, again followed by the refrain
than we’ve ever dreamed before;
let the dream of Christ be in us,
open every door. Refrain

The sermon, entitled Let This Be Our Song delivered in three parts by Ari, Jaya and Jackson are meant to explain the meaning in those beautiful words.

Ari: God is our still point. Hub of a wheel. Center of a circle, called the focus. Place of calm and balance. Basis of all peace, love, wisdom and joy. The first verse of the anthem Draw the Circle Wide which the choir sang for us this morning names God as the “still-point” of the circle, around whom creation turns. From the sixth century BC comes the idea of the still point as a place of calm and balance: the soft overcomes the hard; the gentle overcomes the rigid. Mystics believe that there exists at the center of all life a silent supreme still point. It is the basis of all love, wisdom and joy. In 1943 poet T. S. Elliot wrote these words in his poem Burnt Norton: “At the still point of the turning world, there the dance is.” The phrase describes the divine living inside us, often referred to as the “still point” of our being. The “still point” is where the dance is. The words are used to describe a moment of stillness and clarity, where past and future are gathered. Author and lawyer Verna Myers wrote: “Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.”

The second verse of Draw the Circle Wide speaks of loving hearts that faithfully form a circle around both great and small. It is a circle that touches far horizons and knows no borders, reminding us of the words from the Apostle Paul found in the Book of Galatians, chapter 3, verse 28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” We are being urged to form a global circle which includes everyone – all creatures great and small!

The last stanza speaks of the dream of Christ in us that opens every door. Christ’s dream is larger and more than we could ever vision. Again, from the words of the Apostle Paul, this time from the Book of Ephesians, chapter 3, verse 20: for God “is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us.” What do you suppose God dreams about?

Jaya: Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote a wonderful children’s book about what God’s dreams are. Here is what he wrote. And remember, we are all God’s children.
“Dear Children of God, what do you dream about in your loveliest of dreams? Do you dream about flying high or rainbows reaching across the sky? Do you dream about being free to do what your heart desires? Or being treated like a full person no matter how young – or old – you might be? Do you know what God dreams about? If you close your eyes, and look with your heart, I am sure, dear children, that you will find out. God dreams about people sharing. God dreams about people caring. God dreams that we reach out and hold one another’s hands and play one another’s games and laugh with one another’s hearts. But God doesn’t force us to be friends or to love one another. Dear Children of God, it does happen that we get angry and hurt one another. Soon we start to feel sad and so alone. Sometimes we cry, and God cries with us. But when we say we’re sorry and forgive one another, we wipe away our tears, and God’s tears, too. Each of us carries a piece of God’s heart within us. And when we love one another, the pieces of God’s heart are made whole. God dreams that every one of us will see that we are all brothers and sisters – yes, even you and me- even if we have different mommies or daddies or live in faraway lands. Even if we speak different languages or have different ways of talking to God. Even if we have different eyes or different skin. Even if you are taller and I am smaller. Even if your nose is little and mine is large. Dear Children of God, do you know how to make God’s dream come true? It is really quite easy. As easy as sharing, loving, caring. As easy as holding, playing, laughing. As easy as knowing we are family because we are all God’s children. Will you help God’s dream come true? Let me tell you a secret. God smiles like a rainbow when you do.”

Jackson: Music can also be a dream. Music can teach and lead. Music can inspire and empower people to create beloved community. The words of the refrain of Draw the Circle Wide brings to mind that in a circle, all points are the same distance from the center. When in a circle, we are visible to one another. No one stands alone. We stand side by side. We are seen – seen by all of the people in the communal circle. The refrain also reminds us that a circle is drawn when the outside points revolve around the center point – the still point – rather than the other way around.

In times of fear and uncertainty, human beings tend to tighten the circle smaller, draw lines in the sand, create rules and laws that make it clear who is in and who is out, with increasingly severe penalties for those who question, for those who push the boundaries or disobey. In our human history, both in the Bible and in our religious tradition, we have done both: tightened the circle, and drawn the circle wider. The prophets called people to deeper faithfulness and then pointed out where their faith excluded and harmed others. Jesus was constantly pushing the boundaries of who was accepted, who was loved and who received the grace of God. Paul did the same through his letters. At Easter the disciples closed and locked the door and hid in fear until Jesus appears, offers them peace and then sends them out to proclaim the love and grace of God. At Pentecost, the church itself is born through the power of the Holy Spirit, which draws the circle wider. From the moment the Holy Spirit filled the followers of Jesus, the circle began to increase its diameter. First to those of the Jewish tradition, then to Gentiles where Paul notes in Christ there is no male or female, Jew or Greek, slave or free, all belong in an ever-expanding circle. Like a pebble in the water, the circle becomes circles reaching out further until there are no lines at all, no outside of the circle, only inside where all are embraced and included by the love and grace of God.

Our final hymn will be “Draw the Circle Wide.” Our choir shared it with us for our anthem, and hopefully we have become familiar with the melody. It is our hope that this important hymn becomes part of our church’s music collection. Tom and the choir have made us familiar with the tune. It is now up to all of us to live out its message. Praise be to God.

Let’s end our time together with Noelle’s benediction: By grace we work with Christ, as one community, to bring new hope and fuller life to all people. Go out into the world in peace. Have courage. Hold onto what is good. Return no one evil for evil. Strengthen the faint-hearted. Support the weak. Help the suffering. Honor all persons. Honor all creation. Love and serve the Lord. Rejoice in the power of the Holy Spirit. And may the love of God, the Light of Christ, and the power and communion of the Spirit be with us all, teaching each of us how to draw the circle wide, sharing the gifts of your abundant Love. As you leave this sacred space, please carry this knowledge with you: Community happens in Circles not Rows. Amen

Abby, Jeremy, Julia, Jackson, Jaya, Cirrus, Paul, Owen, Noelle, Felicity, Jude, Enoch, Vargha, Zarrin, Ari, Sierra, Gabe, Olivia, James, Olive, Ethan, Nolan, Liam, Paigelee, Nora, Leo and Surasa, thank you for being part of our Sunday School. Please join us in living out the beautiful image of drawing the circle wide, letting everyone in, standing side-by-side, living in God’s Love.

See you Sunday! Love you all so much. Bye! Bye!