Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, greeted by crowds of devoted followers, offering a vision of justice and inclusion in ancient society. We are still working for justice and inclusion today. What are the common threads that we can draw from history? Where do we find our strength to continue this important work?
**Community Conversation following our Service on April 10: Crafting A Vision For Our Social And Environmental Action Work. We need your voice and your passion! What causes are most important to you? How can All Souls support community organizations and work on a local, national and international scale? Please join us for this important conversation as we offer gratitude for the SEAC leadership team of Karen Tyler, Ellie Weiss and George Carvill, and look ahead to this important work.
“Truth in the Telling-Palms of Justice“
We anticipate that this service will be both in-person and on Zoom. Click right here Sunday shortly before 10:00 a.m. to join via Zoom. Click here to read our protocols for in-person attendance.When attending in person, please completely power off your cell phone during the service to preserve the Church’s WiFi bandwidth for our Zoom attendees.
Order of Service
Sunday, April 10, 2022
Greeting Rev. Telos Whitfield
Board Welcome & Announcements Cathie Creed
Prelude: “Ave Verum Corpus” W. A. Mozart
Peter Gibbons, viola; Eva Greene, piano
Chalice Lighting by Heather K. Janules Ian Hefele
To light a chalice,
claiming for justice
the heat and power of fire.
In our free faith,
we are here,
seeking freedom from despair,
the freedom to be loved as ourselves,
and the freedom to grow beyond imagination.
Lighting Our Children’s Chalice
We light this chalice to celebrate Unitarian Universalism. We are the church of the open minds. We are the church of the helping hands. We are the church of the loving hearts.
Call to Worship Rev. Telos Whitfield
Opening Hymn: “Come Ye Disconsolate”
Thomas Moore (1816)
led by Janis Chaillou & Eva Greene
Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish,
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel;
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish,
Earth has no sorrows that heav’n cannot heal.
Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure,
Here speaks the comforter, in mercy saying
Earth has no sorrows that heaven cannot cure.
Here see the bread of life, see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, boundless in love;
Come to the feast prepared, come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrows but heaven can remove.
Sharing Our Covenant Christina Gibbons
“We build our church on a foundation of love,
and covenant with one another:
to freely explore our values and honor our diversity
as a source of communal strength,
to accept responsibility for our individual acts
and promote justice and peace,
to celebrate the joys of discovery,
embracing the fullest measure of our humanity,
to communicate with kindness and support,
to serve with compassion and commitment,
to openly share our laughter and tears, and
to show reverence for the divine in all that is.”
(Covenant adopted on April 17, 2001)
New Member Ceremony Rev. Telos Whitfield
Invitation to Join – a Responsive Reading
We gather this morning to welcome new members into our community. We recognize that we are entering into a covenant together, both with each other and the larger force of love and transformation that Unitarian Universalism represents.
Congregation: We are a congregation eager to seek the truth and live our lives in the spirit of generosity. You are joining a community that supports each other in times of joy and sorrow. Please share your creativity and your passions, your strengths and your needs with us. We the members and friends of All Souls U.U. Church welcome you into our midst. We offer you the cooperation of our hearts and hands, and our support as you find your way among us.
Let us welcome Jody and Naomi into our community with open hearts, knowing they will bring new ideas, unexpected gifts and needed energy.
“We seek not rest but transformation.
We are dancing through each other as doorways.”
– Marge Piercy
A Celebration of Stewardship Christina Gibbons
Time For All of Us Elizabeth Lewis & Rev. Telos Whitfield
Anthem:”Awake, My Heart”
words by Paulus Gerhardt, tr. by Winifred Douglas, music by Jane M. Marshall
All Souls Choir, Tom Baehr, Director
Sharing Readings Rev. Telos Whitfield
Sermon: “Truth in the Telling” Rev. Telos Whitfield
Hymn #: “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”
music, Anthony Showalter; lyrics, Elisha Hoffman
“The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” Deuteronomy 33:27
Led by Marie, Eva, Bob and Steve
Offering shared with Theatre Adventure
Offertory: “Land of Rest”
Early American melody [Make channels for the streams of love]
Eva Greene, piano
Blessing Our Candles of Joys and Sorrows
Closing Hymn: “Go Lifted Up” Mortimer Barron
led by Christina Gibbons
Extinguishing the Chalice by Krista Taves Ian Hefele
It is our work, shared with each other in covenant,
That creates and sustains this beloved community.
We extinguish this chalice, but its light lives on
in the directions we have chosen today.
The light of this faith lives on in us, together,
in our hearts, minds, bodies and spirits.
Closing Circle: “Carry the Flame of Peace and Love” (sung two times)
Benediction Rev. Telos Whitfield
Community Conversation