Our good friend Amer Latif will present a  Qur’anic meditation on how our idea of God veils the actual presence of God in our lives and in the world.  He will be playing the Neh, a traditional flute.  Amer Latif moved from Marlboro College when it closed to teach Comparative Religion at Emerson College in Boston.

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

 

“An Egg Is Not Always Egg Shaped“
Worship Leader: Christina Gibbons
Guest Speaker: Amer Latif
Greeter: Kathy Squires

 

Order of Service
Sunday, October 15, 2023

Board Welcome & Announcements                                      Jamie Gibson

Prelude      Arietta            Edvard Grieg
Eva Greene, piano

Chalice Lighting: “To Worship”   Responsive Reading #441   by Jacob Trapp

To worship is to stand in awe under a heaven of stars, before a flower, a leaf in sunlight, or a grain of sand.

To worship is to be silent, receptive, before a tree astir with the wind, or the passing shadow of a cloud.

To worship is to work with dedication and with skill; it is to pause from work and listen to a strain of music.

To worship is to sing with the singing beauty of the earth; it is to listen through a storm to the still small voice within.

Worship is a loneliness seeking communion; it is a thirsty land crying out for rain.

Worship is kindred fire within our hearts; it moves through deeds of kindness and through acts of love.

Worship is the mystery within us reaching out to the mystery beyond.

It is an inarticulate silence yearning to speak; it is the window of the moment open to the sky of the eternal.

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.
                    
Opening Words                                                                    Christina Gibbons

 Opening Hymn  #21 For the Beauty of the Earth

Story for All Ages: “Old Turtle”  by Douglas Wood,
watercolors by Cheng-Khee Chee

Anthem:  Fly Away Home    words and music by Pinkzebra
All Souls Church Choir, Tom Baehr, Director

Reading and Reflection                                                                   Amer Latif 
It is God who splits the grain and the date-stone; He brings forth the living from the dead and He brings forth the dead from the living. So that then is God; then how are you deceived? [Qur’an 6:95]

Offering shared with SUSU CommUNITY FARM            

Offertory       Rumores de la caleta (murmurs of the inlet)  Isaac Albeniz
Eva Greene, piano

Honoring the Candles of Joys and Concerns                   Christina Gibbons

Meditative Music                                                                              Amer Latif

Hymn #27  I Am That Great and Fiery Force

Extinguishing the Chalice based on words by Lauralyn Bellamy
If, here, you have found freedom, take it with you into the world.  If you have found comfort, go and share it with others.  If you have dreamed dreams, help one another that they may become true. Hold the flame in your hearts until we are together again.

*Closing Circle:  Carry the Flame of Peace and Love   (sung 2X)                             *Please join in standing as you are able.

Blessing                                                                                   
If here you have known love, give some back to a bruised and hurting world.  Go in peace.