Together, we reach out and re-commit our hands and hearts to the work of justice. Racial justice, equality and care for our GLBTQ and refugee communities, freedom for all people, and in these times of climate crisis, justice for our earth. May we live, speak and act through our values.
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“Our Hands of Justice”
with Rev. Telos Whitfield & Trish Murtha
Order of Service
Sunday, January 15, 2023
Greeting Rev. Telos
Board Welcome & Announcements Leslie Kinney
Remembrance Candle in Honor of Philip Chapman
Prelude: “Come Sunday” Duke Ellington
Dan Kasnitz, bass; Eva Greene, piano
Chalice Lighting by Jami A. Handle Trish Murtha
We light this flame
To ignite the sacred power of justice.
We light this flame
So that it may be a beacon of hope
In moments of uncertainty, fear, anxiety, and the unknown.
We light this flame, and are emboldened by its blaze,
Knowing our strength as a prophetic and powerful people
Is rooted in the diverse ways we answer the call to love.
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
Opening Hymn #153: “Oh, I Woke Up This Morning”
Time For All of Us: Can Kids Change the World?
Anthem:”River Song”
poem by Henry David Thoreau, music by Tom Baehr
All Souls Choir, Tom Baehr, director
Sharing Readings Trish Murtha
Sermon: “Our Hands of Justice” Rev. Telos
Hymn #1051: “We Are…” Ysaye Barnwell
led by Dan Kasnitz, tenor
Offering shared with Theatre Adventure
Offertory: “Lord, don’t move the mountain” Mahalia Jackson (1958)
Eva Greene, piano
“Lord, don’t move the mountain
But give me strength to climb
Please don’t take away my stumbling blocks
But lead me all around”
Special Music “Oh, Didn’t It Rain”
spiritual, arr. by Henry Thacker Burleigh (1919)
Catie Berg, soprano
Our Candles of Joys and Sorrows
Closing Hymn #169: “We Shall Overcome”
Extinguishing the Chalice Trish Murtha
Daring Vision by Maureen Killoran
We extinguish this chalice flame,
daring to carry forward the vision of this free faith,
that freedom, reason and justice
will one day prevail in this nation and across the earth.
Closing Circle: “Carry the flame of peace and love
Until we meet again.” (sung two times)
Benediction Rev. Telos