Click right here Sunday shortly before 10:00 AM to join this online service.

All Souls Church has a wealth of creativity, wisdom and care that we offer freely to each other. This service will celebrate these many and varied gifts! 

“The Gifts of Our Community”

Click right here Sunday shortly before 10:00 AM to join our online service.

Order of Service
Sunday, December 26, 2021

Welcome                                                                        Rev. Telos Whitfield

Board Greeting & Announcements                                  Robert Wyckoff

Prelude: “Chanson Triste”  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Eva Greene, piano; George Carvill, AV production

Chalice Lighting:                                                              Elizabeth Lewis

With the lighting of our chalice we awaken new passion and expand the gift of our own light, offering it to ourselves and then to all of the ones who cross our path.

Opening Words                                                         Rev. Telos Whitfield

Opening Hymn: “Common Thread”  words and music by Pat Humphries
Robert Wyckoff, guitar and lead: Steve Squires, Eva Greene

Story For All of Us: “Favor Johnson” by Willem Lange
Read by Ellie Weiss

Sharing Our Covenant                                                 Meg Baker

“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)

 

Poem: “Merciful Beauty”  by Bev Miller

“The shape of merciful beauty is there
in the slow, soft glow of the sun ascending the horizon,
in the beckoning arms of the magnificent oak,
in the deep, dark tones of the cello,
in the eruption of the infant’s delighted laughter.

It flows from the voice of the waterfall
surging through the stillness of dawn.

It surfaces in the breathtaking dreams
of touching my child’s face once again.

Grant me, merciful beauty, that I am not blinded by my despair,
that I may know more than my sorrow,
that I may be open to the possibilities beyond death,
that I may extend my being in connection with all that is life-giving,
that I may find the threshold to faith in something more than myself,
that I may not fear loving again.”

Reflection: “The Gifts of Our Community”     Rev. Telos Whitfield

“From You I Receive,To You I Give…”            Rev. Telos & Elizabeth Lewis

Time of Sharing

Hymn #205:  “Amazing Grace” words by John Newton; arr. Peter Amidon
performed by Catie G. Berg, Eva Greene, Bob Wyckoff & Steve Squires

Offering shared with The Minister’s Discretionary Fund

Offertory: “I Saw Three Ships”  ancient Celtic carol
George Carvill, AV production; CC-A, Audionautics

Blessing Our Candles of Joys and Concerns

Closing Hymn #16: “Simple Gifts”
Amer. Shaker hymn; arr. Aaron Copland
Marie Gorst, soprano, George Carvill, AV production

Extinguishing the Chalice                                         Elizabeth Lewis

As we extinguish our chalice, let us keep our light alive for it is from you I receive, to you I give. Together we share and from this we live.

Closing Circle: “Carry the Flame of Peace and Love” (sung two times)

Benediction                                                               Rev. Telos Whitfield

Coffee Hour and Conversation