Gathering Music (Mary Bopp) Welcome and Announcements (Rev. Josh Pawelek) Processional Hymn #361 "Enter, Rejoice and Come In" by Louise Ruspini arr. by Betty Wylder Enter, rejoice, and come in. Enter, rejoice, and come in. Today will be a joyful day; enter, rejoice and come in. Open your ears to the song ... Open your hearts ev'ryone ... Don't be afraid of some change ... Enter, rejoice, and come in ... Centering Prelude "Greet the Sunny Day" by Andy Ricci Chalice Lighting an

Gathering Music Jean Gabriel-Marie: La Cinquantaine Robert Schumann: Traumerei W. A. Mozart: Rondo from Sonata in A major, K. 331 Dorothy Bognar, piano Welcome Centering Prelude Benjamin Godard: Berceuse from Jocelyn Dorothy Bognar, piano Chalice Lighting & Opening Words We Kindle This Flame by Selena Fox We kindle this flame with love for mothers and foremothers past, present, and future; We kindle this flame in celebration of community and its generations. We kindle this fl

The Ancient Spring At our Earth Day service two weeks ago I said it is always a worthwhile exercise to reflect on what it means to have a place in the interdependent web of all existence. I then said that such contemplation can, at times, lead us into that kind of spiritual or mystical experience in which all the borders and the boundaries between us and everything else melt away, ebb, fade, disappear, revealing in their wake an endless, crisscrossing multitude of connection

Gathering Music "Sleep of the Blessed" by Glen Phillips "Brokedown Palace" by the Grateful Dead "Astral Plane" by Valerie June Jennifer Richard, guitar and vocals Welcome and Announcements Centering Prelude "Where I Go" by Natalie Merchant Jennifer Richard, guitar and vocals Chalice Lighting and Opening Words "Ground of Being" by the Rev. Natalie Fenimore Opening Hymn "Blue Boat Home" by Peter Mayer Though below me, I feel no motion standing on these mountains and plains. Far

Gathering Music Welcome Centering Prelude Chalice Lighting and Opening Words "The Door Swung Wide" by Rev. Scott Tayler We light this flame in a world where so much has grown dark. May it remind us that sparks can always be struck, and very little is inevitable. Most of it is mystery and magnificent surprise. Which means new and yet-to-be imagined worlds always await. Which means a door has already swung wide, with possibility waiting on the threshold ready to pull us through

(With writing assistance from Janet Heller, Christine Larson, Mike Baxter, Mary Lawrence, Anne Vaughan, Janet Dauphin and special guest, Anthony Clarke) Yes: for our food we thank the bees and the moths (who work at night) the birds and butterflies, the bats (for the bananas) – indeed, all the winged workers – not to mention “the light upon the busy leaf’ and the ‘water at the root.’ [1] Lyrics from “Grace for Pollinators,” by the composer Nancy Schimmel, which appears in

Gathering Music (Mary Bopp) Welcome and Announcements (Rev. Josh Pawelek) Centering Prelude "Improvisation I" Kristen Dockendorff Chalice Lighting and Opening Words excerpt from Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer Opening Song "What a Wonderful World" Bob Thiele and George David Weiss I see trees of green Red roses too I see them bloom For me and you And I think to myself What a wonderful world. I see skies of blue And clouds of white The bright blessed day The dark

Gathering Music Welcome Centering Prelude "The Word" Music & Lyrics by John Lennon & Paul McCartney Performed by Sandy Johnson & Dan Thompson Chalice Lighting and Opening Words "Morning Blessings of the Celtic Dawn" Written by Dee Hennessy, as published on Insight Timer Opening Hymn #298 "Wake, Now, My Senses" Words by Thomas J.S. Mikelson, Traditional Irish Melody Mary Bopp, piano (1st 4 verses) Wake, now, my senses, and hear the earth call; feel the deep power of being in a

Gathering Music Welcome and Announcements Centering Prelude "Earth Blessing" by Helen Yeomans UUSE Choir Vera Elzerman, percussion Chalice Lighting and Opening Words "Alleluia!" by the Rev. Jeanne Lloyd Opening Hymn "Morning Has Broken" Words by Eleanor Farjeon Music: Gaelic Melody Morning has broken like the first morning, blackbird has spoken like the first bird. Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning! Praise for them, springing fresh from the Word ! Sweet the rain'

Note: Rev. Pawelek began this sermon by teaching the song “Holy and Divine” by Lindasusan Ulrich, to the congregation. This song was inspired by the words of Rev. JeKaren Olaoya and is dedicated to the trans/nonbinary community. The words are very simple: Lean in, I love you. / Once again, I love you. / Now and always, I love you. / Your lives are holy and divine. At the 2024 Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) General Assembly in Pittsburgh, delegates deb

Gathering Music (Mary Bopp) Welcome and Announcements (Rev. Josh Pawelek) Centering Prelude "How Could Anyone?" by Libby Roderick Mary Bopp, piano Chalice Lighting and Opening Words "Blessing for Kin" by Sean Parker Dennison Opening Hymn "I Will Change Your Name" by D. J. Butler I will change your name You shall no longer be called Wounded, outcast Lonely or afraid. I will change your name Your new name shall be Confidence, joyfulness Overcoming one Faithfulness, friend of

Prelude "A Beach Named Ferry" by John Packard performed by Jenn Richard Chalice Lighting #448 by Christine Robinson We gather this hour as people of faith With joys and sorrows, gifts and needs. We light this beacon of hope, sign of our quest for truth and meaning, in celebration of the life we share together. Welcome and Call to Worship Introduction to the Service - Nancy Madar Hymn #346 "Come Sing a Song With Me" Words & music: Carolyn McDade Come, sing a song with me, com

From "Brave Clara Barton" by Jack Murphy with illustrations by Sarah Green Sometime in the early morning hours of February 28 th , US and Israeli airstrikes began decimating targets in Iran in a military campaign named “Operation Epic Fury.” The bombing has continued, with administration officials issuing ominous warnings, like “today will be the most intense day of strikes yet,” and “death and destruction from the sky all day long.” There’s an almost meaningless debate over

Illustration by Sarah Green from "Brave Clara Barton" Gathering Music Dorothy Bognar, piano Welcome and Announcements Annual Appeal Pulpit Testimonials Robin Byrne Centering Prelude "For What it's Worth" by Steven Stills Dorothy Bognar, piano Chalice Lighting and Opening Words To Remind Ourselves What Is Real by Elena Westbrook Opening Hymn #360 "Here We Have Gathered" Words by Alicia S. Carpenter Music: Genevan Psalter, 1543 Here we have gathered, gathered side by side; circ

Gathering Music Welcome Centering Prelude "Come, Come Whoever You Are" by Lynn Ungar Arr. by Mary Bopp Chalice Lighting and Opening Words "This Faith" by Heide Cottam Opening Hymn #21 "For the Beauty of the Earth" words by F. S. Pierpoint music by Conrad Kocher For the beauty of the earth, for the splendor of the skies, For the love which from our birth over and around us lies: Source of all, to thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. For the joy of ear and eye, for

This morning, we launch our 2026 Annual Appeal, during which we ask every UUSE member and friend to make the most generous financial pledge possible for the coming fiscal year which begins July 1 st . This is our largest fundraiser. The Annual Appeal raises the vast majority of dollars we need to operate from day-to-day, to provide decent salaries and benefits to our staff, to maintain our meetinghouse, to carry out our mission, to achieve our vision—the dollars we need, as t

Gathering Music "Canzona Bergamasca by Samuel Scheidt Welcome and Announcements Centering Prelude "Ricercard Del 12 Tono" by Andrea Gabrieli Chalice Lighting and Opening Words "This Faith, This Place, These People" by Rev. Josh Pawelek (based on "This Place, These People" by Paul Dalzell) Opening Hymn #128 "For All That is Our Life" Words by Bruce Findlow; music by Patrick L. Rickey For all that is our life we sing our thanks and praise; for all life is a gift which we are ca

This sermon is about generosity. Just to be clear, this is not my Annual Appeal kick-off sermon. That sermon happens next Sunday when we launch our 2026 Annual Appeal. Of course, that sermon is also about generosity, specifically your generous financial giving to this congregation for the coming fiscal year. This morning I want to talk broadly about generosity as a religious value and practice. I also want to name some of the forms generosity takes here at UUSE. And I want to