"Flourishing" -- UUSE Virtual Worship, June 21, 2026

Summer Solstice (4:24 am)

Gathering Music

Welcome and Announcements

Prelude

"Solstice Meditation"

Mary Bopp

Chalice Lighting and Opening Words

#446 "To the Four Directions"

Spirit of the East, Spirit of Air,

of Morning and Springtime

Be with us as the sun rises in times of beginning,

in times of planting.

Inspire us with the fresh breath of courage

as we go forth into new adventures.

Spirit of the South, Spirit of Fire,

of noontime and Summer.

Be with us through the heat of the day

and help us to be ever growing.

Warm us with strength and energy

for the work that awaits us.

Spirit of the West, Spirit of Water,

of evening and autumn

Be with us as the sun sets

and help us to enjoy a rich harvest.

Flow through us with a cooling,

healing quietness and bring us peace.

Spirit of the North, Spirit of Earth,

of nighttime and winter

Be with us in the darkness

in the time of gestation.

Ground us in the wisdom of the changing seasons

as we celebrate the spiraling journey of our lives

Opening Hymn

#66 "When the Summer Sun is Shining"

Words by Sydney Henry Knight

Music from The Southern Harmony, 1855, arr. by Margaret W. Mealy

Rob Napier, song leader

When the summer sun is shining over golden land and sea,

and the flowers in the hedgerow welcome butterfly and bee;

then my open heart is glowing, full of warmth for everyone,

and I feel an inner beauty which reflects the summer sun.

When the summer clouds of thought bring the long-awaited rain,

and the thirsty soil is moistened and the grass is green again;

then I long for summer sunshine, but I know that clouds and tears

are a part of life's refreshment, like the rainbow's hopes and fears.

In the cool of summer evening, when the dancing insects play,

and in garden street and meadow linger echoes of the day;

then my heart is full of yearning; hopes and mem'ries flood the whole

of my being, reaching inwards to the corners of my soul.

New Member Welcome

Introductions (Membership Committee co-chairs)

The Charge (Minister)

As you take up membership in the Unitarian Universalist Society East, I charge you to share with us who you are. Share your creativity, your experiences, your questions, your doubts, your beliefs, and all your discoveries of life's meaning. I charge you to shake us up with your ideas, to stir us up with your conscience, to inspire us with your actions, and to stimulate our hopes with your dreams of what life can be.

Congregational Welcome (Congregation)

We welcome you as companions in the search for truth and meaning. We invite you to share in our mission of caring for one another, encouraging each other in spiritual growth, working for justice and peace in the wider community, and living in harmony with the earth. We join our gifts with yours, trusting in the power of community to bring freedom, healing and love.

New Member Affirmation (New members)

We join the Unitarian Universalist Society East out of a desire and willingness to participate in a liberal religious congregation. We pledge to share our time, energy and gifts; to diligently seek our spiritual truths; and to strengthen the bonds of community.

Responsive Hymn

"This Meetinghoue"

words adapted from Eugene Sander by Josh Pawelek

Music by Jean Sibelius

This meetinghouse,

A place of love and gladness.

Where all may meet, to seek the common good.

A source of strength, to face each doubt and sadness.

Where every dream, is known and understood.

This meetinghouse, ask those who came before,

And found themselves, by crossing through its door.

Joys and Concerns

Musical Meditation

Offering

Our June Community Outreach offering is dedicated to Trans Voices and Visibility-365 (TV-365). This minister of the Metropolitan Community Church in Hartford is dedicated to uplifting and supporting the well-being of transgender individuals in Connecticut by meeting basic human needs, and providing information, referrals, service coordination and support to individuals. This ministry also works to support and collaborate with relevant support groups and service providers. Their emphasis is on caring for those most underserved, neglected, victimized and oppressed. This includes, but is not limited to, transgender women and men of color, those with disabilities, youth and elderly, immigrants (documented and undocumented), low income and victims of crime.

Offering Music

"Here Comes the Sun"

By George Harrison

Rob Napier, vocals

Mary Bopp, piano

Sermon

Closing Hymn

#1068 "Rising Green"

Words and music by Carolyn McDade, arr. by Jim Scott

Rob Napier, song leader

My blood doth rise in the roots of yon oak, her sap doth run in my veins.

Boundless my soul like the open sky where the stars forever have lain.

Where the stars, where the stars, where the stars forever have lain.

My hands hold the weavings of time without end, my sight as deep as the sea.

Beating, my heart sounds the measures of old, that of love's eternity.

That of love, that of love, that of love's eternity.

I feel the tides as they answer the moon, rushing on a far distant sand.

Winging my song is the wind of my breast and my love blows over the land.

And my love, and my love, and my love blows over the land.

My foot carries days of the old into new, our dreaming shows us the way.

Wondrous our faith settles deep in the earth, rising green to bring a new day.

Rising green, rising green, rising green to bring a new day.

Extinguishing the Chalice and Opening the Circle

Closing Circle

May faith in the spirit of life

And hope for the community of earth

And love of the light in each other

Be ours now, and in all the days to come.