Gathering Music
Welcome and Announcements
Centering
Prelude
"I Can See Clearly Now"
by Johnny Nash
Jennifer Richard, guitar and vocals
Chalice Lighting and Opening Words
"We Receive Fragments of Holiness"
by Rev. Sarah York
Opening Hymn
#126 "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing"
Words by Robert Robinson and Eugene B. Navias
Music by John Wyeth
Led by Jennifer Richard
Come, thou fount of ev'ry blessing, tune our ears to sing thy grace.
Streams of mercy never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.
While the hope of life's perfection fills our hearts with joy and love,
teach us ever to be faithful, may we still thy goodness prove.
Come, thou fount of ev'ry vision, lift our eyes to what may come.
See the lion and the young lamb dwell together in thy home.
Hear the cries of war fall silent, feel our love glow like the sun.
When we all serve one another, then our heaven is begun.
Come, thou fount of inspiration, turn our lives to higher ways.
Lift our gloom and desperation, show the promise of this day.
Help us bind ourselves in union, help our hands tell of our love.
With thine aid, O fount of justice, earth be fair as heav'n above.
Silence
Meditation
Hymn
#15 "The Lone, Wild Bird" verse 1
Words by H. R. MacFayden
Music: William Walker's Southern Harmony
Led by Jennifer Richard
The lone, wild bird in lofty flight
is still with thee, nor leaves thy sight.
And I am thine! I rest in thee.
Great spirit come and rest in me.
Joys and Concerns
Hymn
#15 "The Lone, Wild Bird" verse 2
Words by H. R. MacFayden
Music: William Walker's Southern Harmony
Led by Jennifer Richard
The ends of earth are in thy hand,
the sea's dark deep and far-off land.
And I am thine! I rest in thee.
Great spirit come and rest in me.
Offering
The recipient of our April community outreach offering is the Interreligious Eco-Justice Network (IREJN), Connecticut's only faith-based environmental non-profit organization. Committed to justice and grounded in hope, IREJN is a unifying voice dedicated to positive, hopeful action on behalf of the earth, the one thing we all share and the one place we all call home. Their mission is to inspire and equip Connecticut's religious communities and their spiritual allies to protect our planet through education, engagement, and advocacy.
Offering Music
"Shine"
by Ed Roland (and Collective Soul)
Jennifer Richard, guitar and vocals
Sermon
"Shine"
Rev. Josh Pawelek
Closing Hymn
#131 "Love Will Guide Us"
Words by Sally Rogers
Music: traditional, arr. by Betty A. Wylder
Love will guide us, peace has tried us,
hope inside us will lead the way
on the road from greed to giving.
Love will guide us through the hard night.
If you cannot sing like angels,
if you cannot speak before thousands,
you can give from deep within you.
You can change the world with your love.
Love will guide us, peace has tried us,
hope inside us will lead the way
on the road from greed to giving.
Love will guide us through the hard night.
Extinguishing the Chalice
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.