"What Does YOUR Quilt Say?" -- UUSE Virtual Worship, June 29, 2025

Gathering Music (Mary Bopp)

Welcome & Announcements (Stacey Musulin)

Centering (Martha Larson)

Prelude                                            

“I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free”

Music by Billy Taylor, Lyrics by Billy Taylor & Dick Dallas

Vocals: Melissa Paul-Perez

Drums: Bob Janes 

Piano: Mary Bopp

Introduction to the Service 

Chalice Lighting & Opening Words                      

"Beacon of Freedom"

by Tracy Johnson

We kindle our chalice flame this morning

Awakening the fire of our ancestors in our hearts.

Beacon of freedom held out to light the way

Light of reason illuminating the path

Spark of courage igniting our Spirits

Aglow with hope for all we endeavor to do together

Holy flame of times past, brighten this present moment

That we may be the Love that is our center and our

foundation, both.

Blessed be.

Opening Hymn                               

“I’m On My Way” #116

Words & Music: Traditional African American folk

Arranged by Mary Allen Walden

Hymn Leader: Melissa Paul-Perez 

I’m on my way to the freedom land

I’m on my way to the freedom land

I’m on my way to the freedom land

I’m on my way, great God, I’m on my way.

I asked my sister, come and go with me.

I asked my sister, come and go with me.

I asked my sister, come and go with me.

I’m on my way, great God, I’m on my way.

I asked my brother, come and go with me.

I asked my brother, come and go with me.

I asked my brother, come and go with me.

I’m on my way, great God, I’m on my way.

If they say no, I’ll go anyhow.

If they say no, I’ll go anyhow.

If they say no, I’ll go anyhow.

I’m on my way, great God, I’m on my way.

I’m on my way, and I won’t turn back.

I’m on my way, and I won’t turn back.

I’m on my way, and I won’t turn back.

I’m on my way, great God, I’m on my way.

Time for All Ages                          

"Under the Quilt of Night"

By Deborah Hopkinson

Illustrated by James D. Ransome

 Welcoming Visitors and Joys & Concerns

Musical Response                        

Prayer                                                           

Prayer for Juneteenth                                                        

By Addae Ama Kraba

Creator of All,

As believers in justice,

Woven into a single garment of life.

Making us one with the human family,

Let us rejoice for those who safely

passed through the shades of night

towards the daylight of freedom.

Spirit of all possibilities,

may we be blessed with true freedom,

Free of all oppressions.

Spirit of hope,

With grateful hearts

We lift our voices in shared solidarity,

Holding each other safe

In the fire of justice and the light of love.

Amen/Blessed Be

Offering

Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, fifty percent of our undesignated Sunday plate collections during the month of June will be shared with Trans Voices and Visibility (TV-365). TV-365 is a ministry of the Metropolitan Community Church in Hartford, dedicated to uplifting and supporting the well-being of transgender individuals in Connecticut by providing basic human needs, information and referral, service coordination and support to individuals. This ministry also works to support and collaborate with relevant support groups and service providers. The emphasis is on those most underserved, neglected, victimized and oppressed, which 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

“Meditation On Lift Every Voice and Sing”

By Mary Bopp on piano

 Sermon

"What Does YOUR Quilt Say?"

Stacey Musulin                                          

Closing Hymn                              

"Circle 'Round for Freedom"

Words and Music by Linda Hirschhorn

Circle ‘round for freedom,

Circle ‘round for peace,

For all of us imprisoned,

Circle for release.

Circle for the planet,

Circle for each soul,

For the children of our children,

Keep the circle whole.

Chalice Extinguishing                 

"The Limits of Tyrants" #579

By Frederick Douglass

Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet

deprecate agitation, are people who want crops

without plowing up the ground.

They want rain without thunder and lightning; they

want the ocean without the awful roar of its waters.

This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be both

moral and physical, but it must be a struggle.

Power concedes nothing without a demand; it never

did and it never will.

Find out what people will submit to, and you have

found out the exact amount of injustice which will be

imposed on them.

The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance

of those whom they oppress.

Closing Words                               

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.