next sunday, jan. 26 at our congregational › images › order_of_service › oosjan19.pdf ·...
TRANSCRIPT
Next Sunday, Jan. 26 – Not Equality, Equity! – At our Congregational Meeting today, First Church members will vote on the following new mission statement: “Our urban First Unitarian Church community welcomes all with love, supports learning and spiritual growth, serves our wider community, and works for justice, equity, and inclusion.” This morning we’ll focus on why we work for equity and not just equality.
The Flowers this morning are given by Amber Seely-Marks in honor of her husband Stefan Marks’ Birthday.
Sunday Morning Volunteer Program (MVP) Team Three is handling the duties of greeting, ushering, providing coffee service and clean-up today. Team Three is led by Linda Miltner. She is joined by Sallie Barringer, Barbara Dickerson, Barbara Homlar, Carol Lloyd, Jack Niehaus, Ann Redford and Barb Rider
Sound Technician: David Johnson
Assistive Listening Devices for people needing hearing enhancement are available at the rear of the sanctuary.
All are invited to write their Joys and Sorrows in the book at the back of the sanctuary.
First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati
536 Linton Street * Cincinnati, Ohio 45219 (513) 281-1564 * www.firstuu.com
Rev. Connie Simon, Minister [email protected]
Large Print Orders of Service are available. Please see an usher.
First Unitarian Church
of Cincinnati
The Dark Side of Community January 19, 2020
Rev. Connie Simon Jera Cox, Director of Music
Meredith Plummer, Director of Lifespan Faith Development
The Dark Side of Community January 19, 2020
Rev. Connie Simon Jera Cox, Director of Music
Meredith Plummer, Director of Lifespan Faith Development Worship Associate: Tim Kraus
Gathering
Welcome and Announcements
Prelude Gaudeamus Jason Shelton
Chalice Lighting A Network of Mutuality Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Vision Song We are a liberal religious haven, welcoming wonder, and spiritually free. We’re sustained by a loving tradition, moved and inspired by the future we see. Boldly seeking and working for justice, gently transforming lives through deeds great and small. Young and old, sharing meaning and mission, we joyfully offer our vision to all!
Shelley Jackson Denham
Greeting One Another
Hymn #318 We Would Be One
Story for All Ages Story for All Ages The Messiah is Among You
Francis Dorff, O. Praem, adapted
Singing the Children Out #118 This Little Light of Mine
Sharing of Concerns Sharing of Joys and Sorrows
Concerns of the Larger Community
Ritual
Meditation
Meditation Response Hymn #30 Over My Head
Commitment
Offering
Offertory Preludio XXII Johann Sebastian Bach
Receiving
Reading Selection From Loving Your Enemies Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Musical Interlude
Sermon The Dark Side of Community
Returning Hymn #170 We Are a Gentle Angry People
Extinguishing the Chalice We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community or the fire of commitment. These we carry in our hearts until we are together again.
Elizabeth Selle Jones
Benediction
Postlude Quartal Courante Jason Shelton
ESPECIALLY FOR VISITORS
Welcome! We’re happy you’re here today. Stop by the Welcome Counter as you entered the building for a pre-stamped info card to complete at home and mail back– or fill out a card if you have time this morning. We’ll send you our newsletter and information on what’s happening at First Church.
Interested in learning more about First Church and Unitarian Universalism? Join Rev. Connie and our Welcoming Team for an informal discussion about our active community. Find out how you can get involved in our Social Justice, Faith Development, Music and other programs or become a member of First Church today after service in the Fisher Room. Childcare will be provided.
TODAY
Today in Sunday School: your prekindergarten and kindergartner will learn how to play fair. Your first to third grader will consider the question “What is God?” Your fourth and fifth grader will travel back to Thailand to explore art and explore art as a spiritual practice. Your junior high youth and senior high youth will attend the service. Today’s Family Faith Development Volunteers: VIP – TBD; Infant/Toddler – Becky Algenio; PreK and K – Laura Piptone: First to Third – TBD: Fourth and Fifth – TBD and Amber Seely-Marks. Today from 11:25 to 11:55 in Room 207 – the Youth Choir (Sixth through 12th Grade) will meet. Tomorrow, Jan. 20, the office will be closed for MLK Day.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Sun., Jan. 26, 11:30 in the Sanctuary - This is a reminder that the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Cincinnati will hold its Congregational Meeting on this date. If you are a member of First Church, but have not yet attended a congregational meeting, you may establish your voting rights for voting at future congregational meetings by attending this meeting. You will be asked to sign-in at this meeting to verify your attendance. Childcare will be available for this meeting. Please RSVP for childcare no later than Fri., Jan 24. to Ginny Casey-Leininger - [email protected] or 513-681-6720. Sat., Feb. 1 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Ellen Hall Room, End of Life Planning. Ann Retford, Carol Wolf, and Mary Tarbell-Green will be facilitating "End of Life Planning," an adulting class for adults and elders. Adult children and caregivers may find this class particularly useful. However, registration is required for all participants (childcare can be made available when requested by two or more families upon registration). Register by Jan. 29 at https://tinyurl.com/qkxtk4j
Mark your calendars now for our annual Heart and Hand Auction at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8. Enjoy an evening of fun that includes both silent and live auctions, a restaurant raffle, and much more! We are looking for donations from businesses. If you have a suggestion, contact Janet Schneider at 513.371.0335 or [email protected]. We are also looking for First Church crafters to add items for our new craft booth. Contact Beth Whelan at [email protected] or 513.545.6660. Every Sat. in Feb. - Give your partner the gift of commitment this February by registering for Principled Commitment! This program, for couples in long term committed relationships, will be offered from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Childcare can be provided when requested by two or more families upon registration. The registration deadline is Wednesday, January 29, so you better act quickly. Register at https://tinyurl.com/y6h7dk8z (Interested in participating in both Principled Commitment and End of Life Planning? Register for both! You can leave Principled Commitment early to participate in End of Life Planning.)
Wonder Questions
• What do you find most difficult about being in community? • What do you enjoy about being in community? • How might First Church change if everyone was convinced
there was a messiah among us?
The Board of Trustees recommends to you the following mission statement for adoption at our congregational meeting on January 26, 2020. The statement was written by a five-person team (Amy Bottomley, Dot Christenson, Jane Hopson, Patricia Rohrer, Dan Schneider) and was based on the results of our workshops on values, mission, and ends, and additional suggestions. Thank you to all who participated in the workshops and to all who made suggestions. Our urban First Unitarian Church community welcomes all with love, supports learning and spiritual growth, serves our wider community, and works for justice, equity, and inclusion.
Dan Schneider, [email protected] or 513.652.8966
The Dark Side of Community Service Notes, January 19, 2020
Prelude: Gaudeamus by Jason Shelton - Jason Shelton is an award-winning composer, arranger, conductor, song- and worship leader, workshop presenter, and coach for clergy and musicians looking to deepen their collaborative relationships. In 2017 he stepped down as Associate Minister for Music at the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, which he served since 1998, and is now engaged in a music ministry at-large, focused on serving the musical resource needs of UU (and other liberal) congregations around the country. https://jasonsheltonmusic.com/biography
Chalice Lighting: Excerpt from “A Network of Mutuality” by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 –1968) was an American Christian minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, King is best known for advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience, inspired by his Christian beliefs and principles of nonviolent activism. This message of our interconnectedness is from his penultimate sermon, delivered on March 31, 1968, at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Hymn: #318 – We Would Be One by Samuel Anthony Wright -
Samuel Anthony Wright is a biologist and minister emeritus of the
Marin Fellowship of Unitarians in San Rafael, California. He has
served congregations in Alaska, Texas, Oklahoma and California and
worked as director of the American Unitarian Youth and the Liberal
Religious Youth, Inc. He also served as Director of In-Service
Education at Starr King School for the Ministry. This text was
written to accompany the tune written by Jean Sibelius for Unitarian
and Universalist Youth at their Continental Convention of 1953-54.
At this conference they merged to form the Liberal Religious Youth
of the United States and Canada, setting a model for the Unitarian
Universalist denominational merger in 1961. Between the Lines,
Skinner House Books, 1995.
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) was a dominate figure in the development of Finnish music. He was greatly influenced by the Finnish national epic, Norse mythology and poetry. He began composing and playing violin at an early age and wrote a number of chamber music pieces, the first of which was published when he was ten years old. His first orchestral composition, Kullervo, received national acclaim and solidified his place in the Finnish musical world. This tune composed as the eloquent chorale for his famous symphonic poem Finlandia (1900) became strongly associated with the patriotic movement to free Finland from Russia. Between the Lines, Skinner House Books, 1995.
Story for All Ages: The Messiah is Among You by Francis Dorff, O. Praem, adapted - Rev. Francis Dorff, O. Praem (1935-2017) was a member of the Norbertine Community of Santa Maria de la Vid Abbey, Albuquerque, New Mexico. He taught philosophy and theology at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin, Rosemont College in Pennsylvania and at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He was the Founder-Director of the Institute of Religion and Culture and the Emmaus House of Prayer as well as Vocation and Formation Director at Daylesford Abbey in Paoli, Pennsylvania. For many years he offered workshops and retreats in the Intensive Journal Method developed by Dr. Ira Progoff. Singing the Children Out: Hymn #118 – This Little Light of Mine - This is an African American spiritual (ca. 1750-1875). In spirt of the atrocities of slavery, African Americans developed a strong spiritual tradition that included dance, song and religion. This tune was named for Louis Lattimer (1848-1928) who was an inventor, patent expert, draftsperson, engineer, author poet and musician. He was a founding member of the Unitarian Church of Flushing, New York. The son of a runaway slave, he worked on the electric light bulb with Thomas Edison, and with Alexander Graham Bell to create the drawings that helped secure the patent for the first telephone. Between the Lines, Skinner House Books, 1995. Meditation Response Hymn: #30 Over My Head - African American Spiritual (ca 1750-1875). During enslavement, Africans fought a constant battle against psychological as well as physical slavery. This is one of the many spirituals sung to rejuvenate the spirit and to let the oppressors know that no matter what happened to those who were enslaved, eventually God would set things right. Offertory: Preludio XXII by Johann Sebastian Bach - Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He is known for instrumental compositions such as the Brandenburg Concertos and the Goldberg Variations, and for vocal music such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time. This piece is from The Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 846–893, a collection of two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys, composed for solo keyboard.
Reading: Selection from Loving Your Enemies by Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. - This is an excerpt from a sermon
delivered by King in November 1957 at Dexter Avenue Baptist
Church. A week prior to delivering this sermon at his church, King
had given a similar version at Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel in
Washington, D. C., at the conclusion of Howard University School
of Religion’s Forty-first Annual Convocation. Using Matthew 5:43-
45 as his text, King emphasizes that “hate for hate only intensifies the
existence of hate and evil in the universe…. The strong person is the
person who can cut off the chain of hate, the chain of evil…and
inject within the very structure of the universe that strong and
powerful element of love.”
Hymn: #170 – We Are a Gentle, Angry People by Holly Near - Holly Near (1943 - ) is a composer, author and singer. Born in Ukiah, California, she attended the Perry-Mansfield School for Performing Arts and the Ramblerny School of Performing Arts where she studied jazz, performance and composition. She recorded her first song before she reached her teens. In 1973, she formed Redwood Records Company. This song was written in response to the 1978 murder of murdered San Francisco City Councilman Harvey Milk. Extinguishing the Chalice – Elizabeth May Selle Jones - The words we use to extinguish our chalice each week were written by Elizabeth May Selle Jones (1926 – 2006). In addition to serving the Livermore Unitarian Fellowship, Rev. Dr. Jones helped to found the Open Heart Kitchen, the largest hot meal program in the Tri-Valley Area of Northern California. https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sfgate/obituary.aspx?n=elizabeth-may-selle-jones&pid=17418052; https://www.openheartkitchen.org/ Postlude: Quartal Courante by Jason Shelton - See above for information about composer Jason Shelton.
