Gathering Music (Mary Bopp) (begins five minutes before the hour)
Welcome and Announcements (Rev. Josh Pawelek)
Introduction of the Speaker:
The Rev. Dr. Alvan N. Johnson has been a friend of the Unitarian Universalist Society: East for nearly three decades, dating back to connections he had with the Rev. Connie Sternberg in the 1990s. He served as pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Bloomfield, CT for nearly 30 years; then as Presiding Elder of the New York District of the AME Church; then as Pastor of the historic Grant AME Church in Boston, before retiring a few years ago. During his last decade at Bethel, UUS:E members worked closely with him and many Bethel members in CUREJ (Congregations United for Racial Equity and Justice) and GHICEJ (the Greater Hartford Interfaith Coalition for Equity and Justice). He is the husband of Betty Johnson, a former principal at Manchester High School.
Centering (Rev. Josh Pawelek)
Prelude
Chalice Lighting and Opening Words
excerpt from Emergent Strategy
by adrienne maree brown
spoken by Rev. Josh Pawelek
Opening Hymn
“There is More Love Somewhere”
traditional African American hymn
#95 in Singing the Living Tradition
There is more love somewhere.
There is more love somewhere.
I’m gonna keep on ’til I find it.
There is more love somewhere.
There is more hope somewhere …
There is more peace somewhere …
There is more joy somewhere …
Prayer (the Rev. Dr. Alvan N. Johnson)
Musical Meditation
Joys and Concerns
Musical Meditation
Offering
The recipient of our community outreach offering is the University of Connecticut’s Native American Cultural Program or NACP. NACP provides resources, services and community for UCONN’s Native and Indigenous students and faculty, helps foster relationships with local tribal nations, and works towards building good relations between UCONN and the land.
Offering Music
Reading: I Maccabees 2: 5-52
Sermon: “Courageous!” (the Rev. Dr. Alvan N. Johnson)
Closing Hymn
“Love Will Guide Us”
by Sally Rogers
#131 in Singing the Living Tradition
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.
