Gathering Music (begins at 9:50)
Welcome and Introductions (Martha Larson, co-chair of Sunday Services Committee)
Announcements (Sande Hartdagen, member Sunday Services Committee)
Centering (Martha)
Prelude
“We Three Kings”
arranged and performed by Anya Stolzman
Chalice Lighting and Opening Words
#434 in Singing the Living Tradition
May we be reminded here of our highest aspirations,
and inspired to bring our gifts of love and service to the altar of humanity.
May we know once again that we are not isolated beings
but connected in mystery and miracle, to the universe,
to this community, and to each other.
Anonymous
Opening Hymn
“Dark of Winter”
Words and music by Shelley Jackson Denham
#55 in Singing the Living Tradition
Led by Martha Larson
Dark of winter, soft and still, your quiet calm surrounds me.
Let my thoughts go where they will; ease my mind profoundly.
And then my soul will sing a song, a blessed song of love eternal.
Gentle darkness, soft and still, bring your quiet to me.
Darkness, soothe my weary eyes, that I may see more clearly.
When my heart with sorrow cries, comfort and caress me.
And then my soul may hear a voice, a still small voice of love eternal.
Darkness when my fears arise, let your peace flow through me.
Joys and Concerns
Musical Interlude
Prayer
Written by Rev. Joshua Pawelek
Read by Martha Larson
A Prayer for Healing
Spirit of Life, source of love and comfort:
We pray for the wounded, those who’ve experienced the pain and trauma of domestic violence. We pray that they may find:
The respite of safe haven, and a loving, supportive community,
The capacity to name what has happened,
The patience to remain on the long path of healing,
The courage to do what is necessary to ensure a safe future
for themselves and their children.
We pray for those who would perpetrate violence. We pray that they may find:
Support for making positive life changes,
A willingness to take responsibility for their past and future actions,
The resolve to atone,
The wisdom to meet frustrations and fears not with anger
but with calm, tender acceptance.
We pray for our wider community. We pray that all may find:
Agreement that domestic violence is unacceptable,
Commitment to marshaling public and private resources to address the root
causes of such violence,
Compassion for all those caught in the cycle of violence,
Love, to sustain us all in building a safer, more just, more
caring world.
Musical Meditation
Offering
The recipient of our January Community Outreach Offering is the Connecticut Domestic Worker Justice Campaign. Domestic workers (house cleaners, personal care attendants, nannies, etc.) remain one of the most exploited and exploitable classes of workers in the country. Connecticut’s Domestic Worker Justice Campaign advocates for labor rights, workplace protections, and training for domestic workers. The campaign’s long-term goal is to pass an enforceable Domestic Worker Bill of Rights in our state. Organizations who participate in the campaign include the CT Workers Center, Unidad Latina en Accion, the Naugatuck Valley Project, United Action of Southeastern CT, Comunidades Sin Fronteras, the Hartford Catholic Archdiocese Office for Social Justice, and a number of congregations, including UUS:E.
Offering Music
“What Wondrous Love is This?’
Southern folk hymn, arr. by Mary Bopp
Reading
“Survivorship”
By Rev. Theresa Inez Soto
Message by Mary-Jane Foster, CEO and President of Interval House
Closing Hymn
“Comfort Me”
Words and music by Mimi Bornstein-Doble
#1002 in Singing the Journey
Comfort me, comfort me, comfort me, oh my soul.
Comfort me, comfort me, comfort me, oh my soul
Sing with me, sing with me, sing with me, oh my soul.
Sing with me, sing with me, sing with me, oh my soul.
Speak for me…..
Dance with me….
Comfort me……
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.
Postlude
Breakout Rooms
Our guest speaker, Mary-Jane Foster, became the CEO and President of Hartford’s Interval House in January of 2017. Interval House is Connecticut’s largest domestic violence agency and in 2021 celebrates 44 years of service. Foster is just the second CEO of the agency. She served as Vice-President of University Relations at the University of Bridgeport, from May 2009 until June of 2016. She is an attorney admitted to practice in Connecticut and New York. She is a co-founder and former co-owner and CEO of the Bridgeport Bluefish Professional Baseball Club and Westchester Baseball, LLC. Ms. Foster was a candidate for mayor of Bridgeport in the 2011 Democratic primary and the 2015 general election.
Prior to the founding of the Bridgeport Bluefish, Ms. Foster attended Quinnipiac College School of Law. She was awarded a Juris Doctor degree with honors in May 1995. Her Juris Doctor degree was a logical extension of her several years of volunteer work within the regional Bridgeport community. Her field of practice was family law.
Before attending law school, Ms. Foster was an actress in New York. She has performed on stage, film, television, and radio and has appeared in over two hundred television and radio commercials.
