Gathering Music (begins at 10:50)
Excerpts from “Largo” from New World Symphony
By Antonín Dvorák
Performed by Dorothy Bognar
Welcome and Announcements
Centering
Prelude
“Homeward Bound”
By Paul Simon
Arranged and performed by Dorothy Bognar
Chalice Lighting and Opening Words
“This is the Home That Love Made”
ad. from Amanda Poppei
Spoken by Rev. Josh Pawelek
Opening Hymn
“May Nothing Evil Cross This Door”
Words by Louis Untermeyer, music by Robert N. Quaile
#1 in Singing the Living Tradition
Led by Rev. Josh Pawelek
May nothing evil cross this door,
and may ill fortune never pry about
these windows; may the roar
and rain go by.
By faith made strong, the rafters will
withstand the battering of the storm.
This hearth, though all the world grow chill,
will keep you warm.
Peace shall walk softly through these rooms,
touching our lips with holy wine,
till every casual corner blooms
into a shrine.
With laughter drown the raucous shout,
and, though these sheltering walls are thin,
may they be strong to keep hate out
and hold love in.
Reading “Unitarian Universalist Association Principles”
Leader: We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote:
The inherent worth and dignity of every person
Congregation: Each person is important.
Leader: Justice, equity and compassion in human relations
Congregation: Be kind in all you do.
Leader: Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations
Congregation: We’re free to learn together.
Leader: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning
Congregation: We can search for what is true.
Leader: The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large
Congregation: All people need a voice.
Leader: The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.
Congregation: Build a fair and peaceful world.
Leader: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part
Congregation: We care for the Earth.
Musical Meditation
Joys, Concerns, and Introductions
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
“The Homecoming”
By Hagood Hardy; arr. by Dan Coates
Performed by Dorothy Bognar
Sermon
“On Setting Our Intentions”
Rev. Josh Pawelek
Closing Hymn
“Blue Boat Home”
words by Peter Mayer
music by Roland Hugh Prichard; ad. by Peter Mayer; arr. by Dorothy Bognar
#1064 in Singing the Journey
Led by Rev. Josh Pawelek
Though below me, I feel no motion standing on these mountains and plains.
Far away from the rolling ocean still my dry land heart can say:
I’ve been sailing all my life now, never harbor or port have I known.
The wide universe is the ocean I travel and the earth is my blue boat home.
Sun my sail and moon my rudder as I ply the starry sea,
leaning over the edge in wonder, casting questions into the deep.
Drifting here with my ship’s companions, all we kindred pilgrim souls,
making our way by the lights of the heavens in our beautiful blue boat home.
I give thanks to the waves up holding me, hail the great winds urging me on,
greet the infinite sea before me, sing the sky my sailor’s song:
I was born up on the fathoms, never harbor or port have I known.
The wide universe is the ocean I travel, and the earth is my blue boat home.
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
“Take Me Home, Country Roads”
By Bill Danoff, Taff Nivert, John Denver
Musical Note: Bill Danoff was from Springfield, MA. One night, following a show with John Denver, he and Taff Nivert came up with the initial plans for this song. At first it was not tied to West Virginia, but rather to the meandering country roads Danoff remembered from his childhood in central and western Massachusetts.
