Gathering Music (Mary Bopp)
Welcome and Announcements (Martha Larson)
Introduction to the Service and Centering
Prelude
"Listen to the Voices"
written by Holly Near
Sung by Sisters in Harmony in 2013
and recorded by Joe Madar
New video by Dan Thompson and Jeannette LeSure
Chalice Lighting and Opening Words
"Always a Voice Arises"
by Rev. Scott Tayler
What is it about this flame that opens our ears?
Opens our hearts?
"Come back to your center," it calls.
"Return to that quiet space we long for,
And that longs for us."
From this stillness,
always a voice arises,
if we let it.
So come, friends,
let us listen once again.
Let us find that flame inside
that guides us back home.
Opening Hymn
#112 "Do You Hear?"
Words: Emily L. Thorn
Music: William Caldwell's Union Harmony, 1837
Do you hear, oh my friend, in the place where you stand,
through the sky, through the land, do you hear, do you hear?
In the heights, on the plain, in the vale, on the main,
in the sun, in the rain, do you hear, do you hear?
Through the roar, through the rush, through the throng,
through the crush, do you hear in the hush of your soul, of your soul?
Hear the cry fear won't still, hear the heart's call to will,
hear a sigh's startling trill in our soul, in your soul?
From the place where you stand to the outermost strand,
do you hear, oh my friend, do you hear, do you hear?
All the dreams, all the dares, all the sighs, all the prayers--
they are yours, mine, and theirs--do you hear, do you hear?
Time for All Ages
Pulpit Editorial - Discernment Task Force update (Trisha Lisle)
Visitors, Joys and Concerns
Musical Response
Reading
"Listen" by Rev. Richard S. Gilbert
Listen! Listen to what others have to say.
There is wisdom in all you meet.
Listen to the sounds of nature.
It speaks and sings and makes music
For those who pay attention.
Listen! Listen to the impulses of your spirit.
Take time to hear your inner yearnings,
That still, small voice drowned in the raucous shout.
Listen! This is a noisy world.
Perhaps, this year we will listen.
Offertory
Our Charitable Giving collection for October is MARC, Inc. of Manchester, an organization which supports people with disabilities, empowering them to live, work, and enjoy all their community has to offer. Through the provision of many support services, their clients become able to live their lives to the fullest according to their individual goals and dreams.
Offertory Music
"The Silence Between the Notes"
by Mary Bopp
Reading
"Listening with the Heart"
by Rev. Gary Kowalski
Maybe prayer doesn't mean talking to God at all.
Maybe it means just listening.
Unplugging the TV, turning off the computer,
Quieting the mental chatter and distractions.
Maybe it means listening to the birds
And the insects, the wind in the leaves, the creaking and groaning of the trees,
noticing
Who else is out there, not far away but nearby;
Sitting so still we can hear our heartbeat,
Watch our breath, the gentle whoosh of air,
The funny noises from our own insides,
Marveling at the body we take so much for granted.
Maybe it means listening to our dreams,
Paying more attention to what we really want from life,
And less attention to all the nagging, scolding voices from our past.
Or maybe it's all about listening to each other,
Not thinking ahead to how we can answer or rebut or parry or advise or admonish,
But actually being present to each other.
Perhaps if we just sit quietly, we'll overhear a peace whispering through the centuries
That's missing from the clamor of the moment.
Maybe prayer means listening to the silences between the words,
Noticing the negativity of space,
The vast, undifferentiated and nameless wonder
that underlies it all.
Maybe prayer doesn't mean talking to God at all,
But listening with the heart,
To the angel choirs all around us.
Those who have ears,
Let them hear.
Homily I (Carolyn Gimbrone)
Homily II (Martha Larson)
Closing Hymn
#391 "Voice Still and Small"
Words and music by John Corrado
Voice still and small, deep inside all,
I hear you call, singing.
In storm and rain, sorrow and pain,
still we'll remain singing.
Calming my fears, quenching my tears,
through all the years, singing.
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.
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