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Gathering Music Welcome Announcements Centering "Be the Blessing You Already Are" by John & Sarah Gibb Millspaugh Prelude "Opening a Channel" by Mary Bopp Chalice Lighting 9 AM: Words by Beatrice Hitchcock 11AM: Spirit of Light by Carolyn McDade Performed by UUSE Girl Scouts: Vera Elzerman, Charlie Vasquez-O'Brien, Maggie McGovney-Ingram, Moxie Coleman Opening Hymn #1008 "When Our Heart is In a Holy Place" by Joyce Poley Chorus When our heart is in a holy place, When our heart is in a holy place We are bless'd with love and amazing grace When our heart is in a holy place. When we trust the wisdom in each of us Ev'ry color ev'ry creed and kind, And we see our faces in each other's eyes Then our heart is in a holy place Chorus When we tell our story from deep inside, And we listen with a loving mind, And we hear our voices in each other's words, Then our heart is in a holy place. Chorus When we share the silence of sacred space, And the God of our Heart stirs within, And we feel the power of each other's faith, Then our heart is in a holy place. First Speaker: "Sacred" by Marsha Howland Joys and Concerns Musical Response Second Speaker: "Friendship" by Sage Nitzan Offering Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, fifty percent of our Sunday plate collection for the month of March will go to Moral Monday, CT. Offering Music "I Walk With the Goddess" by Kellianna Performed by Manchester Women's Sacred Singing Circle Third Speaker: "Sowing a Seed and Persevering" by Dorothy Reiss Closing Hymn #1053 "How Could Anyone" by Libby Roderick How could anyone ever tell you you were anything less than beautiful? How could anyone ever tell you you were less than whole? How could anyone fail to notice that your loving is a miracle? How deeply you're connected to my soul. Closing Words: "The Book of Hours: I, 59 by Rainer Maria Rilke 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.

“Love is the spirit of this church, and service its law. This is our great covenant: To dwell together in peace, to seek the truth in love, and to help one another.”[1] Enduring words from the late 19th, early 20th-century Unitarian minister, the Rev. James Vila Blake. These words were part of the 1894 covenant of the Church of All Souls in Evanston, Illinois, which Rev. Blake helped found.[2] Enduring words, and fitting words, on this first Sunday of March when we launch our 2024 Annual Appeal, when we invite each of us to reflect on the value UUSE holds in our lives, when we invite each of us to make the most generous financial pledge possible for the coming fiscal year. Love is the spirit of this church. What does it mean to belong to a church that centers love at this moment in history when love of self, neighbor, stranger, enemies, the other, animals, land and earth is so desperately needed? And service its law. What does it mean to belong to a congregation that takes the world beyond its meetinghouse walls into account; that responds with compassion to needs in the larger community; that advocates courageously for social and environmental justice? To dwell together in peace. What does it mean to belong to a congregation that invites us continuously to be together in multi-generational gatherings, or in small groups, theological study groups, book groups, craft groups, or for meals here or in members’ homes? To seek the truth in love. What does it mean to belong to a congregation that day-to-day, week-to-week explores the truths as the heart of our principles and offers companionship as we endeavor to center them in our living? To help one another. What does it mean to belong to a liberal congregation that cares for you in times of crisis, challenge and need? We ponder these questions all year long, but March is the month we ponder them as part of making our financial pledge to the Annual Appeal. We ponder them in dialogue with each other at pledging potlucks (please sign up if you haven’t already) or with Annual Appeal stewards (please respond promptly if a steward contacts you). We arrive at answers. And we make the most generous financial pledge to UUSE that we can. That is the essence of our Annual Appeal. As always, thank you, thank you, thank you, for your financial generosity. Thank you also to the UUSE Finance Committee for preparing our proposed budget; and to the Policy Board for their work on that proposal. And many, many thanks to the members of our Stewardship Committee who run the Annual Appeal: chair, Patricia Wildes, along with Louisa Graver, Jean Knapp, Larry Lunden, Stan McMillan, and Phil Sawyer. Thank you finally to all of our Annual Appeal stewards and potluck hosts. *** I want to share with you some experiences I’ve had here at the meetinghouse, and out in the wider community since returning from my sabbatical last month. None of this is earth-shattering, life-transforming, big-picture, visionary stuff—which I can do, and which can certainly be helpful in reminding us of the value of this congregation in our lives. But I also feel strongly that the value of a congregation—the evidence for its health and vitality—is just as easily found in its small details, its mundane interactions, its day-to-day life: the eye-contact, the smiles, the hugs, the conversations, the committee meeting check-ins, the Sunday-morning sharing, the artwork on the walls—all those very simple acts that enable us to know and be known, hold and be held, love and be loved. First, last Sunday I joined our Children and Youth Ministry (CYM) elementary program. In children’s worship we talked about one of our Unitarian spiritual ancestors, the 19th-century Philadelphia-based poet, author, educator, lecturer and abolitionist, Francis Ellen Watkins Harper.[3] Emmy talked about Harper’s efforts to protest the institution of slavery by boycotting its signature agricultural products, cotton and sugar. This led to a lively conversation with the kids about boycotts, about workers’ rights and unions. Then, they played a few rounds of the games “Unfair Monopoly” and “Unfair Candyland” under the guidance of adult volunteers and one slightly older kid who’d heard about the games and wanted to help out. In “Unfair” Monopoly and Candyland, different rules apply to different players. Some players get ahead more easily, some players fall behind more easily. It is patently unfair. The kids understood this before they played. But even so, they learned the lessons in a visceral way, so much so that during “Unfair Candyland” the kids decided to boycott until the adults made the rules fair. The follow-up discussion was critical: the real world is often like this. What can we do to change it? Across the hall Spirit Play was hoppin.’ The Our Whole Lives was meeting. The middle school Twilight Zone class was meeting. Afterwards I was feeling great about our CYM. It’s challenging to implement. It requires a lot of coordination and organizing, a lot of committed volunteers, and a talented staff. Sitting in the chapel with the elementary kids, witnessing them learning a little about UU history and boycotts, playing games to experience fairness and unfairness, and receiving into their lives that critical question, ‘how can we make a difference?’—it was clear to me all the effort is paying off. I am so glad my own children received their religious education through our CYM. I am so glad that so many young parents are currently exploring whether our CYM is right for their families. I am so glad that our ‘shared ministry’ model allows me to spend time with our young people so that they understand they have a minister. Second, one of my goals in these first few months back from sabbatical is to visit with as many members as possible, especially members who’ve been dealing with health or life challenges. I am also slowly trying to catch up with various people. If you think you should be on my list for a visit and you haven’t heard from me, please don’t be shy. Contact me. Sitting with members and friends of the congregation in my office, in your homes, over meals, over coffee, on hikes, walking dogs, playing Scrabble and other games, has always been a highly gratifying for me. It’s important to me not only to learn what is happening in your lives right now and to try to discern how I, or the Pastoral Friends Committee, or the congregation can be supportive; it’s also important to me to learn your life stories—especially the life stories of our elders: where you’re coming from, the lessons you’ve drawn from your experiences, how you’ve applied your UU principles to your living, the meaning you make of your life. In my meetings over the past month, one thing continually leaps out at me, especially for those who are facing difficult life challenges. Other members of the congregation are aware, are checking in, are helping, are listening, are caring. They’re giving rides to doctor appointments. They’re bringing meals. One member moved into another member’s house to help out after a surgery. One member is helping another with their taxes. One member is taking care of another’s cats while they’re on vacation (that’s not a crisis, but it still matters). One youth member asked an elder to mentor them on a school project related to ecology. This is church at its best. “To help one another,” as the Blake covenant says.  Or, as our UUSE mission statement says, “we care for one another.” Based on my experience since returning from sabbatical, that part of our mission is alive, well, and flourishing. I take it as a sign of our congregational health and vitality, a source of great value in our lives, and one more reason to pledge as generously as possible to our Annual Appeal. Finally, as many of you know, last Monday I was one of three recipients of the Manchester African American and Black Affairs Council’s Community Service Award. The plaque reads “Outstanding Community Service Award … presented to Rev. Josh Pawelek … in recognition for your tireless dedication and commitment to social justice and community service in Manchester, CT.” I am proud and humbled to receive this award, especially to receive it with the two other recipients, Pamela Floyd-Cranford and Diane Clare-Kearney, for whom I have immense love and respect, and from whom I’ve learned a lot. Rhonda Philbert, who conferred the award on the three of us said, essentially, that we were receiving it because, for 20 years we’ve each been deep in the struggle for racial justice in Manchester. This is true. I can recall many ways I’ve leant my voice, my energy, my power, and my vision of a beloved, antiracist, anti-oppressive, multicultural, multiracial, multi-religious society to that struggle, not only in Manchester, but statewide and, at times nationally. It’s no secret that I have a reputation in this regard. However, it isn’t my award alone. It’s our congregation’s award. This isn’t me being humble or modest. It’s just true. As the parish minister, I am often the most visible representative of the congregation, the one speaking, the one quoted in the newspaper or on the evening news. But none of that is possible without a congregation that shares ministry with its professional minister the way you do. None of it is possible without both the implicit and at times explicit agreement of the congregation that you support your minister in being that public voice on issues that matter most to you and that align with past resolutions of the congregation and the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly. None of it is possible without the support and advocacy of our Social Justice / Anti-Oppression Committee or our Sustainable Living Committee. None of it is possible without our mission, which says “We are committed to living our Unitarian Universalist principles in our daily lives, including working for justice and peace, and living in harmony with the earth.” The award has my name on it, but make no mistake, it would not have my name on it if it weren’t for this congregation, this beacon of liberal religion, here on the ancestral lands of the Podunk and Wangunk people, here on Elm Hill on the Manchester/Vernon line, above the Hockanum River, east of the Connecticut River. It’s our award—another sign of our health and vitality as a congregation; another indication of the value it holds in our lives, and one more reason to pledge as generously as possible to our Annual Appeal. *** These experiences come from the day-to-day contours of congregational life. I’m sure each of you can think of your own positive and joy-filled experiences of regular, mundane congregational life. Of course, if you look at our proposed budget for the next fiscal year, you won’t see these experiences reflected in dollar amounts. And these stories won’t tell you why we hope to raise pledge income by four percent. This year’s cost-drivers the usual cost-of-living increases for our staff; the cost of our new bookkeeper, which is essential in reducing the burden on our finance leaders; and we’re continuing to increase our building reserves to meet future building needs. There’s more, but those are the big ticket items. The Finance Committee and Policy Board are also proposing some strategic cuts in order to keep our commitment of presenting a balanced budget to the congregation at our May annual meeting. As you consider your financial pledge for the coming fiscal year, I urge you to  understand the proposed budget and what’s driving cost increases. But it’s just as important to ask and answer the question about the value this congregation holds in your life. And it’s just as important to remember that so much of that value lies in the day-to-day, the mundane, the Sunday morning interactions, the caring for one another, the children’s lessons, the commitment to a more just society, and all the love that holds, nourishes and expresses the spirit of this church. Thank you for your generosity. Amen and blessed be. [1] Blake, James Vila, “Love is the Spirit of this Church,” Singing the Living Tradition (Boston: UUA and Beacon Press, 1993) #473. [2] Jacqui James, ed., Between the Lines: Sources for Singing the Living Tradition (Boston: Skinner House Books, 1998) p. 109. Also visit the Harvard Square Library, an online collection of Unitarian Universalist biographies, history, books and media, at https://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/biographies-new/blake-james-vila-1842-1925/. [3] Learn about Francis Ellen Watkins Harper at the National Womens History Museum website at https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/frances-ellen-watkins-harper.

Gathering Music "Thankful" by the Juicebox Jukebox performed by Meetinghouse Welcome (Rev. Josh Pawelek) Announcements Centering Prelude "Count on Me" by Bruno Mars performed by Meetinghouse Chalice Lighting and Opening Words "Love is The Spirit of This Church" by James Villa Blake Love is the spirit of this church, and service its law. This is our great covenant: To dwell together in peace, To seek the truth in love, And to help one another. Opening Hymn #1 "May Nothing Evil Cross This Door" words by Louis Untermeyer music by Robert N. Quaile performed by Meetinghouse 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. Time for All Ages "What Things Cost" Rev. Josh Pawelek Music "Count on Me" (Reprise) by Bruno Mars performed by Meetinghouse Joys and Concerns Offering The recipient of our March community outreach offering is Moral Monday CT, a statewide coalition of individuals and organizations, rooted in the social justice and civil rights movements. Based in Hartford, Moral Monday CT gathers voices in the struggle for freedom and justice for black and brown people. Their areas of focus, activism and social change work include police accountability, voting rights, and workers rights. Moral Monday CT was founded by Bishop John Selders and Lady Pamela Selders. Offering Music "Brighter than the Sun" by Colbie Caillat performed by Meetinghouse Sermon "Love is the Spirit of This Church" Rev. Josh Pawelek Closing Music "Stand by You" by Rachel Platten performed by Meetinghouse 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.

"We will only save what we love." --Sisters of the Earth Gathering Music Welcome & Announcements Centering Prelude "For the Love of Place" Created by Dan Thompson for UUSE Dan Thompson guitar, bass, drums, keys, manipulated vocal samples (video) Introduction of Service Chalice Lighting & Opening Words (in unison) We light this chalice To abet creation and to witness to it To notice each other's beautiful face and complex nature So that creation need not play to an empty house --(Annie Dillard) Opening Hymn #21 "For the Beauty of the Earth" Words: Folliott Sandford Pierpoint; Music: Conrad Kocher For the beauty of the earth, for the splendor of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies Source of all, to thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. For the joy of ear and eye, for the heart and mind's delight, for the mystic harmony linking sense to sound and sight: Source of all, to thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. For the wonder of each hour of the day and of the night, hill and vale and tree and flower, sun and moon and stars of light: Source of all, to thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. For the joy of human care, sister, brother, parent, child, for the kinship we all share, for all gentle thoughts and mild: Source of all, to thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. Joys and Concerns Musical Response Words of Meditation and Prayer Musical Response Story: "The Agreement" (Attr. Barry Lopez) Offering Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, fifty percent of the unspecified Sunday plate collections for the month of February will go to Manchester's African American and Black Affairs Council. Offering Music "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" Music: Harold Arlen; Lyrics: Yip Harburg Performed by Sandy Johnson, vocals & Dan Thompson, guitar & vocals Sermon: "For the Love of ... Place" (Rev. Alison Cornish) Closing Hymn #1064 "Blue Boat Home" Words: © 2002 Peter Mayer; Music: Roland Hugh Prichard 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 upholding 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. Closing Words & Extinguishing the Chalice (in unison) We extinguish the chalice here that it might glow gently in our hearts. May it light our paths as we leave this place. (Adapted -- Martha Musson) 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.

(Artist: Vera Elzerman) Gathering Music (Mary Bopp) Welcome (Emmy Galbraith) Announcements (Rev. Josh Pawelek) Centering Prelude "Love Can Build a Bridge" by Naomi Judd, John Barlow Jarvis and Paul Overstreet Jeannine Westbrook, vocals Kate Howard-Bender, vocals, guitar Chalice Lighting "Out of the Flames" by the Rev. Sara LaWall Sam Gonzalez, speaker (11:00) Opening Hymn #153 "Oh, I Woke Up This Morning" African American spiritual, c. 1750-1875 adapted during the American Civil Rights Movement Oh, I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on freedom. Woke up this morning with my mind stayed on freedom. Woke up this morning with my mind stayed on freedom. Hallelu, Hallelu, Halleluia. I was walking and talking with my mind ... I was singing and praying with my mind ... Oh, I woke up this morning with my mind ... Time for All Ages "Exploring the Platinum Rule" Vera Elzerman (11:00), Emmy Galbraith, Rev. Josh Pawelek Musical Meditation Joys and Concerns Musical Meditation Offering Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, and in recognition of Black History Month, fifty percent of our Sunday plate collections for the month of February will go to Manchester's African American and Black Affairs Council or AABAC, a community-based organization whose mission is to uphold all aspects of the lived experiences of Black people in Manchester through advocacy, education, and community endeavors. AABAC is sponsoring a Black History Month event on Monday, February 26th at Manchester High School's Bailey Auditorium entitled, "The Stories We Tell" Offering Music "Hands" by Jewel Kilcher and Patrick Leonard Jeannine Westbrook, vocals Kate Howard-Bender, vocals, piano Reflections and Dialogue "If You Could Fix One Thing" Rev. Josh Pawelek Closing Hymn #155 "Circle 'Round for Freedom" by Linda Hirschhorn Circle 'round for freedom, circle 'round for peace, for all of us imprisoned, circle for release, circle for the planet, circle for each soul, for the children of our children, keep the circle whole. Closing Words "Benediction to Build a World" Atena O. Danner In what world are you powerful? In this world we can build people power, together. In what world do you act on knowledge and truth? In this world we can learn and move toward justice together. In what world do you hold to your values in the face of what scares you? In this world we can affirm each other's resolve to do right together. In what world are you confident in your worth? In this world we can affirm that each of us is enough. In what world do faith and beliefs guide your choices? Together, we can build this world. In what world can you learn from those with less power? Together, we can build this world. In what world could empathy shield you from judging others? Together, we can build this world. In what world will your power plant roots, and tend to branches and leaves? Together, we can build this world. 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.

Artwork: "Grace." early 20-th century black and white photograph by Eric Enstrom, later "colorized" by Enstrom's daughter Rhoda Nyberg. "Grace" is the official state photograph of Minnesota. Gathering Music (Mary Bopp) Welcome and Announcements (Rev. Josh Pawelek) Centering Prelude Violin and Oboe Concerto in C Minor, Movement I by J. S. Bach Chalice Lighting and Opening Words Opening Hymn #347 "Gather the Spirit" words and music by Jim Scott Gather the spirit, harvest the power. Our sep'rate fires will kindle one flame. Witness the mystery of this hour. Our trials in this light appear all the same. Gather in peace, gather in thanks. Gather in sympathy now and then. Gather in hope, compassion and strength. Gather to celebrate once again. Gather the spirit of heart and mind. Seeds for the sowing are laid in store. Nurtured in love, and conscience refined, with body and spirit united once more. Gather in peace, gather in thanks. Gather in sympathy now and then. Gather in hope, compassion and strength. Gather to celebrate once again. Gather the spirit growing in all, drawn by the moon and fed by the sun. Winter to spring, and summer to fall, the chorus of life resounding as one. Gather in peace, gather in thanks. Gather in sympathy now and then. Gather in hope, compassion and strength. Gather to celebrate once again. Silence Meditation Musical Meditation #123 "Spirit of Life" by Carolyn McDade Spirit of Life, come unto me. Sing in my heart all the stirrings of compassion. Blow in the wind, rise in the sea; move in the hand, giving life the shape of justice. Roots hold me close; wings set me free; Spirit of Life, come to me, come to me. Joys and Concerns Musical Interlude Offering Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, and in recognition of Black History Month, fifty percent of our Sunday plate collections for the month of February will go to Manchester's African American and Black Affairs Council or AABAC. AABAC is a community based organization whose mission is to uphold all aspects of the lived experiences of Black people through advocacy education, and community endeavors. AABAC strives to eliminate injustices experienced by Black people in Manchester, CT, through engagement with Manchester residents, community partners and allies. Offering Music Violin and Oboe Concerto in C Minor, Movement II by J. S. Bach Sermon "Worth Praying For" Rev. Josh Pawelek Closing Music Violin and Oboe Concerto in C Minor, Movement III by J. S. Bach 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.

During my sabbatical I twice had the opportunity to visit Hanover, PA, my mother’s birthplace, the town where she grew up—about 40 minutes south of Harrisburg, and 40 minutes north of Baltimore. Her three siblings still live there. For seventy years her family ran W.L. Sterner’s, a hardware and farm store on Frederick St., which my grandfather, Walter Leroy Sterner, opened during the great depression. When I was growing up, Hanover was a rural farming community with a downtown that felt a lot like the downtown in the Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” I didn’t know it as a child, but Hanover was already in transition at that time. Today, much of the farmland I loved has been sold off and developed for housing and strip malls. Hanover now feels very suburban, and has become a far, outer-ring suburb of Baltimore. I went there in October to visit nearby Gettysburg College with my son, Max; and again in January with my mom to visit family. On both trips I sat in the kitchen nook in my uncle’s home where a print of Eric Enstrom’s iconic photograph, “Grace,” is prominently displayed. Of course, ‘prominent’ is not an apt description. The image of an older, bearded, white-haired man wearing a flannel shirt and praying over a simple meal of bread and soup, a Bible nearby, is so peaceful, so still, so quiet, that even when prominently displayed, it refuses to take over the room. It’s an unassuming and humble image, soft, muted. It invites inward contemplation, far more than any kind of outward action. A 2018 Minnesota Public Radio story commemorates the photo’s 100th anniversary. The photographer, Enstrom, was a Swedish immigrant who’d settled in the mining town of Bovey, MN. The lore usually identifies 1918 as the year he took the photo, though it may have been a few years later. The man who sat for the photo, Charles Wilden, was a local peddler. I’ve seen some references to him being an alcoholic. Enstrom eventually paid Wilden $5 for the rights to his image, and from then on Wilden is missing from history. There’s also considerable evidence that the book on the table is a dictionary, not a Bible, though Enstrom clearly meant for it to appear as a Bible. The original photo was black and white. Enstrom, and later his daughter, colored the photo (I’m not sure what technique they used) and eventually sold the rights to the Augsburg Publishing House in Minneapolis who mass-produced it. It’s that mass-produced, colorized version that hangs in my uncle’s home in Hanover. I’ve been looking at it every time I’ve visited his home for my entire life. As a child, “Grace” revealed to me a way of being spiritual. Quiet. Still. Inward. Contemplative. Grateful. I would later learn that among German Lutherans in the 1700s and early eighteen hundred, a movement known as pietism downplayed the emphasis on church doctrine and dogma and promoted a more personal faith, a personal relationship with the divine, a prayerful life, a simple life, and again, a grateful life. My mother’s family would have been inheritors of the legacies of pietism—even if they didn’t use that term. I suspect Minnesota’s Lutheran immigrant communities, though more Scandinavian than German, would have brought a similar spiritual legacy with them to the United States. I didn’t fully understand this spirituality as a child. I was being raised in a decidedly humanist Unitarian Universalist congregation in New Haven. Stillness and contemplation, yes. But the idea of a personal relationship with God, accessed primarily through prayer, no. I didn’t  have that spiritual model as a UU kid. And I don’t remember UU adults ever expressing that kind of spiritual need. But there it was, on the wall in my uncle’s home, a different way, and a bit mysterious. It never made me feel that I needed to have a personal relationship with a deity, but it was calming. It was peaceful. And if nothing else, it taught me, very gently, that pausing through the course of one’s day—pausing to express gratitude, to reflect on the events of the day; pausing just for brief moment of quiet—pausing matters. In my young adult years I was active, "Grace" didn't say much to me. First, in my 20s, I was playing in rock bands in Boston. In my early 30s I was in grad school, studying for the ministry, and growing into an activist identity. In my late 30s and 40s I was putting all I’d learned into practice. You are a very active congregation and I have always felt called here to match your activity with lots of energy and enthusiasm. I’ve also been a fighter—for marriage equality, environmental justice, universal health care, affordable housing, transgender rights, immigrants’ rights, domestic worker rights, Black Lives Matter—the list is long. As you know, that fighting—we can also call it organizing, protesting, advocating, witnessing—has been a prominent dimension of my ministry. So during my young adult to middle-age years, I didn’t have much patience for “Grace” whenever I’d see it. I didn’t dismiss it out of hand. It just didn’t speak to me. It seemed to be asking for too great a withdrawal from the world. I felt there was too much at stake in the world for “Grace” to be a guiding image for spirituality and spiritual practice. I needed an image that was engaged, active—grounded, certainly—but moving, flowing, powerful. Here’s a photo I took of my niece, MJ, leading chants at a rally in New Haven two years ago with Recovery for All (now CT for All). What’s important to me about this image is that the values at the heart of her religion—she’s a Reform Jew—values which align very much with our Unitarian Universalist principles—are being professed outwardly, in public, with a bullhorn, during a march. I could also show you photos of game night, the fair, the auction, children and youth ministry here at UUSE. We don't use a bull horn, but there's a lot of action and energy. Contrast such highly active expressions of faith with the quiet, calm, contemplative faith in Enstrom’s “Grace.” It’s also possible “Grace” didn’t speak to me during those years because my childhood image of Hanover—that rural, farm-centered, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” existence—had finally been overtaken by suburban sprawl and strip malls. [Of course, that didn’t just happen in Hanover. It happened everywhere, including Connecticut.] On my two recent visits to my uncle’s home, I had an unexpected emotional response to “Grace.” I felt grief. Looking at the photo now, it speaks to me about something that’s been lost. I even began to wonder if the man in the photo, Mr. Wilden, was carrying some personal grief, which was speaking to me all these years later, even though that wasn’t the photographer’s intent.  The Minnesota Public Radio piece mentions how many people had died that year from the Spanish flu. Perhaps Mr. Wilden lost someone in that pandemic. It sounds like he was poor, making his living selling some kind of wares door to door. It’s possible he was an addict in an era that didn’t know what to do with addicts other than shun them. It’s possible he, too, felt something had been lost. It’s possible he, too, was grieving. In thinking about Mr. Wilden as a person living with grief, it occurred to me that some things are worth praying for. That’s what “Grace” is saying to me at this point in my life. “Some things are worth praying for.” I no longer experience “Grace” as an image of withdrawal. Some religions call for withdrawal, citing the world’s sinfulness, depravity and evil. They say there is no way to be in holy relationship such a world, so don’t engage. But that has never been the Unitarian Universalist way. It has never been the liberal religious way. We love the world. To us the world is ultimately good. So we engage. But “Grace” reminds me that we can’t be constantly engaged, constantly active, constantly fighting. That kind of constancy yields an unbalanced spiritual life. It’s a recipe for spiritual, mental, emotion and physical burnout. Pausing matters. Don’t rush through. Take your time. Reflect on the events of your day. Express your gratitude for a meal, for the people and all the blessings in your life. It matters. Give your pain and fear over to a power greater than yourself. It matters. Shut your eyes, breathe, keep silent, humbly acknowledging your smallness either in the presence of God or before the vastness of the universe. It matters. Pausing brings necessary balance to your times of action and engagement. “Some Things are Worth Praying For.” That’s my sermon title, but it’s not the full sentiment. The full sentiment is “Some things are worth praying for; and in some moments praying may be all we can do.” When despair and hopelessness rise in us, when we feel powerless in the face of all the things we cannot change, praying may be all we can do. And I say it is worth praying. It is worth saying the words out loud. I felt this way—and I suspect you may have too—in response to the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel. I feel this way now—and I suspect you may too—in response to the state of Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza. I pray for an end to the killing of so many Palestinians and I pray for all those Israelis and Palestinians who are grieving the deaths of loved-ones and neighbors. I pray for the safe return of the remaining Israeli hostages. I pray for a ceasefire. I pray that the war will not escalate. And, though I know there are some who will not like to hear me say this, I pray that those with power who are waging this war—and who have been waging it for generations—whether directly or behind the scenes, whether in Washington, DC, Tehran, Tel Aviv, Ramallah or Gaza City; whether from the air with drones, or in tunnels a mile underground—I pray they will find the moral clarity to realize the use of violence solves nothing. I pray they will find the moral courage to put down their arms and put up the foundations for a lasting peace, one that honors the longing in both Jewish and Palestinian hearts for a homeland. I imagine to some I sound naïve. So be it. When all I can do is pray, this is my prayer. *** Some things are worth praying for; and in some moments praying may be all we can do. If that is the case, then I urge you to pray—or learn to pray if it isn’t your practice. Now when I view “Grace” at age 56, this is what comes to me. The war in Gaza is one star in a constellation of troubles that is worth praying for. I’m sure each of you has a list—from the very personal to the global—of things worth praying for. This morning, in addition to the war, I’m thinking about climate change and the increasing prevalence of climate catastrophes around the world. This morning I’m mindful we’re in an election year, and by all predictions, it’s going to be an ugly and divisive year. This morning I’m thinking of members and friends in our congregation who are facing difficult life challenges. A constellation of troubles worth praying for. When we don’t have the power to make the troubles go away, our prayers still matter. Speaking the words out loud matters. Whether we’re speaking them to a personal, immanent divinity, a transcendent God, a quiet, present mystery, a vast, impersonal universe, a congregational community, our family members before a meal, or just to ourselves, it matters. Saying the words out loud means something more than the words themselves. It means we’ve decided not to give up, whatever the struggle is. It means we’ve decided not to give in to helplessness or despair, not to put our heads in the sand, not to withdraw from the world. It means that in the midst of our anxiety, our rage, our fear, our grief, our sense that something has been lost, we can still name to ourselves—and whoever else is listening—how things could be better, how there could be more love in the world, more compassion, more care, more justice—how things could be different, how we ourselves could be different. Some things are worth praying for; and in some moments praying may be all we can do. In such moments, I say pray. Pray loudly and unapologetically. And my prayer for you is that in your prayers you will find the words that remind you a better world is possible. Amen and blessed be.

Gathering Music Welcome & Announcements Centering Prelude "Illumination" Improvisation by Mary Bopp Chalice Lighting & Opening Words: "Where equity and justice transcend mere dreams" (Dr. David Breeden) Welcome to this place where equity and justice transcend mere dreams; where they are the air we breathe. Enter this sanctuary, all who yearn for respite from a world rife with scarcity & inequity; rife with the relentless shackles of privilege and bias. come, embrace this space; be embraced by this place, this refuge where scarcity and disparity dissolve into we, together, crafting a place where the breath of life is equity and justice ... cherished, manifested, sustained. Opening Hymn #159 "This is My Song" Words: Lloyd Stone; Music: Jean Sibelius This is my song, O God of all the nations, a song of peace for lands afar and mine. This is my home, the country where my heart is, here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine, but other hearts in other lands are beating with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine. My country's skies are bluer than the ocean, and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine, but other lands have sunlight too, and clover, and skies are everywhere as blue as mine. O hear my song, thou God of all the nations, A song of peace for their land and for mine. Prayer/Meditation: "In These Times in which the Ground Feels Shaky" (Rev. Joan Javier-Duval) In these times in which the ground feels shaky And our hands and feet unsteady We turn to you Oh, Source of Strength, Spirit of Compassion For we do not know what the future holds Truly, we can never know And we need strength in these times of uncertainty We need the strength and the fortitude to hold on, to see clearly, to reach out in love. May we find guidance within ourselves and beyond ourselves May we be restless for truth when truth is cast aside, May we be seekers of peace as the drumbeats of war grow louder around us, May we hear and sound the alarm for our planet as fires rage and ravage, And, in all this, may Love rule our hearts. May we know the Source of Love within us and stay grounded in that source As we grieve, as we grapple with the unknown, as we work towards creating a more just, peaceful, and sustainable present and future together. So May it be. Amen Welcoming Visitors and Joys & Concerns Musical Meditation Offering Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, and in recognition of Black History Month, fifty percent of our Sunday plate collections for the month of February will go to Manchester's African American and Black Affairs Council or AABAC. AABAC is a community-based organization whose mission is to uphold all aspects of the lived experiences of Black people through advocacy, education, and community endeavors. AABAC strives to eliminate injustices experienced by Black people in Manchester, CT, through engagement with Manchester residents, community partners and allies. Offertory "Black Hole Sun" Chris Cornell; arr. Mary Bopp Prayer: "Your Guiding Power" (Rabbi Sydney Greenberg) God, your word brings on the twilight of evening. The heavens proclaim your glory. And we, your creatures on earth, Behold in wonder Your endless miracles. Help us to recognize your guiding power in distant galaxies and in our own souls. Teach us your law of righteousness and love So that Your spirit may govern our lives. God of peace, bless our worship; May our meditations find favor in your sight. May our gratitude for your wonders Lead us in love, to your service, So that, like the changing seasons, the days, the nights, Our lives too, will proclaim your glory. Amen Sermon: "Reflecting God's Light into the Dark Places" (Rabbi Konigsburg) Closing Hymn #118 "This Little Light of Mine" Words & Music: African American spiritual This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Ev'rywhere I go, I'm gonna let it shine. Ev'rywhere I go, I'm gonna let it shine. Ev'rywhere I go, I'm gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Building up a world, I'm gonna let it shine. Building up a world, I'm gonna let it shine. Building up a world, I'm gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Closing Words: "Rekindle Commitment" (Rev. Jenn Gracen) May we go forward From this gathering Ready to commit again To sharing the gift of justice and equity With this hurting world. Go in peace, Go in love. 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.

Gathering Music Welcome and Announcements Centering Prelude "Lovingly" Improvisation by Mary Bopp Service Introduction Chalice Lighting and Opening Words from Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O'Donohue Opening Hymn "There is More Love Somewhere" #95 in Singing the Living Tradition Words & music: African American hymn 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 ... Joys and Concerns Musical Meditation Story: A Lamp in Every Corner by Janeen K. Grohsmeyer Offering For the month of January, the recipient of our community outreach offering is the CT Alliance to End Sexual Violence. Their mission is to create communities free of sexual violence and to provide culturally affirming, trauma-informed advocacy, prevention, and intervention services centered on the voices of survivors. The Alliance seeks to create a world in which everyone believes sexual violence is a preventable problem and actively plays a role in ending it. Offering Music "Answering the Call of Love" Music by Jason Shelton; Arranged by Mary Bopp Sermon Closing Hymn "I've Got Peace Like a River" #100 in Singing the Living Tradition Words and Music: Marvin V. Frey I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river in my soul. I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river in my soul. I've got joy like a fountain ... I've got love like an ocean ... I've got pain like an arrow ... I've got tears like the raindrops ... I've got strength like a mountain ... Extinguishing the Chalice Closing Words from How to Love by Thich Nhat Hanh 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.

Gathering Music Welcome & Announcements Prelude Selections from Dvorak's New World Symphony Dorothy Bognar, piano Chalice Lighting and Opening Words Opening Hymn #1 "May Nothing Evil Cross This Door" Words: Louis Untermeyer; Music: Robert N. Quaile Dorothy Bognar, piano 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 ev'ry 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. Introduction to the Service & Readings From "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" by Ocean Uvong Statement from the National Association of Realtors 1924 Code of Ethics Musical Interlude "UU Benediction" by Dorothy Bognar Dorothy Bognar, piano Joys and Concerns Musical Interlude "Home, Sweet Home" by Sir Henry Bishop and John Howard Payne Dorothy Bognar, piano Offering For the month of January, the recipient of our community outreach offering is the CT Alliance to End Sexual Violence. Their mission is to create communities free of sexual violence and to provide culturally affirming, trauma-informed advocacy, prevention, and intervention services centered on the voices of survivors. The Alliance seeks to create a world in which everyone believes sexual violence is a preventable problem and actively plays a role in ending it. Offering Music "Ave verum corpus" By W. A. Mozart, Arranged by Franz Liszt Dorothy Bognar, piano Reading: "I, too, sing America" by Langston Hughes; read by Erin Boggs Guest Speaker: Erin Boggs, Executive Director of Open Communities Alliance Closing Hymn #1008 "When Our Heart Is in a Holy Place" Words & music: Joyce Poley Keyboard arr. Lorne Kellett Chorus: When our heart is in a holy place, When our heart is in a holy place, We are bless’d with love and amazing grace, When our heart is in a holy place. When we trust the wisdom in each of us, Ev’ry color ev’ry creed and kind, And we see our faces in each other’s eyes, Then our heart is in a holy place. When we tell our story from deep inside, And we listen with a loving mind, And we hear our voices in each other’s words, Then our heart is in a holy place. When we share the silence of sacred space, And the God of our Heart stirs within, And we feel the power of each other’s faith, Then our heart is in a holy place. Extinguishing the Chalice and Closing Words 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.

Gathering Music Welcome & Announcements Prelude "Try to Remember" by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt Chalice Lighting Introduction to the Service Hymn "Dark of Winter" #55 in Singing the Living Tradition Words & Music: Shelley Jackson Denham 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, brings 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. Reading: "I Felt It Deeply" -- from a post on the website DEEPLY I Felt It Elder Video I A Time for Sharing: Introductions, Joys & Concerns Offertory Offertory Music "Fields of Gold" by Sting arranged by Eva Cassidy Hymn "Voice Still and Small" #391 in Singing the Living Tradition Words & Music: John Corrado Voice still and small, deep inside all, I hear you call, singing. In dark and rain, sorrow and pain, still you remain singing. Calming my fears, quenching my tears, through all the years, singing. Nancy's Reflections Elder Video II Closing Words (from a post on the website DEEPLY I Felt It Extinguishing the Chalice #456 in Singing the Living Tradition by Elizabeth Selle Jones 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 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.

"We will only save what we love" Sisters of the Earth Gathering Music Welcome & Announcements Centering Prelude "Heart is Where the Home Is" Improvisation – Mary Bopp Introduction to the Service Chalice Lighting & Opening Words (in unison) We light this chalice To abet creation and to witness to it To notice each other’s beautiful face and complex nature So that creation need not play to an empty house. (Annie Dillard) Opening Hymn "For the Beauty of the Earth" #21 in Singing the Living Tradition Words: Folliott Sandford Pierpoint, 1835-1917 adapt. Music: Conrad Kocher, 1786-1872, abridged For the beauty of the earth, for the splendor of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies: Source of all, to thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. For the joy of ear and eye, for the heart and mind’s delight, for the mystic harmony linking sense to sound and sight: Source of all, to thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. For the wonder of each hour of the day and of the night, hill and vale and tree and flower, sun and moon and stars of light: Source of all, to thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. For the joy of human care, sister, brother, parent, child, for the kinship we all share, for all gentle thoughts and mild: Source of all, to thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. Silent Meditation Joys and Concerns Words of Meditation and Prayer Musical Response Story: "The Agreement" (Attr. Barry Lopez) Offering Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, fifty percent of the unspecified Sunday plate collections for the month of January will go to the CT Alliance to End Sexual Violence. Offering Music Somewhere Over the Rainbow Music: Harold Arlen.  Lyrics: Yip Harburg Performed. By Sandy Johnson & Dan Thompson Sermon: “For the Love of Place ...” (Rev. Alison Cornish) Closing Hymn Blue Boat Home #1064 in Singing the Journey Words: Peter Mayer, 1963 - , ©2002 Peter Mayer Music: Roland Hugh Prichard, 1811-1887, adapted by Peter Mayer Keyboard arr: Jason Shelton, 1972- 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 upholding 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. Closing Words & Extinguishing the Chalice (in unison) We extinguish the chalice here that it might glow gently in our hearts. May it light our paths as we leave this place. (Adapted – Martha Musson) 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.