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March 14, 2010 Fourth Sunday in Lent 11:00 am Welcome! Thank you for turning off cell phones, pagers and beepers, and for refraining from using flash photography. Please maintain a respectful and meditative quiet throughout the service, except of course when congregational participation is invited. THE GATHERING PRELUDE O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig, BWV 656 J. S. Bach *HYMN 70 God Is Here! As We Your People Meet Abbot’s Leigh *CALL TO WORSHIP (From the Iona Community) Quinn G. Caldwell One: Creator of the world, eternal God, Many: We have come from many places for a little while. One: Redeemer of humanity, God-with-us, Many: We have come with all our differences, seeking common ground. One: Spirit of the go-between God, Many: We have come on journeys of our own, to a place where journeys meet. One: So here, in this shelter house, let us take time together. Many: For when paths cross and pilgrims gather, there is much to share and celebrate. One: May the blessing of the Trinity be with us all: Many: The blessing of God, who is in this place and every place; One: The blessing of Jesus … who is among us, often unrecognized; Many: And the blessing of the Holy Spirit … encouraging us to welcome and to feel at home. One: As we greet each other, sharing this place and time, may our life in community reflect the dance of the Trinity, by which the world is blessed. *A SIGN OF OUR UNITY AND RECONCILIATION We invite you to greet those around you, wishing them “peace” or “the peace of Christ.” WORDS OF WELCOME ANTHEM Verwirf mich nicht von deinem Angesicht Johannes Brahms Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take your holy spirit away from me. —Psalm 51:11 THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM Simon James Reynolds Ryba Child of Anne Reynolds and Troy Ryba Godparents are Aris and Heena Musabji INTRODUCTIONS AND ADDRESS Nancy S. Taylor and Quinn G. Caldwell LITANY OF BAPTISM One: We are gathered to present Simon James Reynolds Ryba to the church and to dedicate him to God. What can we affirm about him? Many: That he is a child of God and made in the image of God. One: As Simon grows in our congregation, how will he know that he is a child of God, made in God’s image? Many: We will give him our love and include him in the life and ministry of this congregation. One: How will he learn of the Christian faith? Many: We will tell him about Abraham, the father of our faith; about Sarah, the mother of Isaac; about Moses and Miriam who led our ancestors out of bondage; about Ruth’s example of faithfulness; about Mary and Joseph’s openness to mystery; about the Savior, Jesus; and about the history of the church as the people of God. One: And what, in turn, will we expect of him? Many: We look forward to sitting with him at the Lord’s Table, sharing with him the costs and joys of discipleship, learning and growing with him in the Christian pilgrimage, and declaring with one voice our faith in God and God’s son, Jesus. One: Do you, Anne and Troy, parents, assume your primary responsibility for fulfilling these expectations by growing with this child in the Christian faith, helping him to become a faithful member of the church of Jesus Christ, and by offering him the nurture and support of the Christian church? Parents: With the help of God, we happily and genuinely accept this serious duty. One: And do you, the Old South congregation, pledge to work toward creating and maintaining a nurturing and challenging Christian environment for Simon? Many: We do, for he belongs to us as well. One: Then, may God be with us. Many: God help us. Amen. THE PRAYER OF BAPTISM THE ACT OF BAPTISM CONGREGATIONAL WELCOME (unison) We rejoice in God’s empowering love, freely given to each and all. We welcome you, newly baptized, into the circle of love in Christ’s church. We promise to pray for you, to seek the depths of faith with you, to support you, and to love you. We covenant with you to love God with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves. Amen. HYMN OF BAPTISM 327 (seated) Jesus Loves Me Jesus Loves Me (Children and teachers may leave for their Church School classes.) THE GIFT OF THE WORD SCRIPTURE Luke 15:1-3; 11-24 Pamela Roberts SERMON Can You Go Home Again? Donald A. Wells *HYMN 490 I Want Jesus To Go with Me African-American spiritual THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER *CALL TO PRAYER Elizabeth Myer Boulton One: God be with you. Many: And also with you. One: Lift up your hearts Many: We lift our hearts to God. One: Let us pray. (Congregation may be seated) PRAYERS OF CONFESSION AND INTERCESSION THE LORD’S PRAYER (unison) Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen. PRAYER RESPONSE Schaffe in mir, Gott, ein rein Herz Brahms Create in me a pure heart, O God, and put a new and steadfast spirit within me. —Psalm 51:10 OFFERING OURSELVES AND OUR GIFTS CALL TO THE OFFERING OFFERTORY ANTHEM Geistliches Lied Brahms Let no sad thought oppress thee; fear nothing, trust God’s own will, and be thou still, my spirit. Heed not with care and sorrow the morrow; our Maker who all doth see shall give to thee thy portion. From righteous paths then range not, and change not; be steadfast, for God is just; give God thy trust for ever. Amen. —Paul Fleming (17th c.) *SONG OF PRAISE Old Hundredth Praise God whose many names abound, Our Judge, our Rock, our Holy Ground. Our Home, our All, earth’s Majesty Love, Spirit, Light and Mystery. Amen. *PRAYER OF DEDICATION Nancy S. Taylor *HYMN Praise the Source of Faith and Learning Hyfrydol *BIDDING TO MISSION AND BENEDICTION POSTLUDE Eleven Chorale Preludes, op. 122 Brahms #1 Mein Jesu, der du mich Today, immediately following the service, all who are interested in a tour of the Sanctuary are invited to meet docent Barbara Neale at the front of the Sanctuary. TODAY AT OLD SOUTH Welcome to Old South Church in Boston. Our faith is over 2000 years old, but our thinking is not! Old South opens its doors to the city, to tourists from near and far, to the needy, to an array of building users, and to a congregation (of members, friends, and family—both the curious and the committed) who call this their church home. Join us immediately following worship for fellowship and refreshments in Gordon Chapel. Today’s flowers are given to the glory of God and in loving memory of Ruth Ann Strong by the Palma Strong Fund. Wearing name tags is a great way to facilitate community and make newcomers feel welcomed. If you don’t see a tag with your name on it, let us know—there will be one waiting for you next Sunday! Membership matters! If you are interested in deepening your participation, or if you just love Old South, it’s time to think about joining. Contact Minister for Discipleship Liz Myer Boulton at 617/536-1970 or <ejmyer@oldsouth.org>. CD recordings of today’s service may be obtained by calling the Front Desk at 617/536-1970 or emailing <reception@oldsouth.org>. Sunday sermons and worship services are also available on the Web and as podcasts at <www.oldsouth.org>. Audio of the service is available in the Gordon Chapel for those who would like a place to take restless children. Large print bulletins and hearing assistance devices are available at the Front Desk. GARAGE PARKING VALIDATIONS Old South has arrangements for discounted parking with two nearby garages. We are pleased to offer these options for Old South worship or church business (excluding weddings and concerts): 1. Park at the Garage@100 Clarendon (behind Back Bay Station), have your ticket validated at our Front Desk, and you pay the discounted rate of $7 for up to three hours. Old South bears no cost. 2. Park at the Prudential Garage for up to three hours, have your ticket validated at our Front Desk, and the Prudential Garage will bill Old South (costing us in total about $15,000 in 2009). Reminders Here in Copley Square we are just a short walk from many bus stops, subway and rail lines, cab stands, and walking/cycling paths. Bike racks are now available on Boylston Street. Find directions by transit from your address to 645 Boylston Street at <www.mbta.com>. For information or to join the Old South E-mail Forum, send an e-mail message to <communications@oldsouth.org>. NOTES ON TODAY’S MUSIC The choral music this morning is from the pen of Johannes Brahms (1833–1897), a German composer and pianist, one of the leading musicians and a towering figure of the Romantic Period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, where he was a leader of the musical scene. Brahms was at once a traditionalist and an innovator. His music is firmly rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Baroque and Classical masters. Schaffe in mir, Gott, op. 29, a setting of Psalm 51, is a four-movement work set for five voices (SATBB). The work dates from 1864, just after Brahms took a strong interest in the works of Bach. The second movement, “Verwirf mich nicht,” a wonderful example of a four-voice fugue, will be sung as the first anthem. In the key of G minor, and rife with elaborate chromaticism, it conveys with anguish the text, “Cast me not away from Your presence.” The opening movement, “Schaffe in mir,” will be sung as the Prayer Response. This motet is strongly tonal, in the key of G major, and its broad expansiveness creates a sound environment that invokes the Spirit to “Create in us clean hearts.” The offertory anthem, “Geistliches Lied” (Holy Song), op. 30, is a setting of a text by Paul Flemming for four-voice choir with organ accompaniment. In this motet, Brahms’ choral writing is clearly derived from his study of early-Baroque contrapuntal technique, undertaken initially at the library in his native city of Hamburg and intensified after meeting the Schumanns in Düsseldorf. Set in E-flat major, the work is a double canon, the tenor following the soprano and the bass the alto, each at a major ninth below. An E-flat pedal undergirds the entire “amen,” which closes with a plagal cadence, typical of Protestant hymns. The postlude is the first in a set of Eleven Chorale Preludes for Organ, op. 122, which Brahms wrote at Ischl, in Upper Austria, during the last summer of his life. He composed them in memory of his dearest and most faithful friend, Clara Schumann. Most of the Preludes deal with “last things”; though somber, they yet have a warm autumnal quality that is all Brahms’ own. Since the compositional technique of J.S. Bach was so influential in Brahms’ writing, it is fitting that the prelude this morning was written by the Baroque master. Three verses of the Lenten chorale (“O spotless Lamb of God”) are set: the first is in a three-part manuals-only texture with a slightly ornamented melody in the soprano; the second with melody in the alto; the last, in four parts, with the melody in the pedal. The range of interpretation is extraordinarily great, from the almost dreamlike quality of the first verse to the heroic grandeur of the third; the second stands between the two like a mediator. —Harry L. Huff, Minister of Music OLD SOUTH CHURCH IN BOSTON MINISTERS,
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