Pentecost Sunday
May 11, 2008
11:00 am


THE GATHERING


PRELUDE       Choral Variations on Veni Creator Spiritus      Maurice Duruflé

*HYMN (see insert)          Hail, O Festal Day              Salve Festa Dies

*CALL TO WORSHIP
Quinn G. Caldwell
   One:    Breath of God,
        Breath of life,
        Breath of deepest yearning,
   Many:    Come, Holy Spirit, come!
   One:    Comforter,
          Disturber,
          Interpreter,
          Interrupter,
          Enthuser,
    Many:    Come, Holy Spirit, come!
    One:    Heavenly Friend,
        Lamplighter,
        Revealer of truth,
        Midwife of change,
    Many:    Come, Holy Spirit, come!
    One:    God is here!
    Many:    God’s Spirit is with us!

*A SIGN OF OUR UNITY AND RECONCILIATION
Please greet those around you wishing them “peace” or “the peace of Christ.”

WORDS OF WELCOME

ANTHEM            Great Day!                African-American Spiritual
arr. Marvin Curtis

Great day, great day, the righteous marching!
Great day, God’s gonna build up Zion’s walls,
God’s gonna build up Zion’s walls.

Chariot rode on the mountain top,
God’s gonna build up Zion’s walls.
My God spoke and the chariot did stop,
God’s gonna build up Zion’s walls.

This is the day of jubilee!
God’s gonna build up Zion’s walls,
Our God has set the people free!
God’s gonna build up Zion’s walls.
—Traditional

THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM

Ruby Sue Pereira
Child of Jayson and Lesley Pereira
Rebecca Pereira and Ryan Bennett, Godparents

Sierra Fireball Godfrey
Child of Joanne Roberts and Brent Godfrey
Chris Lapierre, Mathew Lapierre, Steven Lapierre, Caroline Godfrey,
Godparents

INTRODUCTIONS AND ADDRESS                    Nancy S. Taylor and
Quinn G. Caldwell

LITANY OF BAPTISM
One:     We are gathered to present Ruby Sue Pereira and Sierra Fireball
Godfrey to the church and to dedicate them to God. What can we affirm about
them?
Many:    That they are children of God and made in the image of God.
One:    As these children grow in our congregation, how will they know that
they are children of God, made in God’s image?
Many:    We will give them our love and include them in the life and ministry
of this congregation.
One:    How will they learn of the Christian faith?
Many:    Through our education programs and by our lives, we will tell them
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 the Jewish hope for a messiah; 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 them?
Many:    We look forward to sitting with them at the Lord’s Table, sharing
with them the costs and joys of discipleship, learning and growing with them
in the Christian pilgrimage, and declaring with one voice our faith in God
and God’s son, Jesus.
One:    Do you, Jayson and Lesley, Joanne and Brent, parents, and Rebecca,
Chris, Mathew, Steven and Caroline, Godparents, assume your primary
responsibility for fulfilling these expectations by growing with these
children in the Christian faith, helping them to become faithful members of
the church of Jesus Christ, and by offering them the nurture and support of
the Christian church?
Parents & Godparents: 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 these children?
Many:    We do, for they belong to us as well.
One:    Then, may God be with us.
Many:    God help us. Amen.

THE PRAYER AND THE ACT OF BAPTISM

CONGREGATIONAL WELCOME (unison)         Candace Kosturko, Deacon
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 282        Every Time I Feel the Spirit
African-American Spiritual

SCRIPTURE                     Acts 2:1-21                Quinn G. Caldwell
The story of Pentecost tells of the dramatic birth of the Christian church.
The story includes a violent wind, tongues of fire and charges of
drunkenness!
Today we enact an Italian Pentecost custom: scattering rose petals from the
ceilings of churches to imitate the fiery tongues.
(Children and teachers may leave for their Church School classes.)

SERMON DIALOGUE                  A Violent Wind                
Beverly Morgan-Welch
Executive Director, Museum of African-American History
Nancy S. Taylor
Senior Minister, Old South Church in Boston

*HYMN 309                   We Are Your People              Whitfield

*CALL TO PRAYER                               Robert W. Brown
    One:        God be with you
    Many:        And also with you.
    One:        May the peace of Christ dwell in your hearts.
    Many:        Christ is our peace, our light, and our hope.
    One:        Let us pray. (The congregation may be seated.)

PASTORAL PRAYER

THE LORD’S PRAYER
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            Spirit of the Living God      Iverson

OFFERING OURSELVES AND OUR GIFTS

CALL TO THE OFFERING
The Christian Service and Outreach Committee is sponsoring a special
collection today for the victims of the recent cyclone in Myanmar. The Committee will match this offering up to $2000. Please write “Myanmar” in the memo line of a check made out to Old South Church, or place cash offerings in the envelopes provided in the pews.

OFFERTORY ANTHEM                There Is One Body
Harry L. Huff
There is one body, and one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your
calling— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Maker of all,
who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift
of Christ.

(Latin) Come, Creator spirit, rest within our souls.
Come with thy grace and heavenly aid and fill our hearts.
O Finger of the Divine Hand, impart the sevenfold gifts of grace.
True Promise of the Eternal, endow our tongues with speech.

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son
of God,  unto a perfect human, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
—Ephesians 4:4-7; Latin, 9th c.; Ephesians 4:13

*SONG OF PRAISE                            Lasst Uns Erfreuen
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Christ the Word in flesh born low; Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise Holy Spirit evermore; One God, Triune, whom we adore.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen!

*PRAYER OF DEDICATION                             Quinn G. Caldwell

*HYMN (see insert)          Praise the Spirit in Creation                  Julion

*BIDDING TO MISSION AND BENEDICTION                Nancy S. Taylor

POSTLUDE    Fantasia super: Komm, heiliger Geist, Herre Gott, BWV 651
J.S. Bach

Today, immediately following the postlude, all who are interested in a tour
of the Sanctuary are invited to meet Docent Gregg Plummer at the front of
the Sanctuary.

OUR SACRED CONVERSATION ON RACE CONTINUES…
Following worship at 12:30 pm in the Children’s Chapel, join Senior Minister
Nancy Taylor as we continue our conversation, debrief today’s sermon,
and talk about next steps.

David Clark to wed Elise Person
Saturday, May 17th at 3:45 pm
Gordon Chapel, Old South Church in Boston
David and Elise warmly invite the Old South congregation to their wedding.
Join them as they celebrate this happy day! David is a member of Old South
Church and former Clerk of Council. Elise is a member of the Cambridge
Friends Meeting. As they unite in marriage, so will their spiritual
traditions unite. Elise and David will be married under the Quaker
tradition.

A reception will follow the ceremony in the fourth floor Guild Rooms.


                    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 for fellowship and
refreshments in Gordon Chapel immediately following worship.

The flowers today are given by Janet Bayley in loving memory of her mother,
Mrs. Jessie Carr, and her brother, Leonard Jarvis Carr.

Today’s banner-bearers are Tracy Keene and Timothy Longman. They joined Old South in April 2007.

More than thirty volunteers are extending hospitality to visitors and
parishioners. In addition, over twenty volunteers sing in the choir, while
others teach in the Church School. If you’re interested in volunteering for
hospitality tasks, please call Betty Smith at 781/721-7777; to sing with the
choir, call Harry Huff at 617/425-5146; to learn about the church school,
call Tricia Hazeltine at 617/536-1970.

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 at Old South is a vital avenue to full participation in the life
and ministry of the church. If interested, contact Associate Minister Quinn
Caldwell at 617/536-1970 or <quinn@oldsouth.org>.

CD recordings of today’s service may be obtained by calling Jessica
Goodknight 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>.


                    NOTES ON TODAY’S MUSIC

Today is Pentecost, perhaps the most important festival of the church year,
as it marks the birthday of the Christian church. The miraculous events of
the first Pentecost took place in Jerusalem at 9 am (“the third hour of the
day”), ten days following Christ’s Ascension. The community of Christ’s
disciples, approximately 120 people, was gathered “into an upper room” in a
building that tradition locates on Mount Zion. Tradition also states that it
was the same room where Jesus ate the Last Supper. The Book of Acts relates the sensational occasion: “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, which sat upon
each of them. And they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak
with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” The phenomenon of
these supernatural gifts was witnessed by a large crowd, causing confusion
and awe: “When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.” Then the Apostle Peter, standing with the eleven other apostles, spoke to the crowd. He explained that these strange events had been predicted by the prophet Joel and by David.  He then exhorted his listeners to turn to Christ, to repent and be baptized, to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. About three
thousand responded to Peter’s sermon and were baptized and were therefore “added” to the number of believers.

The African-American spiritual, Great Day!, although not specifically
related to the events of Pentecost, nevertheless captures the euphoria of
that astounding occasion, as does the spiritual Every Time I Feel the
Spirit. Those yearning for freedom from slavery found a kindred voice in the narrative of the liberation by the Holy Spirit.

The offertory anthem, There Is One Body, was written in honor of the
ordination of Rev. Gerald Alexander at Calvary Church in New York City on January 24, 1982. It is a mystical setting of the text from Ephesians that
speaks of the sevenfold gifts imparted by the Spirit. In the middle of the
piece the Gregorian chant for Pentecost, Veni Creator Spiritus, is heard in
Latin—first in unison, then in canon, which is meant to depict the
disciples’ speaking in other tongues. This composition, utilizing
Impressionistic techniques and the whole-tone scale, was originally written
with the inclusion of vibraphone to create an extra-terrestrial atmosphere.
It is heard today in a new arrangement featuring the Old South Ringers
playing hand chimes.

The chant Veni Creator Spiritus provides the overture to today’s service, as it is heard in a set of variations by the Parisian composer Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986). The postlude, Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott (Come, Holy Ghost, Lord God) is a grand fantasia by Bach based on a Lutheran chorale, which in turn is based on Veni Creator. Its broad sweep and relentless 16th-notes call to mind the “rushing mighty wind” of that first Pentecost.

---

OLD SOUTH CHURCH IN BOSTON
MINISTERS, OFFICERS AND STAFF

Nancy S. Taylor, Senior Minister ~ Quinn G. Caldwell, Associate Minister
Harry L. Huff, Minister of Music ~
James W. Crawford, Senior Minister Emeritus
Calvin Genzel, Wedding Outreach Minister ~
Janet Butler, Wedding Coordinator
Ken Orth, Healing Prayer Service Minister
Robert W. Brown, Ministerial Intern ~
Abigail G. Henderson, Field Education Intern
Mark S. Burrows, Theologian in Residence
Patricia Hazeltine, Church School Director ~ Rolanda Ward, Youth Worker
Carolyn Davis, Director, Old South Preschool
George Sargeant, Assistant Organist & Choir Director
 Willie Sordillo, Jazz Service Music Director
Peter Coulombe, Director, Old South Ringers
Amy Budka & Phil Stern, Children’s Music Directors

Wayne Davis, Moderator v Pamela Holland, Clerk ~
James Monsma, Treasurer
Phil Stern, Chair, Board of Trustees ~ Susan T. Campbell, Historian
Diane Gaucher, Senior Deacon  ~ Vicki A. Newman, Pledge Secretary
Helen McCrady, Senior Church Administrator
Amy Perry, Administrative Assistant v Rosemary Clarke, Accountant 
Elias Perez, Senior Sexton v Ozo Nwodo & Robert Blenman, Sextons
Jessica Goodknight, Rubia Reyes & Jim McDonnel, Receptionists

www.oldsouth.org v 617/536-1970


A NOTE ON THE INCLUSIVE DIMENSIONS OF GOD’S GRACE

Old South Church in Boston, in the name of its host, Jesus Christ, and in the spirit of Christ’s invitation carved into the stone of this church’s portico, “Behold I Set Before You an Open Door,” welcomes all who seek to know God.

Following the One who we believe is Sovereign and Savior, we affirm that each individual is a child of God, and recognize that we are called to be like one body with many members, seeking with others of every race, ethnicity, creed, class, age, gender, marital status, physical or mental ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression to journey together toward the promised realm of God.

We invite everyone to join in the common life and mission of our reconciling community through participation and leadership in this congregation, and by fully sharing in the worship, rites and sacraments of this church.
As we all move forward with the work of this church, we commit ourselves to making justice and inclusivity a reality in this congregation and in the world.  On the threshold of Christ’s open door, we rely upon the healing, unconditional nature of God’s love and grace to be our help and guide.

Old South Church
645 Boylston St. Boston, MA 02116
(617)536-1970 Tel (617)536-8061 Fax