Twenty-second Sunday
October 28, 2007
after Pentecost
9:00 a.m. (Order of Worship)
&
11:00 a.m. Service
(Order of Worship below)
A Congregation of the United Church of Christ
The Old South Church in Boston
Gathered 1669
THE GATHERING
PRELUDE Toccata and Fugue in D minor J.S. Bach
Pax Vobiscum ("Peace be with you") Sigfrid Karg-Elert
*HYMN 55 Rejoice, You Pure in Heart Marion
*CALL TO WORSHIP (From the Native American tradition) Abigail G. Henderson
One: From the rising of the sun till its setting in the west,
Many: God's holy Name be praised.
One: On the lips of children, by babies at the breast,
Many: God's holy Name be praised.
One: In the visions of the old and the dreaming of the young,
Many: God's holy Name be praised.
One: Let all that has life and breath praise the Lord.
Many: O God, make our hearts places of peace and our minds harbors of
tranquility. Sow in our souls true love for you and for one another; and
root deeply within us friendship and unity, and concord with reverence.
So may we give peace to each other sincerely and receive it beautifully.
One: In this spirit, let us greet one another: the peace of Christ be with you.
Many: And also with you.
*A SIGN OF OUR UNITY AND RECONCILIATION
We invite you to greet those around you, wishing them
"the peace of Christ" or a warm "good morning."
WORDS OF WELCOME Quinn G. Caldwell
ANTHEM Dedication Prayer Erik Gustafson
Lord, take our lips and speak through them;
take our minds and think through them;
take our hearts, and set them on fire.
-W. H. H. Aitken, adapted
THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM
Rick A. Worman
Rory Razon
Anne Michelle Reynolds
INTRODUCTION AND ADDRESS Nancy S. Taylor and Quinn G. Caldwell
QUESTIONS OF INTENT
THE PRAYER AND ACT OF BAPTISM
THE RECEPTION OF NEW MEMBERS
Emily Ann Click
Rodney Click
Tara Fe Dilulio
Brian Charles Eastman
Constance Forrest Hodgkins
Anne E. Pritchard
Rory Razon
Anne Michelle Reynolds
Troy D. Ryba
Stacey Sedgewick
Rick A. Worman
LITANY OF INTENT
Leader: Friends in Christ, we are all received into the church through the
sacrament of baptism. These people have found nurture and support in the
midst of the family of Christ.
People: They have been led by the Spirit to affirm their baptism and to
claim in our presence their covenantal relationship with Christ and the
members of the Christian church.
Leader: They are here, as we are here, to endeavor to love God with all our
heart, and all our soul and all our mind. God help us.
People: They are here, as we are here, to endeavor to love our neighbors as
we love ourselves. God help us.
Leader: Friends who are joining, we rejoice in your pilgrimage of faith
which has brought you to this time and place.
People: We give thanks for every community of faith which has been your
spiritual home and we celebrate your presence in this household of faith.
Leader: Do you promise, by the grace of God, to continue in your pilgrimage
of faith, to be Christ's disciple, to resist oppression and evil, to show
love and justice, and to witness to the work and word of Jesus Christ as
best you are able?
Those joining: We promise, with the help of God.
People: Do you promise to walk with us in faithfulness and in Christian
love? And do you promise, that so far as able, you will participate in the
life of this church, by worshipping God with us, and offering your time,
talent and means for the ministry of this church and for the larger church
of which this is a part?
Those joining: We promise, with the help of God.
Leader: Friends, we then welcome you as partners in the common life of this
church and share our covenant of mission with you:
All: We pledge to give ourselves to the one whom Jesus called "Abba,
Father," as the God in whose love we are grounded and who rules our lives.
We give ourselves to God the Holy Spirit, the One who sustains, recreates
and guides us. We promise to walk with one another, secure in God's grace,
and prepared in gratitude to live by the promise and serve in the hope of
the Gospel.
THE RIGHT HAND OF CHRISTIAN LOVE David Becker, Deacon
*HYMN 423 Great Is Your Faithfulness Faithfulness
(Children may leave for their Church School classes.)
THE GIFT OF THE WORD
SERMON Treasures Nancy S. Taylor
*HYMN 561 When in Our Music God Is Glorified Engelberg
*CALL TO PRAYER Quinn G.
Caldwell
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. (The congregation may be seated.)
PASTORAL PRAYER
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 Serve the Lord with Gladness McChesney
OFFERING OURSELVES AND OUR GIFTS
CALL TO THE OFFERING Abigail G. Henderson
OFFERTORY ANTHEM The Holy City Stephen Adams, arr. Cain
Last night I lay a-sleeping, there came a dream so fair, I stood in old
Jerusalem, beside the Temple there. I heard the children singing, and ever as they sang,
me thought the voice of angels from Heav'n in answer rang.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, lift up your gates and sing,
Hosanna in the highest, hosanna to your King.
And then me thought my dream was changed, the streets no longer rang. Hushed
were the glad hosannas the little children sang. The sun grew dark with
mystery, the morn was cold and chill, and the shadow of a cross arose upon a lonely hill.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, lift up your gates and sing,
Hosanna in the highest, hosanna to your King.
And once again the scene was changed, new Earth there seemed to be. I saw
the Holy City beside the tideless sea. The light of God was on its streets,
the gates were open wide, and all who would might enter, and no one was
denied. No need of moon or stars by night, or sun to shine by day, it was
the new Jerusalem that would not pass away.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, lift up your gates and sing.
Hosanna in the highest, hosanna to your King.
-F.E. Weatherly
*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
*HYMN 391 In the Midst of New Dimensions New Dimensions
*BIDDING TO MISSION AND BENEDICTION Nancy S. Taylor
CHORAL BLESSING (seated) Eternal God John Rutter
Eternal God, we give you thanks for music, blest gift from heaven
to all your servants here on earth: in time of joy a crown,
in sorrow consolation; companion through our days of tears and mirth.
We give you thanks for every sound of beauty: for sweetest harmony
that echoes in our hearts, for melodies that soar on high like birds
at morning, for voice and instrument in all their parts.
As we are blest, so may our gift bless others: may hearts be touched
and spirits lifted up anew. Let music draw together those who live
as strangers, bring joy to those we love, in thankfulness true.
And when at last we come into your kingdom, all discord over and all
earthly labor done, then sound and silence yield before one equal music,
and with the Giver shall our souls be one.
POSTLUDE Moto Ostinato from Sunday Music Petr Eben
(See note on page 8)
Today, following worship, all who are interested in a tour of the Sanctuary
are invited to meet Docent Eleanor Jensen at the front of the Sanctuary.
The flowers today are given by the Holland Family in loving memory of
Catherine Dauber by her grandchildren, Pam and Ian Holland, and her
great-grandchildren Nolan and Aine Holland; and in memory of Florence
Scarpas from her family.
TODAY AT OLD SOUTH
Godspeed to and celebration of Brian Jones: On his last Sunday with us we
gather to worship, sing, say thanks and celebrate our amazing Interim Music
Director and Organist. Brian will play a fifteen-minute prelude beginning at
10:45 am. Following 11 am worship, please join us in Mary Norton Hall on the
second floor to wish Godspeed to Brian with lunch, song and hand bells. This
will replace our usual Fellowship Hour.
New Member Brunch: Today at 12:30 pm in the Sam Johnson Room on the fourth
Floor. As a way of offering welcome, new members joining this morning are
invited to attend the New Member Brunch.
LGBTF Lunch: Today at 12:30 pm in the Guild Room on the fourth floor. Join
us for our monthly luncheon. Look for our fabulous, free book fair!
Interfaith Forum: Today at 1:30 pm in the Sanctuary. Rabbi Arthur Waskow,
Director of the Shalom Center and co-author of The Tent of Abraham will
speak on what it takes for Jews, Christians and Muslims to talk and work
together. Free and open to the public.
NOTES ON TODAY'S MUSIC
Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor is arguably the most famous piece ever
written for the organ; it was made even better-known when Captain Nemo
played it in
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and in other movies. Although some
musicologists question whether Bach actually wrote the piece, it is said
that he conceived it to dedicate new organs with drama and intensity, which
the piece certainly evokes with great style and substance.
Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1876-1933) was a German late Romantic composer who loved
chromaticism and had a keen ear for unusual and beautiful combinations of
stops in pipe organs. His Pax Vobiscum is based on a melody which plays
repeated in the pedals for nearly all of the piece, in the manner of a
litany or repeated supplication, in this case for that most elusive of all
prayers, peace in the world. The music remains serene for a while, then
builds to a gripping conclusion.
Erik Gustafson has written his Dedication Prayer in tribute to Brian Jones'
interim tenure at Old South. It sets a text which is often used as a prayer
at the beginning of sermons, and which is adapted from a prayer by the
English poet W.H.H. Aitken. Erik, a member of the bass section of the Old
South Choir, has written a piece which has several "double choir" sections,
and the text is set richly and with drama and grandeur. Erik is a graduate
of Harvard and Indiana Universites in music and composition, and has written
a number of anthems for the Old South Choir.
Michael Maybrick wrote his music under the pseudonym of Stephen Adams. The
Holy City has been a great favorite since it was written in 1892 to the
words of Stephen Weatherly. In its vision of the heavenly city Jerusalem,
the text, especially beginning at the passage "and once again, the scene was
changed," is surprisingly modern in spirit, belying the Victorian nature of
the music. Often heard as a solo, it is sung here in an effective setting by
Noble Cain, an American choral director and arranger. The refrain
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, lift up your gates and sing" may be one of the best
known passages in all church music.
John Rutter (born 1945) has composed a great deal of music for choirs, and
has done the cause of church choral music a great service in his
distinguished career as conductor, composer, editor, and arranger. Although
he often has set effectively the texts of others, for this morning's
benediction response he has written both words and music. In Eternal God, he
articulates with clarity and affection the goals of church musicians.
Petr Eben is a Czech composer who writes in a distinctive and modern idiom
and language. Perhaps his most famous piece is this morning's Postlude, the
Moto Ostinato from his suite "Sunday Music." The opening musical material
evokes an almost-haunted feeling, perhaps of Halloween and All Saints, with
its sinuous melodies and imitation. After a subsidiary section of new ideas,
Eben combines both themes, and the music builds in intensity to a strong
conclusion. Just before the ending, the hands sweep back and forth in a
searing dialogue among three of the four organ manual keyboards. The piece
ends abruptly and dramatically with fast notes played in unison.
OLD SOUTH CHURCH IN BOSTON
MINISTERS, OFFICERS AND STAFF
Nancy S. Taylor, Senior Minister - Quinn G. Caldwell, Associate Minister
Brian Jones, Interim Director of Music and Organist
Patricia Hazeltine, Church School Director
Abby Henderson, Bob Brown, Ministerial Interns
Rolanda Ward, Youth Worker
George Sargeant, Assistant Organist and Choir Director
Willie Sordillo, Jazz Service Music Director
Peter Coulombe, Interim Director, Old South Ringers
Calvin Genzel, Wedding Outreach Minister
James W. Crawford, Senior Minister Emeritus
Jeff Makholm, Moderator - David Clark, Clerk
James Monsma, Treasurer - Dwight Crane, Chair, Board of Trustees
Diane Gaucher, Senior Deacon v Susan T. Campbell, Historian
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 and Robert Blenman, Sextons
Jessica Goodknight, Rubia Reyes and Jim McDonnel, Receptionists
Carolyn Davis, Director, Old South Preschool
www.oldsouth.org - 617/536-1970