Rev. Sunshine Jeremiah Wolfe
  • Home
  • About
    • Biography
    • A Note on Pronouns
  • My Writing
    • Personal Reflections >
      • (dis)affection
      • Surviving Society: What My Parents Taught Me and How
    • Social Justice and Community Ministry >
      • Published Work
      • Public Speeches and Programs >
        • Poverty Truth Commission
        • Rally for Secular Government
    • Worship and Rites of Passage >
      • Sermons >
        • Keeping Saturday: An Easter Service
        • The Wisdom of Rumi: Beloved and Allah
        • Love- You Keep Using That Word
        • Relationship Trumps Theology
        • Beyond What We Can Know
        • Fiery Debates That Flame On Today
        • Yom Kippur and Forgiveness
        • The Wholey In-Between
      • Intergenerational Stories >
        • Chris the Cactus
        • Super Tiny
        • The Queen Bears and the Covenant
        • Atrahasis and the Flood
      • Preaching List
  • Transgender and Genderqueer Life Resources
    • Care and Support
    • Transgender/Genderqueer Guide to Adolescence for All Ages >
      • After All These Years: A 30 Year Old's Guide to Flirting
    • Activists, Artist, Writers, and More
    • Organizations
    • 101 The Basics
  • Religious Education
    • Reigning Love
    • Understanding Islam in the Media
    • The Hearts of Unitarian Universalism Through the Years
  • Philosophy of Ministry
    • Interim Ministry
    • Worship
    • Religious Education
    • Pastoral Care
    • Congregational Administration
    • Social Justice
    • Outreach and Growth

Script: Love- You Keep Using That Word…
First Unitarian Church of Alton
February 7, 2016

Hymn Sing                                                          
          #397 Morning Has Come
          #388 Dona Nobis Pacem
          #1007 There’s a River Flowin’ In My Soul (no piano)
         
Welcome
Mary-
“Good morning.” (Wait for response.)
“Welcome to the First Unitarian Church of Alton.  My name is ____________.  I welcome you into this community of love.  A community that knows that love is messy, difficult, sometimes painful, and often wonderful.  Here we explore love in its many facets so that we may learn to love the world more.  For we know that what the world needs is more loving minds and thinking hearts.  The world needs compassion and understanding.  The world needs us.  We are Unitarian Universalists.
 
I offer my welcome to you and, in particular, to those who are first time visitors.  We invite you to fill out one of the visitor cards found in the back of your grey hymnal and place it in the offering plate or give it to an usher, we’ll send you our church newsletter for the next three months to let you know about the programs and activities going on here at the church.  We are glad you are here and hope to see you again on future Sundays.
 
We do have a nursery for infants and young children under the age of four years old through those doors (point) and to the left.

At the back, we have a Spirit Table which includes activities for all ages.  You are invited to go to the Spirit Chair at any time during the service to take an activity back to your seat.
 
We welcome everyone into this home of comfort, spirit, justice, and hope!”
 
Announcements
     Mary- ((Read any written announcement provided.  Invite those who wrote them to stand and be recognized by the congregation.))
 
     Sunshine- We begin our worship with a prelude.
 
Prelude                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Teresa
 
Call to Worship/Opening Words                                                                                                                                                                               Mary
Love is not just the basis on which we build everything, but it’s also the energy with which we proceed, and it’s then the final goal toward which we tend.
 
Love has two lovely daughters, twins called grace and mercy.  Like identical twins they are often indistinguishable: Grace is the inner freedom to be merciful.  Mercy is grace in action.  And both are the children of love.
 
Fr. Richard Rohr (Franciscan)
 
 Chalice Lighting
     Sunshine- 
          We light this chalice
          Symbol of Unitarian Universalism
          May it remind us of the divine spark in all of creation
          The power of love to heal what is broken
          And to be grateful for life’s blessings each day.
 
Opening Hymn             “The Song In Your Heart” (hymn of the month)
 
Story                              I Love You the Purplest by Barbara Joosse
 
Sermonette Part 1                                                                         Sunshine
 
Ritual of Joys and Sorrows
          Sunshine
                   Each week we take time to recognize the joys and sorrows; the celebrations and struggles of this community.  We do this by taking a stone or stones from the bowls as we enter or from the bowl here on the chancel.  We allow the stones to bring us into awareness of those things most important in our life through thought or meditation.  We then place them in the cleansing waters of this community which includes a little bit of water collected from our annual water communion.  If you have a joys, sorrows, celebrations, or struggles you wish to recognize, you are invited to come forward now in a ritual of joy and sorrow.
 
Meditation/Embracing Meditation                
 
Meditation Song                             #123 Spirit of Life
 
Offering
     Mary- 
Each week, we participate in a spiritual practice of giving to this community a portion of the financial resources that we receive.  We do this with hope that these gifts will bring blessings to the world.  We do remembering that this congregation has brought a message of love to the world and wishes to continue this into the future.  We give financially, as we are able, as an act of commitment toward justice- making our faith- our trust- real in word and deed.  This morning’s offering will be gratefully received; may it be joyfully given.

Offertory
-                                                                                        Teresa
 
Offering Blessing
          Sunshine- “Please join in reciting the Offering Blessing”
 
          “To the work of the church which is weaving a tapestry of love we
           call community, we dedicate ourselves and these our offerings.”
 
(After blessing the Offering, please place the baskets on the flower stand.)
 
Reading                                                                                            Mary
          from Waking Up the Karma Fairy by Rev. Meg Barnhouse
          (see scanned document or the book)

Sermon Part 2


Closing Hymn
                        “There Is a Love”

​Extinguish Chalice
                                                                          Mary
 
Benediction                                                                                     Sunshine
 
Postlude                                                                                          Teresa
Proudly powered by Weebly