Sayville Congregational United Church of Christ Communion Sunday November 1, 2020 Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost Welcome Announcements Offertory Announcements Ringing of the Bell Prelude For All the Saints NCH #299 Call to Worship & Unison Prayer Friends, you are invited to remain seated or to rise for this morning’s Blended Call to Worship and Unison Prayer, “No Exceptions” by Joseph H. Gilmore. You are also invited to pray silently or gently and softly from behind your mask. God of the living and the dead: the voices of Mohandas Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day, Abraham Heschel, Eugene Debs, Mother May Jones, and Emma Goldman, are not stilled. In the fires of their times, they forged hot languages of justice and hospitality – nobody out; everyone in; one human Family. No exceptions. In the groaning of the disenfranchised of our own time, we hear them, oh, we hear them. 1 Against a flood tide of indifference and opposition, they affirmed their faith in the best of the human heart with their bodies, their minds, their imaginations, and their lives. Their Lives. In the darkness of the mines; in the blazing heat of the fields; in the fire and the din of the factories; in the courtrooms built to hear the wailing of the poor; in the ghettos and the barrios – islands of suffering adrift on a sea of affluence – the voices of the prophets, alive and dead are to be heard. They are, O God, Your own voice calling out to a lost and listless humanity. Forbid that we should close our ears, to make it easier to pray, easier to sleep. Come, eyes and ears open, in prayer always and join together in today’s worship. Assurance of God’s Love Passing of the Peace 2 “Unfulfilled Dreams” From Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s final address Bishop Charles J Mason Temple in Memphis April 3, 1968 – the day before his assassination. “So many of our forebears used to sing about freedom. And they dreamed of the day that they would be able to get out of the bosom of slavery, the long night of injustice. And they used to sing little songs: “Nobody knows the trouble I've seen, nobody but Jesus.” They thought about a better day as they dreamed their dream. And they would say, “I'm so glad that trouble doesn't last always. By and by, by and by I'm going to lay down my heavy load.” And they used to sing it because of a powerful dream, but so many have died without having the dream fulfilled. “And each of you in some ways is building some kind of temple. The struggle is always there. It gets discouraging sometimes. It gets very disenchanting sometimes. Some of us are trying to build a temple of peace. We speak out against war, we protest, but it seems that your head is going against the concrete wall. It seems to mean nothing. And so often as you set out to build the temple of peace you are left lonesome; you are left discouraged; You are left bewildered. “Well, that is the story of life. And the thing that makes me happy is that I can hear a voice crying through the vista of time, saying: “It may not come today or it may not come tomorrow, but it is well that it is within your heart. It's well that you are trying.” You may not see it. The dream may not be fulfilled, but it's just good that you have a desire to bring it into reality. It's well that it's in your heart.” He closed this address with these words: I’d like someday for somebody to say that: I tried to be right on the war question; I did try to feed the hungry; I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked; I did try in my life to visit those in prison; I tried to love and serve humanity. If I can help somebody as I pass along, if I can cheer somebody with a word or song, if I can show somebody that they’re traveling wrong, then my living will not be in vain. 3 Provocation Musical Praise Spirit of the Living God NCH #283 Prayer Friends, you are invited to remain seated, as we listen to this morning’s Communion hymn. Please follow along silently with the words projected on the screen. Hymn As We Gather at Your Table NCH #332 Communion Communion will be received today using the prepared wafers and grape juice that were given to you when you entered worship. If you did not get one, we will check to make sure you have the self-contained Communion serving before we begin. More information will be shared at the time of Communion. A Quiet Moment of Thanksgiving The Church Covenant Benediction and Sending Forth Ringing of the Bell Postlude We Shall Overcome From our Blended Call to Worship/Unison Prayer Mohandas Ghandi (Also Mahatma Gandhi): Spiritual and political leader during India’s struggle with Great Britain for home rule; advocate for passive resistance. (1869-1948) Martin Luther King (Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.): An American Christian minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assisination in 1968. (1929-1968) Dorothy Day: An American journalist, social activist and anarchist how, after a bohemian youth, became a Catholic Christian without in any way abandoning her 4 social and anarchist activism. She was perhaps the best-known political radical in the American Catholic Church. (1897-1980) Abraham Heschel (Abraham Joshua Heschel): A Polish-born American rabbi and on of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century. (1907- 1972) Eugene Debs (Eugene V. Debs): An American socialist, political activist, trade unionist, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) (“Wobblies”) and five times candidate f the Socialist Party of Ameica for President of the United States. (1855 – 1926) Mother Mary Jones (Mary G. Harris Jones): Knoiwn as Mother Jones from 1897 onward, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmake who becaem a prominent union organziaer, community organizer, and activist. She helped coordinate major strikes and co-founded the Industrial Worsker of the World. [From the AFL-CIO: Mother Jones rose to prominence as a fiery orator and fearluess organizer for the Mine Workers during the first two decades of the 20th century. Her voice had great carrying power.] Emma Goldman: An anarchist politival activist and writer. She played a pivitoal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Eurpoe in the first half of the 20th century. (1869-1940) Source: Wikipedia, unless otherwise noted. Definitions Anarchy: a state of disorder due to absence or nonrecognition of authority. Anarchism: a political philosophy and movement that is sceptical of authority and rejects all involuntary, coercive forms of hierarachy. Anarchism call for the abolition of the state which it hold to be undesirable, unnecessary and harmful. 5 IN-SANCTUARY GUIDELINES Gentle important reminders: We know. You really want to hang-out in the sanctuary after worship. Of course we do. And, if you would like to sit and be still in the space after worship, you are welcome to do so for a while. With that in mind, if you are ready to leave, please move outside and continue conversations away from the sanctuary. Small groups remaining inside in conversation can impact the measures in-place to keep us safe. Thanks for understanding and for gently reminding and inviting others to move outside when worship is over. • Dress Warmly: Fall is in the air, but we want to keep the windows open and air circulating, so there may be a chill in the sanctuary as we gather. Dress in layers to adjust your own comfort setting! • Gathering Before and After: We know it's not easy, but please avoid gathering in groups at any time in the sanctuary. Thank you for accepting gentle reminders from committee members and ushers for safety practices. They remind me, too, and I am grateful they do. We all want to remain safe - and open. • Masks: Are worn at all times on the church premises and inside the church. This includes worship and any other gatherings during the week. • Seating: Please be sure that there is an empty pew in front and behind you. When sitting in the middle of the sanctuary, please maintain social space. • Call to Worship: Unison Prayer; The Prayer of Jesus: When praying, please pray gently and softly, if you wish to speak the prayers. Listening to the prayers is appropriate, as well. • Standing: If you choose to stand when there is an invitation to do so; please stand in place. Standing at any time is always optional. • Passing the Peace: As you Pass the Peace, you are invited to stand in place and silently turn toward others in the sanctuary, if you wish. • Sean Cameron's space is being carefully maintained to accommodate additional distance for singing. We ask that all continue to observe his "safe space". • Singing: We will continue to refrain from singing through the month of September. Please enjoy Sean's singing for us, quietly following the projected words. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Co-Chairs of the committee: Co-Chairs Hank Maust and Randolf Pearson or any Committee Member: Pat Cunningham, Connie Kauffman, Sue Lanchantin, Pat Mahar, and Jeanne Newcombe With thanks and appreciation from your Sanctuary Return Committee.