Prelude: Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony 2^nd Movement

 Welcome:
“Belief must be something different from a mixture of opinions about God and the world, and of precepts for one life or for two. Piety cannot be an instinct craving for a mess of metaphysical and ethical crumbs.”
― Friedrich Schleiermacher, On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers

“Whenever I find a spark of that hidden fire that will sooner or later consume the old and create the new, I am drawn to it with love and hope, regarding it as a sign of my future home.”
― Friedrich Schleiermacher

Chalice Lighting: IN THE MYSTERY OF LIFE ABOUT US THERE IS LIGHT. By George Kimmich Beach

In the mystery of life about us there is light.
It gives us a place to be, to grow, to rejoice together.
It opens the pathways to love.
In this place of friendship there is freedom.
Let the light we kindle go before us,
Strong in hope, wide in good will,
Inviting the day to come.

Song: Come Come Whoever you Are  X3

Come Come Whoever you are,
Wander, Worshiper,
Lover of Leaving
Ours is no Caravan of despair
Come, yet, again Come

The Seven Principles:

The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Story for All Ages: What is God? By Etan Boritzer Illustrated by Robbie Marantz

Song: Simple Gifts

‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free
‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain’d,
To bow and to bend we shan’t be asham’d,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come ’round right.

The Earth is our mother and the fullness thereof,
Her streets, her slums, as well as stars above.
Salvation is here where we laugh, where we cry,
Where we seek and love, where we live and die.
When true liberty is found,
By fear and by hate we will no more be bound.
In love and in light we will find our new birth
And in peace and freedom, redeem the Earth.

Offering and Response  (Unison)
For the gifts which we have received—and the gifts which we, ourselves, are—may we be truly grateful. Yet more than that, may we be committed to using these gifts to make a difference in the world: to increase love and justice; to decrease hatred and oppression; to expand beloved community; to share, and to keep sharing, as long as ever we can. Amen.

Reading: TRY TO LOVE THE QUESTIONS THEMSELVES
Responsive Reading By  Rainer Maria Rilke
Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart
and try to love the questions themselves

as if they were locked rooms
or books written in a very foreign language.

Don’t search for the answers,
which could not be given to you now,
because you would not be able to live them.

And the point is, to live everything.

Live the questions now.

Perhaps then, someday far in the future,

you will gradually, without even noticing it,
live your way into the answer.

translated by Stephen Mitchell

from “Letter 4” in Letters to a Young Poet, translated by Stephen Mitchell (Vintage), adapted

Sermon: The Foundation of Our Liberal Faith

Posted on 07/13/2014 by Kerry Hales

Sunday Service July 13:  The Foundation of our Liberal Faith

Rev. Christiane will look back to the 18th century and share surprising and inspiring insights about our Unitarian Universalist theological origins, and ways these can allow us to have a meaningful experience in our Sunday services and in our lives today.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN http://skyislanduu.org/sermons/2014/jul_13_2014.mp3

Sermon:  Rev. Christiane Heyde
Facilitator:  Jena Rose

Song: Come Sing a Song with Me #346
Joys and Sorrows

If you woke this morning with a sorrow so heavy that you need the help of this community to carry it;
or if you woke with a joy so great that it simply must be shared, now is the time for you to speak.
…
For the joys and sorrows that haven’t been spoken, but which remain in the silent sanctuaries of our hearts.
These joys and griefs, spoken and unspoken, weave us together in the fabric of community.

Silent Meditation

Closing:  REMEMBERING THAT THE UNIVERSE IS LARGER By Marjorie Newlin Leaming

Remembering that the universe is so much larger than our ability to comprehend, let us go forth from this time together with the resolve to stop trying to reduce the incomprehensible to our own petty expectations, so that wonder—that sense of what is sacred—can find space to open up our minds and illumine our lives.

Song: Go Now In Peace (3 times)

Go now in peace, go now in peace
May our love and care surround you
Everywhere, everywhere, you may go

Announcements

Postlude: Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony 4th Movement