Click right here Sunday shortly before 10:00 AM to join our online service.

In what is becoming a holiday tradition at All Souls Church, the Social and Environmental Justice Committee hosts Josh Davis, Executive Director of Groundworks, the organization with whom we will be sharing our Sunday offerings for December. As we consider the implications of being without a home at this time of year in the richest country in the world, Josh will update us  about the essential work Groundworks is doing to provide for the most basic needs of many of our neighbors, and tell us how we can help.

“A Home for the Holidays”

Click right here Sunday shortly before 10:00 AM to join our online service.

                                          Order of Service
Sunday, December 7, 2021         

Announcements and Board Greeting               Robert Wyckoff              

Prelude: “I wonder as I wander”     Appalachian carol

        Peter Gibbons, viola; Eva Greene, piano

Chalice Lighting adapted from Erika A. Hewitt

The chalice arose as a sign of promise
that the marginalized would neither be forgotten nor ignored,
because they are beloved and precious from the perspective of the Holy.

This morning, we remember all of the people
who have been told explicitly—
or implicitly, through police violence or government policy;
through derision or dehumanization;
that they’re anything less than whole; anything less than beloved.

As we light this chalice,
may we make of our lives a beacon:
a symbol of our promise to draw the circle wide;
a sign that we will not rest until “all” means all.

        
Opening Words                                                                Karen Tyler                       

Opening Hymn #300  With Heart and Mind    

        lyrics: Alicia Carpenter;  melody: Mach’s Mit Mir, Gott     
sung by Marie Gorst

      
Reading:  “Coming Home” by Mary Oliver

Special Music: “Solstice Song”    Alouette Iselin;  arr. by Peter Amidon                           

             sung by Jan, George, Steve, and Eva

Story for All Ages: “December” by Eve Bunting
read by Ellie Weiss

Offering Guest Speaker: Josh Davis, Executive Director, Groundworks Collaborative

Offertory:  “An Inhabited Garden”

  written and played by Tom Baehr, from his album, “Ancient Echoes”    

Candles of Joys and Concerns

Reading:  “A Shakespearean Sonnet About Doors” by Ian McMillan

It’s not much to ask. Just a door to lock.
A door that won’t break when someone kicks it.
Door with a keyhole. Respond to that knock
Or not. My choice. It’s broke so let’s fix it:
The world, I mean. Not the door. That’s ok.
It’s my door, to my room. Look: here’s the key.
The world, though. That’s different. Somewhere to stay
Is what we all need. Somewhere to be me
And not just someone you blithely ignore
When you see me sleeping on the street.
Let’s begin with this. A door. Just a door
To start with. A door. Food. Then light and heat.
The world must respond to this simple truth:
Let’s all have a door. Let’s all have a roof.

                    
Closing Hymn #347  “Gather the Spirit”    Jim Scott

        sung by Christina Gibbons

Extinguishing the Chalice
We extinguish this flame, but we carry it in our hearts to lighten the darkness of winter and to bring hope to those who despair

           

Closing Circle: “Carry the Flame of Peace and Love” (sung two times)

Benediction                                                                                   Karen Tyler

“It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it.”

Nelson Mandela

Coffee Hour and Conversation