On September 4, All Souls Church welcomes Marilyn Chiarello and Tom Green, who will speak about the current work of Edible Brattleboro. In 2015, with the support of Post Oil Solutions, several area residents set out to transform spaces in and around town into edible landscapes, by planting vegetables and fruits in help-yourself gardens. While providing food for healthy eating and flowers that attract pollinators and other beneficial insects, Edible Brattleboro is educating people about the interconnectedness of health, food, soil and community.
We anticipate that this service will be both in-person and on Zoom. Click right here Sunday shortly before 10:00 a.m. to join via Zoom. Click here to read our protocols for in-person attendance.When attending in person, please completely power off your cell phone during the service to preserve the Church’s WiFi bandwidth for our Zoom attendees.
“Earth Was Given as a Garden: Transforming the Urban Landscape
Order of Service
Sunday, September 4, 2022
Announcements and Board Greeting Ron Niswander
Prelude VII Claude Debussy
Eva Greene, piano
Chalice Lighting by Katie Gelfand
We light our chalice as a symbol of gratitude as we celebrate the abundance of our lives together. In this sanctuary we harvest bushels of strength for one another, and offer our crop with the hands of compassion and generosity. In the authentic and gentle manner of our connections, we cultivate a simple sweetness to brighten our spirits. May we be grateful for the ways we nourish and uplift each other. For, it is the sharing of this hallowed time together that sustains us.
Lighting our Children’s Chalice
We light this chalice to celebrate Unitarian Universalism. We are the church of the open minds. We are the church of the helping hands. We are the church of the loving hearts.
Opening Hymn #207 “Earth Was Given as a Garden”
Poem: “Patience: A Poem for Late Summer” by Mary Oliver
Anthem: “We Gather Here Together”
Music, German Madrigal, text, English version by Sean Deibler
All Souls Choir, Tom Baehr, Director
Story for All Ages: “Zora’s Zucchini” by Katherine Prior
Hymn #76 “For Flowers that Bloom about Our Feet”
Offering Speakers: Marilyn Chiarello and Tom Green, Edible Brattleboro
Offertory: Work Song (Shir ha-avoda, trad. Israeli)
Sun, shine upon us / Plow, move for me.
Plow the furrow and return / Until the night falls.
Let the song rise / Sound the hammers, play
as with the plows, we sing / The song has just begun.
Eva Greene, piano
Reflection on Joys and Concerns
Closing Hymn #82 “The Land of Bursting Sunrise”
Extinguishing the Chalice by Krista Takes
It is our work, shared with each other in covenant,
That creates and sustains this beloved community.
We extinguish this chalice, but its light lives on
in the directions we have chosen today.
The light of this faith lives on in us, together,
in our hearts, minds, bodies and spirits.
Amen and Blessed Be.
Closing Circle: “Carry the Flame of Peace and Love” (sung two times)
Benediction “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.”
(Audrey Hepburn)
Coffee Hour and Conversation