A Service of Worship for
​June 20, 2021

I confess my own share in the ills of the times.
I have shirked my own responsibilities as a citizen.
I have not been wise in casting my ballot.
I have left to others a real interest in making a public opinion worthy of democracy.
I have been concerned about my own little job, my own little security, my own shelter, my own bread.
I have not really cared about jobs for others, security for others, shelter for others, bread for others.
I have not worked for peace; I want peace, but I have voted and worked for war.
I have silenced my own voice that it may not be heard on the side of any cause,
however right, if it meant running risks or damaging my own little reputation. 

Howard Thurman
Worship notes are included at the bottom of this page and in the Worship Order located at the link below.
With this link you can make a donation to Covenant through PayPal or a credit card. 
Adult Education:
For Sunday’s Adult Education, Bill Kline will tell his story of his spiritual journey, providing an opportunity for us to get better acquainted with a fully engaged member who joined Covenant shortly before the pandemic canceled our in-person services.

​ Zoom link is available on the Online Gatherings page on our website: https://www.covenanthouston.org/covenant-gatherings.html
Full worship service video:
COFFEE TIME Gathering on Zoom
Today, 11AM
We will begin as a large group before we transition into “rooms" for coffee time. 
​Log in details on the Online Gatherings page. 
Prelude
"Prelude on 'St. Aelred'" by Anthony Giamanco. Karen Kline, piano. 

​Call to Worship

Opening Prayer
Sower of living hearts,
sower of tenderness,
sower of courage,
sower of service,
sower of prayer,
sower of light.
God, sow within us!

Sower of gifts, 
sower of forgiveness,
sower of faith,
sower of joy,
sower of life,
sower of the Beatitudes.
God, sow in the hearts of all people!

Even if we are hard as stones,
be patient with us!
Your Good News will manage to slip
between the tight cracks in our rock and will
grow into giant sheaves of Good News!
​Amen.

​Scripture Lesson:  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
​
​Hymn
"O Day of Peace," Tune: Jerusalem. Words: Carl P. Daw, Jr. Carl McAliley, organ.

​Time for Children

Confession
Unison Confession
Lead me from death to life,
from falsehood to truth.
Lead me from despair to hope,
from fear to trust.
Lead me from hate to love,
from war to peace. 
Let peace fill our hearts,
our world, our universe. 
​
​Music
"A Blessing" by Percy Grainger. The Covenant Singers; David Lee, directing. Karen Kline, piano. 
Proclamation

​Prayer
​
Tender God,
who lives in heaven and earth,
in human reason and passion,
you are the Holy One in our midst.
Your justice is our peace;
your peace in our hope;
your presence, our delight!
Make our hands, your hands;
our hearts, your heart;
our lives, your life!
Give us this day and always
a bread of freedom to share,
a cup of hope to pour upon the earth.
Forgive us our hatreds and walls.
Teach us to forgive the walls of others as well.
Do not permit us tests beyond our strength.
And deliver us from Evil's death-grip.
For everything about us and under us,
must bend the knee
to the Glory of your Freedom,
the everlasting Victory
​of your Justice and Peace!

Edward Francis Gabriele
​​
​Invitation
​Prayer of Dedication
We seek peace with all people.
     We affirm that security rests not in armaments.
We seek a just economic order.
in which everyone has access to the abundance of the earth. 
     We seek justice in human relationships.
We choose struggle rather than indifference.
     We choose to be citizens rather than subjects.
We choose to be friends of the earth, not exploiters.
     We choose to be peacemakers rather than peacekeepers.
We join other communities resisting the threat of hunger and injustice.
     Before us today are set life and death.
We unite to resist the powers of death;
     We choose life that we and our children may live.

Doxology

Affirmation of Faith
We affirm our faith in the little graces of life:
    The urgency of growth, the strength of laughter, the vitality of friendship.

We affirm our confidence in the dignity of humankind:
    Fortitude in despair, strength in weakness, love in hatred.

We affirm our joy in the experiences of living:
    The fragrance of nostalgia, the scattered moments of delight, the exhilaration 
            of danger.

We affirm our need of comrades:
    The offerings of faiths, the gifts of variety, the quality of difference.

We affirm our hunger for God:
    The desire for fulfillment, the ache for understanding, the sense of peace.

Benediction

Postlude
"Invention No. 1 in C Major," by J. S. Bach. Karen Kline, piano.
Worship Notes

The worship leader is Moses Mason.

The guest proclaimer is Reverend Denise Junious.

The prelude and postlude are played by Karen Kline, piano.

The Call to Worship is a prayer of Rhys Williams.

The Opening Prayer is from Imaging the Word Vol. 2, by Charles Singer and Albert Hari.

The Unison Confession is  from Project Plowshares, as reprinted in Singing the Living Tradition, the hymnal of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

“Blessing” by The Covenant Singers; David Lee, directing.

The Prayer of Dedication is by Warren Talbot.

The Affirmation of Faith is adapted from “The Season of Affirmation” in Meditations of the Heart by Howard Thurman. ​
​
Sunday schedule for today: 
9:00 - Adult Education with Zoom
10:00 - Worship via videos on the Worship Page
11:00 - Transition from worship to coffee time with Zoom

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