“May God watch between you and me, when we are absent one from the other.” -Genesis 31:49

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS – Andy Bachmann

PRELUDE – “Trumpet Voluntary” by Jeremiah Clarke, offered by Ewan Johnson, Carl Carter, trumpet; accompanied by Phillip Herr-Klepacki

Elena Frenock: Loving God of life’s journeying, inspire your daughters of prophecy, your sons of vision, and your children of imagining.

People: Our strength is in a liturgy of learning about your many faces.

Mariam Sow: God of crashing waves, God of sparrow, elephant, and wild orchids in the woods;

People: Our hope is in the wellspring of the coming generation; the common good is found by sharing stories and dances, cultures, and textures.

Isa Ward: Inspire our dreams that serve each other and teach us to learn to imagine what is possible!

All: Living God of science and technology, crayons and tablets, forest and city, word, and clay; inspire your daughters of vision, your sons of prophecy, and your children of imagining.

OPENING SONG – “You Have Come Down to the Lakeshore”
Singing led by Elena Frenock, Accompanied by Mariam Sow, guitar and Ewan Johnson and Carl Carter, trumpet

COMMISSIONING OF OUR CHICAGO WORK TOUR TEAM

One: Today, we gather as neighbors to send you out to other neighbors. We celebrate that we are connected to each other across different places and pray that those bonds will grow stronger through this work tour experience.

Congregation: We rejoice that you will meet new neighbors in person and will work together with them to embody God’s love in that community. We commit to receive you and to be open to new ideas ourselves when you return, empowered for long term involvement here and to work toward a just world for all.

One: A story is told of two disciples who walked the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They did not notice the length of the journey because they were talking and discussing the events of the past days – seeing Jesus suffer and watching the community struggle. You will be asked to be attentive to the sacred places where you will meet the Spirit in the stranger and in the complexities of the world’s beauty and its struggles.

Congregation: May you, like the early followers, barely notice the long journey, as you seek to learn and to help.

One: We charge you to be active listeners and compassionate participants when a stranger joins you on the road.

Team: We go to walk with our spiritual siblings who God calls friends – And in the journey to find ourselves friended.

Congregation: Go with our love, support and prayers. Go with our blessings. Go with our willingness to receive you when you return and with the willingness to change ourselves with the new ideas, inspirations, and insights you will share.

Team: We accept that love, support and prayers. We accept the responsibility to be open to new ideas, inspirations and insights during this journey. We accept, with the help of God, the possibility of transformation of ourselves and others.

One: May you be granted traveling mercies and may God watch between us while we are absent, one from the other. Amen

All: AMEN!

TIME WITH THE CHILDREN – “What a Wonderful World” with Lucy Stein

BIRTHDAYS

INTERLUDE

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE – Bromleigh McCleneghan

READING

I encourage you to live with life. Be courageous, adventurous. Give us a tomorrow, more than we deserve… Love life. Engage in it. Give it all you’ve got. Love it with a passion because life truly does give back, many times over, what you put into it.  – Maya Angelou

REFLECTIONS FROM OUR GRADUATES – Offered by:

Ella Denny
Nikolai Gutierrez-Hernandez
Maya Johnson 
Lucy Stein
Isabelle Wolcott-Durante

SENIOR SLIDESHOW

A PARTING GIFT AND A PARTING BLESSING FOR OUR GRADUATING SENIORS

CLOSING SONG – “Go, My Children, with My Blessing” (verses 1 & 2) #82, black Hymnal

BENEDICTION 

ALLELUIA

POSTLUDE

Ella Denny graduated from the Gainesville High School Cambridge Program. She will attend Florida State University to pursue a major in Digital Media Production.Nikolai Gutierrez-Hernandez graduated from Buchholz High School. He will attend Western Colorado University, majoring in Recreation and Outdoor Education.

Maya Johnson graduated from Gainesville High school and was a member of the National Honor Society. She will attend Santa Fe College on a full scholarship with a dual major in the Zoo Program and Zoology.

Ty Robertson graduated from Buchholz High School. He is attending Hillsborough Community College on a baseball scholarship and plans to complete an associate degree and transfer to a university.

Nate Stapleton graduated from the Vanguard School in Lake Wales, FL. He will be working at a skate camp in California for the summer and then plans on getting a tattoo internship and to start working as a tattoo artist.

Lucy Stein is a Graduate of Gainesville High School. She plans on attending Santa Fe college for two years and, after getting her AA, continuing on to University of North Florida for a Deaf education degree.

Izzy Wolcott-Durante graduated from Gainesville High School and will be attending Florida State University through the study abroad program in Florence, Italy. After the year away, she plans on majoring in political science.

Anna Frenchman