WELCOME AND ANNOUCEMENTS – Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan

PRELUDE – “Summertime” by G. Gershwin – Offered by Larry Reimer, trumpet; Phillip Herr-Klepacki, piano; Mary Fukuyama, cajon; Jackie Davis, bass

CALL TO WORSHIP – Rev. Talia Raymond

Leader: Creator God who has gifted us with the blessing of animals, those in the wild, those on farms, those in our own homes

Many: We gather to seek your presence among us.

Leader: Creator God, you brought into being that which we could not imagine for ourselves, life we cannot see without the aid of microscopes,
animals we can only see in pictures from remote regions of this planet earth,

Many: We marvel at the diversity of creation.

Leader: We thank you for abundant life;
for the birds we hear in the morning,
for the drone of the bees when we are outside, for the vast tapestry of life which is interwoven.

Many: We give thanks that all your critters, creeping and flying and everything in between, have a place in the choir, a place in your heart, and a place in that vast tapestry of life.

                                                                                              — Adapted from Rev. Barbara Allen

Chorus:
All God’s critters got a place in the choir Some sing low, some sing higher Some sing out loud on the telephone wire And some just clap their hands, or paws Or anything they got.

Listen to the bass, it’s the one on the bottom Where the bullfrog croaks and the hippopotamus Moans and groans with a big to-do The old cow just goes MOOOOO

The dog and the cat pick up the middle While the honey bee hums and the cricket fiddles The donkey brays and the pony neighs And the old coyote howls

All God’s critters got a place in the choir Some sing low, some sing higher Some sing out loud on the telephone wire And some just clap their hands, or paws Or anything they got.

Listen to the top where the little birds sing On the melody with the high note ringing The hoot owl hollers over everything And the jaybird disagrees

Singin’ in the night-time, singin’ in the day Little duck quacks, and he’s on his way The possum ain’t got much to say

And the porcupine talks to himself All God’s critters got a place in the choir Some sing low, some sing higher Some sing out loud on the telephone wire And some just clap their hands, or paws Or anything they got.

It’s a simple song of livin’ sung everywhere By the ox and the fox and the grizzly bear Grumpy alligator and the hawks above Sly raccoon and the turtle dove.

TIME WITH CHILDREN AND BIRTHDAYS     

INTERLUDE

READING – From “Paradise Lost”, Bk 1, 27-49 – Rev. Sandy Reimer

Say first–for Heaven hides nothing from thy view,
Nor the deep tract of Hell–say first what cause
Moved our grand parents, in that happy state,
Favoured of Heaven so highly, to fall off
From their Creator, and transgress his will
For one restraint, lords of the World besides.
Who first seduced them to that foul revolt?
Th’ infernal Serpent; he it was whose guile,
Stirred up with envy and revenge, deceived
The mother of mankind, what time his pride
Had cast him out from Heaven, with all his host
Of rebel Angels, by whose aid, aspiring
To set himself in glory above his peers,
He trusted to have equalled the Most High,
If he opposed, and with ambitious aim
Against the throne and monarchy of God,
Raised impious war in Heaven and battle proud,
With vain attempt. Him the Almighty Power
Hurled headlong flaming from th’ ethereal sky,
With hideous ruin and combustion, down
To bottomless perdition, there to dwell
In adamantine chains and penal fire,
Who durst defy th’ Omnipotent to arms.
— John Milton

READING – “The Termite”      

Some primal termite knocked on wood
And tasted it, and found it good!
And that is why your Cousin May
Fell through the parlor floor today.
                                        — Ogden Nash

SPEICAL MUSIC AND OFFERING – “Ashokan Farewell” by J.  Unger
Offered by Larry Reimer, trumpet; Phillip Herr-Klepacki, piano; Jackie Davis, bassREADING – Genesis 1:24-25  And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.’ And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.SERMON – “Every Creeping Thing” – Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE – Rev. Talia Raymond

HYMN – “Garden Song” #17, UCG Songbook

1.Inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow.
All it takes is a rake and a hoe and a piece of fertile ground.
Inch by inch, row by row, someone bless these seeds I sow.
Someone warm them from below till the rain comes tumbling down.

2. Pullin’ weeds, pickin’ stones, we are made of dreams and bones.
I feel a need to grow my own for the time is near at hand.
Grain for grain, sun and rain, find my way through nature’s chain.
As I tune my body and brain to the music of the land.

3. Make your rows, straight and long, temper them with warmth and song.
Mother earth will make you strong if you give her love and care.
See that crow, watching hungrily, from its perch on yonder tree.
In my garden I’m as free as that feathered thief up there.

BENEDICTION

ALLELUIA

Tracy	Bachmann	07/09
Reid	Schreiber	07/10
Stasia	Snowden	07/10
Larry	Loesch	07/11
John	Harvey	07/12
Liz	McCulloch	07/12
Laura	Robertson	07/12
Lizzie	Dixon	07/12
Brandon	Telg	07/12
Curt	DeGroff	07/13
Holden	Martin	07/13
Mark	Martin	07/13
Jenna	White	07/13
Walt	Barry	07/14
Darren	Burgess	07/14
Aubrey	Ingram	07/14
Lauren	McIntyre	07/15
Cindy	Bergbower	07/16