“What declaration of possibility can you make that has the power to transform the community and inspire you?”
– Peter Block, from the book, “Community: The Shape of Belonging.”

WELCOME- Rev. Andy Bachmann

PRELUDE- “Rocky Mountain High” by John Denver, offered by Adam Hill

CALL TO WORSHIP- Vicki Evans, Creation Care, Climate Justice Task Force

Leader: Every week, we come together to sing God’s praises.

People: But what can we do to protect the songs of Creation?

Leader: Can the choir become the protectors of birdsong? There are many kinds of music in this world. Is it enough to sing about them as they vanish?

People: If those with beautiful human voices don’t act to protect the voices of the birds and the frogs, who exactly will?

Leader: Can an omnipotent being weep? Can we even begin to imagine the ferocity of divine grief when the last varied thrush vanishes or when the last flecks of colored fish fade from a coral reef?

People: Can there be a dishonoring of God greater than this– to disregard the love of God for the small lives God has shaped with their own hands?

Leader: People of the church know how to spread the word of God. Spread this word–

People: The Earth is God’s creation, and our work in this world is to keep it safe.

-Kathleen Dean Moore, from “Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril”

OPENING SONG– “To You, O God, All Creatures Sing”

TIME WITH THE CHILDREN – Rev. Andy Bachmann

BIRTHDAYS

INTERLUDE 

SCRIPTURE- Isaiah 40: 28-31 from the Jewish Study Bible

“Have you not heard? The Lord is God from of old, Creator of the earth from end to end; They never grow faint or weary, Their wisdom cannot be fathomed. They give strength to the weary, Fresh vigor to the spent. Youths may grow faint and weary, and Young men stumble and fall, but they who trust in the Lord shall renew their strength as eagles grow new plumes: They shall run and not grow weary, They shall march and not grow faint.”

SPECIAL MUSIC AND OFFERTORY – “Eagle’s Wings Medley,” words and music by Michael Joncas, Horatio Spafford, and Philip P. Biss. Choral setting by John F. Wilson. Offered by the UCG Choir, directed by Phillip Herr-Klepacki.

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SERMON- “The Wings of Eagles” – Rev. Andy Bachmann

SUNG RESPONSE

And God will raise you up on eagle’s wings,
bear you on the breath of dawn,
make you to shine like the sun,
and hold you in the palm of God’s hand.

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND PRAYERS – Rev. Talia Raymond

CLOSING HYMN- “Creation’s God, We Humbly Pause”

Creation’s God, we humbly pause
To give you thanks for nature’s laws.
The earth our legacy once born
Now suffers sore from human scorn.
Help us, O God, to mend our ways,
To save the earth for future’s days.

When famine stalks the ravished land,
Help us to feel and understand.
‘Mid all our plenty we would share
Of all we have, our love declare.
O grant us wisdom; show the way
To end earth’s hunger in our day.

Grant us, O God, courageous will
To discipline and change instill,
To find the joy of simpler ways,
Enhancing life, while time delays.
Creation’s God, help us renew
The earth, our precious trust from you.

BENEDICTION

ALLELUIA

Happy Birthday!