All Saints and All Souls, November 1st, 2020

“To Be Exalted; To Be Seen”

Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost, October 11th, 2020

“The Hard, Right Thing”

Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost, October 4th, 2020

Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost, Sept 13th, 2020

This morning, we welcome our church family back after our summer recess.

Going forward, our service will be live on our Facebook page, linked here, every Sunday morning at 10:00. Drive-in church will also continue for those who would like to park near the church and tune their radios to 91.5 FM. We will also continue to post audio recordings of the church service on this page. Finally, we are prepared to allow a few people to enter into the church in carefully designated areas. We ask that if you’d like to do this, to please contact a member of the church leadership.

Eighth Sunday After Pentecost, July 26, 2020

Good morning and welcome! Below, you’ll find the audio for our final podcast of July. During this service, we celebrate the life John Lewis, and what it means to be a conscientious, thoughtful, and devoted Christian.

The video for the service can be found on our Facebook page: linked here.

For August, we’ll be celebrating at First Congregational Church, Hadley. Enjoy, stay safe, and we’ll see you in September!

Seventh Sunday After Pentecost, July 19, 2020

In the heat and sun of the summer, welcome!

This week’s service uses imagery of summer and planting to meditate on this week’s scripture, “The Parable of the Weeds.” This service was again broadcast on the radio to all who drove up to the church Sunday morning, and seen live on Facebook.

We’ve included the audio recording on this morning’s service below, and our Facebook live feed can be found on our Facebook page. (Again, we apologize for the choppiness of the Facebook feed: the cell reception in the church can be quite poor!)

God Bless, and stay safe!

Sixth Sunday After Pentecost, July 12, 2020

Thank you for welcoming us into your car, your home, or in whatever venue you hear and see this church’s Sunday services.  We appreciate your gift of hospitality and pray that we might return that gift.

“God, you yearn to be so close to us that we can know you in every breath, in every hope, in every relationship. You long for us to trust in your power to bring to life new possibilities where there has been no hope.  Meet us here today and teach us to recognize the ways of life and hope into which you are leading us. So, may our desires become your desires, our work become your work, and our community the place where you are sought and found.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”

This service was broadcast live to those who drove up to the church, and tuned their stereos to 91.5 FM. We also used a Facebook live stream this Sunday, and the video and audio is from that feed (with apologies: the audio gets a little dicey at the end!)

Fifth Sunday After Pentecost, July 5, 2020

Happy Independence Day Weekend! Today’s music, readings, and message reflect on ways to be a humble, critical, and respectful member of a nation, and ways we can challenge ourselves to be more progressive and active citizens and Christians. We also celebrate communion this Sunday, as well as welcome our siblings from First Church Hadley that are joining us in worship for the month of July.

This service was broadcast live to those who drove up to the church, and tuned their stereos to 91.5 FM, and the audio is drawn from that feed. We also used a Facebook live stream (for this first time!) this Sunday, and the video is adapted from that tape.

Fourth Sunday After Pentecost, “Pride Sunday,” June 28, 2020

Today, we celebrate Pride month, as well as the ongoing fight for LGBTQIA+ rights and the struggles of all those who are marginalized based on their identities.

Just as last week, this is a recording of our “drive in” service, in which we broadcast the live Sunday morning celebration to any and all who have driven up and tuned their car stereos or portable radios to 91.5 FM. If you’re local, feel free to join us for this socially-distanced fellowship any upcoming Sunday.

We hope you all are staying safe, happy, healthy, and enjoying the blossoming summer!

0:00 Prelude: “It’s Not That Easy Bein’ Green,” music and lyrics by Joe Raposo (1970)

3:52 Welcome/Offering/Explanation about the use of “Queer”           

We speak so often of brokenness in religious life,

Let us speak today of wholeness.

You are welcome here, all of you

Every part of you, beautiful just the way you are

Here you do not need to be something more or something less

No holding back, no hiding

No exerting yourself, no trying to do more or be more

You have inherent worth and dignity

You do not need to change anything about yourself to be welcome here:

Your skin, your hair, your belly, your limbs, your face—

all beautiful just the way they are

You are extraordinary

Each and every one of you different from each and beautiful in your own way,

Breathtaking.

Let us worship together!   

– Sharon Wylie

5:24 Musical Offering: “Song of the Soul” by Cris Williamson (sung by Larry Picard and Polly Keener)

9:26 Gathering Prayer 

10:54 “Reflections on the End of the Stonewall Anniversary Year,” Chris White

18:27 Hymn: “This Little Light of Mine”

20:34 Scripture: Genesis 22:1-14                                                                                                                                          

24:12 Sermon: “No Apologies,” Pastor Pullan

30:46 Musical Offering: “Love don’t need a reason” by Michael Callen, Peter Allen and Marsha Malamet (1990)

34:40 Offering and Pastoral Prayer

36:54 Hymn of Parting: “What a Wonderful World” (song by Bob Thiele)

39:11 Benediction

39:45 Organ Postlude: “Reflections” from Mulan (by Matthew Wilder and David Zippel)

Third Sunday After Pentecost, Sunday, June 21, 2020

This Sunday, we begin to experiment with celebrating church in real time and transmitting the service on our short-range radio station. The service you hear linked below was celebrated and heard live by parishioners who parked outside of the sanctuary and tuned into this “drive in” church.

We hope you enjoy this week’s service. Please stay tuned for updates as to how we continue to experiment and innovate our services over the next weeks!

0:00 Prelude: “We Shall Overcome”

5:27 Welcome/Waving the Peace

6:44 Waving intermission (The Monty Python Intermission Music)

7:52 Gathering Prayer

Gentle Gatherer,

We bear the lashing of storms

to keep those under our outstretched arms safe and well;

because we love, because we are willing.

Who shelters those who shelter others, God?

I am weary and I forget.

Please remind me of Your restful haven,

 that You do not sleep,

and that You hold me up and encircle me in Your strength.

Help me feel Your outstretched invitation still…

Because You are willing, because You are love.

Amen - written by Adrienne De Jager

9:42 Hymn: “Lord I Want to Be Christian In My Heart”

13:06 Scripture: Matthew 10:24-39

15:56 Musical Offering: “Calling to Me” written by Polly Keener, sung by Polly and Larry Picard

20:56 Sermon: “Reflecting Pond,” Pastor Pullan

30:02 “I Won’t Mind,” music by J. Blumenkrantz; lyrics by A. Kessler and L Saines

35:02 Pastoral Prayer

38:58 Hymn: “Amazing Grace”

41:03 Benediction

41:18 Postlude: “Carousel Waltz,” by Richard Rodgers

Second Sunday After Pentecost, Sunday, June 14, 2020

Welcome!

This Sunday’s service draws its readings and sounds from the Jewish tradition. We specifically celebrate the bat mitzvah of North Hadley’s own Joni Brewer, who shares with us her own faith experience as both a practicing Jew and an associate member of our congregation. Today’s music pays homage to that Jewish tradition, but begins with a tribute to the memorials to George Floyd this week, whose death at the hands of police has sparked a renewed and sustained call for criminal justice and civil rights reforms in our country.

Wherever you are on your faith journey, we hope this podcast will give you some joy and peace during our continued social isolation, and as we nervously begin experimenting with reducing that isolation. Be well!

00:00 Prelude: Etude in E major, Op. 10 no. 3, F. Chopin

Accompanied by voices of the past week, memorializing of George Floyd, and supporting of legislative reforms around racial justice

3:55 Welcome and Call to Offering, Pastor Gordon Pullan

7:10 Song: Hinei ma tov (traditional), sung by Larry Picard 

8:24 Psalm 150, Sung by Mak’hela, a Western-Massachusetts Jewish choir

11:39 Torah Reading: Deuteronomy 15:10 &11, read in English and chanted in Hebrew

13:20 Sermon: “Words,” given by Joni Beck Brewer

20:55 Psalm 34, as sung at her bat mitzvh, Joni Beck Brewer

         Might there be a person who wants life,

         Who desires days of seeking good?

Never let your tongue speak evil,

         Nor your lips pronounce deceit!

Swerve away from evil, perform good.

         Seek peace and follow after it.

22:30 “Through Heaven’s Eyes” From The Prince of Egypt (1998), by Stephen Schwartz

Larry Picard, vocalist

25:41 Introduction to Blessings of Praise 

Dear God,

Open the blocked passageways to you.

The congealed places.

Roll away the heavy stone from the well as your servant

Jacob did when he beheld his beloved Rachel.

Help us Open the doors of trust

that have been jammed with hurt and rejection.

As you open the blossom in spring,

even as you open the heavens in storm,

open us—to feel your great, awesome, wonderful presence.

                                                                        --Sheila Peltz Weinberg

26:25 Silent Meditation

26:45 Anthem: ”Mi Shebeirach,” Larry Picard and Joni Brewer, vocalists

May the source of strength,

Who blessed the ones before us.

Help us find the courage to make our lives a blessing,

and let us say, Amen.

 Bless those in need of healing with

the renewal of body, the renewal of spirit,

And let us say, Amen. 

29:41 Concluding Prayer                                                                          

30:14 Postlude: Tora Orah

A song traditionally sung in Jewish congregations before the Torah is read

Trinity Sunday, June 7, 2020

Welcome!

This week’s service reflects on the recent protests and social unrest of the past weeks. Throughout, the readings and music contemplate and mourns the the systemic oppression and injustice faced by black and brown people in the United States. These topics cast a sharp shadow over our celebration of the Lord’s supper this Sunday, reminding us that Jesus’s suffering and sacrifice were also at the hands of the established powers. The music includes prayers for redemption by Gustav Mahler and J.S. Bach, as well as a tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement that voices the names of victims of police violence. We invite you to view the corresponding video of this tribute, as it shows the corresponding faces of these victims.

While the events of this past week are troubling, we hope our faith can provide us the courage and hope to transform our frustrated energies into lasting and sustainable change. Stay safe, and God Bless.

0:00 Prelude, “Urlicht,” Gustav Mahler (1893)

Mahler wrote this music to express humanity’s pining for redemption, and to reflect on the lengths we might take to achieve that redemption.

3:21 Welcome, spoken by Larry Picard

4:26 Prayer for Unification, spoken by Pastor Pullan

God, who walked with our ancestors, who walks among us now, and who will walk with our children's children for generations to come, we give you thanks for your presence.

In the air that we breathe, in the sound of rustling leaves and in the waving grass, we give you thanks for your presence.  In the sound of children's laughter, and in the songs of our elders,
We give you thanks for your presence.

 And where we feel the absence of your presence, in the powers the seek to divide us from one another, from our ancestor, our children, your creation--guide us to see the cracks that let in even the smallest shard of light where we might wedge ourselves, expand ourselves and break wide open those very barriers to your presence.

5:36 Hymn: “Many and Great Are Your Works”

8:16 Invitation to Meditation

9:21 Organ Meditation: “When We Are In Greatest Need,” J.S. Bach (1717)

12:45 Prayer of Thankfulness

13:17 Invitation to communion

17:02 A Musical Eulogy: “Say Their Names,” (compiled by Chris White)

A tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement, and a memorial of those killed by racist and white-supremacist policing policies. The corresponding video, with the faces of those names spoken, is to the right:

The track lasts 8:46, the length of time a police officer pressed his knee against George Floyd’s throat, suffocating him.

25:51 The Lord’s Supper, Pastor Pullan

Polly Keener, vocalist

28:44 A chanted thanksgiving, Chris White and Larry Picard, cantors

30:19 A spoken thanksgiving, Pastor Pullan

31:06 Hymn: “Eat This Bread and Never Hunger”

34:41 “Words for the Journey,” followed by the Lord’s Prayer

36:55 Postlude: “A Patriotic Song, Presented as This Week Deserves”

40:29 Benediction

0:00 Prelude: “100,000 Articulations of the Pitch C” 

In recognition of the United States exceeding 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 this week

5:17 Welcome and Passing of the Peace

6:14 Call To Worship: “Pentecostal Hour” by Mark DeBolt, read by Larry Piccard and Sharyn Wentworth

One: No zephyr soft

but cyclone strong

bore thoughts aloft

in windy song.

Another: No flicker mild

but flames of red

danced hot and wild

upon each head.

One: And so fierce was

our thundering word

in languages

of all who heard,

Another: all knew it meant

the Spirit’s power.

This was our Pentecostal hour.

6:50  Hymn: “Come Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove”

8:51 Unison Prayer, read by Larry Piccard

Move among us, Spirit, 

and gather us together with you.  

Take our many selves 

– our lives, our loves, our ideas, 

our questions, our speech, our silence – 

and unite us as your people.  

Give us the gifts of perception and understanding, 

so that even as we dream your dreams and see your visions, 

we may be able to witness to your presence in our common life.  Amen.

9:26 Gloria: “Morning has broken”

10:06 Old Testament Reading: Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

11:36 Gospel Reading: Acts 2:1-21

14:06 “A Sermon For Pentecost, and For This Week,” delivered by Rob Powell

22:51 Musical Anthem: “Veni Creator”

An ancient Roman chant for Pentecost Sunday, accompanied by wind chimes (as wind is a traditional symbol of the Holy Spirit)

25:57 Pastoral prayer (ending with something like, “and now in the words our Lord taught us…”)

27:45 Lord’s Prayer

 28:20 Choral Response

28:36  Invitation to Generosity and How to Donate 

28:58 Offertory: “Pentecost Soundscape”

Using recordings from past North Hadley hymns and readings played backwards, and accompanied by sounds emitted by stars and nebulae, captured by the Kepler telescope

31:16 Doxology: “We Give Thee But Thine Own”

31:39 Prayer of Gratitude

32:01 Hymn: “Come Down, O Love Divine”

35:42 Benediction

Go forth from this place knowing 

that God has filled you with the Holy Spirit.  

Rejoice in the power of the Spirit within and among you, 

and tell the Good News everywhere you go, 

trusting that God will translate where needed. Amen.

35:58 Choral Benediction: “Holy Spirit Come To Us,” Taize

37:29 Postlude: “The Wild Rover,” traditional Irish Pub tune 

Sung by the Hymn Singing in Isolation Project; Jason Hooper, guitarist

Seventh Sunday of Easter, May 24, 2020

Welcome, and Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

This week, we come together to contemplate the many balances and contradictions we are confronted with in this time. Relaxing while remaining vigilant. Opening our doors while keeping our spaces isolated. Energy and creativity in the face of fatigue. Celebrating individual joys in a time of widespread hardship. On this Memorial Day weekend, the music and message remember those who have made sacrifices for our country and society, and acknowledge and celebrate our nation and our shared history.

As spring blooms around us, and we negotiate a new phase of our isolation, let us stay safe, stay kind, and stay connected.

0:00 Prelude for Memorial Day: “Taps”

5:23 Welcome, Pastor Gordon

5:41 Call to Worship: “Allow,” by Donna Faulds, and read by Pastor Gordan and Lucy Pullan

One: There is no controlling life.

Another: Try corralling a lightning bolt, containing a tornado.

One: Dam a stream and it will create a new channel.

Another: Resist, and the tide will sweep you off your feet.

One: Allow, and grace will carry you to higher ground.

Another: The only safety lies in letting it all in – the wild and the weak; fear, fantasies, failures and success.

One: When loss rips off the doors of the heart, or sadness veils your vision with despair, practice becomes simply bearing the truth.

Another: In the choice to let go of your known way of being, the whole world is revealed to your new eyes.

One: Come, let us worship the one who calls us to let go and promises to reveal to us.

6:39 Opening Hymn: “God of Our Parents, Whose Almighty Hand”

9:46 Unison Prayer,  read by Lucy Pullan

Great Spirit,

How could the word "open" instill such fear in us--close us off. How could it be that we have grown so comfortable in our cocoons in this short time. Give us strength where there is timidity and wise caution where there is danger. Encourage us to at least open the doors and expand our wet wings and dry them in the fresh air. Amen.

10:14 Gloria: “Morning Has Broken”

10:55 Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11                     

13:17 Sermon: “Opening the door,”  Pastor Pullan

29:37 Anthem   “Lead Me, Guide Me,” Larry Picard, vocalist

32:17 A Reflection and Prayer for Memorial Day 

33:33 Lord’s Prayer

34:14 Response: “Precious Lord, Take My Hand”

34:35 Hymn for Reflection: “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory”      

37:29 Invitation to Offering, and How to Donate to North Hadley Congregational

38:34 Sounds of Quarantine Fatigue, Chris White

Using selections from a podcast in which people describe what they’ve missed most during isolation, and with text and quotations from Phillip Glass’s Einstein on the Beach (1976).

42:17 Doxology: “Peace I leave with you my friends”

43:06  Hymn for Memorial Day: “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” 

45:10 Benediction

45:29 Choral Benediction: “Electric Amen”

46:07 Postlude: “Ascension,” Chris White

For piano and kitchen utensils

Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 17, 2020

Welcome!

This morning, we celebrate our service with a mix of voices, many from within our community, and many from communities far removed. In the spirit of being together, apart, we’ve included aspects of the audio from a remote-video worship service compiled by the United Church of Christ conference ministers. Today’s message and texts engage with our ongoing search for meaning and for the divine. Our music supports those ideas by incorporating aspects of mysticism –old and new – while also reflecting on the upcoming idea of “reopening” in our economies and environments.

Let us keep each other, our community, and our world in our prayers and we continue on our isolated-but-connected journeys.

0:00 Prelude, Op.74, No.4, A. Scriabin (1914)

Scriabin designed this piece to express his deep mysticism, and to depict the transformational potential underlying the world around us.

1:43 Welcome: The Council of UCC Conference Ministers

2:43 Call To Worship, spoken by Mary-Kate McNulty

Within each of our lives there is a longing for community and the Presence of God.

Sometimes we worry that we will walk alone, unnoticed and afraid.

This day Christ tells us that we will never be alone. An Advocate will share our journey.

And this journey calls for us to continue to keep to the teachings of our Lord.

May the ever-present love of God be with you. And may the joy of Christ surround you.

May we know the presence of the Advocate as we gather in this community of peace,

continuing to share the cost of discipleship with deeds of bold mercy and courageous justice.

As an Easter People following a Risen Lord, may the life of Jesus live on in us and through us.

Amen.

3:37  Hymn: “God  Is Here! As We Your People”

8:12 Prayer for all Spoken by One, read by Mary-Kate McNulty

Still-speaking God, we have come here today for many reasons, each with our own story.

May these reasons and stories be immersed in your Sacred Story,

finding ourselves caught up in the drama and beauty of Jesus’ teachings, life, and ministry.

Through your Holy Spirit enable us to move boldly into the future and to fulfill the hope of love that Jesus taught.

Amen.

8:43 Gloria: “Morning Has Broken”

9:22   Scripture Lesson: Acts 17:22-31 (read by the UCC Conference Ministers)

13:54 Gospel: John 14:15-21                                 

14:58  Sermon: “Groping For God,” Pastor Gordon Pullan

31:21  Musical Anthem: “Wolves”

The re-introduction of wolves in Yellowstone, as explained by Esperanza Spalding, read by Joni Becker-Brewer, underscored by sounds of transformation

34:05  “I Worried A Lot,” A poem by Mary Oliver (2010)

35:29 Pastoral prayer (the UCC Conference Ministers)

37:16 Declaration of Faith, and Lord’s Prayer

A musical setting of the UCC Conference Ministers’ “Statement of Faith,” ending with voices of North Hadley

42:12  Invitation to Generosity (the UCC Conference Ministers)

44:20 How to Donate to North Hadley Congregational Church

44:41 “Hallelujah,” by Leonard Cohen (1984)

This communal singalong is virtually set in a communal gathering space – in recognition of, anticipation toward, and worry about the upcoming re-opening of our public spaces.

50:08 Doxology: “Peace I Leave With You My Friends”

50:55 Hymn: “Precious Lord”

53:15  Benediction, given by the UCC Conference Ministers

55:05 Choral Benediction: “With or Without You,” by U2 (1987)

58:30 “Hindsight is 2020” From the Murder Hornets: A Musical For 2020, by White and Long

This musical is being composed song-by-song as part of an ongoing fundraiser for musicians effected by the pandemic. For more info, check out our GoFundMe page.

Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 10, 2020

Welcome, and Happy Mothers’ Day!

This Sunday, we celebrate parenting and maternity, especially in this time of pandemic. As our time of isolation continues, and more and more of us are effected by this disease’s repercussions, our readings and message reflect on life, birth, and re-birth. Our music this morning translates the COVID genome into sound, presents an interpretation of a Broadway classic, and ends with a song that spoofs one of this month’s top news stories.

As always, stay safe and stay strong!

0:00  Prelude: “Selections from the Gene Sequence of the COVID-19 Virus,” Megan Long, vocalist

Sung and played by computer such that the nucleotides are each assigned a pitch (adenine = A, guanine = G, cytosine = C, thymine = B)

2:29 Welcome

 3:12 Call to Worship

Leader:       As a mother calls her child, so God calls to us

People:       As a mother comforts her child, so God comforts us.

Leader:       As a mother feeds her child, so God feeds us.

People:       As a mother worries over her child, so God worries over us.

Leader:       As a mother nurtures her child’s freedom, so God nurtures our freedom.

People:       Hear the call, surrender to the comfort, face the troubles that cause worry, feed on the freedom.  Come, let us bow down and worship the God of our mothers and fathers, for we are the children of eternity’s womb and the heirs of creation. 

4:01 Hymn: “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”

Introduction and interlude adapted from L. v. Beethoven, Symphony 9, iv (1824)

8:12 “Prayer for All Spoken by One,” read by Diane O'Donnell

In you, O God, every family on earth receives its name.

Illumine our homes with the light of your love.

We thank you for gifts of love we have received from our mothers

and those who have served as mothers in many ways,

nourishing us and guiding us as we grow to be who we are.

As we have been loved by them,

so, we are loved by you, O God.

Join with us in this day of celebration

as we rejoice in being loved.

As you grant us peace in Christ Jesus our Lord,

so, we come to worship in His holy name.

8:52 Gloria: “Morning Has Broken”

9:34  The Poem “Yes it Hurts” by Karin Boye, read by Adrienne De Jager

In Honor of Mothers; In Honor of those Who Bear the Pain

11:20 Scripture Reading: 1 Peter, 2:2-10     

“Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation”

12:59  Sermon: “Dr. Livingstone, I Presume,”  Pastor Pullan

27:14 Choral Meditation: from “Alleluia” by Polly Keener, Pamela Mindell and Justina Golden, vocalists

28:48 Pastoral Prayer 

30:08 Lord’s Prayer

30:53  Choral Response: “Fairest Lord Jesus”

31:12   Invitation to Offering

33:52 Offertory: “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” from Carousel , by Rogers and Hammerstein

38:20 Doxology: “We Give Thee But Thine Own”

38:42  Hymn: “Now Thank We All Our God”

 41:43 Benediction

42:15 Choral Benediction : “Amens and Bells,” Chris White

43:19 Postlude “My Love Has Wings” from Murder Hornets: A New Musical, White and Long

Fourth Sunday of Easter, May 3, 2020

Welcome!

This Sunday, we reflect on the 23rd Psalm, listen to a scripture from the Acts of the Apostles, and hear voices from far near both raised in celebration and lowered in contemplation. We also celebrate communion this Sunday, and we hope you will join with us in your own homes, partaking of this sacrament at our individual tables, isolated but together. Our music today contemplates the idea of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, celebrates essential workers and May Day, and has some fun with a popular quarantine pastime.

We hope this podcast brings you a feeling community during this continued period of isolation. Stay safe, and God Bless!

0:00 Prelude: “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need,” arr. Chris White

3:27 Welcome, by Nancy Reid-McCree, adapted and read by Gordon Pullan

4:48 “Breathe in to Worship,” by Erin Roush and read by Richard Baer

I pause (breathe in and out) and thank you for this day. For the challenges, the emotions, the struggle. For in all this, I grow closer to you.

I pause (breathe in and out) and ask that in the darkness, I see your light and in my fear, I feel your strength.

I pause (breathe in and out) and remember that today, as in days before, I have survived. When I’ve wanted to run, I’ve stayed. When I wanted to hide, I have faced the day.

I pause (breathe in and out) and ask for forgiveness for the days I falter, and the anxiety takes over. I ask for compassion and love when I am unable to give those to myself.

I pause (breathe in and out) and resolve to love myself more tomorrow. And always feel your spirit surround me in safety.

I pause (breathe in and out) and rest.                                

I pause (breathe in and out) and worship you.                                  

6:40 Hymn: “O God, Our Help In Ages Past”

10:42 “Prayer for All, Spoken By One,” read by Valerie Smith

11:23 Gloria: “Morning Has Broken”

12:06 Old Testament Reading – Psalm 23 

12:53 New Testament Reading – Acts 2:42-47

14:42  Sermon:  “In Common,”  the Rev. Gordon Pullan

28:42 Musical Offering “Tierce en Taille” from Livre d’Orgue  by N. deGrigny (1699).

In memory of David Boe, Professor of Organ at Oberlin Conservatory. Prof. Boe died April 28, 2020 from complications of COVID-19.

33:30 Pastoral Prayer

35:46 Choral Response

36:02 Invitation to Offering

36:30  A setting of The Internationale (1871), arr. Chris White

This piece is scored for isolated choir, grocery check-out sounds, farm equipment, and medical ventilators. It is performed in honor of essential workers, workers and organizers everywhere, and May Day. Lyrics adapted from Billy Bragg (1990)

40:21 Prayer of Dedication

40:43 Doxology: “We Give Thee But Thine Own”

41:05 Hymn:  “Let Us Break Bread Together”

43:48 The Communion– The Invitation, The Prayer, The Institution and Offering of the Bread and Cup

48:08 Unison Prayer of Thanksgiving and Lord’s Prayer

49:19 Hymn: “Fairest Lord Jesus”

52:01 Benediction

52:28 Chorale Benediction, “Alleluia” by Polly Keener,  Pamela Mindell and Justina Golden, vocalists

52:51 Postlude: “Fugue on Sourdough,”  Chris White

Third Sunday of Easter, April 26, 2020

Welcome!

Our service this week reflects on the history we’re living and the histories we’ve inherited, all while being mindful of the natural world, as spring begins to blossom around us. We’ve chosen a blend of music, poetry, and song to refract these topics from many angles, including a special emphasis on the sound of water and the feel of walking by rivers and ponds at this time of year.

As our time of isolation continues, we hope you find a sense of community and togetherness in these podcasts. Stay safe, and God bless!

0:00 Prelude: “Quando me'n vo' “ from La bohème by G. Puccini (1895), Jamie-Rose Guarrine, vocalist

The character in this aria describes walking out into the streets and being admired by passersby, a somewhat poignant and poetic text given our current isolated situation!

1:52  Welcome

2:36  Call to community, from the poem “Spring” by William Blake

Sound the flute!  Now it’s mute.

Birds delight, Day and night;

Nightingale,  In the dale,

Lark in sky, Merrily, merrily to welcome in the spring.

Little lamb, Here I am;

Let me pull, Your soft wool;

Let me kiss,  Your soft face;

Merrily, merrily, we welcome in the spring.

3:12 Meditation: a recording of Lake Warner, Wednesday, April 22, 2020

 4:00  Hymn: “All Creature of Our God And King”

8:59 Prayer of Confession

9:50 The Passing of the Peace

10:15 Words of Assurance

God may come to us, unrecognized, as a stranger.  The Risen Christ reaches out to us in unexpected ways as we travel our own Emmaus roads.May the Word of our still-speaking God continue to burn in our hearts.

10:34 Gloria: “Morning Has Broken”

11:16  Old Testament Reading– Psalm 116: 1-4, 12-19

12:36  Gospel Reading– Luke 24: 13-35

15:36 Sermon: “Living History,” Rob Powell

26:24 Musical Offering: “Sounds from a Life Online,” Chris White

The soundscape includes sounds from virtual compline from the order of Corpus Christi, an interview with a first-grade teacher who uses a puppet to talk to his students about COVID-19, sounds from zoom classrooms across the country, online story telling by Mike Dockins, and videos from this past week’s Ramadan celebrations. 

30:52 Pastoral Prayer

32:43 The Lords’ Prayer

33:17 Choral Response: “Wade In The Water,” Larry Picard, vocalist

 36:23  Invitation to Offering

36:50  “Down in the River to Pray,” traditional (arranged by Holt Skinner and Chris White)

Underscored by a recording of the Connecticut River, Sunday morning, April 26, 2020.

39:42 Dedication of the Offering

40:01 Doxology: “We Give Thee But Thine Own”

40:24 A Poem: “The Gladdest Thing,” by Wendy Cope (1992), read by Marianna Ritchey and Sue Beckley

At lunchtime I bought a huge orange
The size of it made us all laugh.
I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave—
They got quarters and I had a half.

And that orange it made me so happy,
As ordinary things often do
Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park
This is peace and contentment. It’s new.

The rest of the day was quite easy.
I did all my jobs on my list
And enjoyed them and had some time over.
I love you. I’m glad I exist.

41:10 Hymn: “Crown Him With Many Crowns”

44:38 Benediction

45:11 Choral Benediction: Wade in the Water, reprise

45:30 Postlude: “Lilac Wine,”  James Shelton (1950)

This version is that arranged and covered by Nina Simone (1966), on this week’s anniversary of her death in 2003

Second Sunday of Easter and Earth Day Celebration, April 19, 2020

Welcome!

This week, we’re celebrating the second Sunday in our Easter season, and –since the Earth Day holiday falls next Wednesday– we are raising joys and concerns about our planet and the natural world. To this end, you can find potted trees in front of our church building this weekend, all ready to be planted. Please take one as you drive by, and plant it wherever you like!

We have also chosen to draw this week’s music and readings from staged theater, cinema, and music theater, venues that we cannot enjoy in real-time together during this period of isolation.

We hope that you find pleasure and solace in the world around you this next week, as spring peaks from the ground and the temperatures inch warmer. Stay safe, and God bless!

0:00 Prelude : “You Oughta Be Here With Me” from Big River, by Roger Miller (1985), Mary-kate Mcnulty, vocalist

 2:08 Welcome

 3:35 Unison Call to Worship

Just as Jesus appeared before his disciples in his resurrected form still bearing the scars of the crucifixion— this world is wounded, deeply, yet at the same time, there is resurrection and transformation. We are called to care for creation in its beauty and in its wounded-ness. The resurrection of Jesus offers hope of new life, for all of creation, and for generations to come. God of creation fill us with this hope, for in our brokenness we can do nothing apart from you, but only through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

 4:19 Opening Hymn: “Morning Has Broken”

 6:21 Prayer of Invocation

O Risen Christ, be with us this day.

We recognize your wounded hands; they tell us that you know what it is to struggle and suffer, and to prevail in the power of love.  We recognize the piercing in your side; it tells us that you know what it is to be without breath to gasp and go on and to speak in kindness.  We grasp those hands, we try to breath deep, deeper into a place of peace. 

Come, O Risen Christ.  Make us keenly aware of your gift of resurrection for our friends and loved ones who have entered your loving eternal embrace and receive our burden of lose as we empty our cares into your hands.  Make us keenly aware of your gift of resurrection that transforms lives and relationships and restores life to your creation.  Give us imagination enough to pursue your abundant life!  Pour into us the freshness of your new life; for you are our strength and our might.  Amen! Alleluia!

7:33  Gloria: “The Strife is O’er”

8:33 Readings from the Arts and Entertainment:

Doctor Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak (1957)

Macbeth, Act 5 Scene 5, by William Shakespeare (1623)

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

11:28 The Scripture Reading: Job 12:7-10

12:46  Sermon: “A Homily for Earth Day,” by the Rev. Gordon Pullan

26:30 A Reading from the Arts and Entertainment:

Lyrics from “No One Is Alone” from Into the Woods, by Stephen Sondheim (1986); set to digital accompaniment

28:40 Pastoral Prayer

30:12 The Lord’s Prayer

30:47  Sung Response: “Canticle of the Turning”

32:10 A Reading from Art and Entertainment:

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

32:39  Invitation to the Offering

33:20 Offertory: “Through Heaven’s Eyes” from Prince of Egypt, by Stephen Schwartz, Larry Picard, vocalist

36:30 Dedication of the Offering

36:47 Response: “We Give Thee But Thine Own”

37:12  Readings from Art and Entertainment:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 3 Scene 2, by William 15.3 Shakespeare

The Princess Bride, by William Goldman

37:42 Closing Hymn: :This is my Father’s (Mother’s/Parent’s) World”

41:06 Spoken Benediction

41:45 Musical Benediction: “Christ The Lord is Risen Today,” Reprise

42:32 Postlude: “Edelweiss” from The Sound of Music, by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein (1959)

Easter Celebration, April 12, 2020

Alleluia, the Lord is Risen indeed!

We invite you to celebrate the most central event in our Christian tradition with our Easter podcast. May this service be a reminder that, even as we isolate in our own houses and apartments, we are spiritually unified as a church community.

Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Aramaic, "Teacher!" –John 20:15-17

0:00 Prelude: “Alleluia” by Polly Keener (member of North Hadley Church)

Pamela Mindell and Justina Golden, vocalists

4:03  Welcome

5:22 Call to worship

Resurrection starts with the cry of grief, an empty place, a familiar voice. It's tiny...like the fingers of a newborn. Seemingly insignificant...like the grain that lands in the clam's open mouth. Often overlooked...like the leaf bud on the tree. Christ has risen. Waiting for us to take notice. Christ has risen. Waiting for us to respond. Christ has risen. Christ has risen indeed!

6:02 Soundscape: the people walking in isolation to the tomb together

7:30 Hymn: “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”

10:57 Prayer of Invocation

Merciful God, because of your love for us, we are a resurrection people. Through your son, Jesus Christ, we are a resurrection people. When we are buried in the isolation of the day-to-day, may we rise to your communion, your peace, your Shalom. When we are buried so deep in our material worries may we rise to your holy simplicity. When we are buried in wrong action and inaction, may we rise repentant, with our hands to work and our hearts to God.

May we, and all your children of the world, rise each morning as if it were Easter morning, acting as a true resurrection people, full of eternal hope and new life. May we see the tomb empty and imagine the miracle, we pray, and dare to hope, in the name of the one who is risen, even Jesus Christ. Amen

12:04 Gloria: “The Strife is O’er”

13:05 Old Testament Scripture: Exodus 11:1 & 12:12-13   

14:00 Gospel Reading: Mark 16:1-8

16:04 Message:  “Easter has Come too Soon and Exodus Cannot Come Soon Enough”

31:46 Anthem: “Panis Angelicus,” by Caesar Franck (1822-1890), sung by Larry Picard

35:05 Pastoral Prayer and Prayers of the People    

38:06 The Lord’s Prayer                                      

38:41 Choral Response – from “Easter Anthem” by William Billings (1746-1800), as sung by North Hadley choir in 2018 

39:01 Invitation to Offering

39:28 Offering

This piece uses audio clips from a podcast interviewing workers whose jobs are deemed essential, mixed with the violin accompaniment to “Christ The Lord Is Risen Today,” digitally manipulated.

44:43 Doxology: “The Day of Resurrection” 

45:32 Blessing of the Offering

45:58  “Hymn Jesus Christ is Risen Today”

49:54 Benediction

50:30 Choral Benediction: from “Easter Anthem” by Billings 

51:02 Postlude: “Te Deum,” by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704)

Alyson Michal, violin; Josh Michal, horn; Chris White, organ

Sunrise Service, April 12, 2020

Join us as we welcome the sunrise over our respective homes and celebrate Easter!

Maundy Thursday, April 9, 2020

Our Maundy Thursday service follows the traditional format, but each reading and hymn was filmed in isolation and then edited together.

Readers in order: Suzanne Picard, Bruce Brewer, Eleanor Pullan, Lorraine White, Sharyn Wentworth, Emma Dragon (c/o Jean Baxter), Carolyn Waskiewicz, Chris White, The Rev. Gordon Pullan

Music by: Polly Keener, Larry Picard, Chris White

0:00 Prelude

4:03 Welcome

8:00 Readings 1, 2, 3: Matthew 26:20-25; Matthew 26:31-35; Luke 22:39-44

10:55 Hymn: “What Wondrous Love Is This”

13:06 Readings 4, 5: Mark 14:32-41; John 17 (selections)

15:20 Hymn: “‘Tis Midnight and on Olive's Brow”

16:38 Readings 6, 7, 8: John 17:15-22; John 18:1-5; Mark 15:16-20

20:07 Hymn: “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?”

24:45 Final Reading: Mark 15:33-38

26:08 A loud sound is made at the extinguishing of the Christ candle

Sunday, April 5, 2020

Palm Sunday

We gather together this Palm Sunday in our remote communion. Palms sit outside our church’s door as we sing and pray into our phones and computers. We hope this podcast helps you find a spiritual preparation for the coming Holy Week, and provides some support in this time of isolation.

As always, God bless and stay safe as we anticipate the coming Easter!

0:00 Prelude: “8th Tune from Archbishop Parker's Psalter,” Thomas Tallis (English Sweating Sickness, 1485-1551)

1:43 Welcome

2:53 Call to Worship:

We gather together in this space. Joyful as our palm branches reach high with hope. Longing for a calm moment in the midst of pressing worry and hurry, longing for a message of welcome and acceptance on our journey. We gather together in this space. Anxious as our palm branches lay still next to us, questioning if we are able to walk with Jesus through the week ahead, wondering if Jesus will walk with us through anguish, despair and darkness. We gather together in this place. Waving branches of prayer. Walking toward Easter in full anticipation of resurrection. 

3:28 Gloria: “Bless the Lord My Soul” (Taize)

4:05 A Prayer for Palm Sunday

Hosanna, O God in the highest! How you come to us in ways we never expect.  How is a king on a donkey? How can a Savior be hung on a cross? How do we see you when we are only trained to see defeat in these actions? In this week ahead will we see you with us, among us? Will your message come through? Will the palms we wave with joy today be thrown down tomorrow with doubt? May your Spirit guide us through this Holiest of Weeks, beside us, around us, before and behind us, within us, we pray.  Amen.

4:53 Gospel Reading: Matthew 21:1-11

6:21 Hymn (The Palms)

Chorus: Join all and sing, his name declare / Let every voice resound with joyous acclamation Hosanna! Praise ye the Lord! / Bless him who cometh to bring us salvation

10:12 Sermon: Piecing it back together

20:29 Hymn (Now the Green Blade Rises)

22:45 Pastoral Prayer and Choral Response

26:34 Communion

34:10 Lords Prayer

34:45 Invitation to Offering

36:44 Anthem: “House of the Rising Sun,” (traditional, Rubella Epidemic of 1964)

Arranged by Chris White for piano, organ, pump harmonium, and computer

I made this arrangement thinking about several polar opposites that appear both in our social isolation and in Holy Week. Our podcast collates isolated/individual recordings to create a communal experience, while digital sounds take the place of in-person music making, and we approximate human experiences with mechanized and asynchronous recordings. The alignment and misalignment of these human and electronic dichotomies reflect the two-sided nature of Palm Sunday, a liturgy which begins with Jesus-as-Hero entering Jerusalem, and ends with Jesus-as-Criminal being arrested and led to crucifixion. To depict these opposites, I contrast sounds connected to human-action (like the pump organ) with electronic sounds, pair song with noise, and shift between in-time and out-of-time performances.

 41:56 Doxology (For the Beauty of the Earth)

42:35 Prayer of Dedication

43:20 Hymn (All Hail The Power of Jesus’ Name)

46:39 Benediction

47:22 Postlude and Chorale Benediction: “Jesus Remember Me” (Taize)

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Bound/Unbound

This week’s podcast is again produced entirely remotely, with participants recording their voices individually during the week, and coming together in digital communion with one another on Sunday morning. We hope you find some solace, community, and inspiration in our communal expression of faith, as we pray in isolation, together.

As in previous weeks, the music is continuing to be selected from times of historic epidemics.

God bless, stay safe, and find joy in the world around you!

0:00 Prelude: “Non ara ma pieta,” Francesco Landini (Second Black Death, 1348-51)   

1:24 The Welcome

2:47 Unison Prayer:

Compassionate God, the wind of your Spirit is the very sign of life for all who long for you. One breath from you and we are rescued from the arid valley of dry bones, given muscles and sinews and joy with which to praise you, and filled with the holy hope you grant to all your faithful children. Let our whole lives be filled with the life-breath of the Spirit, that what has lain dormant may burst into bloom, and what looks to us to be death may be revealed as but sleep before the emergence of new life. Amen.

3:40 Opening Hymn (Lift High the Cross)

7:27 Unison confession:

Revitalizing God, your power goes far beyond our own, and yet still we act as though the pains of this world have final claim upon us. We give in to the despair and hopelessness of death, not trusting in your ability to call forth new life from the tombs of our lives. Forgive us for doubting your power to raise up new life in the midst of all the deaths we experience. Forgive us for wanting to limit you to “the last day” or “the world beyond this one”, not trusting you to move and act among us, within us, through us. Forgive us and open our eyes to the wonder of new life sprouting into being in our very midst.

8:25 The Assurance of Grace & Gloria

9:36 Old Testament Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-14

12:33 An Introduction to the Scripture

14:52 New Testament Reading: John 11:1-6; 17-27; 38-45

19:27 The Sermon: “Unbound”

33:28 Choral Anthem: “Guide My Feet,” traditional

36:01 The Pastoral Prayer & Lord’s Prayer

38:52 Choral Response

39:50 Call to Offering

40:47 Offertory: “Air,” John Blow (Great Plague of London, 1665-1666) as played on a synthesizer (AIDS, 1980s)

41:51 Doxology (For the Beauty of the Earth)

42:31 Prayer of Dedication of the Offering

43:22 Closing Hymn (Guide Me O, Thou Great Jehovah)

46:11 Benediction & Choral Benediction

47:36 Postlude: The Poem “Good Bones” by Maggie Smith (Zika, 2016), read by Joni Beck-Brewer, underscored by my anxiety, using sampled sounds from this week’s hymns, Chris White (COVID-19)

Sunday, March 22, 2020

Blessing of the Soil

This week’s podcast was done entirely remotely, recording our voices and song in isolation and layering them in community. It’s definitely not perfect, but it shouldn’t be! We hope it captures some of the spiritual content and togetherness of a weekly congregational church service.

Enjoy, God bless, and stay safe!

0:00 Prelude:  Byzantine Trisagion Chant for Lent IV (Plague of Justinian, 541 AD)

2:00 Welcome

3:55 Opening Hymn (Be Still My Soul)

7:07 Unison Prayer, followed by “Holy Holy Holy”

9:10 Old Testament Scripture: Exodus 23:10-11   

9:39 New Testament Scripture: Matthew 13:3-8

11:07 Sermon: Blessing of the Soil

22:48 Organ Anthem: “The Streets of New York,” Victor Herbert (1906 New York Typhoid Epidemic)

24:51 Pastoral prayer

29: 17 Lord’s Prayer

29:54 Choral response

30:46 Offertory Blessing and response

31:39 Closing Hymn (For the Beauty of the Earth)

35:16 Benediction

36:17 Postlude: “Part of Your World,” Menken and Ashman (1980s-1990s AIDS– Ashman died of AIDS in 1991)

Sunday, March 15, 2020

Living Waters

Please enjoy our maiden podcast during this season of social distancing! With the hope of providing comfort and connection, we will continue producing these throughout this period with our skeleton crew of ministers, singers, and congregants.

Musical note– During this series, the musical selections at the prelude, postlude and offertory will be drawn from historical periods of quarantine and epidemic. We will generally choose music not explicitly written about disease, but rather use pieces that give a glimpse into these prior eras, showing how music, expression, and humanity continued despite tragic external circumstances.

0:00 Prelude: “Curves,” Chris White, 2020 (COVID-19)

3:38 Welcome

4:48 Opening Hymn (Wade in the Water)

8:04 Unison Prayer, followed by “Holy Holy Holy”

9:18 Call to Lenten Confession

11:02 Hymn (Crashing Waters of Creation)

13:08 Gospel: John 4: 5-42

19:09 Sermon: Living Water for All (Gordon Pullan)

30:24 Choir Anthem (“Bless the Lord My Soul,” Taize)

33:38 Pastoral Prayer and Choral Response

38:22 Offertory: “De Toutes Flours,” Guillaume de Machaut (Black Death, 14th c.)

41:00 Presentation of Offering

42:36 Closing Hymn (This is My Father’s/Mother’s World)

46:54 Benediction and Choral Response

47:53 Postlude: “When You Look in the Heart of a Rose,” Methven and Gillespie (1918 Spanish Flu)

Health note– The small size of our congregation allows us to provide this service while taking distancing and disinfecting precautions. We are certainly not encouraging other larger congregations to undertake similar projects. If you’d like to participate in our Sunday service podcast in person, please reach out to our church leadership. For guidance from the Southern New England Conference of UCC concerning the covid-19 virus, following this link.