Worship Schedule

Ingathering Chimes

Prelude: “All Through the Night” Welsh Melody

Welcome and Announcements: John Schneider, Stewardship Team

Chalice Lighting: Maura Snow

Call to Worship: “We Practice Being Called” by Samantha Lynne Wilson – Rev. Ellen Rowse Spero

Song: “The Tide is Rising” – w/m by Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman and Yotam Schachter

The tide is rising, and so are we! (3x)
This is where we are called to be! (2x)

Verses: The task is mighty… The land is holy… The storm is raging…
The sun is shining… The world is ready… (repeat v.1)

First Parish of Chelmsford Covenant Led by Joan CoyneWe, the members of First Parish of Chelmsford, covenant together to
sustain and strengthen our beloved community by:
Honoring and celebrating the Spirit of Life
Nurturing all souls in our search for truth and the sacred
Caring and being present to one another in our joys and sorrows
Bearing witness through service to justice and peace
And being good stewards of our congregation, our heritage,
our Unitarian Universalist principles, and our Earth.Nosotros, los miembros de la Primera Parroquia de Chelmsford, comprometemos
convenir juntos a sostener y fortalecer nuestra amada comunidad:
Honrar y celebrar el Espı́ritu de la Vida
Nutrir todas almas en búsqueda de la verdad y lo sagrado
Cuidar y estar presentes al uno y al otro en nuestras alegrı́as y tristezas
Dar testimonio mediante servicio a la justicia y la paz
Y ser buenos cuidadores de nuestra congregación, nuestra herencia,
nuestros Principios Unitarios Universalistas y nuestra tierra.

Offertory

Joys and Sorrows

A Time for Meditation and Prayer

Congregational Response: “Voice Still and Small” (#391 in Singing the Living Tradition)

Voice still and small, deep inside all,
I hear you call, singing.
In dark and rain; sorrow and pain,
still you remain singing.
Calming my fears, quenching my tears,
through all the years, singing.

Ancient Reading: Sura An-Nas 114, Ayat 1-5, The Qur’an
Modern Reading: Excerpt from “Bonhoeffer’s Warning, Unheeded: The Moral Collapse of White Evangelicalism” by Tripp Fuller, Process This Podcast, January 19, 2026
Readers: Neil Harmon and Teri Ralbovsky

Anthem: “Roll Down Justice” by Mark A. Miller

Sermon: Paying Attention: “Facing Evil” – Rev. Ellen Rowse Spero

Song: “Step by Step” (“A Beautiful Gathering of Spirits” retreat participants w/ Carrie Newcomer, March 29, 2025)

It’s a muddy season and the water’s high,
The current is troubled and so am I.
The path is covered and it’s hard to find.
Who will go with me and what is mine.

Chorus: Step by step, stone by stone.
In the journey together, we’re never alone.
We’re a ripple on the water, moving out in time.
Every action matters, both simple and sublime.

And as I walk beside the stream,
Someone left a sign.
A stack of rocks to mark the way,
An enduring hope through time.

[Chorus]

I’m carrying a landscape, carrying a dream
Carrying a hope I may not see
A vision of possibility
Carrying a memory that’s carrying me.

[Chorus]

Chorus: Step by step, stone by stone.
In the journey together, we’re never alone.
We’re a ripple on the water, moving out in time.
Every action matters, both simple and sublime.
Both simple and sublime
Both simple and sublime
Both simple and sublime

Benediction & Extinguishing the Chalice: “Choose Carefully” – Rev. Michelle Collins (Soul Matters, 3.26)

Postlude: “Vine and Fig Tree” Traditional Hebrew

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