First Congregational

Church of Evanston
United Church of Christ
An Open and Affirming Church
Founded 1869
Sunday, June 25th 2023 | 10 o’clock in the morning
Fourth Sunday After Pentecost – Pride Sunday!
 ORDER OF WORSHIP
Responses in italics may be spoken out loud.
Please stand, if you wish, at places marked by an asterisk (*).

Prelude When We Are Living Emma Lou Diemer

Words of Welcome Laura Hamm

*Call to Worship
We are the Body of Christ!
The hand clapping, toe tapping, heart pumping, arms embracing, hymn singing,
love making, risk taking, Body of Christ!
Baptized in one Spirit, we are members of one body.
Many and varied in gender, color, sexuality, age class, and ability, we are
members of Christ’s beautiful body.
None of us can say to another, “I have no need of you.”
For only together can we find wholeness.
None of us can say to another, “I will not care for you.”
For we are connected like muscle and bone. If one suffers, we all suffer. If one
761-called as partners-283.mus, Page 1
rejoices, we all rejoice!
Thanks be to God who, in Christ, has made us one.
Let us worship God! JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION

Called as
*Opening Hymn Partners
Called as Partnersin Christ’s
in Christ’s Service
Service #761 761
b4 œ œ
& 4 œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œœ œ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ ˙
b
˙
1 Called as part - ners in Christ’s ser - vice, called to min - is - tries of grace,
2 Christ’s ex-am - ple, Christ’s in - spir- ing, Christ’s clear call to work and worth,
3 Thus new pat -terns for Christ’s mis - sion, in a small or glob - al sense,

? b b 44 œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ ˙˙
4 So God grant us for to - mor - row ways to or - der hu - man life

œ œ
b œ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ
& œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ
b
œ
˙
˙
we re - spond with deep com- mit-ment fresh new lines of faith to trace.
let us fol - low, nev - er fal - tering, rec - on - cil - ing folk on earth.
help us bear each oth - er’s bur - dens, break-ing down each wall or fence.

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ
that sur - round each per - son’s sor - row with a calm that con - quers strife.

? b b œœ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙˙
œ
b bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ˙
& œ
œ œ #œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ bœ
 ? b œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙
b œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙
b œ œ œ œ œ
& b œœ œœ œœ # œœ œ œœ œ # œœ œ œ œ œ œ œœ n œœ ˙œ b œ
May we learn the art of shar - ing, side by side and friend with friend,
Men and wom - en, rich - er, poor - er, all God’s peo - ple, young and old,
Words of com - fort, words of vi - sion, words of chal - lenge, said with care,

œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙˙
Make us part - ners in our liv - ing, our com - pas - sion to in - crease,

? bb œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ
b œ œœœ œ œ œ
& b œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œœœ œ œœ œ œ œœ œœ œœ œ ˙
˙
e - qual part - ners in our car - ing to ful - fill God’s cho - sen end.
blend - ing hu - man skills to - geth - er gra - cious gifts from God un - fold.

œœ œœ œœ œœ
bring new power and strength for ac - tion, make us col - leagues, free and fair.

? b b œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ # œœ œœ œœ œ ˙˙
mes - sen - gers of faith, thus giv - ing hope and con - fi - dence and peace.

œ
*Call to Confession --ofPrayer ofandConfession
This hymn is a celebration of mutuality and diversity as well as a challenge to the Christian community to
live out a ministry reconciliation inclusion. This 20th-century text is set to a 19th-century tune named
O God, we for theknow
noted pastorthatandyou seek
preacher Henry to Ward unite
Beecher.all things in heaven and on earth, and
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
to reconcile allHuber,
TEXT: Jane Parker people
1981 to one another and to You. Yet, we confessBEECHER that the
MUSIC: John Zundel, 1870 8.7.8.7.D
new creation
Text © 1981 Janeis not
Parker yet
Huber complete
(admin. in us.
Westminster John Knox Press) Everywhere we see thetune:barriers
(alternate EBENEZER) we
build to separate humankind. We are not one in Christ Jesus. Forgive us, and
fill us with Your Spirit of oneness. Reveal to us the possibility of Your
reconciling presence, that the body of Christ might be made whole. We pray
in His name, Amen.
6/7/13

*Words of Grace and Mercy

From generation to generation, God’s love overcomes human sinfulness. God is
committed to fresh starts and new creations. This is good news!
In Jesus Christ we are forgiven!

*Prayer Response
(Hymn 327, stanza 3)
Eternal are thy mercies, Lord; eternal truth attends thy word:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore,
till suns shall rise and set no more.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

First Scripture Jeremiah 20: 7-13 Laura Hamm

 758-why 759-o.mus, Page 2
Children’s Message Lucy Coulter

j . j
*Greeting of Peace JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION

b b j ˙ œ œ œ .
& b n ˙˙ ˙ ˙˙ n œ˙ œ œ˙ . œ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙˙ œ˙ œ n ˙˙ ww
b œ œ œ
3 3

Announcements

Anthem Adagio from Concerto in F MajorCarl Maria von Weber

they reap sore dis - plea - sure, sure de - feat be - fore God’s eyes.
kin - dled; Matthew
blest are Hogan,
they whobassoon
˙ . j j œ . j
wrath is quick - ly serve the Lord.

˙ ˙˙ ˙ œ œ œ .
˙˙ ˙ œ˙ œ œ œ ˙˙ œ ˙ ww
Sheran
3 Fiedler, piano
? b b
bb ˙ ˙
˙ ˙ 10: 26-31 ˙ ˙
Sermon Scripture Matthew ˙
Sermon “Tell it in the Light!"Rev. Jason W. Coulter
O God, We Bear the Imprint 759
#4
*Hymn O God, We Bear the Imprint #759

œ. œ œ œ œ œ
Em Am B7 Em

& 4 j œ œ J ˙ œ œ œ œ
œ
1 O God, we bear the im - print of your face: the col - ors
2 Where we are torn and pulled a - part by hate be - cause our
3 O God, we share the im - age of the One whose flesh and

# œ. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ. œ
œ œ œ
Am B7 Am

& J ˙ J
of our skin are your de - sign, and what we have of
race, our skin is not the same, while we are judged un -
blood are ours, what - ev - er skin; in Christ’s hu - man - i -

# Dœ œ œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ œ. j
œ
G Am6

& J œ
beau - ty in our race as man or wom - an, you a -
e - qual by the state and vic - tims made be - cause we
ty we find our own, and in his fam - i - ly our

# ˙ œ œ œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ
B7 Am D

& œ J
lone de - fine, who stretched a liv - ing fab - ric on our
own our name, hu - man - i - ty re - duced to lit - tle
prop - er kin: Christ is the broth - er we still cru - ci -

# G. j Em
& œ œ œ œ œ œ œ j
Am6 B7 Em

J œ œ. œ ˙ œ
frame and gave to each a lan - guage and a name.
worth, dis - hon - ored is your liv - ing face on earth.
fy, his love the lan - guage we must learn, or die.
Rather than treating racism as a societal problem, this text considers the issue from a theological point of
view. When we distance ourselves from other people merely because of the color of their skin, we fail to
honor their God-likeness and to see Christ’s image in them.
Invitation to Offering Aria from Concerto Grosso no. 12 G.F. Handel
arr. C.H. Trevor
*Doxology
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Christ, all people here below;
Praise Holy Spirit evermore;
One God, Triune whom we adore. Amen.
*Prayer of Dedication
On this lovely day, at the end of the month of June, we praise and thank you,
O Lord. We bring before you our gifts, our lives, our talents. Take all these
gifts and use them for work in your kin-dom. AMEN.
Prayers of the People - Pastoral Prayer - Silent Prayer
Prayer of Our Savior
Our Creator, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give
315-inus
thethis day our daily
316-where.mus, bread.
Page 1
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
THE CHURCH
and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
315 InInthe Midstof Newof New Dimensions
4 j
*Closing Hymn the Midst Dimensions #315
j
& 4 œ . œ œœ œ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ . œœ œœ œœ œ .
œ. œ œ J
1 In the midst of new di - men - sions, in the face of
2 Through the flood of starv - ing peo - ple, war - ring fac - tions,
3 As we stand, a world di - vid - ed by our own self -

œ.
4 We are man and we are wom - an, all per - sua - sions,

œ œ œ œ
? 44 œœ .. œœ œœ œ œ œ
5 Should the threats of dire pre - dic - tions cause us to with -

œœ œ
J œ œ œ œ. œJ œ œ

&œ œ ˙ j œœ œœ
œ œ œ œ œ. œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ
chang - ing ways, who will lead the pil - grim peo - ples
and de - spair, who will lift the ol - ive branch - es?
seek - ing schemes, grant that we, your glob - al vil - lage,
old and young, each a gift in your cre - a - tion,

œ œ
? œœ œœ ˙ œœ œœ œ œ
draw in pain, may your blaz - ing phoe - nix spir - it

œœ .. œœ œ œ
˙ J œ œ
j œ . œj œ œ œ . œj œ
Refrain

& œ. œ
 ? œœ œœ ˙ œœ .. œœ œœ œœ œ œ œ
˙ J œ œ œ œ
j œ . œj œ œ œ . œj œ
Refrain

& œœ .. œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙ œ. œ œ œ œ. œ œ œ
J
wan - dering in their sep - arate ways?
Who will light the flame of care?
might en - vi - sion wid - er dreams. God of rain - bow, fi - ery pil - lar,
each a love song to be sung.

.
? œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ ˙˙ œ . œ œœ œœ œœ .. œj œœ œœ
res - ur - rect the church a - gain.

œ . œJ œ œ œ œ . œJ J
j j
& œœ œœ œ œœ œ œ ˙œ œ . œ œœ œœ œ. œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ. œ œ œ

? œ œœ œœ œœ œœ # œœ n ˙ œœ . œœ œœ œœ œœ .. œj œœ œœ
lead - ing where the ea - gles soar, we your peothe
315-in - ple,316-where.mus,
ours the jour - ney
Page 2

˙ . J JTHE CHURCH

& œœ œœ œœ œ œœ œœ œœ œ œœ œœ œœ œœ w
In this simultaneously-created text and tune, the author-composer was seeking to incorporate imagery from

w
both Native American and Hebrew spiritual traditions. Also included is the mythological phoenix, which
had received a Christian interpretation as early as the first century.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TEXT and MUSIC: Julian B. Rush, 1979, rev. 1985 NEW DIMENSIONS
Text and Music © 1994 Julian B. Rush 8.7.8.7 with refrain

? œ œœ œœ œœ
œœ œœ œ œ œœ œ œ œ
now and ev - er, now and ev - er, now and ev - er - more.

œ œ œ œ ww
4/10/13

*Benediction and Blessing

Postlude Come Sing, O Church, in Joyarr. John Innes

Worship Credits and Sources:

Where Charity and Love Prevail

Call to Worship and Prayers from the Abingdon Worship Annual 2017
316
&b ˙ œœ œœ œœ w
Music Permissions Sonos del Senor: When We Are Living: Pues si vivimos. Music: Mexican Traditional. Setting: Emma Lou Diemer. © 1993,

œœ œœ ˙˙ ˙˙ œœ œœ ˙ œ w
Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-735926. All rights reserved. Beecher. Music: John

˙˙ œ
Zundel. Setting: Hal H. Hopson. © 2016, Hope Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-

˙
735926. All rights reserved. Called as Partners in Christ's Service. Music: John Zundel, 1870; Words: Jane Parker Huber, 1981. © 1981, Jane
Parker Huber (Admin. Westminster John Knox Press). All rights reserved. Reprinted and Podcast under ONE LICENSE #A-735926. All rights
reserved. From All That Dwell Below the Skies. Music: Geistliche Kirchengesang, 1623, alt.; harm. Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1906;
Words: Stanzas 1,1 3,Where
Issac Watts,
char1719.
- i - Public
ty andDomain. loveConcerto in F. Music:
pre - vail, thereCarlGodMaria von
is Weber.
ev Public
- er Domain.
found;O God, We Bear
the Imprint. Music: Margaret R. Tucker, 1998. © 1998, Hope Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Words: Shirley Erena Murray, 1987. © 1987,
2 Let All rights
Hope Publishing Company. us reserved.
re - call that and
Reprinted inPodcast
our with
midst dwellsunder
permission Christ, God’s ho
ONE LICENSE - ly All
#A-735926. Son.
rights reserved. Aria
from Concerto Grosso3 Let strifeG.F.
No. 12. Music: a - Handel.
mong Setting:
us be un -known;
C.H. Trevor. let 1991, all
© 1960 and Oxford con - tenPress.
University - tions cease.
All rights reserved. Podcast
with permission under ONE
4 Let LICENSE #A-735926. All rights reserved.
us for - give each oth - er’s faults asPraise God From Whom
we our own con - fess,Genevan Psalter,
All Blessings Flow. Music:
1551; Words: Thomas Ken, 1695, 1709. Public Domain. In the Midst of New Dimensions. Words and Music: Julian B. Rush. © 1994, Julian B.

? b ˙˙ œœ œœ ˙ ˙ œ œ ˙ ww
5 Love can ex - clude no race or creed if hon - ored be God’s name;

˙ œœ œœ œ œœ
Rush. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Rejoice, The Lord Is King. Music: John Darwall. Setting: John Innes. ©

˙ œ œ ˙
1976, Fred Bock Music Company. All rights reserved. Podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-735926. All rights reserved.

œ
Sunday Morning Service Roles
Deacons: Lay Reader:
- Dona Nunn - Laura Hamm
- Nick Tucker
- Doug Irwin
Livestream/Tech Support: Summer Spirit
- Gary Hardesty - Kelly Tran
- Julie Captain
Want to volunteer and get more involved in Sunday services? See the sign-up sheet in
the back of the sanctuary or contact Mahdia at mahdia@firstchurchevanston.org

Join FCCE this afternoon at the Chicago

Pride Parade!
This Sunday is the Chicago Pride Parade! FCCE
marches every year with the Chicago Coalition of
Welcoming Churches. Our rendezvous point is at
(roughly) 4444 N. Sheridan Ave, near the Dollar Tree.
The parade kicks off just after 12 pm and runs down
Halsted to Diversey Blvd. People can hitch a ride from
church or hop on the CTA at Dempster and take it to the
Wilson Redline stop. Please see Julie Captain or Lucy
Coulter for more information.

Renovations at the FCCE Community

Center
This week, renovations at the Sanctuary are finishing up
and we are beginning work on the steeple at the FCCE
Community Center. When work is ongoing (during
business hours M-F), access to the front door will be
obstructed. Construction is also taking place on the back
stairwell, so emergency procedures may be affected during
construction hours. Safety is our highest priority.
Contact Mahdia in the Church Office with any questions or
accessibility concerns
Volunteers Needed for Summer Spirit
School is out for the summer which means that Sunday
school is also done until the fall. However, we want to
continue making church a place for children and their
families to worship. That is where Summer Spirit
comes into play!

To make this year's Summer Spirit the best it can be for

our kids, we need YOUR help

Volunteer to join our kids in the park for Summer

Spirit! Your help gives our Sunday School teachers a
little rest and allows more people a chance to get to
know the awesome children in our church family.
Sign up online (see the weekly email for details) or
contact Lucy this Sunday or at lucy@firstchurchevanston.org

Sign up for Summer Music and Performance

Do you like to sing, play piano, violin, or another instrument? How
about presenting a wonderful poem or sacred reading? Do you
have a talented son or daughter in your household who would like
to pay his/her special piece? FCCE is looking for people to present
special music or other arts presentations for summer worship and
we hope you will send us the name of someone in your family who
would like to participate. Children who have been taking lessons are perfect summer
musicians!

Contact our Music Director Matt at matthew@firstchurchevanston.org to sign up or

learn more. All summer Sundays are wide open and we hope we can count on you to
add to our worship together with a special contribution.
Welcome to First Congregational Church of Evanston, UCC

We are glad you chose to be with us on this Sunday

morning! And we want you to know that no matter
who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you
are welcome here!

Childcare is provided in the downstairs nursery for

infants and children to age 5. The space at the back
of the Sanctuary available for our families. Children K-
6 are invited to join Summer Spirit in the park across from the Sanctuary.

Please sign the Attendance Pads in the pews. We invite our visitors to include your
name, address and email so that we might acknowledge your visit with a card. All are
welcome to join us after services in the narthex or outside for refreshments and
conversation.

We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals to fully engage
in our community. To request an accommodation or for inquiries about
accessibility, call the Church Office at 847-864-8332 or send an email to
mahdia@firstchurchevanston.org.

Babies and Toddlers: Little ones enrich our community and add vibrancy
to our congregation. Please don't fret about coos or cries during the service. All ages
are welcome here. Visit our rocking chair area to find books & coloring pages for use
during the service, or you are welcome to drop off infants to 3 year-olds with
our Nursery Supervisor.

Use this QR Code to check out events and ongoing programming at

FCCE.
 WELCOME to First Congregational Church of Evanston
Mission Statement
We express God’s love in action, compassion, and justice.

Open and Affirming Statement

As an inclusive congregation, we welcome all faith experiences and family types; we
are an open and affirming community of faith who welcome and celebrate differences
of age, ability, race, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and national
origin.

Immigrant Welcoming Statement

We commit to take actions consistent with the values and resources of our community
to oppose xenophobia and to protect undocumented immigrants from deportation and
the hardships such deportation will cause them and their families.

First Congregational Church of Evanston, UCC

Sanctuary: 1445 Hinman Avenue (at Grove Street)
Mailing address: 1417 Hinman Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201
Phone: 847-864-8332 | Email: info@firstchurchevanston.org
Website: www.firstchurchevanston.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/firstcongregationalchurchofevanston/

Church Staff
Rev. Jason W. Coulter, Senior Minister jason@firstchurchevanston.org | ext.21
Matthew Hogan, Music Director matthew@firstchurchevanston.org | ext. 23
Mahdia Lynn, Church Administrator mahdia@firstchurchevanston.org | ext. 22
Lucy Coulter, Summer Intern for Communications & Community Life
Kelly Tran, Nursery Supervisor
Chris Krei, Member at Large
Julie Captain and Sarah Pressly, Co-Moderators

Thank you to Barbara Bright for bringing today’s post-service refreshments.

To make a donation to First Congregational Church you may do so during

the offering, or you may make an electronic donation through the church
website by using this QR Code. Thank you for your generosity!