First Congregational Church of

Evanston
United Church of Christ
An Open and Affirming Church
Founded 1869

Sunday, September 1st 2024 | 10 o’clock in the morning

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
 ORDER OF WORSHIP
Responses in italics may be spoken out loud.
Please rise, in body or in spirit, places marked by an asterisk (*).
Prelude Fantasia on “I Love You, Lord, My Strength, My Rock”
Lani Smith
Words of Welcome Sheran Fiedler
*Call to Worship
O Holy One, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill
Those who want to journey with you, who may have missed a turn, and who
may struggle with rocky patches and rough terrain.
O Holy One, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill?
299-you servants of.mus, Page 1
Those who search for you and seek community, with doubts and hopes, joys
and fears, smiles and tears.
O Holy One, THE
who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill?
CHURCH

299
Those who try and those who sometimes come up short. Those who are
Youand
beautifully, wonderfully, Servants ofhuman–all
imperfectly God, Your of us! Thanks be to God!
Master
of God,Proclaim
#3
Opening Hymn You Servants Your Master Proclaim #299
œ ˙ œ œœ
& 4 œ œ œœ œ ˙ œ œœ œœ ˙˙
œ œ
1 You ser - vants of God, your Mas - ter pro - claim,
2 As - cend - ed on high, al - might - y to save,
3 “Sal - va - tion to God, who sits on the throne!”

œœ œ œ œœ ˙
? # 43 œ œ œœ œœ ˙
4 Then let us a - dore and give him his right:

œ œ
œ œ ˙
#
& œœ œœ œœ # œœ ˙˙ œœ œœ œœ œœ # œœ ˙
and pub - lish a - broad Christ’s won - der - ful name.
he still re - mains nigh; his pres - ence we have.
Let all cry a - loud and hon - or the Son.

? # œœ œ œœ œœ ˙˙ œ œ œ œ ˙˙
all glo - ry and power, all wis - dom and might,

œ œ œ œ
# œ ˙
& # œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œœ œ
œœ œ œ #œ ˙
The name all vic - to - rious of Je - sus ex - tol,
The great con - gre - ga - tion his tri - umph shall sing,
The prais - es of Je - sus the an - gels pro - claim,

œ œ
? # œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œœ
all hon - or and bless - ing, with an - gels a - bove,

œ #œ œ ˙˙
# œ
& œ œœ œœ œœ œ œ œœ œœ ˙˙
œ œœ œ
 ? # œœ œœ œ œ œœ œœ œœ œ œ œœ ˙˙
œ #œ
# œ
& œ œœ œœ œœ œ œœ œ œ œœ œœ ˙˙
œ
whose king - dom is glo - rious, who rules o - ver all.
as - crib - ing sal - va - tion to Je - sus our King.
fall down on their fac - es, and wor - ship the Lamb.

? # œœ œœ œ œ œœ œ œœ ˙
and thanks nev - er ceas - ing, and in - fi - nite love!

œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ ˙
This hymn resembles many 18th-century drawings that show parallels between worship on earth and
*Prayer of worship
Confession
in heaven, especially as described in Revelation 7:9–11. This 18th-century tune has had many names;
Merciful God, we confess that our words and actions do not always line up. We
the one used here honors the dynasty of British monarchs, 1714–1901.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
are quick
TEXT: to confess
Charles Wesley, 1744, alt.our faith, but slow to live it. We sing praise to
MUSIC: Anon.; A Supplement to the New Version of the Psalms, 1708
your name,
HANOVER
10.10.11.11
but we pass by orphans and widows on the other side of the street. Change
us, O God. By your grace, transform us. Root out the selfishness that hardens
our hearts, and replace it with compassion and generosity. Empower us by
your Spirit
4/10/13that we might be doers of your word and not hearers only. All this
we pray in the name of Jesus the Christ, Amen.
*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 James 1: 17-27 Sheran Fiedler
*Greeting of Peace
Announcements
Moment for Justice Labor in the Pulpits
Special Music Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether Harold W. Friedell
Beth Babbitt Borst, soloist

Sermon Scripture Isaiah 40: 3-9

Sermon “Mountains, Valleys and Plains”Rev. Jason W. Coulter

 JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION

751 From the Nets of Our Labor

*Hymn From theWe Will
Nets RiseLabor
of Our Up and Follow
#751
6 j
& b 8 ‰ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ. ‰ œ #œ œ œ œ
Dm G m6/E A7

1 From the nets of our la - bors, through the noise and con -
2 When we faint and grow wea - ry from the bear - ing of
3 In the eyes of the strang - er— tear - ful, joy - ous, or
4 When we hear words of ha - tred spread - ing fear or false
5 In each mo - ment of cour - age, stead - fast e - ven through
6 Like dis - ci - ples be - fore us, from the cit - y or

j j
&b œ ‰
Dm G m7

œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ.
fu - sion, from the cit - y or sea - shore,
bur - dens, with a mes - sage of com - fort,
fright - ened— in the face of each neigh - bor,
wit - ness, words that cry to be chal - lenged,
trem - bling; in the yearn - ing for jus - tice,
sea - shore, risk - ing self - less com - pas - sion:

œ œ œ œ.
A7 D m A7 Dm Gm

& b ‰ œ œ œ œ œ ˙. ‰ œ
Refrain

œ œ œ J
Je - sus sum - mons us all. We will rise up and fol - low,

œ œ j
&b ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ. ‰ œ #œ œ œ œ
C7 F Dm

Christ be - fore and be - side us, lov - ing pat - tern to

j
&b œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ
G m6/E A7 Dm

œ œ. ˙. ˙.
guide us, as we an - swer the call.

Invitation to Offering Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether arr. Edwin T. Childs

*Doxology
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Christ,
This text all people
effectively here
evokes the call ofbelow;
the disciples who were fishermen (Matthew 4:18–22/Mark 1:16–20/
Praise Holy Spirit evermore;
Luke 5:1–11), while also describing the circumstances of our daily lives through which Jesus continues to
summon us to be responsive to the needs and challenges of our own day.
One God, Triune whom we adore. Amen.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TEXT: Mary Louise Bringle, 2004 HAMILTON
MUSIC: John R. Kleinheksel Sr., 2004 7.7.7.6 with refrain
Text and Music © 2006 GIA Publications, Inc.
*Prayer of Dedication
 Generous God, we return to you these gifts, not only of our resources, but also
of our lives. Sanctify us and use us to work out your purposes in the world.
Amen.
Service of Holy Communion
At First Congregational Church of Evanston, all people are welcome at Christ’s table.
At the pastor’s call, you are invited to come forward to receive the elements of the
Lord’s Supper. Today we are serving communion by intinction. You will receive a piece
of bread from the pastor and are invited to dip it in the grape juice in the communion
cup. We also have gluten-free bread and small communion kits for those who prefer
them. Regardless of how you receive this meal, know that God blesses your presence
at Christ’s table!
Invitation …. Jesus Christ, who has sat at our tables, now invites us to be guests at
his.
Congregational Prayer
O God, how wonderful is the work of your hands! Through your son, Jesus,
you came to us and entered this world, that we might more fully know you and
your love. Jesus healed the sick, though he himself would suffer; he offered
life to sinners, though death would hunt him down. But with a love stronger
than death, he rose on Easter morning to give the gift of life to all who call on
his holy name. Bless his holy name and bless these gifts which we are about
to receive.
Words of Institution …This is my body, broken for you…This is my blood, shed for
you…
Congregational Response
Holy, holy, holy -- God of love and majesty
The whole universe speaks of your glory -- O God Most High.
Pastoral Prayer of Thanksgiving
Call to the Supper The gifts of God for the people of God. Come for all things are
ready.
Congregational Prayer of Thanksgiving
Gracious God, in deep gratitude for this meal, for this moment, and for your
Son Jesus, we give thanks to you. Take us out to live as changed people,
because we have shared the living bread, drank from the cup of blessing, and
can no longer remain the same. Make us instruments of your love so that we
may we live our lives to your glory, both as inhabitants of earth and citizens of
the commonwealth of heaven. Amen.

Prayers of the People - Pastoral Prayer - Silent Prayer

Prayer of Our Savior
Our Creator, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
300-we Thy kingdom
are one-557.mus, Page 1 come,
thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into
THE CHURCH
temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
We Are One in the Spirit
and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
300
They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love
*Closing Hymn We
Capo Are
1: ( EmOne
) in the Spirit ( B#300
m) ( Em )

b
& b b b 22 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙
Fm Cm Fm

˙ œ œ ˙
1 We are one in the Spir - it; we are one in the Lord;
2 We will walk with each oth - er; we will walk hand in hand;
3 We will work with each oth - er; we will work side by side;
4 All praise to the Fa - ther, from whom all things come,
( Am ) ( Em )
Bbm
b
& b bb œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ
Fm

œ œ ˙ œ œ ˙
we are one in the Spir - it; we are one in the Lord,
we will walk with each oth - er; we will walk hand in hand,
we will work with each oth - er; we will work side by side,
and all praise to Christ Je - sus, God’s on - ly Son,

( Am ) ( Em )
Bbm
b
& b bb œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
Fm

˙
and we pray that all u - ni - ty may one day be re - stored:
and to - geth - er we’ll spread the news that God is in our land:
and we’ll guard hu - man dig - ni - ty and save hu - man pride:
and all praise to the Spir - it, who makes us one:

(C ) ( Em )
Db
b
& b bb œ
Refrain

œ œ œ ˙ œ œ
Fm

œ ˙ œ œ œ
And they’ll know we are Chris - tians by our love, by our

( Am ) ( Em ) ( Am ) (Bm ) ( Em ) (Am/E ) ( Em )
Bbm Bbm Fm B b m/F Fm
b
& b bb ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ w
Fm Cm

˙
love; yes, they’ll know we are Chris - tians by our love.

*Benediction and Blessing

A parish priest at St. Brendan’s on the South Side of Chicago in the 1960s was very involved in the local Civil
Rights movement and needed something for his youth choir to sing at ecumenical, interracial events. Finding
nothing, he wrote this song in a single day.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Postlude Intrada on “I Sing the Mighty Power of God”R.J. Powell

Worship Credits and Sources:

Call to Worship by Rev. Dr. Cheryl Lindsay of the UCC Worship Ways. Prayers of confession and
dedication by Rev. Ginna Bairby of the Presbyterian Outlook

Music Permissions Fantasia on "Forest Green". Music: Traditional English Melody. Setting: Lani
Smith. © 1991, Lorenz Publishing Co. All rights reserved. Podcast with permission under ONE
LICENSE #A-735926. All rights reserved. You Servants of God, Your Master Proclaim. Music: Anon.;
A Supplement to the New Version of the Psalms, 1708; Words: Charles Wesley, 1744, alt. Public
Domain. Hanover. Music: William Croft. Setting: Noel Rawsthorne. © 1991, Kevin Mayhew Ltd. All
rights reserved. Reprinted and Podcast with permission 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, 3, Issac Watts, 1719. Public Domain. Draw Us in
the Spirit's Tether. Music: Harold W. Friedell; Words: B.R. © 1957, The H.W. Gray Co., Inc. All rights
reserved. Podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-735926. All rights reserved. Draw Us in
the Spirit's Tether. Music: Harold Friedell; Setting: Edwin T. Childs. © 1957, 1985 and this setting ©
2012, H.W. Gray, admin. CPP/Belwin. All rights reserved. Podcast with permission under ONE
LICENSE #A-735926. All rights reserved. From the Nets of Our Labor (We Will Rise Up and Follow).
Music: Mary Louise Bringle, 2004; Words: John R. Kleinheksel Sr., 2004. © 2006, GIA Publications,
Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted and Podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-735926. All
rights reserved. Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow. Music: Genevan Psalter, 1551; Words:
Thomas Ken, 1695, 1709. Public Domain. We Are One in the Spirit (They'll Know We Are Christians
by Our Love). Words and Music: Peter Scholtes, 1966. © 1966, F.E.L. Publications, assigned 1991 to
The Lorenz Corp. All rights reserved. Reprinted and Podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE
#A-735926. All rights reserved. Intrada / Postlude on Ellacombe. Music: Gesangbuch der Herzogl.
Wirtembergischen Katholischen Hofkapelle. Setting: Robert J. Powell. © 2015, Oxford University
Press. All rights reserved. Podcast with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-735926. All rights
reserved.

Sunday Morning Service Roles:

Deacons: Lay Reader
- Doug Irwin - Sheran Fiedler
- Candy Heaphy
- Nick Tucker

Livestream/Tech Support: Special Music

- Gary Hardesty - Beth Babbitt Borst
- 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 [email protected]
It's almost that time of year again! September 8 is Rally Sunday, the start of our
program year. We welcome back the choir, open the doors of our Sunday School and
get into the regular rhythms of worship. Join us on the 8th for worship and stick around
for our fried chicken potluck lunch. Last names A-M bring a salad or side. Last
names N-Z bring a dessert or beverage. And bring a friend, that they may
experience the joy and gladness of our community in Christ!

Music First Concert: Sunday, Sept.

29th 2pm
Coming up in on September 29th: Autumn Spirit,
a special concert featuring acclaimed Chicago
composer and musician Joe George along with
string musicians performing his new string
quartet and original piano & synthesizer pieces

Interfaith Action of Evanston: Vision Keepers Dinner

Sunday, September 29th at 5:30pm
This year, FCCE is delighted to honor Beth Babbitt Borst at IAE’s annual
fundraising dinner. If you would like to join the FCCE table on September 29 to help
celebrate Beth and our interfaith community, contact Mahdia in the church office at
[email protected]. Tickets are $88 and all are welcome. If you’re
interested in attending but unable to pay the full ticket price, scholarships are available.
RSVPs are due next Friday 9/6/2024.
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.

Please sign the welcome book at the back of the Sanctuary. 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
[email protected].

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: [email protected]
Website: www.firstchurchevanston.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/firstcongregationalchurchofevanston/

Church Staff
Rev. Jason W. Coulter, Senior Minister [email protected] | ext.21
Eda Uca, Minister of Community Life [email protected]
Matthew Hogan, Music Director [email protected] | ext. 23
Mahdia Lynn, Church Administrator [email protected] | ext. 22
Jordan Griffin, Justice Fellow | [email protected]
Kelly Tran, Nursery Supervisor
Julie Captain, Moderator | Chris Krei, Vice-Moderator

Please join us immediately following today’s service for fellowship & 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!