Prelude — Trois Gymnopédies
Erik Satie · piano
Listen as Satie’s melody floats above a bass that offers no firm ground. This is the music of hovering at the edge of faith. Our service centered around belief and action begins here: in the suspension, in the chords that will not resolve, in the beauty of not yet having moved.
Introit — The Lone, Wild Bird (PROSPECT)
Southern shape-note tune · organ
In this southern shape-note tune, faith is a direction and the wild bird has no landing place. It flies because action is the only option. The bird doesn’t wait for the wind — it just opens its wings.
Opening Hymn — God of All Love
HPP #492, vv. 1, 3, & 4
The tune, STAR IN THE EAST, is an early 19th-century American shape-note melody paired with an Epiphany hymn about following a star toward something you cannot yet see. We sing it this morning as the act of moving together in the direction of the God who draws us there.
Anthem — Nearer My God to Thee
Kathleen Leinau and Paul Vincent, vocal duet
Jacob at Bethel — sleeping on stone, in the dark, with nothing resolved. The ladder appears only after the traveler has already lain down. The movement toward God is not a reward for faith demonstrated; it is the faith.
Hymn of Reflection — Jesus Calls Us o’er the Tumult
HPP #314, vv. 1, 3, & 5
Alexander wrote this for St. Andrew’s Day — whose Collect asks that we follow “without delay.” The tumult does not stop; the sea remains wild. When you hear the call, are you moved to action?
Offertory — Mad World
Roland Orzabal · organ
The world into which we are asked to bring our faith is rarely ordered and peaceful. It is a mad world. Regardless, we act. You are invited to bring your offering into the world as it actually is.
Closing Hymn — God of Grace and God of Glory
HPP #456, vv. 1, 3, & 5
“Grant us wisdom, grant us courage / for the facing of this hour.” This is the petition that follows the leap: not for certainty, but for the nerve to keep going once you have already jumped.
Postlude — Fanfare for the Common Man
Aaron Copland · organ
The leap of faith is not taken by heroes. It is taken by people like us, on an ordinary Sunday, in an ordinary sanctuary, in a small city in New Hampshire. Played now on our mighty organ, it fills every corner of this room. Let it signal your conviction to act.