The Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton
Presider

The Rev. Canon Leyla King 
Preacher

Sherra Babcock
Reader

The Chautauqua Choir

Joshua Stafford
Director & Organist

SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP

We invite you to quietly prepare your hearts for worship during the Prelude. 

* Denotes that the congregation is invited to rise in body or spirit. It is our custom to sing the first and last verses of hymns in unison; the interior verses may be sung in parts.

HAPPENING TODAY

10:15 a.m. Sunday School (Ages 3–Grade 6) • Children’s School

12:15 p.m. Roman Catholic Mass • Hall of Philosophy

4 p.m. Blessing of the Animals • Miller Park

7 p.m. Palestine Park Tour • Near Miller Bell Tower 
Sponsored by The Reverend Noel A. Calhoun, Jr., D.D. Fund

8 p.m. Sacred Song Service: Prayers for Peace  • Amphitheater
(A Service of Ecumenical Communion) 

Prelude

Prelude, Fugue, and Chaccone, BuxWV 137
Dietrich Buxtehude
1637-1707

Welcome & Announcements

The Rt. Rev. Eugene Sutton

Call to Worship*

John 1:1–12, 14, 16

L: O Sun beyond all suns, 

P: O Light of the world, full of grace and beauty: 

L: Yours is the day, O God, yours also the night. 

P: Let the daylight and the shadows praise you. 

L: Let the fertile earth and the swelling seas praise you. 

P: Let the winds and the rains, the lighting, and the thunder, praise you. 

L: Let winter and summer, autumn and the springtime, praise you. 

P: Let all that has breath praise the name of the Lord! 

Hymn*

“Holy, holy holy!” 

Nicæa, John Bacchus Dykes, 1861
Reginald Heber, 1827, alt.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty;
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea!
Cherubim and seraphim, falling down before thee,
who wert, and art, and evermore shall be.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea!
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty;
God in three persons, blessed Trinity! Amen.

Prayer of Confession and Reconciliation

Fran Pratt 

L: To you, O God, we turn to have our hearts filled with love. 

P: Give us new wine skins and fill them with new wine. 

L: We remember that your love is for all people, and that the blood of Christ was shed for all: 

P: For the accepted and for the marginalized 

L: For the poor and the wealthy 

P: For the weak and the powerful 

L: For the ill and the healthy 

P: For the simple and the wise. 

L: We remember that forgiveness does not have regard for the nature of sin; it merely smiles, nods, and sends it on its way; irrevocable, irretrievable. Thus...We confess our tendency to think we are better than others. 

P: We confess our pride in minimizing our own sins. 

L: We confess our being blindly certain of our limited understanding. 

P: We confess our snatching the right to judge out of the hand of Jesus, whom we say we trust. 

L: We confess our letting go of our God-given right to love our neighbor. 

P: We confess our worship of our own ideas about Jesus, rather than the actual person of Jesus. 

L: It is to that Person that we cry now: 

P: Have mercy on us according to your unfailing love, according to your great compassion. Blot out all our iniquity and lead us in the way everlasting.  Amen. 

Reading From Scripture

2 Samuel 6:1—5; 12—16     
Sherra Babcock, Reader 

David called up the army of Israel, all thirty thousand of them. Then he and the whole force set out for Ba’alah in Judah to return the Ark of God, which bears the name of the LORD who is enthroned above the cherubim. They carried the Ark of God on a new cart removed from the house of Abinadab on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio walked before it, while David and all the house of Israel danced before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. It was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing, and when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatted calf. David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. As the Ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, but she despised him in her heart. The Word of the Lord.  

P: Thanks be to God. 

Anthem

“Salmo 150” 
Ernani Aguiar, Brazil, 1975

Laudate Dominum in sanctis eius; laudate eum in firmamento virtutis eius. Laudate eum in virtutibus eius; laudate eum secundum multitudinem magnitudinis eius. Laudate eum in sono tubae; laudate eum in psalterio et cithara. Laudate eum in tympano et choro; laudate eum in chordis et organo. Laudate eum in cymbalis benesonantibus; laudate eum in cymbalis iubilationis. Omnis spiritus laudet Dominum! Alleluia. Alleluia! Praise God in the holy temple; praise God in the firmament of power. Praise God for every mighty act; praise God’s excellent greatness. Praise God with the blast of the ram’s-horn; praise God with lyre and harp. Praise God with timbrel and dance; praise God with strings and pipe. Praise God with resounding cymbals; praise God with loud-clanging cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise God. Alleluia! 

Reading From Scripture

Mark 6:14—29            
Sherra Babcock, Reader 

King Herod, the ruler of Judea, had heard about Jesus, whose reputation had become widespread. Some were saying, “John the Baptizer has been raised from the dead, and that is why such miraculous powers are at work in him.” Others said, “It is Elijah.”  And still others, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” But when Herod heard of Jesus, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen from the dead!” For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. John had been telling Herod, “It is against the Law for you to have your brother’s wife.” As for Herodias, she was furious with John and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so because Herod feared John. Knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, Herod protected him by keeping him in custody. When Herod heard John speak he was very much disturbed; yet he was moved by John’s words. Herodias had her chance one day when Herod on his birthday held a dinner for the court circle, military officers and leader of Galilee.  When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, this delighted Herod and his guests so much that he told the young woman, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.”  And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?”  Herodias replied, “The head of John the baptizer.” Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” The king was deeply grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. The guard beheaded John in prison, then brought the head on a platter and gave it to the young woman, who gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took the body away and laid it in a tomb. The word of the Lord

P: Thanks be to God.

Hymn

“O Sing to the Lord” 
Brazillian Folk Song
tr. Gerhard Cartford
Tune 

#1. Oh, Sing to the Lord, oh sing God a new song, Oh, sing to the Lord, oh, sing God a new song, Oh, sing to the Lord, oh, sing God a new song. Oh, sing to our God, oh sing to our God.

#2. For God is the Lord, and God has done wonders. For God is the Lord, and God has done wonders. For God is the Lord, and God has done wonders. Oh sing to our God, oh, sing to our God.

#3. So dance for our God and blow all the trumpets. So dance for our God and blow all the trumpets. So dance for our God and blow all the trumpets, Oh sing to our God, Oh sing to our God.

#4. Oh, shout to our God, who gave us the Spirit, Oh, shout to our God, who gave us the Spirit, Oh, shout to our God, who gave us the Spirit, Oh, sing to our God, oh, sing to our God.

#5. For Christ is the Lord! Amen! Alleluia! For Christ is the Lord! Amen! Alleluia! For Christ is the Lord! Amen! Alleluia! Oh, sing to our God, Oh sing to our God

Prayers of the People

L: May God be with you. 

P: And also with you. 

L: Let us pray: O God of love and hope, we remember all the ways in which you shower your grace over all creation. You have blessed this fragile earth, our island home, with an abundance of resources for every living thing.  You have blessed us with memory, reason and skill to manage those resources for the good of all. Out of our gratitude we bring our petitions and intercessions for others before you now, saying, “God in your mercy, receive our prayer.” For your blessing upon all human labor, and for the right use of the riches of creation, that the world may be freed from poverty, famine, and disaster.  

P: God, in your mercy, receive our prayer. 

L: For those who do not yet believe, and for those who have lost their faith, that in your Light they may see light.  

P: God, in your mercy, receive our prayer. 

L: For the poor, the persecuted, the sick, and all who suffer; for refugees, prisoners, and all who are in danger; that they may be relieved and protected.  

P: God, in your mercy, receive our prayer. 

L: God of all blessings, help us to see your presence and action in our daily life and work, as well as in this marvelous world that you have created.  

P: Amen. 

The Lord's Prayer

Invitation to the Offering

Offertory Anthem

Lord of the Dance    
John Bertalot, 1980 
rev. 2005; 
Sydney Carter, 1963 

#1. I danced in the morning when the world was begun, I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun, I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth, At Bethlehem I had my birth 

#2. Dance then, wherever you may be,I am the Lord of the Dance, said he, and I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be, I am the Lord of the Dance, said he. 

#3. I danced for the Scribe and the Pharisee, but they would not dance and they would not follow me, I danced for the fishermen, for James and John; They came to me and the Dance went on and on. 

#4. I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame, The holy people said it was a shame. They whipped and they stripped and they hung me on high, and left me there on a cross to die. 

#5. They cut me down and I leapt up high, I am the life that will never, never die, I’ll live in you if you live in me, I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.

Presentation of the Offering

Our Sunday offering supports not only the ministry of Chautauqua Institution’s Department of Religion, but also a tithe of your contribution is directed to organizations that meet the urgent needs of our neighbors in Chautauqua County. We thank you for your generosity! Gifts and offerings may be made by check payable to the Department of Religion, or you may donate online at giving.chq.org/religion.

Doxology

Old 100th

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; 
Praise Christ, all creatures here below; 
Praise Holy Spirit evermore; 
Praise Triune God, whom we adore. Amen.

Sermon

"Reasons to Dance"    
The Rev. Leyla King 

Hymn

O praise ye the Lord!    
H.W. Baker, 1875
Laudate Dominum
C. Huburt H. Parry, 1894

#1. O praise ye the Lord! praise Him in the height; Rejoice in His Word, ye angels of light; Ye heavens, adore Him by Whom ye were made, And worship before Him in brightness arrayed.

#2. O praise ye the Lord! Praise Him upon earth, In tuneful accord, ye sons of new birth; Praise Him Who hath brought you His grace from above, Praise Him Who hath taught you to sing of His love.

#3. O praise ye the Lord! All things that give sound; Each jubilant chord re-echo around; Loud organs, His glory forth tell in deep tone, And sweet harp, the story of what He hath done.

#4. O praise ye the Lord! Thanksgiving and song To Him be outpoured all ages along! For love in creation, for Heaven restored, For grace of salvation, O praise ye the Lord!

Blessing & Dismissal

L: Dance, then, wherever you may be: the Lord of the Dance will set you free.  And the blessing of God: Creator, Redeemer and Breath of Life, guard you and keep you always. 

P: Amen. 

L: Let us go forth, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit! 

P: Thanks be to God.

Postlude

The Emperor’s Fanfare
Antonio Soler, 1770
arr. E. Power Biggs, 1969

You are invited to remain seated for the postlude.

WEEKDAY MORNING WORSHIP AT 9:15 A.M.
Amphitheater, The Rev. Canon Leyla King 

Monday, July 15 • The Dance of Faith 
Tuesday, July 16 • Get in the Groove
Wednesday, July 17 • Grace Like Grits 
Thursday, July 18 • Delighting in the Dance
Friday, July 19 • Nevertheless, Praise 

INTERFAITH LECTURES AT 2 P.M.
Hall of Philosophy, Ethics and Meaning-Making Beyond Faith

Monday, July 15 • Bob Roberts & Imam Mohamed Magid
Tuesday, July 16 • Mahan Mirza
Wednesday, July 17 • Daniel Ramírez
Thursday, July 18 • Audrey Truschke
Friday, July 19 • Conrad Hackett

WEDNESDAY ORGAN CONCERT AT 12:15 P.M.
Amphitheater, Joshua Stafford, organist

JOIN THE CHAUTAUQUA CHOIR
Thursday 6:15 p.m. Rehearsal at Smith Wilkes Hall
Friday 6:15 p.m. Rehearsal at Fletcher Hall
Saturday 6:15 p.m. Rehearsal at Lenna Hall

We invite you to join us and sing with the Chautauqua Choir this season. This group is open to anyone who has experience singing in choirs and the ability to read music, and requires members to attend at least one out of three weekly rehearsals, though two or more rehearsals are preferred. Our preference is for members to sing both Sunday Morning and Sunday Evening services, though it is possible to sing only one. Questions can be directed to choir@chq.org or by calling the choir library at 716-357-6321. Click here to register ahead of rehearsals.

JOIN THE MOTET CHOIR

The Motet Choir, which leads our weekday worship services, comprises experienced auditioned singers who rehearse and perform a variety of works from the rich heritage of sacred choral music of the past and a diversity of styles from the present. Singers must have a background of choral singing experience with excellent vocal quality and sight-reading ability. Members of the Motet Choir are compensated in the form of a gate pass for the weeks that they sing in the choir. Interested singers should email choir@chq.org or call the choir library at 716-357-6321 to schedule an audition for the 2025 summer season

CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION
Department of Religion

Melissa Spas
Vice President of Religion

The Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton
Senior Pastor

Rafia Khader
Director of Religion Programs

Joshua Stafford
Director of Sacred Music & The Jared Jacobsen Chair Organist

Carolyn Snider
Administrative Assistant

Annie Leech
Student Minister