The Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton
Presider

Sarah Masters, Lisette Alfaro-Berg, and Merry Meyers
Readers

The Chautauqua Choir

Joshua Stafford
Director & Organist

Rees Taylor Roberts & Owen Reyda
Organists

Wonder and Awe

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.

Hymn

“Day is dying in the west”

Chautauqua, William Fisk Sherwin, 1877
Mary Lathbury, 1877

Day is dying in the west;
Heav’n is touching earth with rest;
Wait and worship while the night
Sets her evening lamps alight
through all the sky.

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts!
Heav’n and earth are full of Thee;
Heav’en and earth are praising Thee,
O Lord most high!

Call to Worship

To you, O people, Wisdom calls.

She calls out to each of us, beckoning us:

to experience peace,

to discover the truth of life,

to know true love as it is poured into our hearts.

Wisdom calls.

As we gather this night, 

let us answer her call

as we celebrate faith

in the One who leads us into life.

O God. you reveal wisdom and spiritual insight through your presence in creation. When we look at the heavens, we see your vastness. When we look at seas teeming with fish and verdant fields painted like a canvas, we see your creativity and your bounty. For all of this and so much more, we praise your name. Amen. 

Hymn*

“From thee all skill and science flow” 

St. Botolph, Gordon Slater, 1929
Charles Kingsley, 1871

1 From thee all skill and science flow,
all pity, care, and love,
all calm and courage, faith and hope:
O pour them from above.

2 Impart them, Lord, to each and all,
as each and all shall need,
to rise, like incense, each to thee,
in noble thought and deed.

3 And hasten, Lord, that perfect day
when pain and death shall cease,
and thy just rule shall fill the earth
with health and light and peace.

Reading

Psalm 150

And God stepped out on space,

And he looked around and said:

I’m lonely—

I’ll make me a world.

And far as the eye of God could see

Darkness covered everything,

Blacker than a hundred midnights

Down in a cypress swamp.

Then God smiled,

And the light broke,

And the darkness rolled up on one side,

And the light stood shining on the other,

And God said: That’s good!

Then God reached out and took the light in his hands,

And God rolled the light around in his hands

Until he made the sun;

And he set that sun a-blazing in the heavens.

And the light that was left from making the sun

God gathered it up in a shining ball

And flung it against the darkness,

Spangling the night with the moon and stars.

Then down between

The darkness and the light

He hurled the world;

And God said: That’s good!

- from “The Creation,” James Weldon Johnson, 1927

Anthem

“Sure on this shining night” 

Samuel Barber, 1941, 1961
James Agee, 1934

Sure on this shining night

Of star made shadows round,

Kindness must watch for me

This side the ground. 

The late year lies down the north.

All is healed, all is health.

High summer holds the earth. 

Hearts all whole.

Sure on this shining night I weep for wonder wand’ring far alone

Of shadows on the stars.

Reading

We are all bound by a covenant of reciprocity: plant breath for animal breath, winter and summer, predator and prey, grass and fire, night and day, living and dying. Water knows this, clouds know this. Soil and rocks know they are dancing in a continuous giveaway of making, unmaking, and making again the earth.

Our elders say that ceremony is the way we can remember to re-member. In the dance of the giveaway, remember that the earth is a gift that we must pass on, just as it came to us. When we forget, the dances we’ll need will be for mourning. For the passing of polar bears, the silence of cranes, for the death of rivers and the memory of snow.

When I close my eyes and wait for my heartbeat to match the drum, I envision people recognizing, for perhaps the first time, the dazzling gifts of the world, seeing them with new eyes, just as they teeter on the cup of undoing. Maybe just in time. Or maybe too late. Spread on the grass, green over brown, they will honor at last the giveaway from Mother Earth. Blankets of moss, robes of feathers, baskets of corn, and vials of healing herbs. Silver salmon, agate beaches, sand dunes. Thunderheads and snowdrifts, cords of wood and herds of elk. Tulips. Potatoes. Luna moths and snow geese. And berries. More than anything, I want to hear a great song of thanks rise on the wind. I think that song might save us. And then, as the drum begins, we will dance, wearing regalia in celebration of the living earth: a waving fringe of tallgrass prairie, a whirl of butterfly shawls, with nodding plumes of egrets, jeweled with the glitter of a phosphorescent wave. When the song pauses for the honor beats, we’ll hold high our gifts and ululate their praises, a shining fish, a branch of blossoms, and a starlit night.

The moral covenant of reciprocity calls us to honor our responsibilities for all we have been given, for all that we have taken. It’s our turn now, long overdue. Let us hold a giveaway for Mother Earth, spread our blankets out for her and pile them high with gifts of our own making. Imagine the books, the paintings, the poems, the clever machines, the compassionate acts, the transcendent ideas, the perfect tools. The fierce defense of all that has been given. Gifts of mind, hands, heart, voice, and vision all offered up on behalf of the earth. Whatever our gift, we are called to give it and to dance for the renewal of the world.

In return for the privilege of breath. 

-Brading Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer, 2013

Hymn*

“For the fruit of all creation” 

East Acklam, Francis Jackson, 1957
Fred Pratt Green, 1970

1 For the fruit of all creation,
thanks be to God.
For the gifts to every nation,
thanks be to God.
For the plowing, sowing, reaping,
silent growth while we are sleeping,
future needs in earth's safekeeping,
thanks be to God.

2 In the just reward of labor,
God's will be done.
In the help we give our neighbor,
God's will be done.
In our worldwide task of caring
for the hungry and despairing,
in the harvests we are sharing,
God's will be done.

3 For the harvests of the Spirit,
thanks be to God.
For the good we all inherit,
thanks be to God.
For the wonders that astound us,
for the truths that still confound us,
most of all that love has found us,
thanks be to God.

Poem

The Bee 

Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)

Like trains of cars on tracks of plush

I hear the level bee:

A jar across the flowers goes,

Their velvet masonry

Withstands until the sweet assault

Their chivalry consumes,

While he, victorious, tilts away

To vanquish other blooms.

His feet are shod with gauze,

His helmet is of gold;

His breast, a single onyx

With chrysoprase, inlaid.

His labor is a chant,

His idleness a tune;

Oh, for a bee’s experience

Of clovers and of noon!

Anthem

“For the beauty of the earth” 

John Rutter, 1980 
Folliott Sandford Pierpoint, 1864

For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies:

For the beauty of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale, and tree and flower,
sun and moon, and stars of light:

For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth, and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild: 

Forthis perfect gift of thine
to our race so freely given;
graces human and divine
flowers of earth and buds of heaven:

Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

Reading

Go back to the wisdom of the Elders. Listen to the earth. Listen to the trees, they cry, they speak. But the ultimate natural law has no mercy. You will just deal with it as it will deal with you. So the best thing to do is stay on the good side, learn, stay with it. Be brave, be courageous. Be who you are. Be your own leader. You don’t need somebody telling you what to do. You think for yourself. Otherwise how are we going to gain if we don’t have this great wealth of intelligence? Challenge them every time. Every generation has its heroes, every generation has its leaders, and every generation has its responsibility and this is a big one now!

I am carrying on here because I am concerned about you. You are like my children, my grandchildren. I want you to be strong. I want you to be happy. I want you to have good children. I want you to be dedicated. It’s not naïve to have principles. It’s not naïve to be idealistic, not at all. It takes courage, so stay with it. You go forward today and do good for the world and do good for the people.

-Commencement address by Oren Lyons, 2024 CLSC Class Honoree at UC Berkeley Rausser College of Natural Resources, 2005

Hymn*

“Many and great” 

Lacquiparle, Dakota Odowan, 1879
Dakota hymn, para. Philip Frazier, 1916 

1 Many and great, O God, are your works, maker of earth and sky.
Your hands have set the heavens with stars;
your fingers spread the mountains and plains.
Lo, at your word the waters were formed; deep seas obey your voice. 

2 Grant unto us communion with you, O star-abiding One.
Come unto us and dwell with us;
with you are found the gifts of life.
Bless us with life that has no end, eternal life with you. 

Reading from Scripture

Proverbs 8:22–35

The Lord created me at the beginning of his work, 

the first of his acts of long ago.

Ages ago I was set up, 

at the first, before the beginning of the earth.

When there were no depths I was brought forth, 

when there were no springs abounding with water.

Before the mountains had been shaped, 

before the hills, I was brought forth,

when he had not yet made earth and fields 

or the world’s first bits of soil.

When he established the heavens, I was there; 

when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,

when he made firm the skies above, 

when he established the fountains of the deep,

when he assigned to the sea its limit, 

so that the waters might not transgress his command,

when he marked out the foundations of the earth, 

then I was beside him, like a master worker,

and I was daily his delight, 

playing before him always,

playing in his inhabited world 

and delighting in the human race.

And now, my children, listen to me: 

happy are those who keep my ways.

Hear instruction and be wise, 

and do not neglect it.

Happy is the one who listens to me, 

watching daily at my gates, 

waiting beside my doors.

For whoever finds me finds life 

and obtains favor from the Lord.

Anthem

The Call of Wisdom 

Will Todd, 2012
Proverbs 8, adapt. Michael Hampnel

Lord of wisdom, Lord of truth,
Lord of justice, Lord of mercy;
walk beside us down the years
till we see you in your glory.

Striving to attain the heights
turning in a new direction,
entering a lonely place,
welcoming a friend of stranger.

I am here, I am with you.
I have called: do you hear me?
I am here, I am with you.

Silver is of passing worth, 
gold is not of contant value,
jewels sparkle for a while;
what you long for is not lasting.

Rulers govern under me
with my insight and my wisdom.
Those who know me know my love;
those who seek me find their answer.

God the Father and the Son,
Holy Spirit coeternal.
Glory be ascribed to you,
now and to the end of ages.

Litany for the CLSC

O God, we celebrate the pursuit of knowledge and the enduring legacy of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, a beacon of lifelong learning and intellectual growth.

For the wonder and curiosity that drives us to explore new ideas and expand our minds, We give thanks.

For the dedication of educators and mentors who guide us in our quest for understanding, We give thanks.

For the written word, which opens doors to new worlds and perspectives, We give thanks.For our natural world, and the ways it makes visible God’s hand,

We give thanks.

For bees, symbols of the industriousness of learning and the sweetness of wisdom,We give thanks.

For asters and goldenrod, symbols of patience, growth, and endurance,We give thanks.

For American Chestnuts, symbols of resilience and strength,

We give thanks.

For Oren Lyons, and the wisdom of stewardship seven generations hence,

We give thanks.

For our commitment to reading and responsibility, that we may continue to learn with humility and purpose. 

We give thanks.

O God, bestow your blessings on the CLSC, that it may continue to be a lively center for sound learning, new discovery, and the pursuit of wisdom; and grant that those who teach and those who learn may find you to be the source of all truth. Amen.

Hymn

“Come and seek the ways of wisdom" 

Julion, David Hurd, 1983
Ruth Duck, 1996

1 Come and seek the ways of Wisdom,
she who danced when earth was new.
Follow closely what she teaches,
for her words are right and true.
Wisdom clears the path to justice,
showing us what love must do.

2 Listen to the voice of Wisdom,
crying in the marketplace.
Hear the Word made flesh among us,
full of glory, truth, and grace.
When the word takes root and ripens,
peace and righteousness embrace. 

3 Sister Wisdom, come, assist us;
nurture all who seek rebirth.
Spirit-guide and close companion,
bring to light our sacred worth.
Free us to become your people,
holy friends of God and earth.

Prayers for the Four Pillars

Religion
Almighty God, we give you thanks for the fellowship of those who have worshiped in this place, and we pray that all who seek you here may find you, and be filled with your joy and peace. Amen.

Art
O God, whom saints and angels delight to worship in heaven: Be ever 
present with your servants who seek through art and music to perfect the praises offered by your people on earth; and grant to them even now glimpses of your beauty, and make them worthy at length to behold it unveiled for evermore. Amen.

Education
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom: Enlighten by your Holy Spirit those who teach and those who learn, that, rejoicing in the knowledge of your truth, they may worship you and serve you from generation to generation. Amen.

Recreation
O God, in the course of this busy life, give us times of refreshment and peace; and grant that we may so use our leisure to rebuild our bodies and renew our minds, that our spirits may be opened to the goodness of your creation. Amen.

Hymn

“Now the day is over” 

Merrial, Joseph Barnby, 1868
Sabine Baring-Gould, 1865

Now the day is over, night is drawing nigh,shadows of the evening steal across the sky.

Jesus, give the weary calm and sweet reposewith thy tend’rest blessing may our eyelids close.

When the morning wakens, then may I arisepure, and fresh, and sinless in thy holy eyes. Amen.

Postlude

Largo

George Frederick Handel, 1738
from the opera Xerxes

Use of this piece to close the Sunday evening service has been Chautauqua’s tradition since the dedication of the Massey Memorial Organ on August 6, 1907.Part of the custom has been to remain in our seats until the piece is finished.It is a gesture that we treasure, and one in which you are invited to join.We invite you to leave the Amphitheater silently — without applause.

Tonight, the CLSC graduating class will process out of the Amphitheater after Largo, beginning the procession to the Hall of Philosophy for the CLSC Vigil. You are invited to follow the class out of the the Amphitheater and join the procession.

ABOUT THE CLSC

The Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle has been reading together since 1878, when John Heyl Vincent founded the CLSC, four years after he co-founded Chautauqua Institution with Lewis Miller. The original aims of the CLSC were twofold: To promote habits of reading and study in nature, art, science, and in secular and sacred literature and to encourage individual study, to open the college world to persons unable to attend a higher institution of learning. Over 8,400 people enrolled in the CLSC in the first year, and by the turn of the century, over 10,000 “CLSC Reading Circles” had been formed. 

Today, those who join and graduate from the CLSC continue traditions that embrace a love for literature and lifelong learning. You can join the CLSC online via the Chautauqua Bookstore, or in person at the CLSC Octagon with $10 annual dues, which supports our literary programing and affords you a discount on all books in the Octagon and Bookstore.

THE CLSC CLASS OF 2024

Beth S. Adler
Gwendolyn Alegre
Mitchell Raymond Alegre
Jo Ellen Aleshire
Lisette Alfaro-Berg
Stephen Noel Anderson
Robert Armstrong
Maxine Awner
Dean A. Baker
Diane Baker
Melissa K. Bartok
Marjorie J. Bass
Marion Baumgarten
Katherine Howland Behler
Maisie Bernstein
Ann B. Blake
Virginia Brooke Bobbitt
Rebecca Jane Boorady
Megan Borgstrom
Pamela Lupton-Bowers
Robert Bowers
Lucy Burke
Kimberly Burnett
Linda K. Burnham
Ann Eberly Calvert
Kathleen Campbell
Carol Cedro
Eleni Chappen
Maggie Chappen
Roger Chard
Julia Coale
Angela Coleman
Michaela Coleman
Grace Coleman-Miller
Rev. Rebecca Cole-Turner, Ph.D., CJN
Kristen Karen Conover
Laura P. Coombs
Sally Craig
Ann Curry
Virginia Daly
Stephanie Lauren Dawson
Barbara P. Driscol
Carol Eiber
Christin P. Evans
George Reid Evans
Melinda G. Falkoff
Mary Karen Ferguson
Brad Fisher
Kim Rieck Fisher
Sister Donna Font
Jennifer Freely
Joe Garay
Allison Frances Gersch
Gail Marie Gilliland
Denise Gleason
Mary Daly Gorman
Katherine A. Gortz
David A. Graves
Margaret R. Graves
Maddy Greenstein
Nancy S. Groff
Lynne Gruel
Lauren Guth
Coleen Haas-Smith
Christine A. Harrop-Stein
Stephen E. Hart
Marcia Elaine Hauck
Erica Higbie
Ann S. Hoffman
Edwin L. Hoffman
Quinn Hoffman
Maurita Peterson Holland
Elaine Powell Hooker
Terrance N. Horner, Jr.
Enid D. Horowitz
Mark Horowitz
Jennifer Hudson
Matthew Hudson
Aidan Kathleen Petrie Isaacs
Michelle “MJ” Johnston
Michelle L. Jones
Amy Judd
Rev. Jeff L. Kane
Joanna M. Kaufmann
Sarah F. Kellam
Kirkland Molloy Kelley
Linda B. Kemp
Amy Klodowski
Elizabeth Kolken
Penny Krug
Elizabeth Thebeau Landon
Colleen Kelly Law
Scott Leiber
Debra J. Levin
Maggie Lieber
Linda Liebold
Anita Lin
Janice B. Lovercheck
Kerrie Ellen Lovercheck
Jamie Magovern
Christine Malanga
Christina L. Marsh 
Molly! Masich
Sarah Katharine Masters
Thomas McCray-Worrall
Dawn McGriff
John G. McIntosh
Susan McKinley
Betsy W Merchant
Mary Metz
David C. Meyers
Merry Kim Meyers
Annamarie J. Mitchell
E. Marlee Mitchell
Michael Morley
Seth Murray
Ellen Murrett
Jeremy S. Musher
Robin L. Musher
Danielle Marcelle Nebres
Libby Nebres
Michael Pacilio
Judith N. Kirk Parker
Cynthia Pelton
David Pelton
Sheila Penrose
Cheryl Philipps
Pamela C. Planchon
Ruth M. Powell
Sandra H. Quick
Michael J. Randall Jr.
Anna Duke Reach
Leigh Rockey
Mark L. Rose
Nancy W. Saunders
Sophia I. Scalet
Sook Hee Bowers Scheibner
Tobin R. Schermerhorn
Sheryl Schneider
Ingrid Serrell
Marlene Walli Shade
Kathy Foster Singer
Michelle DeLuca Smith
Jennifer Snyder
Robert B. Snyder
Hannah Sobolevitch
Laura Sobolevitch
Stephen Sobolevitch
Melissa Leigh Spas
Kimberly Spillane
Eugene Taylor Sutton
Dr. Mary Kay Szwejbka
John Tarrant 
Laura Piper Taylor
Ayana Teter
David P. Thomas
Joy Caroline Trotter
Elisabeth E. Tully
Ann C. Turpin
Roberto Ugoletti
Marguerite Knox Vail
Deborah Ann Walker
Marla J. Wasson
Lydia Elizabeth Wells 
Nancy B. Wessinger, Ph.D.
Alicia V. Williams
Monica Hehlen Wilson
Alison Adams Wohler
Elizabeth Wohler
James R. Wohler
Lisa Frew Yaggie 
Carolyn Merchant Young

JOIN THE CHAUTAUQUA CHOIR
Thursday 6:15 p.m. Rehearsal at Smith Wilkes Hall
Friday 6:15 p.m. Rehearsal at Lenna 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 receive a free 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

Rees Taylor Roberts
Organ Scholar

Owen Reyda
Organ Scholar

Carolyn Snider
Administrative Assistant

Annie Leech
Student Minister