The Rev. Dr. Mary Lee Talbot
Presider
The Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton
Preacher
Michael E. Hill
Reader
The Chautauqua Choir
Joshua Stafford
Director & Organist
Rees Taylor Roberts
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.
Prelude
Fugue in D Major, BWV 532
J.S. Bach, ca. 1708
Welcome & Announcements
The Rev. Dr. Mary Lee Talbot
Call to Worship*
Psalm 95:1–7
Come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before God’s presence with thanksgiving
and raise to the Lord a shout with psalms.
For you are a great God;
you are great above all gods.
In your hand are the caverns of the earth,
and the heights of the hills are yours also.
The sea is yours, for you made it,
and your hands have molded the dry land.
Come, let us bow down and bend the knee,
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For you are our God, and we are the people of your pasture and the sheep of your hand.
Oh, that today we would hearken to your voice!
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.
Canticle
Psalm 84
How dear to me is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts! My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the Lord my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
The sparrow has found her a house, and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young: by the side of your altars, my Sovereign and my God.
Blessed are they who dwell in your house; they will always be praising you.
Blessed are those whose strength is in you; whose hearts are set on the pilgrim’s way.
Those who go through the desolate valley will find it a place of springs; for the early rains have covered it with pools of water.
They will go from strength to strength, and appear before the Most High in Zion.
Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; hearken, O God of Jacob. Behold our defender, O God, and look upon the face of your anointed.
For one day in your courts is better than a thousand in my own room; and to stand at the threshold of the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of the ungodly.
For the Lord God is both sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will the Lord withhold from those who walk with integrity.
O Lord God of hosts, blessed are those who put their trust in you!
Prayers of Confession
My friends, we are not always the community God wants us to be, nor whom we aspire to be. We miss the mark; we fall short of the glory of God. Let us confess our wrongdoings before the Holy One and each other:
Gracious God, we have not loved You with our whole heart, mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
We have been too easily seduced by easy answers, half-truths and false judgments. We have failed to seek Your truth, and to love one another as you have commanded.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
We have ignored the cries of the poor, the groans of a hurting world, and been indifferent to the exploitation of peoples.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done; for the evil that enslaves us, and for the evil done on our behalf. Forgive, restore, and strengthen us through our Savior Jesus Christ,
That we may abide in your love, and serve only your will. Amen.
Words of Forgiveness
Matthew 11:28–30
Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Your sins are forgiven.
Thanks be to God!
Anthem
“Unless the Lord build the house”
Alfred V. Fedak, 1999
Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. But built on the strong foundation of the apostles and the prophets, the household joins and rises, a holy temple in the Lord. With Christ Jesus himself the cornerstone, blessed are they that dwell in the house, they will praise the Lord and sing. His mercy endures for ever.
Litany of Thanksgiving for Chautauqua
Creator God, we give you thanks for Miller and Vincent’s vision for this sacred grove 150 years ago. Brought to life, and sustained in life through rich tradition and brave innovation,
Under century-old trees shading gingerbread cottages,
In children playing in our fountains,
In the sounds of Thunder Bridge, In rocking chairs and on porches,
On the green or in the sand trap,
In the prow of a sailboat, hissing through the waves,
In singing birds and wagging dogs and stalking cats, In the quiet of our library,
In the Miller bells chiming over a moonlit lake,
In the love of learning things profound or whimsical, In the openness of civil discourse,
In inspiring preaching and inspired singing,
In bodies of dancers defying gravity, in great music played in these spaces; in the flame of the kiln, the click of the loom, and the stroke of the brush,
In makeup and costume and aria and soliloquy, In generations of faces in this timeless place,
Within this tent of meeting and all the promise it holds, we thank You.
Lord, you have entrusted Chautauqua to us for our re-creation. Help us to use what we have learned here for the enrichment of all whose lives are touched by ours. Amen!
-Jared Jacobsen, 1999, 2004, 2017, alt.
The Prayer That Jesus Taught
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Hymn
“My hope is built on nothing less”
Solid Rock, William Batchelder Bradbury, 1863
Edward Mote, c. 1834, alt.
1 My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name.
Refrain:On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand.
2 When darkness seems to hide his face,
I rest on his unchanging grace;
in every high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil. (Refrain)
3 His oath, his covenant, his blood
support me in the whelming flood;
when all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay. (Refrain)
4 When he shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in him be found,
dressed in his righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne. (Refrain)
Invitation to the Offering
Offertory Anthem
“Upon this rock”
John Ness Beck
Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Lo, the winter is past, the rain is over. The flowers appear on the earth. The time of the singing of birds has come. Arise, and come away. Upon this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
The congregation is invited to remain seated and join in singing:
The Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord,she is his new creation by water and the word.From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride.With his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.
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.
Reading From Scripture
Ephesians 2:17‒22
Christ came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and to those who were near, for through Christ we all have access in one Spirit to our God. So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are included as God’s holy people and are members of the household of God which is built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone. In Christ the whole structure is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are built together spiritually to become a dwelling place for God.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Matthew 7:24–29
Jesus said to the crowd, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like the wise builder who built a house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on rock. But anyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a fool who built a house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell – and great was its fall!”
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Sermon
"Living Stones"
The Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton
Hymn*
“How firm a foundation”
Foundation, American folk melody
John Rippon’s A Selection of Hymns, 1787
1 How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in his excellent word! What more can he say than to you he hath said, to you that for refuge to Jesus have fled?
2 “Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed! For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid; I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
3 “When through the deep waters I call thee to go, the rivers of woe shall not thee overflow; for I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless, and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
4 “When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, my grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply; the flame shall not hurt thee; I only design thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
5 “The soul that to Jesus hath fled for repose, I will not, I will not desert to its foes; that soul, though all hell shall endeavor to shake, I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake.”
Blessing & Dismissal
My friends, life is short. And we do not have too much time to gladden the hearts of those who travel the way with us. So be swift to love. Make haste to be kind. And the blessing of God our Creator, Redeemer and Breath of Life, be upon you and remain with you always.
Amen.
Alleluia, alleluia! Let us go forth rejoicing in the power of the Spirit.
Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia!
Postlude
Tu es petra, et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus te
from Esquisses Byzantines
Henri Mulet, 1908
You are invited to remain seated for the postlude.
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
2:30 p.m. The Great Massey Singalong with Joshua Stafford • Amphitheater
5 p.m. Blessing of the Animals • Miller Park (weather permitting)
7 p.m. Palestine Park Tour • Near Miller Bell Tower (weather permitting)
Sponsored by The Reverend Noel A. Calhoun, Jr., D.D. Fund
8 p.m. Sacred Song Service and Closing Three Taps • Amphitheater
FLOWER DEDICATIONS
The flowers on the stage are given …
… in memory of Rita Curran by Colleen and Gary Reeves.
… in memory of Jared Jacobsen by the Reeves Family.
WALKING THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO
May 21–30, 2025, The Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton
Join Bishop Eugene Sutton on an unforgettable week on The Camino de Santiago, a powerful way to reconnect to simple pleasures and reconnect to the joy of journeying. One of the most important Christian pilgrimage routes during the Middle Ages, the Camino de Santiago (or St. James’ Way) has endured for centuries as a “bucket-list” journey for those seeking a deeper spiritual connection, either religious or personal. Traveling paths traversed by pilgrims for one thousand years provides a shared connection and sense of purpose not often experienced in the modern world. Chautauqua’s senior pastor, Bishop Sutton will provide daily reflections to help enrich your experience. Spain’s mighty Basque region unfurls through picturesque mountains and ancient villages, where nature and history are revered, and local wine and cuisine are cherished.
- Enrich your journey with daily reflections and meditations with Bishop Eugene Sutton, Chautauqua’s senior pastor.
- Explore the storied cities along the Camino, including Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos, León, and Santiago.
- Walk the iconic pilgrimage route, traversing pastoral landscapes and ancient villages, concluding at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, the culmination of the Camino, and considered the burial place for the remains of James the Apostle.
- Spend two nights in an eighteenth-century convent that has been reimagined as a four-star hotel, footsteps from the Cathedral de Santiago.
- Indulge in authentic Galician flavors like slow-roasted lamb, fresh-out-of-the-water octopus, and world-renowned locally produced varietals as you dine in family-owned restaurants, drink from the iconic wine fountain, and enjoy recipes and culinary traditions that have been passed from generation to generation
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