The Rt. Rev. Eugene T. Sutton
Presider

The Chautauqua Choir

Joshua Stafford
Director & Organist

Owen Reyda and Laura Smith
Organists

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!

The readings throughout tonight’s service come from Walter Brueggemann (1933–2025). This exploration of the Collect of Purityfrom the Episcopal/Anglican Book of Common Prayer comes from his Prayers for a Priveleged People, published in 2008.

Collect For Purity

The Book of Common Prayer

Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hymn*

"O for a closer walk with God"

Caithness, Scottish Psalter, 1635
William Cowper, 1769

“O for a closer walk”

1 O for a closer walk with God,
a calm and heavenly frame,
a light to shine upon the road 
that leads me to the Lamb!

2 Return, O holy Dove, return,
sweet messenger of rest!
I hate the sins that made thee mourn
and drove thee from my breast.

3 The dearest idol I have known,
whate'er that idol be,
help me to tear it from thy throne,
and worship only thee.

4 So shall my walk be close with God,
calm and serene my frame;
so purer light shall mark the road
that leads me to the Lamb.

Unto Whom All Hearts Are Open

We say, “Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open...”

We rush to the next phrase, but now we linger there.

We ponder our hearts ...

our deepest feelings of love and devotion,

our closest organ of vitality, our place of deep decision-making, our instrument of being fully ourselves.

Our hearts — that throb for contact with you—

our hearts are open. 

They are not always open by our choice, for we would like sometimes to

close our hearts and our minds and our hands.

But they are open, because

our hearts cannot resist your steady care and address.

Our hearts are open for you, very God.

You are the one who has made us

so that our hearts are restless till they rest in you.

Do your mysterious, majestic God-ing

with our hearts: reclaim, renew, re-enliven,

that we may leave your presence

transplanted, transformed, transposed,

become by your attentiveness whom we

have not yet embraced, open and receptive, honest and undefensive,

unafraid and committed to obedience.

Let the pulse of our heart throb now, according to the cadences of your rule; command and we will obey, overrule and we will yield, lead and we will walk

where we never thought to go.

Unto you...

not unto each other,

not unto our pet projects,

not unto our favorite charity or passion.

Unto you... our hearts are open;

we are yours; be our God — yet again.

Hymn*

"O holy city, seen of John"

Sanca Civitas, Herbert Howells, 1968
Walter Russell Bowie, 1909

“O holy city”

1 O holy city, seen of John,
where Christ, the Lamb, does reign,
within whose four-square walls shall come
no night, nor need, nor pain,
and where the tears are wiped from eyes
that shall not weep again!

2 O shame to us who rest content
while lust and greed for gain
in street and shop and tenement
wring gold from human pain,
and bitter lips in deep despair
cry, "Christ has died in vain!"

3 Give us, O God, the strength to build
the city that has stood
too long a dream; whose laws are love,
whose crown is servanthood,
and where the sun that shineth is
God’s grace for human good.

4 Already in the mind of God
that city rises fair.
Lo, how its splendor challenges
the souls that greatly dare,
yea, bids us seize the whole of life
and build its glory there.

All Desires Are Known

The leader says, “Almighty God, unto whom …all desires are known.”

We rush to the next phrase, but now linger there.

We are creatures inhabited by many desires.

When we hear the word “desire,” we first of all think of sex,

and we are propelled by such sexuality that you have called good 

but that we fear and distort.

But some of us are shriveled in sexuality

and can scarce remember desire.

But the word “desire” reaches deep and wide:

Some of us have traded off sex for money and we can never have enough;

Some of us are so anxious and we desire most of all control, 

to have control, to be in control;

Some of us are so full of hate and resentment, 

that we desire most of all to see our enemies overwhelmed:

an old sibling threat, an alienated lover, a rival, a competitor, 

an Arab, a Jew, a Communist, a gay person.

We spend our energy managing our desires, waiting on them, 

investing in them, keeping them hidden.

But you know, and you know by your presence how to change our desires, 

because in your presence, our desires lose their power

as we receive again your look of love, your powerful embrace,

your steady summons, and then we know our desires

are all too self-indulgent,

interrupted by the precious psalmist,

“Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.”

You have made us to desire only you, you, our beginning and our end, you, our food and our rest, you, our joy and our peace.

Turn us from our desires that obsess us.

Unburden us that we may know our true desire and end in communion with you,

you, who desire us as companion and lover.

Anthem

"Insanae et vaneae curae"

Joseph Haydn, 1775, rev, 1808

Insanæ et vanæ curæ invadunt mentes nostras, 
sæpe furore replent corda, privata spe, 
Quid prodest O mortalis conari pro mundanis, 
si coelos negligas, 
Sunt fausta tibi cuncta, si Deus est pro te. 

Vain and raging cares invade our minds, 
Madness often fills the heart, robbed of hope, 
O mortal man, what does it profit to endeavour at worldly things, 
if you should neglect the heavens? 
If God is for you, all things are favorable for you.

From Whom No Secrets Are Hid

We say, “Almighty God... from whom no secrets are hid.”

We rush to the next phrase but now linger there.

We are rich conundrums of secrets, we weave a pattern of lies 

in order to be well thought of,

we engage in subterfuge about our truth.

We carry old secrets too painful to utter, 

too shameful to acknowledge, too burdensome to bear,

of failures we cannot undo,

of alienations we regret but cannot fix, of grandiose exhibits we cannot curb.

And you know them.

You know them all.

And so we take a deep sigh in your presence,

no longer needing to pretend and cover up and deny.

We mostly do not have big sins to confess, 

only modest shames that do not fit our hoped-for selves.

And then we find that your knowing is more powerful than our secrets.

You know and do not turn away,

and our secrets that seemed too powerful are emptied of strength, 

secrets that seemed too burdensome are now less severe.

We marvel that when you find us out you stay with us, taking us seriously, 

taking our secrets soberly, but not ultimately, overpowering our little failure with your massive love and abiding patience.

We long to be fully, honestly exposed to your gaze of gentleness.

In the moment of your knowing we are eased and lightened,

and we feel the surge of joy move in our bodies,

because we are not ours in cringing but yours in communion.

We are yours and find the truth before you makes us free for

wonder, love, and praise-and new life.

Hymn*

"Forgive our sins as we forgive"

Detroit, Supplement to the Kentucky Harmony, 1820
Rosamond E. Herklots, 1969, 1983, alt.

“Forgive our sins”

1"Forgive our sins as we forgive,"
you taught us, Lord, to pray,
but you alone can grant us grace
to live the words we say.

2 How can your pardon reach and bless
the unforgiving heart
that broods on wrongs and will not let
old bitterness depart?

3 In blazing light your cross reveals
the truth we dimly knew:
what trivial debts are owed to us,
how great our debt to you!

4 Lord, cleanse the depths within our souls
and bid resentment cease.
Then, by your mercy reconciled,
our lives will spread your peace.

Cleanse The Thoughts

Every time we meet, we pray that you would 

“cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit.”

We present ourselves for that strange interface 

between our thoughts and your spirit.

We covet our thoughts that do not stay focused 

about getting out of church on time and errands to run after church 

and meals to purchase and folks to see; 

our thoughts reflect our excessive busyness 

that leaves us little time for our life with you.

And beneath busyness our thoughts are preoccupied

with hopes that linger in disappointment,

with hurts that refuse to be healed, with guilt that does not easily yield to pardon,

with estrangements that cut deep and remain open,

with can-do confidence about power and energy and achievement.

We think a thousand thoughts in a minute... of money and sex and control 

and loss and death and cell phones and loneliness and good food.

And then you...

you who give light and wind and life, you who watch over us with sustaining power and disciplining presence; you will us well and whole

and by stealth turn our lives in freshness.

We present ourselves,

seeking ... grudgingly ... that you will equip us to relinquish thoughts 

that we have thought too long and too often, 

seeking that you will restore us to the joy of your presence,

seeking that you will make things new in our stale, weary lives.

What we seek, only you can give;

What we ask, we cannot find ourselves;

What we want is a gift

and the open graciousness to receive it on your terms.

Come Holy Spirit!

Hymn*

"Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly dove"

St. Agnes, John Bacchus Dykes, 1866
Isaac Watts, 1707, alt.

“Come, Holy Spirit”

1 Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove,
with all thy quickening powers;
kindle a flame of sacred love
in these cold hearts of ours.

2 In vain we tune our formal songs;
in vain we strive to rise;
hosannas languish on our tongues,
and our devotion dies.

3 Dear Lord, and shall we ever live
at this poor dying rate?
Our love so faint, so cold to thee,
and thine to us so great!

4 Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove,
with all thy quickening powers;
come, shed abroad a Savior's love,
and that shall kindle ours.

Perfectly Love

We pray, as often as we meet, that we might “perfectly love you.”

Indeed, we have been commanded from the beginning,to love you with all our hearts and all our soulsand all our minds and all our strength.

We have pledged to love,pledged in our prayers and in our baptism,

in our confirmation and with our best resolve.

But we confess...we love you imperfectly;we love you with a divided heart,

with a thousand other loves

that are more compelling,

with reservation and qualification,

and passion withheld and devotion impaired.

We do not now come to pretend before you,but to confess that we do not, as we are, love you perfectly;

we do not keep your commands;

we do not order our lives by your purpose;

we do not tilt toward you as our deepest affection.But we would...

we would love you more perfectly,

by the taste of the bread become your flesh,

by the swallow of wine become your blood,

by the praise of our lips and beyond our usual reasoning,

by the commandments that are not burden but joy to us,

by embracing your passion for neighbors,

by your ways of justice and peace and mercy,

by honoring the world you have made

and all creatures great and small,

by self-care that knows you as our creator.

Lead us past our shabby compromises and our cheap devotion;

lead us into singleness of vision and purity of heart,

that we may will one thing,

and answer back in love to your great love to us.

Free us from idolatries,

and our habits of recalcitrance,

tender our hearts, gentle our lips, open our hands,

that we may turn toward you fully.

Hymn

“As chalice cast of gold” 

K. Lee Scott, 2003
Thomas H. Troeger, 1984

As a chalice cast of gold,
burnished, bright and brimmed with wine,
make me, Lord, as fit to hold
grace and truth and love divine.
Let my praise and worship start
with the cleansing of my heart.

Save me from the soothing sin
of the empty cultic deed
and the pious, babbling din
of the claimed but unlived creed.
Let my actions, Lord, express
what my tongue and lips profess.

When I bend upon my knees,
clasp my hands, 
or bow my head,
let my spoken, public pleas
be directly, simply said,
free of tangled words that mask
what my soul would plainly ask.

When I dance or chant your praise,
when I sing a psalm or hymn,
when I preach your loving ways,
let my heart add its Amen.
Let each cherished outward rite
thus reflect your inward light.

Worthily Magnify

We pray, as often as we meet,

that we might “worthily magnify thy holy Name.”

Except that before your holy name,

we mumble in awe and timidity and cowardice,

Your holy name we can hardly utter:

the father of all orphans,

the son who is crucified and risen,

the spirit who blows where it will,

creator, maker of all that is,

redeemer, who frees us from the power of death,

sanctifier, who blesses us with betterness.

Your holy name that causes powers to tremble and angels to yield. 

Your holy name that causes chaos to settle, and death to depart,

and feverish anxiety to grow quiet. 

Your name we dare entertain in our dry mouths,

on our thin tongues, between our quivering lips.

No, we are not worthy to utter your name,

we are so anxious and devious,

we are so preoccupied and distracted,

we who cannot stay awake to watch with you one hour,

we who have our own ways in the world that are not your ways.

Except you have entrusted your holy name to us;

you have called us as your witnesses;

you have empowered us to be your good news messengers.

So we pray in this awesome moment in your presence,

match up your holy name with our poor testimony, 

that we may make your name and your power and your purpose

very large and awesome and compelling,

large before the rulers of this age,

awesome amid the violence of our world and our government,

compelling amid our mad pursuit of oil and commodities and safety.

We pray for freedom and courage to praise you, that by our praise,

the angels in heaven may be invited to awe,

the folk among us may be summoned to notice,

the children in our midst may be moved to trust you.

You, you the lamb that is slain, are worthy to be praised.

Take our unworthy selves and by your good power

let our praise toward you be done worthily.

That you, your kingdom and your power and your glory

may be made large in our times and in our places,

here and now — made very large. 

Hymn

"Now the day is over"

Merrial, Joseph Barnaby, 1868
Sabine Barind-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 repose
with thy tend’rest blessing may our eyelids close.

When the morning wakens, then may I arise
pure, 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.We invite your silent appreciation — without applause.

CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION
Department of Religion

Melissa Spas
Vice President of Religion

The Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton
Senior Pastor

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

Owen Reyda
Organ Scholar

Laura Smith
Organ Scholar

Carolyn Snider
Administrative Assistant

Annie Leech
Coordinator of Religious Education

Alicen Roberts
Student Minister

Weekday Morning Worship at 9:15 a.m.

Ampitheather, The Rev. Jacqueline L. Lewis

Mon 6/30 Time to Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

Tues 7/1 When the Trees Clap Their Hands

Wed 7/2 Just Love, So Our Joy Might Be Full

Thu 7/3 When Weeping Turns to Laughter

Fri 7/4 When There Are No More Tears

Interfaith Lectures at 2 p.m.

Hall of Philosophy, Sin and Redemption: Practices and Possibilities for Reconciliation

Mon 6/30 Almeda Wright

Tues 7/1 Rebecca Claren

Wed 7/2 Barry W. Lynn

Thu 7/3 Martin Nguyen

Fri 7/4 Brian Webb

Islam 101 at 3:30 p.m.

Hurlbut Church

Mon 6/30 The Quran and What is Says About Other Faiths

Tues 7/1 Family Life and Women

Wed 7/2 Shia-Sunni Divide

Thu 7/3 Shariah

Fri 7/4 Islam in America

Wednesday Organ Concert at 12:15 p.m.

Amphitheater, Joshua Stafford, organist

Join the Chautauqua Choir

Thu 6:15 p.m. Rehearsal at Lenna Hall

Fri 6:15 p.m. Rehearsal at Fletcher Hall

Sat 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 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 or the other. Questions can be directed to choir@chq.org or by calling the choir library at 716-357-6321. 

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 2026 summer season.