The Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton
Presider
The Rev. Dr. Frank A. Thomas
Preacher
Veronica Biggins
Reader
The Chautauqua Choir
Sonya Subbayya Sutton
Interim Director & Organist
Owen Reyda
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
O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß BWV 622
J.S. Bach, c. 1730
Welcome & Announcements
The Rt. Rev. Eugene Sutton
Call to Worship*
“Surge, illuminare”
Isaiah 60:1-3, 11a, 14c, 18-19
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
For behold, darkness covers the land;
deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.
But over you the Lord will rise,
and God’s glory will appear upon you.
Nations will stream to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawning.
Your gates will always be open;
by day or night they will never be shut.
They will call you, The City of the Lord,
the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Violence will no more be heard in your land,
ruin or destruction within your borders.
You will call your walls, Salvation,
and all your portals, Praise.
The sun will no more be your light by day;
by night you will not need the brightness of the moon.
The Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory!
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.
A Prayer For Mercy & Justice
Bishop Eugene Sutton
After the uprising in Baltimore, Maryland following the death of Freddie Gray in police custody, April 12, 2015
Have mercy, Lord, on all your children suffering in this city…
The forgotten and abandoned victims of violence and neglect in our neighborhoods.
Those who feel they have to resort to crime to eat,
and those escaping crime but who fear the police will not help them.
The youth from broken families who seek belonging and safety by joining gangs,
and the youth who are trying to run away from them.
Have mercy… on all those who are homeless, especially
The homeless and scared children living on our streets.
Those who have no shelter from their storms,
and no safe places to go after school.
Have mercy… on those who are poor, sick and tired; and sick of being tired.
Those who come to us fleeing places of violence, only to meet more violence.
Those who suffer from drug abuse and addictions.
Those with mental disorders who live on the edges of society.
Those without adequate medical care, and who will die without it.
Those who cannot pay for the medications and procedures that can help them.
Have mercy on us O God.
Especially we in the richest nation of the world, who borrow from the future to give reduced taxes for the rich but not a crumb from the table to the poor and hungry ...
Who spend too much of our finite resources for weapons of war but have not learned to beat our swords into plowshares…
Who believe that this earth you have given us is for our exploitation…
Whose greed is unregulated and boundaries unrestrained…
Who worship at the altar of the gun while ignoring the Prince of Peace…
Who would give welfare to the wealthy and withhold welfare for the common good…
Who put neighborhood sovereignty above civic responsibility for all our residents...
Who have forgotten or ignored our Holy Scriptures to welcome migrants and refugees, to be a voice for the voiceless, to be a neighbor to the unwelcomed.
Forgive us for our contempt for the poor,
for our indifference to those who suffer,
and for neglecting our children.
Have mercy on us, O God.
For the abundance you have bestowed upon us, we thank you.
And we pray that one day all may be cared for in this world, especially the poor – whom you have invited to sit with you at the banquet feast you have prepared for the lost, forgotten, and abandoned of this world; for they will not be forgotten in your heavenly kingdom. Amen.
(Please take a minute of silence in private prayer.)
A Prayer For Openness
Howard Thurman (1899 -1981) was an African American author, philosopher, theologian, mystic, educator and civil rights leaders. He played a leading role in many social justice movements and organizations of the twentieth century. He was a mentor to many in the civil rights movement including Martin Luther King, Jr.
Let us pray:
Open unto me, light for my darkness.
Open unto me, courage for my fear.
Open unto me, hope for my despair.
Open unto me, peace for my turmoil.
Open unto me, joy for my sorrow.
Open unto me, strength for my weakness.
Open unto me, wisdom for my confusion.
Open unto me, forgiveness for my sins.
Open unto me, love for my hates.
Open unto me, thy Self for my self.
Lord, Lord, open unto me. Amen.
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.
The Passing of The Peace
May the peace of God be always with you.
And also with you.
You are invited to greet your neighbor saying, “Peace be with you.”
Anthem
Dona nobis pacem, from Mass in B Minor
J.S. Bach, 1749
Dona nobis pacem.
Give to us peace.
Canticle
“A Song to Jerusalem Our Mother”
Isaiah 66:10-14
Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her,
Rejoice, rejoice with her, all you who mourn over her,
That you may drink deeply with delight from her comforting breast.
For thus says our God,
“I will extend peace to her like a river,
the wealth of nations like an overflowing stream.
“You shall nurse and be carried on her arm, and you shall nestle in her lap.
“As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
“You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice,
You shall flourish like the grass of the fields.”
Hymn*
“Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life”
Tune: Gardiner
Invitation to the Offering
Offertory Anthem
Antiphon, from “Five Mystical Songs”
Ralph Vaughan Williams, c. 1910
Text: George Herbert, 1633
Let all the world in every corner sing, My God and King.
The heavens are not too high, His praise may thither fly.
The earth is not too low, His praises there may grow.
Let all the world in every corner sing, My God and King.
The Church with Psalms must shout, No door can keep them out.
But above all, the heart Must bear the longest part.
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 by visiting https://giving.chq.org/religion.
Doxology*
Reading From Scripture
Luke 19:41-46 (New Revised Standard Version)
Veronica Biggins, Reader
41 As Jesus came near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 Indeed, the days will come upon you when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.” 45 Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there, 46 and he said, “It is written,
‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’
but you have made it a den of robbers.”
Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people. Thanks be to God.
Sermon
Weeping Over Jerusalem
The Rev. Dr. Frank A. Thomas
Hymn*
“O Day of Peace That Dimly Shines”
Tune: Jerusalem
Blessing and Dismissal
(by William Stringfellow, American lay theologian, lawyer, and social activist)
In the face of death, live humanly. In the middle of chaos, celebrate the Word. Amidst Babel, speak the truth. Confront the noise and verbiage and falsehood of death with the truth and potency and the efficacy of the Word of God. Know the Word, teach the Word, nurture the Word, preach the Word, defend the Word, incarnate the Word, do the Word, live the Word!
Amen!
Let us go forth in the power of the Spirit. Thanks be to God!
Postlude
Toccata, Symphony 5
Charles-Marie Widor, 1879
You are invited to remain seated for the postlude.
This program is made possible by the generous support of the Reverend Leonard J. Ebel Chaplaincy.
Flower Dedications
The flowers on the stage are given …
…in loving memory of Ann Simpson Rice and Jack Dunlap Rice, Janet Simpson Berhardy and their cousin, Marian Heilman Haller.
… in loving memory of H. David Faust, Clyde, Margaret and Jeffrey Simpson by Sylvia Faust.
Happening Today
7 p.m. Palestine Park Tour Near Miller Bell Tower, Weather Permitting
8 p.m. Sacred Song Service: Song of the Universal Amphitheater
Weekday Morning Worship at 9:15 A.M.
Amphitheater, The Rev. Dr. Frank A. Thomas
Monday, August 10 – The Things That Make For Peace
Tuesday, August 11 – The House of God’s Visitation
Wednesday, August 12 – God’s House of Prayer
Thursday, August 13 – Chaplain’s Faith Journey, at the Hall of Philosophy
Friday, August 14 – Communion service, at the Hall of Philosophy
Interfaith Lectures at 2 P.M.
Hall of Philosophy, Religion, Power and the Moral Stakes of a Changing Global Order
As global power shifts and international norms evolve, religious communities play complex roles in diplomacy, conflict, humanitarian response and cultural identity. This week examines how faith traditions shape global ethics. What responsibilities do nations and religious actors share in promoting peace? How do spiritual worldviews influence responses to migration, climate change and human rights? And how can interfaith cooperation strengthen a fragile international order?
Monday, August 10 – Kevin Rudd
Tuesday, August 11 – Jeremy Ben-Ami
Wednesday, August 12 – Naaborle Sackeyfio
Thursday, August 13 – Wes Granberg-Michaelson
Join the Chautauqua Choir
Thu 6:15 p.m. Rehearsal at Fletcher Hall
Fri 6:15 p.m. Rehearsal at Fletcher Hall
Sat 6:15 p.m. Rehearsal at Fletcher Hall
Do you love to sing? Do you have some choral singing experience? We invite you to join us and sing on Sundays with the Chautauqua Choir, whether for one service or the whole season. You must attend at least one out of three weekly rehearsals (though attending more rehearsals are preferred). We ask that you plan to sing both Sunday Morning and Sunday Evening services when possible.
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 716-3576321 to schedule an audition for the 2026 Summer Season.
Chautauqua Institution
Department of Religion
Robert Wilson-Black
Director of Religion
The Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton
Senior Pastor
Sonya Subbaya Sutton
Interim Director of Sacred Music
Carolyn Snider
Administrative Assistant
Owen Reyda
Organ Scholar
Alicen Roberts
Religion Intern