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Sacred Song Service – Song of the Universal

The Rt. Rev. Eugene T. Sutton
Presider

Zach Stahlsmith
Reader

The Chautauqua Choir

Members of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
Guest Musicians

Sonya Subbayya Sutton
Interim Director & Organist

Owen Reyda
Organist

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

Eclogue, Op. 10 

Gerald Finzi, 1929 

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!

Welcome
Opening Prayers

The Book of Common Prayer

A Prayer for the Knowledge of God’s Creation

Almighty and everlasting God, you made the universe with all its marvelous order, its atoms, worlds, and galaxies, and the infinite complexity of living creatures: Grant that, as we probe the mysteries of your creation, we may come to know you more truly, and more surely fulfill our role in your eternal purpose; in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.

God of all power, Ruler of the Universe, you are worthy of glory and praise. 

Glory to you for ever and ever. 

At your command all things came to be: the vast expanse of interstellar space, galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses, and this fragile earth, our island home. 

By your will they were created and have their being. 

From the primal elements you brought forth the human race, and blessed us with memory, reason, and skill. You made us the rulers of creation. But we turned against you, and betrayed your trust; and we turned against one another. 

Have mercy, Lord, for we are sinners in your sight. 

Again and again, you called us to return. Through prophets and sages you revealed your righteous Law. And in the fullness of time you sent your only Son, born of a woman, to fulfill your Law, to open for us the way of freedom and peace. 

You have given us paths for reconciliation and healing. 

Anthem

“O Inexpressible Mystery” 

Music: Tawnie Olson, 2018 
Text: St. Gregory Nazianzen, 4th c.

O Inexpressible mystery and unheard-of paradox! 
The invisible is seen, the intangible is touched; 
the Eternal Word becomes accessible to our speech; 
the timeless steps into time;
the Son of God becomes the Son of Man. 

Hymn

“God, Who Stretched the Spangled Heavens” 

Tune: Holy Mann

Reading

Time/Space 

Susan Palo Cherwien, 2003 

Black Elk prayed: 

O Great Spirit, you have made the good red road and the road of difficulties to cross, and where they cross, the place is holy. 

Scientists tell us that our universe is a space-time continuum. 
We live in space which intersects time at all points. 
We live in time which intersects space at all points. 

Now the evidence we have of space is relationship. 
Space enables relationship through the illusion of separateness. 
And relationship makes possible both conflict and compassion. 
Conflict can engender suffering; suffering enables changes. 

Now the evidence we have of time is change. 
Change produces a sense of loss, because what is past cannot be regained. 
Loss produces suffering, and suffering makes possible both compassion and transformation. 

Thus, where time and space come together is a field energized for compassion and transformation, where the good red road and the road of difficulties cross. 

This is the field for our journey - where sorrow is as intrinsic as joy, loss as inherent as love. 
It is the field for our journey. 
And it is holy. Thanks be to God. 

Choral Music

Song of the Universal 

Music: Ola Gjeillo, 2014 
Text: Walt Whitman, 1855 

Come, said the Muse, 
Sing me a song no poet yet has chanted, 
Sing me the Universal. 

In this broad Earth of ours, 
Amid the measureless grossness and the slag, 
Enclosed and safe within its central heart, 
Nestles the seed Perfection. 

By every life a share, or more or less, 
None born but it is born—conceal’d or unconceal’d, the seed is waiting. 

Give me, O God, to sing that thought!
Give me—give him or her I love, this quenchless faith
In Thy ensemble. Whatever else withheld, withhold not from us,
Belief in plan of Thee enclosed in Time and Space;
Health, peace, salvation universal. 

All, all for Immortality! 
Love, like the light, silently wrapping all! 
Nature’s amelioration blessing all! 
The blossoms, fruits of ages—orchards divine and certain; 
Forms, objects, growths, humanities, to spiritual Images ripening. 

The scores for “Song of the Universal” were donated to The Chautauqua Choir Library in memory of Richard Pedersen. Tonight’s accompanying instrumentalists are playing as an expression of gratitude for the Richard G. Pedersen Endowed Chair for Viola in The Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, established in 2026 by his wife, Alice Pedersen. 

Reading

Psalm 145:1-14 

St. Helena Psalter 

I will exalt you, O holy God, * 

and bless your Name for ever and ever. 

Every day will I bless you * 

and praise your Name for ever and ever. 

Great are you, O God, and greatly to be praised; * 

there is no end to your greatness. 

One generation shall praise your works to another * 

and shall declare your power. 

I will ponder the glorious splendor of your majesty * 

and all your marvelous works. 

They shall speak of the might of your wondrous acts, * 

and I will tell of your greatness. 

They shall publish the remembrance of your great goodness; * 

they shall sing of your righteous deeds. 

You are gracious and full of compassion, * 

slow to anger and of great kindness. 

You are loving to everyone, * 

and your compassion is over all your works. 

All your works praise you, O God, * 

and your faithful servants bless you. 

They make known the glory of your realm * 

and speak of your power, 

That the peoples may know of your power * 

and the glorious splendor of your dominion. 

Yours, O God, is an everlasting reign; * 

your dominion endures throughout all ages. 

You are faithful in all your words * 

Hymn

“Come my way, my truth, my life” 

Tune: The Call

Closing Prayer

Collect for Compline 

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ, give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous, and all for your love’s sake.

Amen.

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 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

This music has closed the Sunday evening service since the dedication of the Massey Memorial Organ on August 6, 1907. It is a Chautauqua tradition to remain seated until the music is finished and to then leave the Amphitheater silently, without applause. 

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

Image for Sacred Song Service - Copy
Sacred Song Service – Song of the Universal

The Rt. Rev. Eugene T. Sutton
Presider

Zach Stahlsmith
Reader

The Chautauqua Choir

Members of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
Guest Musicians

Sonya Subbayya Sutton
Interim Director & Organist

Owen Reyda
Organist

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

Eclogue, Op. 10 

Gerald Finzi, 1929 

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!

Welcome
Opening Prayers

The Book of Common Prayer

A Prayer for the Knowledge of God’s Creation

Almighty and everlasting God, you made the universe with all its marvelous order, its atoms, worlds, and galaxies, and the infinite complexity of living creatures: Grant that, as we probe the mysteries of your creation, we may come to know you more truly, and more surely fulfill our role in your eternal purpose; in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.

God of all power, Ruler of the Universe, you are worthy of glory and praise. 

Glory to you for ever and ever. 

At your command all things came to be: the vast expanse of interstellar space, galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses, and this fragile earth, our island home. 

By your will they were created and have their being. 

From the primal elements you brought forth the human race, and blessed us with memory, reason, and skill. You made us the rulers of creation. But we turned against you, and betrayed your trust; and we turned against one another. 

Have mercy, Lord, for we are sinners in your sight. 

Again and again, you called us to return. Through prophets and sages you revealed your righteous Law. And in the fullness of time you sent your only Son, born of a woman, to fulfill your Law, to open for us the way of freedom and peace. 

You have given us paths for reconciliation and healing. 

Anthem

“O Inexpressible Mystery” 

Music: Tawnie Olson, 2018 
Text: St. Gregory Nazianzen, 4th c.

O Inexpressible mystery and unheard-of paradox! 
The invisible is seen, the intangible is touched; 
the Eternal Word becomes accessible to our speech; 
the timeless steps into time;
the Son of God becomes the Son of Man. 

Hymn

“God, Who Stretched the Spangled Heavens” 

Tune: Holy Mann

Reading

Time/Space 

Susan Palo Cherwien, 2003 

Black Elk prayed: 

O Great Spirit, you have made the good red road and the road of difficulties to cross, and where they cross, the place is holy. 

Scientists tell us that our universe is a space-time continuum. 
We live in space which intersects time at all points. 
We live in time which intersects space at all points. 

Now the evidence we have of space is relationship. 
Space enables relationship through the illusion of separateness. 
And relationship makes possible both conflict and compassion. 
Conflict can engender suffering; suffering enables changes. 

Now the evidence we have of time is change. 
Change produces a sense of loss, because what is past cannot be regained. 
Loss produces suffering, and suffering makes possible both compassion and transformation. 

Thus, where time and space come together is a field energized for compassion and transformation, where the good red road and the road of difficulties cross. 

This is the field for our journey - where sorrow is as intrinsic as joy, loss as inherent as love. 
It is the field for our journey. 
And it is holy. Thanks be to God. 

Choral Music

Song of the Universal 

Music: Ola Gjeillo, 2014 
Text: Walt Whitman, 1855 

Come, said the Muse, 
Sing me a song no poet yet has chanted, 
Sing me the Universal. 

In this broad Earth of ours, 
Amid the measureless grossness and the slag, 
Enclosed and safe within its central heart, 
Nestles the seed Perfection. 

By every life a share, or more or less, 
None born but it is born—conceal’d or unconceal’d, the seed is waiting. 

Give me, O God, to sing that thought!
Give me—give him or her I love, this quenchless faith
In Thy ensemble. Whatever else withheld, withhold not from us,
Belief in plan of Thee enclosed in Time and Space;
Health, peace, salvation universal. 

All, all for Immortality! 
Love, like the light, silently wrapping all! 
Nature’s amelioration blessing all! 
The blossoms, fruits of ages—orchards divine and certain; 
Forms, objects, growths, humanities, to spiritual Images ripening. 

The scores for “Song of the Universal” were donated to The Chautauqua Choir Library in memory of Richard Pedersen. Tonight’s accompanying instrumentalists are playing as an expression of gratitude for the Richard G. Pedersen Endowed Chair for Viola in The Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, established in 2026 by his wife, Alice Pedersen. 

Reading

Psalm 145:1-14 

St. Helena Psalter 

I will exalt you, O holy God, * 

and bless your Name for ever and ever. 

Every day will I bless you * 

and praise your Name for ever and ever. 

Great are you, O God, and greatly to be praised; * 

there is no end to your greatness. 

One generation shall praise your works to another * 

and shall declare your power. 

I will ponder the glorious splendor of your majesty * 

and all your marvelous works. 

They shall speak of the might of your wondrous acts, * 

and I will tell of your greatness. 

They shall publish the remembrance of your great goodness; * 

they shall sing of your righteous deeds. 

You are gracious and full of compassion, * 

slow to anger and of great kindness. 

You are loving to everyone, * 

and your compassion is over all your works. 

All your works praise you, O God, * 

and your faithful servants bless you. 

They make known the glory of your realm * 

and speak of your power, 

That the peoples may know of your power * 

and the glorious splendor of your dominion. 

Yours, O God, is an everlasting reign; * 

your dominion endures throughout all ages. 

You are faithful in all your words * 

Hymn

“Come my way, my truth, my life” 

Tune: The Call

Closing Prayer

Collect for Compline 

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ, give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous, and all for your love’s sake.

Amen.

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 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

This music has closed the Sunday evening service since the dedication of the Massey Memorial Organ on August 6, 1907. It is a Chautauqua tradition to remain seated until the music is finished and to then leave the Amphitheater silently, without applause. 

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