IN OUR SANCTUARY & ON ZOOM. Theatre at its best is a collective, spiritual experience. It is church for the heart and mind. It helps us form opinions and gain insight into the lives of our fellow humans. Becky Strum was joined by Melissa Lourie, Middlebury Acting Company’s Artist Director and actors Karen Lefkoe and Kimmy Gordon (cast of the up-coming MACo production of The Niceties) to reflect upon the potential transformative power of theatre. Watch a recording of the service here.
The Niceties, by Eleanor Burgess, is an explosive play about an elite East Coast university, an ambitious young black student and her esteemed white professor who meet to discuss a paper the college junior is writing about the American Revolution. They’re both liberal. They’re both women. They’re both brilliant. But very quickly, discussions of grammar and Google turn to race and reputation, and before they know it, they’re in dangerous territory neither of them had foreseen – and facing stunning implications that can’t be undone. It will be shown at Town Hall Theater April 28-30 and May 1.
Order of Service
Bell: Land Acknowledgement Karl Lindholm
Welcome and Pathways to Connection: Karl Lindholm
Canvass Update
Prelude: Ronnie Romano, Music Dir.
Call to Worship: Karl Lindholm
Chalice Lighting: Becky Strum & Karl Lindholm
May the light we now kindle
inspire us to use our powers
to heal and not to harm
to help and not to hinder
to bless and not to curse
to serve, you Spirit of freedom.
Hymn: We’ll Build a Land (Gray #121) Ronnie Romano, Music Dir.
Time for All Ages: My Night in the Planetarium (by Innosanto Nagara) Becky Strum
Offering: We’ll share our collection today and this month with Living Lands and Waters . All cash and checks not otherwise specified will be split between CVUUS and our donee. You can give online at https://cvuus.breezechms.com/give/online.
Offering Music: Ronnie Romano
Receiving the Offering From You I Receive (Gray #402)
Milestones & Passages: Karl Lindholm
Meditation: Karl Lindholm
Anthem: Some Day (From The Hunchback of Notre Dame) CVUUS Choir
Reflection: Change through Theater Becky Strum
Performance: The Niceties (selected scene)
Hymn: We Are a Gentle Angry People (Gray #170) CVUUS Choir
Closing Words: Becky Strum
Postlude: Ronnie Romano
Credits: Thanks to Becky Strum for leading worship along with our special guests Melissa Lourie, Karen Lefkoe and Kimmy Gordon; our choir; Abi Sessions, Rich Wolfson, Margy Young and others for technical support; our Flower Co-op for seasonal arrangements; Avi Freund and all who helped set up, usher, and greet; Alan Moore and Mike Greenwood for overseeing safety, sound and coffee hour.
Thank you for joining us for worship!
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