JAZZ VESPERS

JAZZ VESPERS SERVICE
SUNDAY, MAY 7, 2006, Fairhaven, Massachusetts

PRELUDE
Don’t Get Down On You Knees To Pray
(Until You Have Forgiven Everyone)
Duke Ellington-Sacred Concerts

GREETING-INVITATION-READINGS-REFLECTION

MUSICAL REFLECTION
a drum solo based on:
“Journey To The Mountain Top" speech
Rev. Martin Luther King

PRAYER-SILENT REFLECTION

MUSICAL INTERLUDE
Almighty God
Duke Ellington Sacred Concerts

OFFERING
Heaven
Duke Ellington Sacred Concerts

LITANY-BENEDICTION

POSTLUDE
Ain’t Nobody, Nowhere, Nothin’ Without God
Duke Ellington Sacred Concerts

DECEMBER 3, 2006 5:00-6:00 P.M.

PRELUDE “Red’s Blues” Jerry Bergonzi
“Last Train Home” Pat Metheny

GREETING

INVITATION
Winter trees. Graceful against a cool, crisp sky. Lines etched like lace, full of promise. Winter people. Hushed by the stillness of a cold clear night. Winter dreams. Visions of crocuses poking their way through the cold earth and buds swelling in response to warm winds. Winter God. Steadfast and beckoning, bearing the promise of new life. Winter songs, Echoing like a church bell, warming the heart and touching the soul.

OPENING PRAYER

MUSICAL SELECTION “Train Shuffle” Tom Harrell

READINGS

Isaiah, selected verses - Hebrew Scripture
1 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus 2 it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing….5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 7 the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water….

Luke 2:6-7 – Christian Scripture
6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Winter Waiting – Jill Jenkins
The last leaves drift down now,
Trees standing bare along the skyline –
Each branch etched clear against the winter light.
On the dark fields the furrows turn
To bare-backed ridges whitened hard by frost.
Yet deep within this sullen soil
New life already waits for birth –
Released to life by the returning spring.
Regenerating God, harrow our hearts
Till we become the opened ground
In which your Spirit’s seeds
Take root and grow.

REFLECTION Rev. Bette McClure

MUSICAL REFLECTIONS "In the Sky”& “Nonchalant” Rick Britto

PRAYER

SILENT REFLECTION

MUSICAL SELECTIONS “A Child is Born” Thad Jones
“Nutty” Thelonius Monk

OFFERING “Gloria’s Step” Scott Laforo
(The entire offering from this service will be donated to the Neediest Family Fund – see insert for details about this fund.)

LITANY(read responsively)
We gather, God of the changing seasons, as the year turns to deepening darkness. Winds blow wild, ice binds hard and fast; Fog swirls over frost-brittle grass; Stems of summer's glory await the blanketing and burdening of snow-fall.
Surround us with warmth and hope. Hearts grown hard, souls grown stiff with cold. Minds burdened by worry, spirits buffeted by storm of change. Mists clouding our view of a world created wondrous. God of new birth, infuse us with your life giving Spirit. Star-spangled snow reflects lustrous moonlight; Clarity of star-light pierces black velvet skies; Sunlight - weak yet undefeated - rests on limpid waters; On crystal cobwebs and sherbet-traced leaves; Seeds sleeping - awaiting the wakening touch of spring. Help us to see the light and the possibility around us. Hearts melting, souls unfolding to warmth and radiance; Thoughts piercing mists and confusion; Spirits resilient, braving elemental forces; Seeds of hope warmed into wakefulness. God of new life, be with us in this Advent season of growth and birth.
(© Wellsprings 2006 http://www.wellsprings.org.uk/wellsprings.htm - adapted)

BENEDICTION

POSTLUDE “There Is No Greater Love” Isham Jones/Marty Symes