The Loaves and the Fishes – John August Swanson

First Congregational Church of

Evanston
United Church of Christ
An Open and Affirming Church
Founded 1869
Sunday, August 6th 2023 | 10 o’clock in the morning
Tenth Sunday After Pentecost
 ORDER OF WORSHIP
Responses in italics may be spoken out loud.
Please stand, if you wish, at places marked by an asterisk (*).

Prelude Father, We Praise You arr. John A. Behnke

Words of Welcome Julie Captain
*Call to Worship
The Holy One is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Holy One is good to all, with compassion for all God’s creation.
The Holy One upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
The Holy One is near to all who call on God, to all who callfirm
463-how in a.mus,
truth. Page 1
May our worship speak the praise of the Holy One, and bless God’s name
forever and
THE ever.
WORD

463
*Opening Hymn
#
HowHow Firm a Foundation
Firm a Foundation (vs. 1,3,5) #463
& 22 œ œœ ˙˙ œœ œœ ˙ œ œ ˙
˙ œ œ ˙˙
œ œ œ œ œ
1 How firm a foun - da - tion, ye saints of the Lord,
2 “Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dis - mayed,
3 “When through the deep wa - ters I call thee to go,
4 “When through fi - ery tri - als thy path - way shall lie,

? # 22 ˙ ˙ œœ œœ ˙ ˙ œ œ ˙˙
5 “The soul that on Je - sus hath leaned for re - pose,

˙ ˙ ˙ œœ œœ ˙ œ œ
# ˙
& œ œœ ˙˙ œœ œœ ˙ œ œ ˙ œœ œ ˙
œ œ œ œ ˙
is laid for your faith in God’s ex - cel - lent Word!
for I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
the riv - ers of sor - row shall not o - ver - flow;
my grace, all suf - fi - cient, shall be thy sup - ply;

?# ˙ ˙ œ œ ˙ œœ œœ ˙˙ œœ œœ ˙
I will not, I will not de - sert to its foes;

˙ ˙ œ œ ˙ ˙
# ˙ ˙˙ œ œ ˙ œ
& ˙ œ œ ˙˙ œœ œœ ˙ œ ˙˙
œ œ
What more can be said than to you God hath said,
I’ll strength - en thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
for I will be near thee, thy trou - bles to bless,
the flame shall not hurt thee; I on - ly de - sign

?# ˙ ˙˙ œ œœ ˙˙ œ œœ
˙ œ œ ˙˙
that soul, though all hell should en - deav - or to shake,

œ ˙ œ œ
#
& œ œœ ˙˙ œœ œœ ˙ œ œ ˙˙ œœ œ
œ ˙
œ œ œ ˙
 ?# ˙ ˙˙ œ œœ ˙˙ œ œœ
˙ œ œ ˙˙
œ ˙ œ œ
#
& œ œœ ˙˙ œœ œœ ˙ œ œ ˙˙ œœ œ ˙
œ œ œ œ ˙
to you who for ref - uge to Je - sus have fled?
up - held by my righ - teous, om - nip - o - tent hand.
and sanc - ti - fy to thee thy deep - est dis - tress.

˙
thy dross to con - sume, and thy gold to re - fine.

?# ˙ œœ œœ ˙ œœ œœ ˙˙ œœ œœ ˙
I’ll nev - er, no, nev - er, no, nev - er for - sake.”

˙ ˙ ˙ ˙
It seems odd now to think of singing this text to ADESTE FIDELES, but mainline churches did so well into
the 20th century because of a cultural bias against shape note music. The vigor of the present tune seems
especially right for the final line’s reference to Hebrews 13:5.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

*Call to Confession -- Prayer of Confession

TEXT: “K” in John Rippons’s A Selection of Hymns, 1787, alt.
MUSIC: American folk melody; Funk’s Genuine Church Music, 1832, alt.
FOUNDATION
11.11.11.11

O Lord our God, you call us to love our neighbor as ourself, ensuring that all
will be fed and have dignity. But in our own distractions, we become blinded
by our selfish desires. We have turned away those who are hungry and crying
out for your help. We have forgotten to trust in you and have clung to
5/13/13
mammon instead of giving it over to you to multiply it with your great power.
Forgive us, O Lord. Turn us to your will by the power of your Spirit, so that all
may know your abundance and grace; through Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen.

*Words of Grace and Mercy

From generation to generation, God’s love overcomes human sinfulness. God is
committed to fresh starts and new creations. This is good news!
In Jesus Christ we are forgiven!

*Prayer Response
(Hymn 327, stanza 3)
Eternal are thy mercies, Lord; eternal truth attends thy word:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore,
till suns shall rise and set no more.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

First Scripture Matthew 14: 13-21 Julie Captain

*Greeting of Peace

Announcements

Sermon Scripture Isaiah 55: 1-5

Sermon “Smorgasbord” Rev. Jason W. Coulter

 LORD’S SUPPER

Here, O Our Lord, We See You 517

2
*Hymn Here, O Our Lord, We See You (vs. 1-3) #517

& 2 ˙˙ œœ œœ ˙˙ ˙˙ œ œ œ œ w
œ œ œ œ w
1 Here, O our Lord, we see you face to face.
2 Here would we feed up - on the bread of God,
3 This is the hour of ban - quet and of song;
4 Too soon we rise; the sym - bols dis - ap - pear.

? 22 ˙˙ œ œ ˙ ˙ œ œœ œ œ w
5 Feast af - ter feast thus comes and pass - es by,

œ œ ˙ ˙ œ œ w

& ˙˙ œ
#œ # œœ ˙œ œ ˙˙ œœ œœ œœ # œœ ww
Here would we touch and han - dle things un - seen,
here drink with you the roy - al cup of heaven;
this is the heaven - ly ta - ble for us spread.
The feast, though not the love, is past and gone;

œ ˙˙ #˙ œ œ œ œ ww
? œ œ #œ
yet, pass - ing, points to that glad feast a - bove,

œ #œ ˙ œ œ œ œ
˙
& ˙˙ œœ œœ ˙˙ ˙˙ œœ œœ œœ œœ w
w
here grasp with firm - er hand e - ter - nal grace,
here would we lay a - side each earth - ly load,
Here let us feast and, feast - ing, still pro - long
the bread and wine re - move, but you are here,

˙˙ ˙˙ œœ œœ
? ˙˙ œœ œœ œœ œœ ww
giv - ing sweet fore - taste of the fes - tal joy,

˙ œ œœ œœ œœ œœ
&˙ œ œœ ˙˙ ˙˙ ww
and all our wea - ri - ness up - on you lean.
and taste a - fresh the calm of sin for - given.
the fel - low - ship of liv - ing wine and bread.
near - er than ev - er, still our shield and sun.

? œ˙ œ œœ œ œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙˙ ˙˙ w
the Lamb’s great brid - al feast of bliss and love.

œ w
Invitation to
TheseOffering BeaThou
stanzas are selected from My
ten-stanza Vision
hymn written in 1855 to serve as aTraditional Irish
monthly post-communion
reflection for the members of St. Andrew’s Free Church, Greenock, Scotland. They are set to a tune named
Paul
for both a coastal town and a large bay in northwest Janicki and Anne Trompeter
England.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TEXT: Horatius Bonar, 1855, alt. MORECAMBE
MUSIC: Frederick Cook Atkinson, 1870 10.10.10.10
*Doxology
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Christ, all people here below;
Praise Holy Spirit evermore;
One God, Triune whom we adore. Amen.

*Prayer of Dedication
Blessed are you, O God, maker of all things. Through your goodness you
have blessed us with these gifts: ourselves, our time, and our possessions.
Use us, and what we have gathered, in feeding the world with your love;
through the one who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.
Amen.

Service of Holy Communion

At First Congregational Church of Evanston, all people, and we mean, ALL PEOPLE, are welcome at
Christ’s table. At the pastor’s call, you are invited to come forward to receive the elements of the
Lord’s Supper. In the communion plate, you will find bread and gluten-free wafers. In the trays, you
will find small glasses of grape juice. We also have small communion kits for those who prefer them.
Regardless of how you receive this meal, know that God blesses your presence at Christ’s table!

Invitation …. Jesus Christ, who has sat at our tables, now invites us to be guests at
his.

Congregational Prayer
O God, how wonderful is the work of your hands! Through your son, Jesus,
you came to us and entered this world, that we might more fully know you and
your love. Jesus healed the sick, though he himself would suffer; he offered
life to sinners, though death would hunt him down. But with a love stronger
than death, he rose on Easter morning to give the gift of life to all who call on
his holy name. Bless his holy name and bless these gifts which we are about
to receive.

Words of Institution …This is my body, broken for you…This is my blood, shed for
you…

Congregational Response
Holy, holy, holy -- God of love and majesty
The whole universe speaks of your glory -- O God Most High.

Pastoral Prayer of Thanksgiving

Call to the Supper The gifts of God for the people of God. Come for all things are
ready.

Congregational Prayer of Thanksgiving

Gracious God, in deep gratitude for this meal, for this moment, and for your
Son Jesus, we give thanks to you. Take us out to live as changed people,
because we have shared the living bread, drank from the cup of blessing, and
can no longer remain the same. Make us instruments of your love so that we
may we live our lives to your glory, both as inhabitants of earth and citizens of
the commonwealth of heaven. Amen.

Prayers of the People - Pastoral Prayer - Silent Prayer

Prayer of Our Savior

Our Creator, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come,
343-where cross the.mus, Page 1
thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the
THEkingdom,
LIFE OF THE and the power,
NATIONS

Where Cross the Crowded

and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
343
Where Cross Ways of Life
### 3
*Closing Hymn the Crowded Ways of Life (vs. 1-4) #343

& 4 œœ ˙˙ œœ ˙˙ œ œ # œœ n œœ ˙˙ œœ # œœ œœ œœ
œ
1 Where cross the crowd - ed ways of life, where sound the
2 In haunts of wretch - ed - ness and need, on shad - owed
3 From ten - der child - hood’s help - less - ness, from hu - man

? ### 3 œ ˙ œ ˙ œœ œ˙ œ œœ ˙˙ œœ œ œ œ
4 The cup of wa - ter given for you still holds the

4 œ ˙ œ ˙ ˙ œ

### ˙
& ˙ œœ œœ œ œ # œ ˙˙ œœ ˙˙ œ œ˙ œ œœ
œ œ œ
cries of race and clan, a - bove the noise of
thresh - olds fraught with fears, from paths where hide the
grief and bur - dened toil, from fam - ished souls, from

? ### ˙ œ œ œ ˙˙ œ ˙ jœ
fresh - ness of your grace; yet long these mul - ti -

œœ œœ œ˙ . œ
˙ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ

### œ œ œ œ œœ œ˙ œ œ œ œ œ
& ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙˙ œ ˙ œ ˙˙
 ? ## œœ œ ˙ œ œ˙ . œ œ
˙ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ

### œ œ œ œ œ œ˙ œ œ œ œ
& ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙˙ œ œ ˙ œœ ˙˙
self - ish strife, we hear your voice, O Son of Man.
lures of greed, we catch the vi - sion of your tears.
sor - row’s stress, your heart has nev - er known re - coil.

œ œ˙ œ #n œœ œ œ œ œ ˙
tudes to view the sweet com - pas - sion of your face.

? # # # ˙˙ ˙˙ # œœ ˙˙
œ œ ˙ œ
˙
5 O Master, from the mountainside, 6 Till all the world shall learn your love,
*Benedictionmake
and Blessing
haste to heal these hearts of pain; and follow where your feet have trod;
among these restless throngs abide; till glorious from your heaven above
O tread the city’s streets again; shall come the city of our God.
Postlude Trumpet Tune Wilbur Held

Because dense populations always result in concentrated hardships, this vivid yet timeless evocation of
urban need connects to our own day as well as to Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37/Luke 13:34).
This tune was the first used with this text and is now customary.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TEXT: Frank Mason North, 1903, alt. GERMANY
MUSIC: Gardiner’s Sacred Melodies, 1815 LM

4/10/13

Worship Credits and Sources:

Cover image by John August Swanson - Artist’s Notes: For many years I sketched, and tried to work out in my
imagination, how the scene of the LOAVES AND FISHES, with its multitude of people, could be painted. I
wanted this image to honor native peoples in many parts of the world; those who work the land for their
livelihood, and have lived for generations in small communities or villages...The people in my painting are
wearing garments with many colors and patterns, inspired by the creations of the makers of cloth, the weavers,
and the dyers of Central America, Mexico, and parts of Africa and India...

My image of LOAVES AND FISHES emphasizes and reminds us of the basic needs of all humanity. We all
share the need for food and for providing for our families and communities. If we take the cosmic view, that
there currently exists enough of what we need to sustain the world; we urgently need to consider sharing the
resources that have been entrusted to us.

JOHN AUGUST SWANSON makes his home in Los Angeles, California, where he was born in 1938. He
paints in oil, watercolor, acrylic and mixed media, and is an independent printmaker of limited edition
serigraphs, lithographs and etchings.

Call to Worship and Prayers from Rev. Dana Moulds of the Presbyterian Outlook

Music Permissions can be found in large print bulletin

Sunday Morning Service Roles
Deacons: Lay Reader
- Dona Nunn - Julie Captain
- Chris Krei
- Eda Uca
Livestream/Tech Support: Summer Spirit
- Gary Hardesty - Kelly Tran
- Julie Captain - Lucy Coulter
Want to volunteer and get more involved in Sunday services? See the sign-up sheet in
the back of the sanctuary or contact Mahdia at [email protected]

Beachside Worship Next Sunday 8/13

On August 13th, we will be worshiping with the waves! Outdoor
worship will take place at the Grosse Pointe Lighthouse fire pit
so be sure to bring your singing voices, bag chairs, and
swimsuits and we'll bring a guitar. Fellowship will take place
afterwards so pack your own picnic and enjoy where church life
meets the beach.

Sign Up to Support Local Families

First Congregational hosts the Family Promise
program in the First Congregational
Community Center. Family Promise provides
support and housing for families facing
homelessness. Right now there are three
families enrolled in the program with nine children and they are seeking meals to feed
those hungry mouths.

Please visit the Family Promise link to learn about the families and sign up to provide a
meal for them next week. You can find the online sign-up form in our weekly email
newsletter or contact Mahdia in the Church Office at [email protected]
Welcome to First Congregational Church of Evanston, UCC

We are glad you chose to be with us on this Sunday morning!

And we want you to know that no matter who you are, or where
you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here!

Childcare is provided in the downstairs nursery for infants and

children to age 5. The space at the back of the Sanctuary
available for our families. Children K-6 are invited to join Summer Spirit in the park
across from the Sanctuary.

Please sign the Attendance Pads in the pews. We invite our visitors to include your
name, address and email so that we might acknowledge your visit with a card. All are
welcome to join us after services in the narthex or outside for refreshments and
conversation.

We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals to fully engage
in our community. To request an accommodation or for inquiries about
accessibility, call the Church Office at 847-864-8332 or send an email to
[email protected].

Babies and Toddlers: Little ones enrich our community and add vibrancy
to our congregation. Please don't fret about coos or cries during the service. All ages
are welcome here. Visit our rocking chair area to find books & coloring pages for use
during the service, or you are welcome to drop off infants to 3 year-olds with
our Nursery Supervisor.

Use this QR Code to check out events and ongoing programming at

FCCE.
 WELCOME to First Congregational Church of Evanston

Mission Statement
We express God’s love in action, compassion, and justice.

Open and Affirming Statement

As an inclusive congregation, we welcome all faith experiences and family types; we
are an open and affirming community of faith who welcome and celebrate differences
of age, ability, race, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and national
origin.

Immigrant Welcoming Statement

We commit to take actions consistent with the values and resources of our community
to oppose xenophobia and to protect undocumented immigrants from deportation and
the hardships such deportation will cause them and their families.

First Congregational Church of Evanston, UCC

Sanctuary: 1445 Hinman Avenue (at Grove Street)
Mailing address: 1417 Hinman Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201
Phone: 847-864-8332 | Email: [email protected]
Website: www.firstchurchevanston.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/firstcongregationalchurchofevanston/

Church Staff
Rev. Jason W. Coulter, Senior Minister [email protected] | ext.21
Matthew Hogan, Music Director [email protected] | ext. 23
Mahdia Lynn, Church Administrator [email protected] | ext. 22
Lucy Coulter, Summer Intern for Communications & Community Life
Kelly Tran, Nursery Supervisor
Chris Krei, Member at Large
Julie Captain and Sarah Pressly, Co-Moderators

Thank you to Worship, Music and Arts Committee for bringing today’s post-
service refreshments.

To make a donation to First Congregational Church you may do so during

the offering, or you may make an electronic donation through the church
website by using this QR Code. Thank you for your generosity!