July 19, 2026 (click for digital OOS)

Liturgist   Jen Layman 

Time for All Ages Karen Litzinger 

Music Ellen Gozion, Director of Instrumental Music with Brad Yoder, guest singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist  

Tech Emily Sweeney 

Prelude   Jesus in the Wilderness by Brad Yoder  

Welcome   Jen Layman 

Lighting the Chalice and Call to Worship  

Opening Hymn #42 Morning, So Fair to See 

Collective Grounding   

We name our collective recommitment to care for the earth. 

Knowing the ground we live upon is sacred, 

We pledge to bring new life to the earth 

New Life to the air 

New Life to the waters 

New Life to each other 

For all Life is sacred 

Story for All   The Genius of Nature   with Karen Litzinger 

Singing For Our Children  #413 Go Now in Peace 

Offering   Jen 

Donations by check may be mailed to the church office.  Electronic donations can be made online through the church website or by texting “give” to (412) 435-1050 and following the instructions.          

Share the plate for July is Tree Pittsburgh* 

Joys and Sorrows: During the offertory music, you are invited to light a candle or place a stone in Blessed Community water as you offer silent gratitude or prayers. Two tables are in the sanctuary; one in the front, to the right of the platform, and one in the back right alcove. 

Offertory Music   Mulberry Tree by Brad Yoder 

Meditation, silence, or prayer   Jen 

Musical Response Pretty Darn Good by Brad Yoder 

Collective Reading    #504 i thank You God for most this amazing      Jen 

Homily via Video “The Sacred Depths of Nature” — Three poems by Rev. Kate Lore 

Responsive Reading  A Time for Transformation  Rev. Dr. Kate R. Walker Jen 

Leader: For our earth, our ancient mother, blue-green planet of the galaxy, harbinger of lives beyond measure, we honor you with our humble presence, we bow with humility and gratitude. 

All: We pledge to transform our lives. 

Leader: For the plants that have sustained our bodies; wheat, corn, peas, tomatoes, peppers and soybeans. For the live species providing rich protein; fishes, poultry, pigs and beef, we offer our thanks for the circle of life. 

All: We pledge to transform our lives. 

Leader: For the waters that give us daily life, from ocean depth to rocky cliffs, from Arctic ice to beaches and small streams, from lofty cloud to precious cup at our lips, we remember our dependence. 

All: We pledge to transform our lives. 

Leader: For the mountains rising to challenge our greatest aspirations, for the deserts transformed in a torrent of rain, for the forests thick with trunks marked by rings of wisdom, for roots interconnected web, for the new life within the heart of a seed, our souls respond in awe. 

All: We pledge to transform our lives. 

Leader: For the millions of species microscopic in the soils under our feet, to the pads, paws, and multi-toed, for the feathers and scales, for miniscule eyes open only under the moon’s soft guidance, and for the lichens and mosses pushing onto the leaves and rocks, we honor your existence. 

All: We pledge to transform our lives. 

Leader: For all of us descendants of the first primates, for those who sleep under the same blessed skies, for those who breath the same oxygen feeding our heart, for those who need love as much as I, and for those who yearn for the ease of compassion’s release, we remember we are not alone. 

All: Called by love for the interconnected web of existence, and I pledge to transform my life and yours. 

Hymn   #203 All Creatures of the Earth and Sky 

Extinguishing the Chalice Flame   Jen 

We extinguish this flame but not the light of truth, 

the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment: 

these we carry in our hearts until we are together again. 

Benediction   Jen 

Postlude As Easily as Birds by Brad Yoder 

To donate to Share the Plate  

– by check mailed to the church office, please include STP on the memo line  

– online on the church website, use the drop down to select Plate. 

– by texting “Give” to 412-435-1050 following the directions with the word share or pledge after the donation amount as appropriate. 

To make a pledge payment  

-by check, please put pledge in the memo line  

– online on the church website, keep the default General Fund 2025 option  

* Tree Pittsburgh works across Allegheny County to plant and care for trees where they are needed the most.  As the impacts of climate change grow, it is imperative that we help communities to be more resilient to heat and increased rainfall.  By planting trees, we not only provide cooling shade and capture stormwater runoff, but we bring beauty and wildlife habitat to areas often dominated by concrete.  Donations to Tree Pittsburgh will directly impact communities with low tree canopy, supporting education programs, tree planting, and ongoing tree maintenance.   

Brad Yoder, one of Pittsburgh’s “Best Acoustic/Solo Artist” is a prolific and gifted writer who has been voted in the top three slots multiple times since 2002 by Pittsburgh City Paper.  He has opened for a diverse range of artists, including Erin McKeown, the Cowboy Junkies, Lucy Kaplansky, the Vigilantes of Love, Emmylou Harris, Robyn Hitchcock and Ellis Paul, plus played the second stage for David Gray, Peter Paul & Mary, and Steve Earle/Jackson Browne.  

Brad’s honest and humane writing gets to the heart of the matter. Seek out his latest full-length CD Somewhere in the Constellation and read more about him and his music at www.bradyoder.com.