Invitation to Worship
In the balance of day and night,
of light and dark,
we celebrate God’s gifts of autumn.
In ripening and falling,
and the turning of the seasons,
we celebrate God’s gifts of autumn.
In crisp apples and orange pumpkins,
and the harvests of nuts and grain,
we celebrate God’s gifts of autumn.
In the light fading into cool darkening evenings,
in green leaves turning to gold and brown.
we celebrate God’s gifts of autumn.
In new beginnings, plans and timetables,
in a fresh start in a new season,
we celebrate God’s gifts of autumn.
In the balance of growth and letting go,
in the fading and in the fruitfulness,
we celebrate God’s gifts of autumn.
Opening Prayer of Praise
Opening Song
From All That Dwell below the Skies
Words by Isaac Watts
Tune of DUKE STREET
From all that dwell below the skies
let the Creator’s praise arise:
Let the Redeemer’s name be sung
through every land, in every tongue.
Eternal are your mercies, God;
your truth stands ever high and broad:
Your praise shall sound from shore to shore
till suns shall rise and set no more.
Psalm 19:1-6
Common English Bible
Heaven is declaring God’s glory;
the sky is proclaiming his handiwork.
One day gushes the news to the next,
and one night informs another what needs to be known.
Of course, there’s no speech, no words—
their voices can’t be heard—
but their sound extends throughout the world;
their words reach the ends of the earth.
God has made a tent in heaven for the sun.
The sun is like a groom
coming out of his honeymoon suite;
like a warrior, it thrills at running its course.
It rises in one end of the sky;
its circuit is complete at the other.
Nothing escapes its heat.
Psalm 78:1-8
Common English Bible
Listen, my people, to my teaching;
tilt your ears toward the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth with a proverb.
I’ll declare riddles from days long gone—
ones that we’ve heard and learned about,
ones that our ancestors told us.
We won’t hide them from their descendants;
we’ll tell the next generation
all about the praise due the Lord and his strength—
the wondrous works God has done.
He established a law for Jacob
and set up Instruction for Israel,
ordering our ancestors
to teach them to their children.
This is so that the next generation
and children not yet born will know these things,
and so they can rise up and tell their children
to put their hope in God—
never forgetting God’s deeds,
but keeping God’s commandments—
and so that they won’t become like their ancestors:
a rebellious, stubborn generation,
a generation whose heart wasn’t set firm
and whose spirit wasn’t faithful to God.
Song of Praise
When Morning Gilds the Skies
Words by Joseph Barnby
trans. Edward Caswall
Tune of LAUDES DOMINI
When morning gilds the skies, my heart awaking cries,
may Jesus Christ be praised!
Alike at work and prayer, one purpose I declare:
may Jesus Christ be praised!
New strength comes night or day when from the heart we say,
may Jesus Christ be praised!
Let sin and evil fear, when this sweet chant they hear:
may Jesus Christ be praised!
Discordant humankind, in this your concord find,
may Jesus Christ be praised!
Let all the earth around ring joyous with the sound:
may Jesus Christ be praised!
Be this, while life is mine, my canticle divine,
may Jesus Christ be praised!
Be this the eternal song, through all the ages long:
may Jesus Christ be praised!
Prayer of Confession
God of creation, we praise you for the wonders of your world;
for the beauty of earth, sky and sea,
and for the repeated rhythms of cycles and seasons,
for the interdependence of all living things,
and for
(Name the wonders of God as you feel led.)
God of Creation, we are awed by the greatness of your world,
we are humbled that you entrust it to our care,
and we admit we have failed you.
We have sullied the beauty you have made,
We have disrupted the cycles of earth and climate,
We have broken our connection with your world.
Forgive us for
(Name the ways we destroyed and continue to destroy the world as you feel led.)
God who inhabits the beauty and vulnerability of the world,
forgive us;
and in your generous love
help us to work with you
for the renewal of the earth.
Amen.
Choral Anthem
Can You Count The Stars?
Words by Robert J Powell
Mark 5:19-20
Common English Bible
. . . . 19“Go home to your own people and tell them what the Lord has done for you and how he has shown you mercy.” 20The man went away and began to proclaim in the Ten Cities all that Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed.
Reflection on the Scriptures
Rev. Tonya Vickery
Song of Response
God You Spin the Whirling Planets
Words by Jane Parker Huber & Franz Hayden
Tune of AUSTRIAN HYMN
God You spin the whirling planets Fill the seas and spread the plain
Mold the mountains fashion blossoms Call forth sunshine wind and rain
We created in your image Would a true reflection be
Of Your justice grace and mercy And the truth that makes us free
You have called us to be faithful In our life and ministry
We respond in grateful worship Joined in one community
When we blur Your gracious image Focus us and make us whole
Healed and strengthened as Your people We move onward toward Your goal
God Your will is still creating Calling us to life made new
Now reveal to us fresh vistas Where there’s work to dare and do
Keep us clear of all distortion Fashion us with loving care
Thus new creatures in Your image We’ll proclaim Christ everywhere
Prayer of Sending
Go now, and embrace the hope to which God has called us.
Recognize Christ in friend and stranger,
and as Christ has been gracious to you,
so be gracious to those in need.
And may God give you a place of rest on rich pasture;
May Christ Jesus be the shepherd king who binds your wounds;
And may the Holy Spirit give you wisdom
and reveal to you the fullness of the one who fills all in all.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen
Closing Song
Blessed Be the Tie
Words by John Fawcett
Tune of DENNIS
Blessed be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.
The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.
When we are called to part, it gives us inward pain;
but we shall still be joined in heart, and hope to meet again.
This glorious hope revives our courage by the way;
while each in expectation lives and waits to see the day.
Acknowledgements. The call to worship and prayers are based on the writings of Jan Berry, Fiona Johansen, and James Hart Brumm, published in Autumn: Liturgical resources for August, September and October, Wild Goose Publications, © 2021. The sending was written by Nathan Nettelton and was published on LaughingBird.net ©2002. Permission to print the words and lead lines to the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE with license #A-724755. All rights reserved.
Cullowhee Baptist Church 
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