August 30th 2026Bulletin

 Niccolls Memorial Presbyterian Church 

Old Forge, New York

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

SUNDAY AUG. 30, 2026

Living Earth (Part 2)

”God is, in a sense, at the point of my pen, my pick, my paint-brush, my needle — and my heart and my thought.”
— Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Link to join us

Welcome

Prelude:

Meditation 

(We are invited into silence.)

Introit: Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying #469

Call to Worship*

Leader: It is easy to become pessimistic or cynical about the present and the future of Earth.

People: Yet we are called to trust Life.

Leader: To trust that the world is going somewhere, even when we cannot see where.

People: We choose constructive hope.

Leader: To trust the Life that moves within us, between us, and throughout this living Earth.

People: We trust Life, and open ourselves to the God who is still creating.

Leader: Come, let us worship.

Opening Hymn: #15 All Creatures of Our God and King

Passing of the Peace

Reading: The Blind Men and the Elephant

Buddhist Tittha Sutta (Udāna 6.4)

Scripture Reading: 

Isaiah 55:8–9 

Acts 17:24–28 

Ephesians 4:4–6

Holy Wisdom, Holy Word. Thanks be to God.

Homily: Living Earth (Part II)

Prayers of the People

Lord’s Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

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 kingdom,

and the power,

and the glory, forever. Amen.

Offering

Anthem: Berceuse   Couperin

Saxophonist: George Smith

Offering Response: “For the Fruit of All Creation” (vs. 1) #36

Closing Prayer:*

All: I thank You, my God,

For having in a thousand different ways

Led my eyes to discover the immense simplicity of things.

Closing Hymn: #37 Let All Things Now Living

Communal Benediction 

Blessing In Song: “Deep Peace”

The peace of the earth be with you, the peace of the heavens too; the peace of the rivers be with you, the peace of the oceans too. Deep peace falling over you; God’s peace growing in you.

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Worship Leader: Lee Vance (he/him)

Musician: George Smith

Liturgist: Kathryn Godley

Broadcast Engineer: Al Down

* Words and themes marked with an asterisk draw from the writings of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, as collected and arranged in Teilhard de Chardin: A Book of Hours, edited by Kathleen Deignan, CND, and Libby Osgood, CND (Orbis Books, 2023).