Date 01/19/25,.  (click the date for OOS)

Prelude Percussion Solo, Hugo Cruz 

Welcome   Rev. Dr. Kate R. Walker 

Lighting the Chalice and Call To Worship   Rev. Kate 

Opening Hymn   #118  “This Little Light of Mine” 

Collective Reading Rev. Kate  

We covenant to affirm and promote:  

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;  

• Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations;  

• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;  

• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;  

• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;  

• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;  

• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.  

• Journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions 

Story for All  We Dream a World: Carrying the Light From My Grandparents Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King   Erica Shadowsong  

Singing For Our Children  #402 “From You I Receive, To You I Give” 

“From you I receive, to you I give, together we share, and from this we live.” 

Offering   Rev. Kate 

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 January is Breaking the Chains of Poverty* 

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 Estrellita by Manuel M. Ponce (1882-1948)  – sung by Zuly Inirio 

Sharing Joys & Sorrows   Rev. Kate 

Meditation, silence, or prayer        

Sung response “There is a Balm in Gilead” Opening refrain and verses sung by Zuly Inirio 

The congregation may join in singing the second and third refrain: 

There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole;  

There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul.      

Reading    Luke 6:45 

Sermon   “Treasures We Produce” Rev. Dr. Asa Lee 

Hymn # 148 Let Freedom Span Both East and West 

Extinguishing the Chalice Flame    Rev. Kate 

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  Rev. Asa 

Postlude   Percussion Solo, Hugo Cruz 

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  

*APRI is an Organization of Black Trade Unionists Fighting for Racial Equality and Economic Justice. 

To A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin, (APRl’s co-founders), the fight for workers’ rights and civil rights were inseparable. They founded the A. Philip Randolph Institute in 1965 to continue the struggle for social, political and economic justice for all working Americans. 

“Breaking the Chains of Poverty,” a career training program administered by the APRI, Pittsburgh Chapter and facilitated in partnership with United Steelworkers, has the goal of promoting living wage careers and union membership for the minority community.  The program is designed to help participants build the skills necessary to obtain a family-sustaining career in the local building and construction trade unions, manufacturing industry, and emerging energy sector. 

Successfully completing the program, entitles the graduate with a letter of recommendation that four guarantees four things: entry into the LIUNA Western District Council, an interview with the Steamfitter Local #449, an interview with the IBEW Local #5 provided you pass their exam in the top 20%, and an interview with the Sheet metal workers union local #12.” 

Afro-Latina soprano Zuly Inirio hails from the Dominican Republic and has appeared as a soloist throughout the United States and Europe. Her roles include Mrs. Grose in The Turn of the Screw, First Lady in The Magic Flute, Gertrud in Hansel und Gretel, Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, and scenes from Ariadne auf Naxos, Götterdämmerung, Falstaff, among many others.  

Ms. Inirio is the creator of two important projects founded on her strong belief that art is a tool for liberation, storytelling and community empowerment: AfroLatinx Song and Opera Project and Instituto Cimarrón, whose guiding principle—Our Culture is Our Freedom—reflects the commitment to cultural autonomy and social liberation. More at www.Zulyinirio.com 

Zuly Inirio holds a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree and a Master of Music Degree from Louisiana State University where she was the recipient of a full-tuition scholarship. She completed her Bachelor of Music Degree at New World School of the Arts in Miami, FL where she was also a recipient of a full-tuition scholarship. Ms. Inirio currently resides in Pittsburgh, PA.  

Hugo Alexander Cruz Machado is a Cuban-born, award-winning, drummer and composer who has performed internationally, including South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Mexico, Chile, Venezuela, and the United States. Hugo is the leader of the jazz fusion music group Caminos, who have made appearances at Fábrica de Artes in Havana, Cuba, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival 2019, Carnegie Museum of Art, City of Asylum, Thunderbird Cafe and Music Hall, Westylvania Jazz and Blues Festival, and the Monroeville Jazz Festival, among many others.  

He is a graduate of the Instituto Superior de Artes, the leading university for the arts Cuba, and in 2014, won the award as the “best drummer” at the International Festival del Tambor Guillermo Barreto in Memoriam in Havana, Cuba. More about Hugo’s recordings and performances at www.hugocruzandcaminos.com.  

Manuel María Ponce Cuéllar, known in Mexico as Manuel M. Ponce, was a Mexican composer, music educator and scholar of Mexican music whose work connected the concert scene with a mostly forgotten tradition of popular song and Mexican folklore. Many of his compositions are strongly influenced by the harmonies and form of traditional songs.