Prelude:                                      

St. Columba

Music: Gaelic; Ancient Irish Melody
Arranged and Orchestrated by Matt Riley
Katrina Glaze, violin
Cathedral of Hope Orchestra

Music: Gaelic; Ancient Irish Melody
Arranged and Orchestrated by Matt Riley
© 2016 Matthew William Riley

Call to Worship 

Cathedral of Hope, we come today to bear witness. We remember transgender lives taken by violence, and we give thanks for the lives they lived, the love they shared, and the ways their presence mattered in this world.

We worship the God who knows each of us by name, who draws near to those who grieve, and who calls us to stand with those whose dignity and safety are threatened.

So rise, Church, in body or spirit; with grief for those we have lost, gratitude for the lives we remember, and hope for a world where every person can live in safety and dignity.

Let us lift our voices and worship our God!

**Processional Hymn:     

Created in God’s Image

Created in God’s image, God’s likeness we can see
in each and every person, no matter who they be.
So many things divide us; we go our sep’rate ways.
When we should be united in common songs of praise.

Created in God’s image, no matter what our race.
We see our God’s true colors in each and every face.
It matters not our color, or whether short or tall.
We all are God’s own children, God loves us one and all.

Created in God’s image, how can we be so blind 
that we don’t see God’s image in all of humankind?
God made us with a purpose, and shows us how to love.
We’re partners in creation, a gift from God above. 

Words: Richard Turner © 2003 W. Richard Turner. Used by permission
Music: John Zundel, 1870

Welcome and Life of the Church   

**Sharing of the Peace

Modern Lesson:  from Grateful: The Subversive Practice of Giving Thanks by Diana Butler Bass                                       

Our Modern Lesson is from Grateful: The Subversive Practice of Giving Thanks by Diana Butler Bass. Hear these words:

It is worth noting that while gratitude is considered a positive psychological factor, it is not necessarily good for all people under all circumstances. Telling victims to be grateful for trauma, violence, or abuse only wounds those who have suffered and empowers perpetrators. Gratitude may work miracles, but sometimes the miracle comes from just being able to feel anything but pain. Feeling thankful might just have to wait. Gratitude cannot and should never be forced or faked, and it is never appropriate to cover up or deny abuse or excuse injustice. Indeed, gratitude as a placebo can be another form of abuse that silences those in deep pain with false notions of forgiveness, happiness, and well-being. (p. 38)

As we consider these new words of gratitude, let us join with the saints through the ages in singing the prayer that Jesus taught us:

The Lord’s Prayer

Creator/Our Father/Our Mother
which 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. Amen.

Words: Matthew 6:9-13
Music: Albert Hay Mallotte © 1935 (renewed) G. Schirmer, Inc.

**Scripture Lesson : Romans 12:9-18, 21

One: Our Scripture Lesson is from the twelfth chapter of Paul’s Letter to the Church in Rome. Hear these words:



Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

One: This is the Word of God for the People of God. 
All:    Thanks be to God. Amen.  

**Gloria                                  

Glory to God  

Glory to God on high and peace to all on earth.
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
Glory to Jesus Christ, the Lamb upon the throne.
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
Praise to the Holy Spirit,
who comforts us now and forevermore, Alleluia.
Praise the Creator, and Praise to Jesus Christ.
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. Amen. Amen!

Words adapted from the Latin Mass by Steven Couch
Music: Festival Canticle by Richard Hillert
© 1975, 1988 Richard Hillert/Oregon Catholic Press

Sermon                                               

Bear Witness: Lives That Matter

Offering Call   

Offertory                                                       

You Do Not Walk Alone

Words: Irish blessing; Music by Elaine Hagenberg

Sanctuary Choir and Orchestra

May you see God’s light on the path ahead when the road you walk is dark.
May you always hear, even in your hour of sorrow, the gentle singing of the lark.
When times are hard may hardness never turn your heart to stone.
May you always remember when the shadows fall, you do not walk alone.

Words: Traditional Irish Blessing
Music: Elaine Hagenberg © 2019 Beckenhorst Press, Inc.

Communion

Words of Institution      

Prayer of Consecration  

Let us pray.

Holy God, we thank you for these gifts of grape and grain, and pray that you would pour out your Holy Spirit on these elements and on us gathered here. Strengthen us through this feast of grace, and, by sharing this feast, may each of us know the presence of the living Christ. By your Spirit, make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world. Amen. 

Invitation 

Music during Communion

Give Thanks

Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One,
Give thanks because God’s given Jesus Christ, the Son.
Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One,
Give thanks because God’s given Jesus Christ, the Son.

And now let the weak say, “I am strong,”
let the poor say, “I am rich
because of what the Lord has done for us.”
And now let the weak say, “I am strong,”
let the poor say, “I am rich
because of what the Lord has done for us.”

Give thanks, give thanks.

Words and Music: Henry Smith
© 1978 Integrity’s Hosanna! Music/Integrity Music, Inc. 

With All My Heart

With all my heart I want to love you, Lord,
and live my life each day to know you more.
All that is in me is yours completely;
I’ll serve you only, with all my heart.

Words and Music by Babbie Mason
© 1990 Word Music, Inc.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Great is thy faithfulness, God, my Creator, 

there is no shadow of turning with thee;

thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not; 

as thou hast been thou forever wilt be.

**Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness! 

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed thy hand hath provided. 

Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness, God, unto me!

Words: Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923
Music: William M. Runyan, 1923

**Prayer of Thanksgiving          

**Recessional Hymn:                                                                        

To Be Your Presence

To be your presence is our mission here, 
to show compassion’s face and listening ear,
to be your heart of mercy ever near, alleluia!

To be your presence is our mission bold, 
to feed the poor and shelter homeless cold,
to be your hands of justice, right uphold, alleluia!

To be your presence is our mission blest,
to speak for all the broken and oppressed,
to be your voice of hope, your love expressed, alleluia!

We are your heart, O Christ, your hands and voice,
to serve your people is our call and choice,
and in this mission we, the church, rejoice, alleluia!

Words: Doris Dufner © 2000 GIA Publications, Inc. 
Music: Charles V. Stanford, 1904

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**Benediction   

Postlude for Dismissal

The flowers on the chancel are given by Season Blake in memory of her Father Doug Blake who passed away on November 13, 2025.

The flower arrangement in the Narthex is given by members of our Transgender Council to honor and memorialize transgender, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming individuals whose lives have been lost to anti-transgender violence, hate, and discrimination.