Order of Service
Hope in Action
led by our Community Responsibility Endowment Fund (CREF) trustees
October 19, 2025
Today’s worship will celebrate this year’s Community Responsibility Endowment Fund awardees: Thrive Youth Advisory, Healthy Futures of Texas, Empower House, and Texas Unitarian Universalism Justice Ministry. Each organization will share a brief reflection on their work and how it makes hope tangible and real in San Antonio.
Sounding of the Bowl – Rev. Xolani Kacela, Ph.D.
Prelude – Prelude in G minor by J.S. Bach, performed by William Westney
Welcome and Greeting – Chris Lopez, CREF
Opening Words
Chalice Lighting
Opening Hymn – #42 Morning, So Fair to See
Morning, so fair to see, night, veiled in mystery —
glorious the earth and resplendent skies!
Pilgrims, we march along, singing our joyous song,
as through an earthly paradise.
Tall are the verdant trees; deep are the flashing seas;
glorious each wonder the seasons bring.
Brighter is faith’s surmise, shining in pilgrim eyes,
from which our waking spirits spring.
Age after age we rise, ‘neath the eternal skies,
into the light from the shadowed past:
still shall our pilgrim song, buoyant and brave and strong,
resound while life and mountains last.
Covenant – Margaret Neiheisel, CREF
Stone Ceremony – Alison Hom-Crosier, CREF
Reading the Community Book of Life
Pastoral Meditation
Story Wisdom – “Say Something” by Peter H. Reynolds, read by Tim Versteeg
Children’s Recessional
Musical Meditation – Intermezzo Op. 118 #2 by Johannes Brahms
Overview of Community Responsibility Endowment Fund (CREF) – Tim Barr, CREF
Reflections on Hope in Action
Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry: Bis Thornton
Healthy Futures of Texas: Rosa Evans
Thrive Youth Center: Beto De Leon
Empower House: Jenny Castro
Invitation to Share the Plate benefiting CREF – Jason Younts, CREF
Offertory Music – Prelude in C major by J.S. Bach
Closing Hymn – #34 Though I May Speak with Bravest Fire
Though I may speak with bravest fire, and have the gift to all inspire,
and have not love, my words are vain as sounding brass and hopeless gain.
Though I may give all I possess, and striving so my love profess,
but not be given by love within, the profit soon turns strangely thin.
Come, Spirit, come, our hearts control, our spirits long to be made whole.
Let inward love guide every deed; by this we worship, and are freed.
Extinguishing the Chalice/Benediction .
Postlude