Worship

Regular weekly worship services begin at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. Child care and Sunday school are provided during worship. Coffee is available upon arrival and a social hour follows worship. We hope you will join us. Please go to the Visitor Information page for a map and additional information about Sojourners.

The first Sunday of each month we have a communion service in which all are welcome to participate.

Periodically on Sunday mornings, we hold intergenerational services and our various Social Justice groups have developed and led worship.

Beverly has been singing in choirs since age 5. She studied cello and voice at Augustana College in Illinois. She has an MA and JD and taught environmental law before becoming a full-time homeschooling mom. Before coming to Sojourners, she directed "Portable Choir," which sang to shut-ins. More recently she is learning the fiddle and celtic harp. She has been directing the Sojourners Choir for 15 years. We are called to serve God with gladness. Through music, we can.

Timmie Jones - Pianist

Timmie was born and grew up in New York City and received her BA from Mt. Holyoke with a major in religion. Over the years she worked as an elementary teacher and TV studio teacher and Adult Day Healthcare Director. She's currently retired. Timmie has also enjoyed being a Hospice volunteer for twelve years.

In her youth she belonged to Evangelical & Reformed and Congregational churches. She's been been attending Sojourners since 1994, when it consisted of a few people meeting on Sunday evenings.

Since 1995 she has played piano at Sojourners and at present accompanies the Walker Upper Elementary School Chorus.

Timmie declares, "being a part of Sojourners' music program has enriched my life. The diversity of music, the generous giving of time and talent by so many people, and encouragement by the congregation have been a joy."

Sojourners Choir

Sojourners is blessed with a wonderful and dedicated choir of about eighteen members. In keeping with the inclusive, celebratory character of the church, we sing music from a wide variety of styles and historical periods, ranging from the sixteenth-century Palestrina to the contemporary Brazilian Ernani Aguiar, and including along the way African-American spirituals and gospel songs, African praise and freedom songs, traditional American shape-note hymns, Shaker hymns, and songs from contemporary feminist Jewish composers.

We sing unaccompanied, which is challenging but allows us to focus on listening to one another's voices rather than listening for the pitch of an instrument. Some of us read music well; some do not read music much at all. We carefully teach each part separately and offer one another plenty of encouragement. We have a lot of fun at rehearsals, drinking tea, munching cookies, and laughing together. Because the choir director, Beverly Seng, is an amateur just like the singers, everyone feels free to offer suggestions about the music, which gives the group a democratic flavor. Everyone is welcome to join at any time.

The choir is blessed with an enormously appreciative congregation. We feel cherished by the congregation, and their regard nourishes us every time we sing.

Throughout the year when the choir is not singing we encourage Sojourners of all ages and abilities to contribute their musical talents to enrich our worship services. Over the years Sunday mornings have showcased: children singing solos, families performing instrumental pieces, sacred dancers, classical music sung a cappella, Sojourners Band and composers performing their original works. The offerings are varied but the enthusiasm of both the artist and the congregation is a given.

The lion and lamb banner at the rear of the sanctuary was displayed for the first time at the first worship heheld in the sanctuary: Christmas Eve 2004. It continues to represent our prayers for the coming of God's reign among us, the dream of a “peaceable kingdom.”

The

second banner at the back of the sanctuary is a representation of the schooner, Amistad, which is important to Sojourners because the money raised to defend the Amistad prisoners eventually evolved into the Church Building Revolving Loan Fund that financed the purchase of this building. More importantly, the Amistad reminds us of our heritage in standing for racial justice, very much a part of Sojourners' current identity. The words are a reminder of Micah 6:8: “What does God require but that we do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God?” Both of these banners were created by Sojourner, Peg Witmer.

The tree banner was made by Sojourner, Mo Nichols, during our time of worshiping at the Jefferson Area Board for the Aging. It represents our being rooted in the soil of faith, the unity of the trunk, the diversity of the branches, and growth in the spirit. If you look closely, you will see that an image of Sojourner Truth has been sewn into the trunk.

The Wreath of

Ribbons has been part of the membership ritual since the very early days of the church. When new members join the church they tie a ribbon into the circle. Together the ribbons signify the weaving together of our lives and the values of diversity and inclusiveness that are so important to us.

The Table in the center of the worship space is egg shaped, representing again the theme of nurturance and n

ew life. It is connected to this new phase in the life of Sojourners in that it was made especially for use in the new space. It also represents our prayers for new life for God's people and God's world. In presenting the table, the maker noted that one of the boards has a blemish, that the boards are not quite parallel with the axis of the table, that there is in fact very little that is straight or square, all of which makes the table a bit eccentric—appropriate for Sojourners.

The Lectern, like the table, was crafted by Sojourner, David Marshall. When he presented it to the church he had this to say, "Before I even finished the table I knew that I would have to do a lectern too. The new table and the old lectern just didn’t fit with each other. I knew I somehow wanted to repeat the shape of the legs but how to do that wasn’t immediately obvious. But over many months of toying with it on the back burner of my mind this is what has evolved.

You may think I have made it out of a different wood. All that has happened is that the cherry table has darkened over the months and this cherry is fresh but it will darken too as it gets older.

I can tell you that I’m sure this lectern is unique....its... as far as I know, original, like Sojourners. I looked at lecterns on several web sites and I didn’t see anything like this.

Some of you have seen things in the design that I didn’t consciously intend, like the shape of the foot resembling the Sojourners symbol. If you’re interested here are some other things: obviously it has three legs - a trinity - less obviously both the base and the middle ring are made up of seven pieces of wood. Also, perhaps appropriately, there is very little straight about it."

In 2008 David submitted the design for the lectern in a contest run by Wood Digest: The Key Resource for the Woodworking Professional and won first place for commercial design.