Worship Service to Celebrate Identity
by Jason LydonBefore the service, get everyone to write something short about their identities and who they are on a slip of paper.
Welcome everyone into the room and invite them to sit wherever, you may want to sing "Come, Come Whomever You Are…" (Singing the Living Tradition #188)
After everyone is seated, light the chalice, and use the Audre Lorde quote, "When I dare to be powerful—to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid."
Play some good music, ya know, what folks want to hear. While the music is playing pass out the pieces of paper that people had written about their identities. Encourage people to take one that is not theirs.
Once everyone has their slip of paper stop the music. Read this quote by Richard R. Grant: "The value of identity of course is that so often it comes with purpose."
Then invite people, one at a time, to read the story that they have in their hands. When they finish the story invite the person who wrote it to share what purpose they find in expressing and living out parts of their identity.
After five people do this ask everyone to get up and move around the room, encourage people to make eye contact and smile at one another. Suggest that people move differently than they normally do, it's okay to be silly and laugh as long as everyone is being respectful. After a few moments of moving get people to sit back down and read another five, then move, and so on until everyone has a chance to share.
Close the worship with music and people leaving as they please.
For more information contact youth @ uua.org.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
