Tapestry of Faith: Spirit of Life: An Adult Program on Unitarian Universalist Spirituality

Handout 1: Come to Us

Part of Spirit of Life

UNISON CHALICE LIGHTING

We are here young and old, male, female, and transgender; gay, lesbian, bisexual, questioning, and straight (but not narrow!) people.

We welcome all the colors of the human race.

Our life experiences have led us to a rich variety of outlooks and a beautiful diversity of perspectives to which our life experiences have led us.

We are agnostic, humanist, atheist, theist, pantheist, questioning and affirming.

We learn from Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist teachings, from earth centered religions, from science and nature, from personal experience, and from the poetic and prophetic words and deeds of women and men.

Not only is there room for all of us; there is room for all that is within each of us.

Our confidence in the goodness of inclusion leads us to keep widening the circle of our welcome and our care and concern.

We are people with doubts and convictions.

We have failings and frailties, possibilities and promise.

We know the violence, pain and suffering we humans cause, and we trust our actions for goodness and justice are significant beyond our knowing.

We each have a part of the truth and we need one another to be more whole.

There is always more to know, and we keep open to learning and more sources for understanding.

The truth we search for will always be beyond our reach.

Our reaching and our searching keep us vital and alive. The measure of our searching and our learning is the lives we live, the deeds we do, the love we give.

This community constantly invites us to be who we are. In this community may we receive healing, caring, support, inspiration, challenge, momentum, and increased strength. To this community, we bring the gifts of ourselves.

Both our individual sense of meaning and purpose and our individual actions for love and justice expand and multiply in community.

Together let us marvel at the mystery and wonder of life and the universe.

We light this chalice for the Spirit of Life.

PRINCIPLE AND SOURCE

This workshop is grounded in the following Principle and Source from the Purposes and Principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association:

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

... Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit

From Our Statement of Principles and Sources:

... As free congregations we enter into this covenant, promising to one another our mutual trust and support.