Openings
David S. BlanchardAlso appropriate as Opening Words
Come down off the ladder.
Come down off the ladder.Wash out that paintbrush.
Shake the sand out of your shoes.
Get up off your muddy knees,
and give the garden a morning off.
Fold up the newspaper.
Turn off the coffeepot.
Close up your calendar,
already filled with dates,
and times,
and people,
and places that claim you.
This church is ready for you to fill its rooms,
to create its spirit, to generate its warmth,
to kindle its light.
This church is ready for you to make community,
to create beauty, to bend it toward justice,
to serve its ideals.
This church is ready for you to be here,
honoring our past,
invigorating our present,
and dreaming our future.
This is your church.
Here we are home.
Here we are whole.
Let us begin.
Source: Published in David S. Blanchard, A Temporary State of Grace: Meditations, Boston: Skinner House Books, 1997, 4. Visit UUA Bookstore.
Copyright: The author has given Unitarian Universalist Association member congregations permission to reprint this piece for use in public worship. Any reprints must acknowledge the name of the author.
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Last updated on Tuesday, April 8, 2008.
