The Sunday before the last Monday in May: an important occasion to memorialize loved ones who have died in war or in other ways. Themes can include: remembering people who have died; the power of memory; ritualizing our memories; gratitude for those who have gone before us; the cost of war.

Unitarian Universalist Perspectives

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Displaying 11 - 20 of 25

  • In honor of those who have served, And those who continue to serve, At home and abroad, for peace and in war, We light our chalice, And we offer our thanks.
    Chalice Lighting | By Cynthia Landrum | November 11, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: America, Conflict, Death, Freedom, Gratitude, Memorial Day, Military, Military Service, Peace, Sacrifice, Secular, Service, Veterans Day, War
  • For all who die in war We lift up our hearts For all who live in suffering in the aftermath of violence We lift up our hearts For all who give their lives in smoke and flame We lift up our hearts For all who go on in honor of the dead We lift up our hearts For all who have served We lift up our...
    Prayer | By Amy Petrie Shaw | October 30, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), All Saints Day, All Souls Day, Brokenness, Buddhism, Christianity, Conflict, Direct Experience, Islam, Judaism, Memorial Day, Pain, Peace, Reconciliation, Religion, United Nations Day, Veterans Day, War, WorshipWeb
  • The first stop on U.S. soil after a deployment is the airport. From there, it’s all downhill until you get to see your family and loved ones again. But the airport is its own scene when you’re a soldier in uniform. On my trip home, I’m reminded of the last time I was in the airport—returning...
    Meditation | By George A Tyger | May 18, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), America, Direct Experience, Ending, Memorial Day, Military, Military Service, Purpose, Sacrifice, Service, Veterans Day
  • I lean back in the chair and exhale a long breath of thick white cigar smoke into the night sky. It rises upward, swirls in a light breeze, and disappears. I think to myself, “Damn this is a good cigar, a good night, and a good place to be for these few moments.” Earlier today, I walked through...
    Meditation | By George A Tyger | May 18, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Direct Experience, Gratitude, Memorial Day, Military, Military Service, Presence, Purpose, Service, Veterans Day
  • My son has sent me a “Build-A-Bear.” Dressed in the latest digital camouflage ACUs.* (Build-A-Bear hasn’t yet caught up with multicam.) It came with a note in my eight-year-old’s handwriting: “Press left paw for I love you and I miss you.” Sure enough, when I press the left paw, my...
    Meditation | By George A Tyger | May 18, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Children, Direct Experience, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Grief, Love, Memorial Day, Military, Military Service, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Service, Veterans Day
  • “You sargin or commandant?” a young Afghan lieutenant asks as he points to the cross on my chest. I try to explain what a chaplain is. In the end, he suggests Army mullah, and I agree. Not the most accurate description, but the most meaningful for him. Chaplain has little meaning for him.
    Meditation | By George A Tyger | May 17, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Acceptance, America, Community, Connections, Direct Experience, Diversity, Humanism, International, Memorial Day, Peace, Secular
  • The first time I ever played “Taps” was at summer camp when I was ten years old. That was the year I started playing trumpet, so I can only imagine how it sounded. I know there was no way that I could have hit the high note near the end. The first time I played Taps in honor of those who died...
    Reading | By Paul S Sawyer | May 11, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), America, Death, Direct Experience, Grief, History, Memorial Day, Military, Military Service, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Secular, Veterans Day, War
  • When my youngest daughter was about two years old she came across a tattered paperback on our bookshelves, Ten Thousand Baby Names, and for a little while this was her favorite book. Drawn by the shining face of the baby on the cover, she brought it to me over and over and demanded that I read...
    Meditation | By Kathleen McTigue | May 6, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Birth, Children, Death, Direct Experience, Fathers, Identity, Love, Memorial Day, Mother's Day, Mothers, Parents, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships
  • This chalice burns with twin flames. The first flame burns for those who seek and defend the right to a free and responsible search for truth and meaning so that each person may live according to conscience in a democratically elected society. The second flame burns for the defenders of freedom,...
    Chalice Lighting | By Tracy Bleakney | March 25, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Activism, America, Anti-Oppression, Commitment, Democracy, Freedom, July 4th, Justice Sunday, Memorial Day, Oppression, Power, Responsibility, Rights, Secular, Unitarian Universalism, WorshipWeb
  • My prayer today is that I learn to stay a war atheist— my prayer today for each of us, for everyone in this nation, in this world, is that we all learn to be war atheists. I don’t believe in war anymore. My prayer today is that I never again succumb to fear, fear which seduces me to believe that...
    Meditation | By Jessica Purple Rodela | March 2, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Hiroshima Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Memorial Day, Nonviolence, Peace, Remembrance Day