What if sometimes it’s about sparking potential into possibility, and possibility into existence?

We are a People of Memory. As inheritors of our ancestors’ legacy, we hold their stories tenderly. Gleaning wisdom from diverse journeys; united in hope for the future. Guide us to trust in love as we kindle this flame together.

We call forth the life of our faith by igniting our chalice. This spark of new beginnings invites us into a sacred space to reflect where we have been and where we are going. Even knowing that this particular flame will intentionally end with our ritual extinguishing, we fear not its end… For we...

We kindle a flame we trust will lead us forward as we travel in unknown lands, where the question, “Shall I ever get there?” resounds: A clear pure note in every silence. Note: this chalice lighting is based on reading #486 by Dag Hammarskjöld in Singing the Living Tradition.

Original version in English by Tracy Bleakney, traducción en español por Theresa Soto A child journeys far from home Fearful and brave, in need of safe harbor. Guided by this chalice, may we seek to understand the causes of flight. Like the comfort of a candle flickering in a window of darkness,...

How often we seek refuge in this sacred flame From the world’s trouble and pain. Today, may our lamp light the way For whose who know no refuge, That we may open our minds Our arms Our hearts Our mouths to sing “Come, whoever you are,” Wholly new and wholly true.

Fire of our faith, fire our future.

In the bleak and cold winter, We gather ourselves in To light the fire to warm our spirits, To kindle the flame of love and hope.

For the wonder and inspiration We seek from sun and stars And all the lights of the heavens We light this chalice.

(Can be preceded by singing the first verse of "Bright Morning Stars," Hymn 357 in Singing the Living Tradition) Day breaks on our gratitude for family and friends, For the freedom to find our own truth, For the company of those who gather here, And the promises we offer one another....

We light this chalice to honor the memory of those who have come before us, kindling flames of wisdom in dark times, willing to challenge orthodoxy even at great personal risk, giving us a legacy of freedom and a love of truth, A legacy that warms our hearts and lights our paths.

We light this chalice for all who are here, and all who are not; For all who have ever walked through our doors, for those who may yet find this spiritual home, and for those we can't even yet imagine. For each of us and for us all, may this flame burn warm and bright.

Many of the past generation and many of today have found three abiding values in prayer: the quiet meditation on life, the reaching out toward the universal and the infinite, and the courageous facing of one's profoundest wishes....

In this small flame dwell: the beacon light of lanterns guiding travelers home; the warmth of hearth fires tended through the generations; the transforming energy of furnaces and the power and life of our sun. May these blessings -- warmth and light and life-giving energy -- be kindled in each of...

In the mystery of life about us there is light. It gives us a place to be, to grow, to rejoice together. It opens the pathways to love. In this place of friendship there is freedom. Let the light we kindle go before us, Strong in hope, wide in good will, Inviting the day to come.

In memory of all the flames that didn't die— in the midst of darkness, in spite of the darkness, we light this flame today. "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it." (John 1:5 NRSV)...

The chalice lit among us is a beacon A beacon of hope, in a world in crisis A beacon of possibility, made manifest in community A beacon of warmth through our interconnections A beacon of light illuminating our shared wisdom A beacon of connection by our being together...

Birth is a miracle of love and courage, bringing light into the world; Death is a loss of light, but no less an act of courage, For we are born from— and return to— mystery. Source: © Lori Gorgas Hlaban, 2009...

Let there be light The light of joy, the light of happiness, and the light of contentment May it illuminate our paths and fill our lives with peace And let there be dark For it is from our dark places that we are brought forward Tried and tested And impelled toward growth It is in these places th...

Leader: Every endeavor begins with a first step, and encounters darkness and difficulty along the way. Response: We know the darkness of ignorance, of fear, and of tyranny. Leader: Yet we know the dawning of the light, the beginnings of hope, and the renewal of life....