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Unitarian Universalists use different terms for the words that begin a worship service, including call to worship, invocation, and opening words. These words invite the congregation from their separate lives and to the common place and time of the worship hour.

(In Unitarian Universalist worship if there are Opening Words there is generally not an Invocation, and vice versa.)

Search Words for Worship Services

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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5

  • Man in silhouette playing a shofar during sunset on Lake Erie
    Breathe in us, with us, and through us as we gather—one in community.
    Invocation | By Kristin Grassel Schmidt | September 22, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Awe, Earth-Centered, Judaism, Nature, Rosh Hashanah, Unity, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • An apple, two pomegranates, and a small jar of honey with a label printed in Hebrew.
    We are held by the great Book of Life, in which it is written that we will inevitably face deprivation and discomfort. Each among us must contemplate our own place in it all.
    Opening | By Leah Ongiri | September 15, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Judaism, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Child_awe_seedling
    We feel the season turning. The early sunset glancing through the red-tinged leaves. The newspaper arriving in the cool morning air. The flock of migrating swallows. A feeling of being on the edge of something new. These are the Days of Awe. A time to welcome a new year and a time to make the old...
    Opening | By Ben Soule | January 7, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Awe, Conscience, Contemplation, Judaism, Mindfulness, Peace, Reconciliation, Rosh Hashanah, Sacred, Wonder, Yom Kippur, Worship
  • A red apple, from above, on a white plate.
    Happy new year! Happy new year for our beloved community. Happy new school year....
    Opening | By Debra Haffner | September 14, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Beginnings, Community, Homecoming / Ingathering, Inclusion, Judaism, Rosh Hashanah, Unitarian Universalism, Vision, Water Communion
  • a "doodle" drawing of a chalice, with designs radiating outward
    We light this chalice on the brink of a new year Letting go of what has been Open and hopeful for what may come Renewed, restored, ready To live Life fully anew May we move forward with intention. Note: this chalice lighting can be read in unison or responsively.
    Chalice Lighting | By Lois Van Leer | January 14, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Beginnings, Chinese New Year, Ending, Healing, Health, Hope, Letting Go, New Year, Purpose, Rosh Hashanah, Strength, Vision, Wholeness