Unitarian Universalists use different terms for the words that begin a worship service, including call to worshipinvocation, 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 - 20 of 27

  • We face a challenge to democracy.
    Chalice Lighting | By Pat Uribe-Lichty | October 18, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Challenge, Democracy, Hope
  • May we tend our Soul Fire through these challenging and trying times
    Chalice Lighting | By anastasi birosh | March 31, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #8thPrinciple, Acceptance, Challenge, Hope, Hospitality, Inclusion, Purpose, Unitarian Universalism, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • We light this chalice today as a people dedicated to personal growth.
    Chalice Lighting | By Frances Koziar | January 12, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Anti-Oppression, Challenge, Growth
  • 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...
    Chalice Lighting | By Katie Sivani Gelfand | May 31, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Beginnings, Challenge, Courage, Direct Experience, Divorce / Separation, Earth-Centered, Ending, Fear, Humanism, Job Loss, Journey, Leaving Home, Letting Go, Life Transition, Mystery, Secular, Unitarian Universalism
  • Hallelujah! As the spring sun coaxes lilies and bluebonnets from the soil, Let us celebrate that even after murderous betrayal, After days and nights suspended in torture, When all the world has gone dark and we cried out, “Why have You forsaken me?”—even then, there is a sunrise. Even then,...
    Opening | By Elena Westbrook | May 31, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Challenge, Christianity, Easter, Hope, Humanism, Joy, Spring, Unitarian Universalism
  • Let us hold a quiet moment together as our chalice is lit. As the wild wind bites, so does the still flame warm us. As the deep snows block our doors, so does the gentle flame bring us out....
    Chalice Lighting | By Ben Soule | January 23, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Challenge, Community, Earth-Centered, Imbolc / Brighid's Day / Candlemas, Integrity, Relationships, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule
  • You whose hearts are broken, come in. You whom pain has touched, and sorrow, and shock. You who have cried this week, and read the news with sadness. You whom loss has shadowed. You who grieve. Come in, come in. You with hearts open to joy and hope, come in. You whom love has touched, and...
    Opening | By Sharon Wylie | November 21, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Brokenness, Challenge, Community, Despair, Direct Experience, Disaster or Crisis, Hope, Inclusion, Interdependence
  • What if everything always went according to plan? At first, we might accomplish more of what we think we need to accomplish. And it may seem less stressful, at first, being able to anticipate what happens next. But after a certain amount of time (and that amount would vary person to person) the...
    Opening | By Krista Flanagan | July 4, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Challenge, Direct Experience, Letting Go, Mystery, Patience, Stress, Trust
  • 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.
    Chalice Lighting | By Barnaby Feder | December 6, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Challenge, Community, Direct Experience, Journey, Mystery, Patience, Searching, Transcendence, Unitarianism
  • In times of darkness we stumble towards the tiny flame. In times of cold we seek the warming fire. In times of repression we reach for the lamp of truth. In times of loss we pray for the comforting light. In times of joy we light a candle of celebration....
    Chalice Lighting | By Brian Kiely | October 6, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Brokenness, Challenge, Hope, Purpose, Tradition, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarianism
  • Love is the aspiration, the spirit that moves and inspires this faith we share. Rightly understood, love can nurture our spirits and transform the world....
    Chalice Lighting | By Maureen Killoran | February 26, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Body, Challenge, Community, Direct Experience, Faith, Generosity, Healing, Love, Mourning, Power, Spirituality, Transformation, Valentine's Day, WorshipWeb
  • Flame of our faith, call us into the community of love and justice this morning and every morning.
    Chalice Lighting | By Cynthia Landrum | November 11, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Caring, Challenge, Commitment, Community, Compassion, Courage, Faith, Justice, Love, Tradition
  • Let us wake up. Not just from the Sunday morning exhaustion, from the wish for a few more drowsy minutes in bed. Let us wake up to this world we live in: to its beauty and wonder, and also to its tragedy and pain. We must wake up to this reality: that not all in our world have what we do, however...
    Opening | By Christian Schmidt | October 29, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Activism, Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Challenge, Direct Experience, Justice, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Privilege, Race/Ethnicity, Unitarian Universalism
  • It is said that ministers are here to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. I say, we are all afflicted, and we are all comfortable. May our time together this morning be a comfort and a confrontation. May we here find peace in times of tumult; May we here invite tumult into lives of...
    Opening | By Sharon Wylie | March 27, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Activism, Challenge, Commitment, Justice, WorshipWeb
  • We call this light before us in hope that we may always remain a strong community, working together to make the world a better place. When we are grieving or sad, When we are challenged, When we need help, This flame guides us out of the darkness. When we are cheerful, When we celebrate, When we...
    Chalice Lighting | By Atticus Palmer | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Challenge, Community, Generosity, Hope, Joy, Playfulness, Responsibility, Sorrow, Strength, Unity
  • 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.
    Chalice Lighting | By Paul Sprecher | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Challenge, Commitment, Courage, Freedom, Generations, History, Journey, Love, Truth, Wisdom
  • Take from life its coals, not its ashes. Fan the flames of love and justice; join hands and hearts in common endeavor; and there will be no limit to what we can achieve together.
    Chalice Lighting | By Laurel S Sheridan | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Abundance, Activism, Challenge, Commitment, Connections, Justice, Love, Purpose, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism, Unity
  • 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....
    Chalice Lighting | By Charles F Flagg | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Beginnings, Challenge, Courage, Discernment, Doubt, Faith, Fear, Hope, Journey, Palm Sunday, Power
  • The element of fire represents passion, veracity, authenticity, and vitality. If the chalice is the supporting structure of Unitarian Universalism, then we are the flame....
    Chalice Lighting | By Sarah Lammert | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Challenge, Commitment, Community, Compassion, Freedom, Living Our Faith, Love, Power, Truth, Unitarian Universalism, Vulnerability
  • For holy days on which we recall the old stories, we light the flame. For Passover which reminds us of the courage and strength of those seeking freedom in the past, we light the flame. For Easter which reminds us that love is our greatest challenge, we light the flame....
    Chalice Lighting | By Dillman Baker Sorrells | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Challenge, Christianity, Community, Courage, Easter, Freedom, History, Judaism, Love, Passover (Pesach), Sacred, Searching, Strength, Tradition, Unitarian Universalism