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 - 18 of 18

  • Let us open all our senses and let our synapses spark one connection after another.
    Welcome | By Shari Woodbury | December 12, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Birth, Child Dedication, Children, Connections, Joy, Playfulness, Wonder, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • We cannot begin to find ourselves without love.
    Opening | By Elizabeth Mount | April 12, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Body, Children, Connections, Father's Day, Humanism, Interdependence, Love, Mother's Day, Parents, Relationships, Secular, Trust, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • [Written for two voices, here set for Worship Association (WA) and Minister (M)] WA: Perhaps some here have outgrown mystery. Maybe you have doubts about Santa, Or have forgotten the magic of a newborn child. M: One might easily lose touch with awe, In the struggle to do it all, Or simply to...
    Opening | By Shari Woodbury | January 8, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Advent, Awe, Children, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Mystery, Tradition, Unitarian Universalism, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wonder
  • Welcome to [name of your congregation]. I want to take a moment to extend a very warm welcome to everyone who's visiting us. Rather than gathering because we all have the same beliefs, we are an intentional community gathered around our shared promise to support each other’s individual spiritual...
    Welcome | By Joanna Fontaine Crawford | September 4, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Children, Connections, Generations, Hospitality
  • This morning, we gather together to worship as a community of all ages. Let us take a moment to look around at those of us sharing this sacred space. Let us recognize the hearts of our whole community – from our elders to our youngest and all the ages in between. Let us embody the beauty of this...
    Opening | By Jules Jaramillo | June 18, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Children, Children's / Religious Education Sunday, Generations
  • I light this chalice as a symbol of my commitment to the values of Unitarian Universalism. May its light be a beacon of hope to me, and to all who seek freedom, truth, and meaning in life.
    Chalice Lighting | By Kendyl L. R. Gibbons | March 20, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Bridging Ceremony, Children, Children's Sabbath, Coming of Age, Coming-of-Age, Family, Growth, Quinceañera, Tradition, Unitarian Universalism
  • Welcome to this sacred celebration of emerging adulthood. We are gathered today to rejoice and bear witness as (name) and her parents and friends mark her transition from childhood to the estate of a young woman. The quinceañera tradition has its roots in the ancient cultures of Central and South...
    Opening | By Kendyl L. R. Gibbons | March 20, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Bridging, Children, Coming-of-Age, Generations, Growth, International, Quinceañera, Women
  • We were all children once, and we carry fragments of our childhood times with us. Today, let us honor those children who walked before us, who transformed into who we have become, who led us to this place, who have lessons for us still.
    Opening | By Meredith Olson | November 15, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Children, Direct Experience, Generations, Growth, History, Humanism, Personal Stories, Tradition
  • Our words for the chalice lighting were written from the perspective of Jessica Star Rockers. Perhaps her specific memories will elicit your own. She writes, "Every Sunday morning growing up my father would take us to mass at St. Peter’s Catholic church....
    Chalice Lighting | April 13, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Caring, Children, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Generations, Secular, Unitarian Universalism, Work
  • We light this chalice for mothers and mothering; to celebrate those who have taken on the task of nurturing a young one-baby, child, or youth-into adulthood; to celebrate those who have nourished the light of truth and compassion in growing minds and hearts; to celebrate those who have committed...
    Chalice Lighting | By Claudene (Deane) Oliva | May 4, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Children, Commitment, Education, Family, Fathers, Generations, Gratitude, Love, Mother's Day, Mothers, Parents, WorshipWeb
  • 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,...
    Chalice Lighting | By Julián Jamaica Soto , Tracy Bleakney | December 15, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Children, Compassion, Dignity, Hospitality, Humanism, Immigration, Journey, Justice, Unitarian Universalism, WorshipWeb
  • We light this chalice for our children and youth, and for us: celebrating the flame of faith lit in each of us, honoring the light each of us bring into the world, rejoicing in the community we create together.
    Chalice Lighting | By Christian Schmidt, Alexis Capen | June 4, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Child Dedication, Children, Children's / Religious Education Sunday, Community, Direct Experience, Faith, Family, Generations, Inclusion, Interdependence, Reverence, Worth, Youth Sunday, Youth/Teens, WorshipWeb
  • Mother's Day is complicated. Joyful for many, yes, but complicated. It's right there on the calendar, even if your mother has died....
    Opening | By Becky Brooks | May 28, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Brokenness, Children, Direct Experience, Family, Grief, Healing, Humanism, Love, Mother's Day, Mothers, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships, Wholeness
  • Today is Father's Day, a day in which we honor and offer gratitude for our fathers, in whatever form or fashion they come into our lives—biological fathers, stepfathers, adoptive and foster fathers, grandfathers, spiritual fathers, and all of the uncles, brothers, and friends who, whether they...
    Opening | By Loraine Bottorff McNeill | May 20, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Children, Connections, Direct Experience, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Humanism, Men, Parents, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships, WorshipWeb
  • What if when I light the chalice, you hear an invitation to welcome gratitude for the earth? This week, as I got ready to light the chalice, my family talked about blessings from this planet. Here is my list: [list 3-7 things] And now, with this flame of hope shedding light in your heart: what is...
    Chalice Lighting | By Karen G. Johnston | May 6, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animals, Children, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Environment, Gratitude, Nature, Unitarian Universalism, WorshipWeb
  • For sleepless nights awaiting the curfew-breakers For anxious hours as a driving instructor For hours spent on sidelines, cheering And watching school plays, sometimes “resting our eyes,” For the pressures of bread-winning And “wait ‘til your father gets home.” For teaching moments and...
    Chalice Lighting | By Peter Friedrichs | April 16, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Change, Children, Direct Experience, Father's Day, Fathers, Parents, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships
  • Wind that whispers through the willow trees Sun that sustains us Water that washes over willing earth and weathered stones A smile shared and savored A child’s squeal of delight as she dances in the daisies and daffodils The quiet joy of gathered community This, this is the spirit of life and lov...
    Invocation | By Seth Carrier-Ladd | March 25, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Beauty, Children, Community, Direct Experience, Earth, Earth-Centered, Humanism, Joy, Nature, Paganism, Sacred, Unitarian Universalism, WorshipWeb
  • 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....
    Chalice Lighting | By Sophia Lyon Fahs | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Awe, Beginnings, Children, Courage, Empathy, Generations, Journey, Mystery, Progress