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 29

  • We pause on this night of mystery, to tell the stories, to sing the songs, and to bring more light into the world.
    Chalice Lighting | By Linda Hart | December 13, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Christmas Eve / Christmas, Mystery, Peace, Personal Stories, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule, 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
  • As we kindle this the flame, we honor and remember Those who have passed into the mystery. Their brightness lives on in our vision; their courage lives on in our commitments; and their love continues to bless the world through us.
    Chalice Lighting | By Florence Caplow | October 31, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: All Saints Day, All Souls Day, Connections, Death, Generations, History, Humanism, Mystery, Samhain
  • Deeper than DNA, more fundamental than molecules or quarks, at our living core, we are wholeness and transfiguring love. We often forget that power, becoming lonely or resentful, comparing ourselves to others, acting out of our fears rather than our living our glory....
    Invocation | By Chip Roush | February 11, 2019 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Community, Faith, Fear, Growth, Humanism, Love, Mystery, Sacred, Spirituality, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness
  • We light this chalice to remember the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days.
    Chalice Lighting | By DC Fortune | December 5, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Earth-Centered, Hanukkah, Hope, Judaism, Mystery, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wonder
  • 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
  • We seek our place in the world and the answers to our hearts’ deep questions. As we seek, may our hearts be open to unexpected answers. May the light of our chalice remind us that this is a community of warmth, of wisdom, and welcoming of multiple truths.
    Chalice Lighting | By Julianne Lepp | December 8, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Direct Experience, Diversity, Hospitality, Mystery, Searching, Truth, Unitarian Universalism, Wonder
  • We live inside paradox. Humans generally don’t like to admit it—we much prefer tidy, stable, comprehensible, logical ways of getting through the day—but paradox is woven into the fabric of this particular universe we inhabit. Light is both a particle and a wave Imaginary numbers describe the...
    Opening | By Lindasusan Ulrich | October 2, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Agnosticism, Balance, Brokenness, Christianity, Easter, Faith, Hope, Mystery, Unitarian Universalism
  • Blessed Lady, Hallowed Lord, Let me hear your Holy Word. When the Veil is thinned tonight, Let me see with Sacred Sight.
    Invocation | By Martha Kirby Capo | August 11, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Earth-Centered, Immanence, Mystery, Paganism, Presence, Reverence, Samhain, Transcendence
  • 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
  • For the wonder and inspiration We seek from sun and stars And all the lights of the heavens We light this chalice.
    Chalice Lighting | By Cynthia Landrum | November 11, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Awe, Beauty, Connections, Contemplation, Earth, Journey, Mystery, Nature, Presence, Wonder
  • We speak to the god, the goddess, the spirit of life, the eternal. We speak to the mysterious thread that connects us one to the other and to the universe. We speak to the deep wisdom at the center of our beings. We embody the yearning of all people to touch each other more deeply, to hear each...
    Invocation | By Susan Manker-Seale | June 2, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Caring, Community, Connections, God, Interdependence, Justice, Mystery, Service, Solidarity, Wisdom
  • For five thousand years, or more, more than fifteen thousand generations, human beings have been invoking spiritual power. My predecessors, and yours, have gathered together to make sense of their lives and their place in the cosmos. And they have spoken aloud, and invited what they conceived as...
    Opening | By Matthew Johnson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Awe, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Generations, History, Indigenous American, Meaning, Mystery, Power, Purpose
  • In the beginning There was light Infinite and expansive Flowing out from an unseen center. Throughout Creation There is light From the steady Sun The glowing Moon The flashing Meteor The twinkling Stars And the auroras dancing in the northern skies....
    Chalice Lighting | By Eric Williams | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Awe, Beginnings, Earth, Immanence, Interdependence, Mystery, Nature, Reverence, Sacred, Transcendence
  • Universal mystery, Guide us away from the desire to Shine light in all the corners. Teach us to embrace the night, For without the darkness, We never see the stars.
    Chalice Lighting | By Jennifer Gracen | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Awe, Balance, Challenge, Courage, Discernment, Fear, Grace, Mystery, Shadow
  • We light this chalice for the web of life which sustains us, For the sacred circle of life in which we have our being, For the Earth, the Sky, Above and Below, and For our Mother Earth, and for the Mystery.
    Chalice Lighting | By Paul Sprecher | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Connections, Earth, Earth-Centered, Generations, Interdependence, Mystery, Nature, Paganism, Power, Relationships, Reverence, Sacred
  • Does the match love the wick? Does the wick love the wax or the air it consumes? “Yes, without question.” To melt together, To burn together, To change together, The pieces of the candle must love each other. Though not necessarily wisely, and not necessarily well.
    Chalice Lighting | By Kelly Weisman Asprooth-Jackson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Commitment, Grace, Growth, Interdependence, Mystery, Transformation
  • 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...
    Chalice Lighting | By Lori Gorgas Hlaban | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Beginnings, Birth, Courage, Death, Ending, Faith, Hope, Journey, Love, Mystery
  • In sightless night, terrors draw near Nameless fears of talon and tooth Hopelessness yawns before us—an abyss Alone and unknown in the gloom, longing for the dawn O sacred flame blaze forth—wisdom brought to life Guide us— With the light of hope The warmth of love The beacon of purpose and...
    Chalice Lighting | By Andrew Pakula | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Community, Courage, Despair, Fear, Hope, Limitations, Mystery, Peace, Purpose, Wisdom