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 - 12 of 12

  • My beloved people, I cannot pretend, And so I will not tell you, That everything is okay right now. That there is no reason to be angry, That you must be optimistic Or at peace. I cannot pretend these things, And so I won't tell them to you. But now our chalice is lit, And so all I ask in this...
    Chalice Lighting | By Rev. Molly Brewer | October 10, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Anger, Disaster or Crisis, Fear, Love, Transcendence, 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
  • As we create and share sacred space together, let us reflect upon what brings us here. We have all come here for different reasons, from different decisions, faced different challenges and shared different love. And yet all of our differences have led us to this space, right here, right now. Some...
    Opening | By Ella Boyer | July 13, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Awe, Diversity, Generations, Love, Purpose, Transcendence, Unitarian Universalism, Unity
  • Listen! Can you hear it? The Spirit is calling. It calls us in the silence and through the noise and busyness of our daily lives. It calls us in the brightness of the day and the darkness of the night, in times of hope and despair. Listen! Can you hear it? The Spirit is calling. It doesn't matter...
    Opening | By John Saxon | April 6, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Calling, Direct Experience, Listening, Purpose, Spirituality, Transcendence
  • Our light is the light of the sun, keeper of all we love; our light is the light of the earth, provider of sustenance; our light is the light of all living things, life precious like our own....
    Chalice Lighting | By David Breeden | January 25, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Abundance, Awe, Beauty, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Humanism, Imagination, Nature, Science, Secular, Transcendence, Truth, Unitarian Universalism
  • 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
  • This welcome was written for a Sunday after a national crisis. Whether you’re here because worshiping with us is part of your routine or whether you feel like our country has been stopped in its tracks and it’s impossible to return to normalcy, on this morning we gather to proclaim that we...
    Welcome | By Erika Hewitt | July 10, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Anger, Balance, Connections, Despair, Direct Experience, Disaster or Crisis, Hope, Humanism, Mourning, Pain, Purpose, Relationships, Transcendence, Unitarian Universalism
  • From beyond the playful summer clouds, beyond the earth's thin blue line, from beyond the bright moon and meteor showers, we hear the call to look and listen carefully, to turn away from a world that buys and sells happiness, to fully experience the luring whisper of your heart's truth. Why not...
    Opening | By Susan Maginn | February 20, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Body, Calling, Direct Experience, Environment, Listening, Nature, Transcendence, Unitarian Universalism
  • 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
  • For this one hour, Spirit of Life we let go. For this one hour, may we let go of our anxieties, our fears, our anger, our self-doubts, our regrets, our petty grievances, and our distractions....
    Chalice Lighting | By Paul Stephan Dodenhoff | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Anger, Doubt, Fear, Letting Go, Peace, Presence, Regret, Reverence, Transcendence, Worry
  • Our prophets died for the freedom of faith; We are here in their spirit. We are here to practice and sustain our living tradition; To light a chalice, Claiming for justice The heat and power of fire....
    Chalice Lighting | By Heather K Janules | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Commitment, Community, Connections, Faith, Freedom, History, Love, Sacred, Tradition, Transcendence, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarianism, Universalism
  • Fire and water, ancient opposites Sun and ocean, the cradle of life Dancing flame and dancing river— We invoke them together today As we kindle our chalice flame.
    Chalice Lighting | By Laura Horton-Ludwig | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Awe, Earth, Earth-Centered, Immanence, Interdependence, Nature, Paganism, Peace, Playfulness, Reverence, Sacred, Transcendence