WorshipWeb Search Results

The Offering as Pastoral Ministry
by Victoria Weinstein Every week in our church we take up an offering. It's good to remind ourselves from time to time that the offering is symbolic as well as practical. We know that it is through pledges that we build our ...

Gem Mining
by Christopher Buice A few summers ago my wife Suzanne and I took our son Christopher gem mining in the mountains of North Carolina. We mounded a pile of mud and dirt, got a sifter, and began sifting through the soil in search ...

At the start of the Religious Education year
by Ruth E. Gibson ALL: We come together as a living church. WORSHIP LEADER: We come together from different places as unique individuals. Our paths and the ways of our going are diverse, yet we share our journey. CONGREGATION: ...

Many of the past generation and many of today...
by Sophia Lyon Fahs 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 ...

Meditation for an Intergenerational Service
by Axel H. Gehrmann Let us join in the spirit of prayer and meditation. We are each different. Some of us are bigger and others are smaller. Some of us are taller and others are shorter. Our hair is different colors and our ...

Pastoral Prayer
by Wayne B. Arnason Spirit of Life, We pause to give thanks for many gifts of life that are ours, gifts we find expressed and enhanced in the community of this church. We are grateful for our family and friends and all they ...

The Ship of State
by Jeff Liebmann The Greek philosopher Plato compared the human mind to a ship on which the sailors had mutinied and locked the captain and the navigator in a cabin.  On such a ship, the sailors feel free to steer ...

The Tomb Is Empty
by Carl Scovel If the truth of Easter has eluded you, maybe the simple wisdom of this story will bring the wonder of the holiday into your heart.An Episcopal Bishop once told me a story about Easter that has stayed with ...

Bridging Ceremony for Fifth Graders
by Dana Poss Religious Education Director: Today, we celebrate you as you take the next step on your journey, moving from childhood to adolescence. This is a wonderful time in your life, full of hope and expectation ...

Mother's Day Prayer
by Kathleen Rolenz Spirit of life,You've been a father and mother to us allWe enter into this time of silence and reflectionWith mixed emotions.This is mother's day—a day set aside to honor, celebrate, and in some ...

Prayer for a Children's Sunday and Flower Communion
by Sheldon W. Bennett We gather this morning in celebration and appreciation. We rejoice in those true treasures and gifts of life that are beyond any price. We rejoice especially in the children of our church, for their music ...

Building the Beloved Community
by Fred Small When I was in third grade at Evergreen School in Plainfield, NJ, my best friend was John Carvana.At 8 years old, I was awkward physically and socially, and I was drawn to John’s intelligence and ...

Claiming a Larger Ministry
by Jeanne Lloyd The Revs. Jeanne Lloyd and Joshua Pawelek Unitarian Universalist Society: East Manchester, CT April 25, 2004 Josh: On the surface community ministry is a fairly simple concept—it is any ministry ...

All Our Children
by Peter Morales Jefferson Unitarian ChurchGolden, COMothers Day, May 13, 2007Three weeks ago my wife, Phyllis, and I participated in our all church social action weekend. What a magical day that was! We chose to help ...

Learn to Fly
by Amanda L. Aikman READING(Author unknown) When we come to the edge of all the light we have And we step into the darkness, the unknown We will find something solid we can stand upon Or I believe that we will surely learn ...

Birthright Unitarian Universalist
by Rebecca F. Benner I am a third generation Unitarian Universalist. This is by no means a record. Even in this congregation there are families whose Unitarian Universalist history goes much further back, and in New England, ...

Going It Alone
by David R. Weissbard The schedule in our house worked like this: Karen wakes up at 5:00, I generally get up at 5:30 or 6:00.  Karen leaves for work at 6:30.  I am often on the computer in the morning, so Hilary, ...

Poor and Rich, Rich and Poor
by Vail E. Weller The journey was a long one.We started on an airplane, a 16-hour trip crossing the international date line. A van for an hour, then another hour’s plane ride. A pedi-cab trip, and a four hour van ...

Poor and Rich, Rich and Poor
by Vail E. Weller The journey was a long one.We started on an airplane, a 16-hour trip crossing the international date line. A van for an hour, then another hour’s plane ride. A pedi-cab trip, and a four hour van ...

Filthy Lucre or Golden Opportunity?
by Gary Blaine Sunday last I spoke on the themes of religion, sex, and politics. I thought this morning that I would speak of yet another taboo, money. Unitarian Universalists do not seem to mind if the minister preaches ...

Stand By This Faith
by Naomi King The question for us today is: what does it mean for us to stand with our faith, for us to stand with this church?This is not a new question, or one unique to Unitarian Universalists. But the answer to ...

Everything is Possible
by Peter Friedrichs Earlier this week I was speaking with a member of the church about the sermon I was going to deliver today. She said to me, “What’s the big deal?” This one’s easy. All you have ...

Fire of Commitment
by Vail E. Weller An Austrian millionaire was in the news this month for giving away all of his fortune. Why? "For a long time I believed that more wealth and luxury automatically meant more happiness," he said. "I come ...

The Diet Debate
by John Corrado John Corrado: If your health awareness menu includes the "finding du jour," you must feel like a yo-yo. Just think of the fluctuating wisdom about nutrition. Red meat, once "good for you," is now a villain. ...