I like congregational meetings. More than any other facet of church life, more than the worship or music or potlucks, these exercises in democratic decision-making go to the heart of our religious heritage....

Our time is short here on the earth. Around us swirl immensities of time and space, A universe infinite in all directions. How small our hopes and cares seem Amid the panorama of creation....

We thank you sky for your blue, Also, breeze, for what you do: Everything simple, Undivided, And too ordinary to be tried as true. The sound of rain when we’re warm inside, Purple shadows on the mountainside, Help us to notice, Open our eyes, Give us grateful hearts, And unclinging minds. That we...

When I think of power, strength, sheer physical force, I think of an avalanche. Tons of thundering snow come falling down the side of a steep mountain with the speed and irresistable force of a locomotive or freight train. In an instant an avalanche can sweep away everything in its path. But...

Maybe prayer doesn’t mean talking to God at all. May it means just listening. Unplugging the TV, turning off the computer, Quieting the mental chatter and distractions. Maybe it means listening to the birds And the insects, the wind in the leaves, the creaking and groaning of the trees, noticing...

On Easter Sunday, we remember the teachings of Jesus as we celebrate the miracle of life, which is also closely related to the mystery of death. Jesus, for example, spoke of a seed. Unless it falls to the earth and is buried, it remains just a seed. But by going down, down beneath the ground, it...

Asked if he was lonesome in his hut on Walden Pond, our neighbor Henry Thoreau famously replied, “How could I be lonely? Don’t I live in the Milky Way?” Thoreau doubtless would have been encouraged by the recent discovery of Kepler-22, a planet just 600 light years from earth right in the...

Is the world getting more connected or more fragmented? Facebook, in conjunction with the University of Milan, recently announced that there were only 4.74 "degrees of separation" among its 700 million users (representing 10% of the world's population). That contrasts with the famous six degrees...

We gather on this beautiful morning, the anniversary of a day painful to remember but impossible to forget ... We remember all the heroes and heroines of that day, the firefighters and emergency responders who demonstrated such courage in the midst of crisis....

Gracious Spirit, Who makes the first to be last and the last to be first, Who makes the rain to fall and the sun to shine upon all, Help us to understand that life is not an contest Where having the most toys is the point of the game, To realize that the victor’s circle can be the loneliest spot...

Children widen the circle of our being in ways that are limitless. Every baby that’s born connects us to our history, our own parents, grandparents and unknown forbears who brought new life to the world in each successive generation. Every baby that’s born links us to the future, to a world yet...

We draw from many wells, From oceans and rivers, From lakes and streams, From the muddy Mississippi to the roaring Rio Grande, From faraway places and from the ponds and puddles in our own backyards....

We give thanks for love, Agape and Eros, Chocolates and pillow talk, And all of cupid’s arrows. For unrequited yearning And the grand passion burning, For quiet appreciation And platonic contemplation. For lovers, too, we offer thanks: Those gay and straight, near and dear, Gender metamorphic or...

When used as a responsive reading, "We are waiting" is the congregational response. This is the season of anticipation, Of expecting, of hoping, of wanting. This is the time of expecting the arrival of something--or someone. We are waiting. This is the time of living in darkness, in the hues of...

A tale of salvation, ecology, and sharing. Characters Narrator Noelle Voice in a dream Noelle’s sisters Jane, Rain, and Elaine Friendly farmer(s) Ship builder(s) Numerous animals: dogs, cats, mice, cows, horses, frogs, etc. Act 1 (Noelle at center stage, sitting, covered in blanket and appearing...

We ask blessings on this, our church home. May this building be a tool to continue the good work of our helping hands, our loving hearts, and open minds. May this home be safe harbor for all who sail upon the sea of Life, and a beacon of hope to those on rough waters....

"Why a flaming chalice?” the question comes. It’s the cup of life, we answer. A cup of blessings overflowing. A cup of water to quench our spirits’ thirst. A cup of wine for celebration and dedication. The flame of truth. The fire of purification. Oil for anointing, healing. Out of chaos,...

Holy waters.... holy waters... holy waters... holy waters Holy waters, make us new. Holy waters, make us whole. Holy waters, make us free.

May the light of truth illumine our minds, May the spark of love set our hearts on fire, May the flame of freedom burn brightly within us, Now and always.

May God—the mind that sees our faults, the tears that sting our wounds, the laugh that soothes our aches, and the love that redeems us all—be illuminated by the light we kindle in this house of faith.

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....

Long ago the chalice of communion wine was set apart for priests alone. We would have all share in the bounty of the earth: wind and milk, bread and meat, that none may go hungry. Long ago those who spoke their minds freely were put to death by fire. We would use fire to warm all bodies and light...

"Let there be light!" Let it shine in dark places, in moments of pain, in times of grief, in the darkness of hatred, violence, oppression, where there is discouragement and despair. Wherever darkness is to be put to flight, "Let there be light!"...

In this small flame dwell: the beacon light of lanterns guiding travelers home; the warmth of hearth fires tended through the generations; the transforming energy of furnaces and the power and life of our sun. May these blessings -- warmth and light and life-giving energy -- be kindled in each of...

In the mystery of life about us there is light. It gives us a place to be, to grow, to rejoice together. It opens the pathways to love. In this place of friendship there is freedom. Let the light we kindle go before us, Strong in hope, wide in good will, Inviting the day to come.

In memory of all the flames that didn't die— in the midst of darkness, in spite of the darkness, we light this flame today. "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it." (John 1:5 NRSV)...

When we scale, at last, the walls...

Let us join our hearts and minds together in the spirit of meditation and prayer. May these moments of quiet lead us to the heart of the season, which is peace. May we breathedeeply of peace in this quiet place, relax into its warmth, know we are safe here, and let us open our hearts to the...

Not gold, nor myrrh, nor even frankincense would I have for you this season, but simple gifts, the ones that are hardest to find, the ones that are perfect, even for those who have everything (if such there be). I would (if I could) have for you the gift of courage, the strength to face the...

Fantasies sometimes reveal undisclosed information about ourselves: our hidden phobias, unspoken desires and unexamined motives. And group fantasies say much about our culture—our society's real values as opposed to the ideals that receive mainly lip service.

Introduction One year for the November Service Auction, [a member] asked and I agreed to have a sermon topic listed among the many items available for bidding....

Let us join our hearts and minds together in the spirit of prayer: O Holy One, that unites all who are estranged and challenges all who preach division and exclusion, We see that unity so often in the eyes of a child, who sees neither race or creed in any eyes that look back, but only whether tho...

Holy One, known by many names -- Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer -- you make your presence known to us in the sunshine of winter, in the dance of the flame, and in the lingering embrace of a trusted one. Fill us this day with your warmth, your power, your strength. Help us to see our lives with a...

Holy and Creative Light, teach us to love this earth, our home. Together we live in one small house, even though to us it seems so large, with so many rooms. This quiet star, marbled blue and white, was hanging here and spinning in black space long before we came....

"Heart's delight, Source of mercy," beyond my sight yet beside my soul, holy is the very thought of thee. Justice is your call and love your enfolding heart. Abide with us day by day even in our stumbling, that we may grow in our compassion for our kindred....

Out of a troubled world of expediency and selfish strife, we come to this place set apart for the renewal of vision. Great Unity beyond all differences, should our lives be narrowed by personal sorrow or tragedy, envision us with a sense of worth; should we be weary of the diminishing purposes of...