Love is the center and foundation of this faith... let fall away all that might distract us from the whole-hearted practice of Love.

May we view each other as partners, comrades, friends on the journey

Can we find space for lifting our heads in wonder—that we’re still striving, still trying together

The spiritual touchstones I trust are found in community.

To be a Unitarian Universalist means we’ll never be done with the work.

I feel disoriented when I’m in a new place or situation and can’t figure out whether the rules are real or imaginary.

Somewhere in the world, there was a child and their grandparent sheltering in place, just like you are now - and they were really fed up, perhaps a bit like you are sometimes. The novelty of being at home all the time and doing whatever they wanted had worn off for the child and they felt...

Note: Rev. Margaret Weis invites you to replace "church" with "congregation" or "Fellowship" if that feels most appropriate for your community. The church is not a place; it is a people. The church is not only a steeple above the treeline, streets, and cars....

Welcome, you questioners, seekers of Truth with a capital T, pilgrims longing for sanctuary, travelers needing harbor from the storm. Welcome, those who are holding on by a thread, determined breakers of the chains of loneliness and isolation....

We light this chalice—symbol of our faith alive in this world— naming our vision of collective liberation, and daring to re-member each other into beloved community.

We ignite this flame, symbol of our faith, to beckon us into community, warm our hearts with love, and give us a light to follow as we carry our faith into action.

As we go forward into this frightening, exhilarating, confusing, miraculous world, may we offer our comfort to the afflicted our love to those who are lonely and our wish for all to be safe.

We have basked in the warmth and beauty of this flame and this community. As the chalice flame is extinguished, let us carry its glow within. Let us kindle new sparks within these walls and beyond.

Our communities of memory and promise are founded upon covenants because we all need a defense against the impulse of immediate feelings that challenge our best intentions. It is necessary to be reminded from time to time of what you said you were going to do, and what you really want, over and...

I had dreams about anywhere-else-but-here But our faith kept me close. I believed I had done something to deserve it. Our faith shouted, “No!” I tried to imagine it never happened But our faith reminded, “Yes, grief is real.” I thought I might die But our faith nurtured my life. I wondered...

This message for all ages involves two people, one of whom will need to bring forward a broken mug, plate, or bowl. These two leaders might hold a private rehearsal so that, in worship, this feels natural and playful — and yet meaningful....

Joy Unspeakable is not silent, it moans, hums, and bends to the rhythm of a dancing universe…. For our free African ancestors, joy unspeakable is drum talk… For enslaved Africans during the Middle Passage, joy unspeakable is the surprise of living one more day… For Africans in bondage in the...

Spirit of Life and Love, God of Many Names, we gather in awareness of the opportunity before us as Unitarian Universalists. We have been given many chances before today to heal the wounds of the racism and oppression that have beset our denomination for many years, and held us back from realizing...

Loving inclusion has been an elusive goal within our congregations. We are a covenantal people, and the promise of our faith, which was enough to bring us together, should have been enough to bind us together in love. Many hearts have been, and often continue to be, broken, time and again....

We kindle a flame of power, illuminating the Holy in each of our faces. We recognize in the flame a passionate commitment to our shared faith. We are held and carried from day to day, week to week, in the shining of the light. This flame is mine, as well as yours. We are brought together on this...

We light our flaming chalice as a beloved people united in love and thirsting for restorative justice. May it melt away the tethers that uphold whiteness in our midst. May it spark in us a spirit of humility. May it ignite in us radical love that transforms our energy into purposeful action....

We are Unitarian Universalists. When we lift up our Seven Principles, some of us think of them as a form of theology—but they are more important to our collective than that: they do not tell us what we should believe; they tell us how we should be. They tell us how we should act in the larger...

Leader: We know that hurt moves through the world, perpetrated by action, inaction, and indifference. Our values call us to live in the reality of the heartbreak of our world, remembering that: Congregation: “No one is outside the circle of love.” L: We who are Unitarian Universalist not only...

What's going to happen? Will everything be ok? What can I do? In these days we find ourselves, too often, Stuck with these questions on repeat: What's going to happen? / Will everything be ok? /What can I do?...

"What we need is here" is a perfect, simple song by Episcopalian priest Rev. Amy McCreath. Its five words are the closing sentence of a Wendell Berry poem, "The Wild Geese," which inspired Amy to write this tune....

Your gifts—whatever you discover them to be— can be used to bless or curse the world. The mind's power, the strength of the hands, the reaches of the heart, the gift of speaking, listening, imagining, seeing, waiting Any of these can serve to feed the hungry, bind up wounds, welcome the...

Give voice to sorrow and fear — the wracking sobs at family betraying family the shock at the chasm separating neighbors “What will you do in the days ahead?” one asked. “Hide in an attic,” another replied, her eyes as wide and dark as Anne Frank’s. Already the assaults on bodies have...

I have never been particularly attached to the idea of family. Do you know The Swiss Family Robinson? It's the story of how a family worked together and survived. It never reached beyond a story for me. It never occurred to me that some people actually felt this way towards their blood line; that...

This is not a prayer that you may find hope For hope is a luxury that some cannot find and others cannot afford This is not a prayer that you find more love in the world Though I hope you continue to feel love and send love to those near and far I pray instead that you may find tools A hammer lyi...

Today, you join in membership. This is a moment of excitement and possibility. And although I don’t wish to pull you out of this moment, I need to talk to you for a bit about a moment in your future....

We arrive from many different experiences and backgrounds. Some of us have trouble speaking; others are so young that they’re still learning to talk. Some of us speak English as a second language, and others of us can speak several foreign languages....

Ah, it’s true. When our ancestors spoke of heaven, they were speaking of this moment. When they went on about nirvana they imagined a time like this. When they sang of paradise, it was this morning they imagined....

The history and legacy of Unitarian Universalism are shaped as much by Emerson, Fahs, and Channing as it is by the ancestors in our congregations. We come to it through different avenues: the Internet, an invitation, reading the Transcendentalists, or as babies or ­little kids. I came as a fourth...

We light this chalice to kindle the fire of commitment to spread our beloved faith, proclaim the Good News that all are worthy and all are welcome, that God is Love and none shall be left behind. May we carry this flame to all we encounter, letting our lives shine with its glow.

As we light this chalice We take those little sparks Glowing within all of us And combine them to create this flame. —First Parish, Bedford, MA, Coming of Age participant...

The element of fire represents passion, veracity, authenticity, and vitality. If the chalice is the supporting structure of Unitarian Universalism, then we are the flame....

I have a story for you. It's a tale of two heads of lettuce. This one (hold up head of lettuce and maybe even move around the sanctuary as you speak) was grown in Salinas Valley, CA. It was grown according to conventional, industrial farming methods by a multi-national corporation. They used...

Minister: Today, we welcome into our community these new members, who have chosen to make a commitment to this congregation by signing our Membership Book....

Every day brings struggle, every day brings joy. Every day brings us the opportunity to ease the struggle of another, to be the joy in another's life. May this flame remind us to carry our light to each other and to the world.

Through the week this chalice abides, cupped and silent, Softly it gleams in a dimly lit room, complete unto itself. Today, we come together as a community of faith, joyful and free, Our individual energies combine to spark the flame of Truth....