Scorekeeping is about who hurts whom more. In the long-term, no one wins.

May this flag inspire us to live with pride, to embrace our truths, and to unite in the face of adversity.

We are the recipients of an incredible gift and a beautiful vision.

Let us remember that we are not alone until we light this flame next time.

Go out now with hearts and hands and minds renewed.

Our common work is the creation of Beloved Community.

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

A reflection from the Side With Love Sunday worship service.

We are one, a diverse group of proudly kindred spirits, here not by coincidence but because we choose to journey together.

The tree stood in the middle of the village. Its trunk was so large that it took six people holding hands to reach around it. The roots were strong and wide, and its branches spread out over the village square, offering shelter from the rain, or shade from the summer sun....

If God’s name is love, then God compels us to resist the fall to sinful violence by pushing back with muscular resolve against the social structures that confine our capacity to care. A universalist God for a tragic era is not a gauzy, hymn-singing force of personal devotion that draws us...

We are not automatic lovers of self, others, world, or God. Love does not just happen.

We are never numbers to be tallied for turnout. We are more than a sum. Together, we are the hope and courage.

Spirit of Life and Love, Holy God, Source Eternal, in our midst yet still ever so elusive: To breathe your sacred name is a blessing. Your world become, Your will be done here, on Earth, inspired by our aspirations to do and be better people. May we have all that we need to survive, live, and...

As we light this chalice [this evening], may it serve to give us clarity of purpose and illumine our way as we set about doing the work of this congregation, in commitment, in cooperation, and in love.

Reader 1: We come today to gather together as Unitarian Universalists. Reader 2: We come today to join in the spirit of love and the service of life. Reader 3: We come today to be part of the stream of this living tradition. All: In our gathering, may we be blessed. Reader 1: Our shared faith is...

In the weaving of our story to the web of life, we must remember that we must not cut the strings, for there are others coming after us.

Note: This was written and led by co-ministers to celebrate the installation of a third minister in a different congregation. Please change pronouns as necessary. Leader 1: What a joy it is to be here today… and to celebrate the shared ministry of this congregation. It is, indeed shared ministry,...

Love is hard. Love for people, especially those who are different from you. Love that says “I see you as a person.” Love that says “let your unique light shine in the world” because each of our souls touches the divine mystery. Love that says “we’re on a journey together, and my fate is...

"A little bit of meditation is better than no meditation. Two minutes is better than zero minutes. Consistency sends a signal to your whole system, to the divine, to the planet that you want to serve that you’re showing up, that your attention is there. Just give it two minutes on the days...

The wellspring of decency is loving this life in which people die, people suffer, there are limits, and we make mistakes. The wellspring, then, of moral action is not utopia, not a counterfactual vision, not a declaration that the world could and should be otherwise....

Shirley Chisholm was asked why she, a Black woman, was running for president: "You don't have a chance. Why are you doing that?" And she said, "Because I am in love with the America that does not yet exist," and that's how Unitarian Universalism is also....

Love our Earth. Take action to consume less, use less energy, respect water; And be cooperative, collaborative and creative community – like the moss and the mushrooms. Our children’s lives depend on us.

This group blessing is designed to be shared by many voices or read by just one. Alex suggests creating an altar with a chalice and testing supplies (which are then distributed to students as they need them). Speaker 1: We have come to the end of the quarter/semester/year. An end to these classes.

People of color—and other marginalized people—can’t just want things to be different. It has to be everyone wanting things to be different for everyone.

Spirit of Life I find you In those humble places. The quiet, still spaces where I am held in A love greater than myself. You are the wind in my breath; The fire in my soul; The subtle Heartbeat of creation all around me....

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.

Today I’m going to tell a story about a girl who was searching for a porpoise. Now, as you probably know, a porpoise is a sea mammal in the dolphin family. Porpoises are smaller and shyer than dolphins. They are more difficult to find, but porpoises are very important. Minister (or other Worship...

When I say go in peace, I don’t mean “go in mindless oblivion.” When I say go in peace, I don’t mean “go without challenging yourself or others.” When I say go in peace, I don’t mean “go in utter ease and comfort.” When I say go in peace, I mean “go in peace, seeking justice.”...

God of Many Names, Mystery Beyond All Our Naming – Lift us above the divisions, Move us beyond inaction, And heal us that we may know our wholeness, within and together. As we emerge from this week’s election, A time of regrouping, of celebration and despair, let us continue on. May the...

This work isn’t all prayers and beautiful moments, nor is it laments and trauma. It’s not even both/and, because this work is something greater than you, greater than us, greater than the whole of those we serve. This work is a calling. And we’re doing it. Day after day, night after night,...

Holy Mystery Silent Presence Uncertain Bearer of the Weight of It All In these quiet moments we listen We listen for the maybe still breathing, perhaps still whispering Faintest sign of the Universal Good We listen between the cacophony of distractions pulling us towards untruth and falsehood We...

We light this chalice, the symbol of our faith, knowing that this morning many others across this land and around the world are doing the same. For us and for our far-flung kin it is a light of peace, of justice, and of love....

Voice One, Elder (with chalice): Across the generations we have carried the flame. We fought the injustice, sang the songs, spoke for truth, and built something lasting. We join in the line and we carry the flame forward. (pass chalice and mic to next speaker) Voice Two, Active Leader (with metal...

Eternal Spirit, from whom all things come and to whom all things return, We gather this morning in community seeking to live in the harmony. Each of us here gathered lives out our lives knowing our own story, our own private melody. Life – at its highest and its sweetest – is a sharing. Life is...

I invite you now to join me in the spirit of meditation and imagination. Find a comfortable position in your seat and close your eyes. Take a deep breath and try to find the restorative power of air and water in the breath. We must breathe to live, but our bodies also need water to survive. Our...

Humans make maps of stars, choosing some stars, ignoring others, to project our imaginations onto the heavens. These maps shift over time, across cultures. Names change for the same assemblage of bright points: Drinking Gourd, Big Dipper, Plough, Lost Hunters [1], Saptarishi [2]. Humans make...

It is not by chance that you arrived here today. You have been looking for something larger than yourself. Inside of you there is a yearning, a calling, a hope for more, A desire for a place of belonging and caring. Through your struggles, someone nurtured you into being, Instilling a belief in a...

Let this banner be a symbol of hope, A blanket of protection for those who need it, And a cape of power for those who must be empowered. Let this flag be a standard of our conviction to embody all of these things, And to be the change we will upon the world. Let the will we weave to empower and...

When we say, "Save the rainforest," we don’t mean that we cease to honor the mighty cedars or the reaching pines. We mean that one particular piece of a deeply sacred whole is more at risk than others, and that this risk, this threat, is worthy of our very bravest actions. So it is with black...

Hallelujah! is a dangerous word, especially in the mouths of the creatively maladjusted.* Hallelujah! is a dangerous word, for it comes always with an exclamation point. Hallelujah!...

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 put my faith in you. I put my faith in every one of you who woke up this morning with the weight of loss—manifesting as numbness, anger, fear, or an alienating, aching pain. I put my faith in you, and I pray you will put your faith in me. We need one another now, because we will not make it...

We light this chalice today in honor of the Unitarian Universalist First Principle: To affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person....

I play this moment over and over again in my head: the day I heard of the Thomas Jefferson Ball, hosted by Unitarian Universalists in 1993. As a person of color, raised in a UU congregation, I felt a shiver down my spine as I learned something new and unsettling about the faith that I call home....

We are the ones we have been waiting for.* We are not perfect, but we are perfectly fitted for this day. We are not without fault, but we can be honest to face our past as we chart a new future. We are the ones we have been waiting for....

Spirit of Life, Spirit of Love, We have gathered under the banner of a shared faith. We are born of a welcoming grace that extends and receives love; we are touched by the ways we have fallen short of who we strive to be; and we here we reborn — forged by a greater courage. Let us move from this...

Let us open our hearts, still our minds and enter a time of prayer. Let us call forth and hold in our hearts the stories of all who have come before us, the memories of those who are with us today, and the hope for tomorrow and for all of those who will come after us. Let us be thankful for this...

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....