The miracle of grace is available to us even when it has been left untended.

From this ground, let us sow mercy, justice, and compassion.

All that we are, together and individually, is part of the abundance of the universe.

We are that, says a little acorn pointing toward an oak tree.

Growing connects me to ancestors who had their hands in the dirt because it was keeping them alive.

In a world of scarcity, interconnection and mutual aid become critical for survival.

Respect one another, support one another, bring your gift to the world and receive the gifts of others, and there will be enough for all.

Whether you have made promises, broken promises, or are renewing your promises, you are beloved and you are welcome here.

May we whisper thank you for all that is good in our lives. (Thank you) May we shout thank you! for the abundance of blessings. (Thank you) May we feel thank you, thank you, thank you, deep within our hearts and around us right now. May we be thankful, down to our bones, for this time together....

Don’t argue with salvation when it arrives on your shores.

It takes all sorts of caring to create a supportive community.

Make sure, both at Christmastime and in other times, that you ask for that which you really want.

Once upon a time there was a family. Maybe this family had not quite enough to eat. Or maybe they had just about enough. Or … perhaps they had MORE than enough. You might not have been able to tell. THEY might not have been able to tell. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if you have enough or not.

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....

This opening was written for two voices, as indicated below. 1: Welcome, who come in friendship who long for genuine community... 2: May you be graciously received here as your authentic self. 1: Welcome, who come in curiosity, full of questions or simply open... 2: May you embrace wonder and...

There is relief and remorse equally in my heart as the growing season comes to a close.

We pray to you, Mother Earth, with gratitude For your holding and sustaining love For the air, water, and soil that feed us For the mountains and rivers and oceans that calm our spirits For loving and supporting all beings and all creation. We pray to you, Mother Earth, with humility Help us to...

Let us imagine for a moment that our lives are like the baskets that our children will use after the service to collect colorful eggs and candy. And as we welcome that imaginative connection, let us pause for a moment to accept a blessing....

This Message for All Ages requires its leader to feel comfortable soliciting answers from the congregation—both children and adults—and then reframe or summarize each response for all to hear. Will you play a game of “Let’s Pretend” with me? It goes like this: You’re on a television game...

Note: Lisa Maria has provided instructions, below, to make this litany interactive and fun. One of her suggestions entails inviting an added written response from members of the congregation. #1: We celebrate the memory of winter’s sleep and the quieting of our souls. Response: Sing praises for...

We pause as the path of the sun reverses, seemingly holding its place for a moment of turning. Let us delve into the gifts of darkness at the winter solstice. We follow curiosity and contemplation down into the cold earth, taking a journey to the world below the surface....

The innkeeper isn’t part of most Nativity sets. No one sings carols about innkeepers. There don’t seem to be any paintings that include them. But we can imagine the scene: Bethlehem is crowded with people coming home for the census. It’s late at night when the innkeeper responds to a knock on...

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...

“There’s a hunger beyond food that’s expressed in food, and that’s why feeding is always a kind of miracle. It speaks to a bigger desire.” Note: one version of this quote, quasi-attributed, appears in Take This Bread (p. 23) by Sara Miles.

We light our chalice as a symbol of gratitude as we celebrate the abundance of our lives together. In this sanctuary we harvest bushels of strength for one another, and offer our crop with the hands of compassion and generosity....

To offer hospitality, we first have to identify ourselves — sometimes in inconvenient or uncomfortable ways — as helpers; as willing to offer kindness or connection to someone we might disagree with.

As we approach the time for our offering, give what you will: for the church that has meant so much to you, for the church that meant so much to those who came before you, and for the church that will mean so much to people you will never know. Give what you will, for you are a generous people.

Someone had broken into our garage. We picked our way through the space, storage tubs strewn about, ready to make a list of what was missing: two wool sweaters and half a tent. Someone was suffering a misfortune here, but it wasn’t us.

“You cannot convince people to love you. This is an absolute rule. No one will ever give you love because you want him or her to give it. Real love moves freely in both directions. Don’t waste your time on anything else.”...

This hands-on ritual could be used to celebrate Earth Day, a Solstice, or an Equinox. Before the service begins, set up a table or two (or more) with several stations for people to plant seeds....

The most important lesson pottery has taught me is to not be attached to the final product—the process matters more than the product.

May I remember in this tender moment that Love is my guide, always, shepherding me toward ways of openness and compassion. I have what I need, really, with Love at my side, above me, below me, in front of me, behind me, inside every cell of me, Love infused everywhere! Just when the weight of the...

Light We Seek, wherever I am on the journey toward wholeness for all of us—that is, toward racial equality—help me to forgive myself and others for missteps and missed opportunities, and guide my efforts to build up the relationships where love, justice, and understanding grow.

We give to remind ourselves how many gifts we have to offer. We give to remember that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. We give because we believe in music and sacred space. We give with the faith that, together, we have enough.

This religious community exists by its mission as a fire exists by burning. But a fire cannot burn without fuel. And it is the time, the energy, the imagination, the vision, the creativity, the compassion, the love, and the financial support of the members and friends of this community that fuels...

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....

“Empathy is not finite, and compassion is not a pizza with eight slices. When you practice empathy and compassion with someone, there is not less of these qualities to go around. There’s more. Love is the last thing we need to ration in this world. The refugee in Syria doesn’t benefit more if...

There is a glow far off in the distance, a light to which no path leads. We know that each time we help another or join with them to heal the world, each time we stand up for justice and what is right, each time we work and hope and love against all odds, a spark is created that adds to the...

Today, we're thankful for you and what you bring to our church. Your spirit, talents, generosity, imagination, and dedication reaffirm our fellowship and create our Beloved Community. Our heartfelt thanks to you on this day and for all days to come. For those who embrace Thanksgiving as a day to...

This blessing was written in honor of two Unitarians, Martha and Waitstill Sharp, who during WWII dared to risk their own comfort in order to help save the lives of those in desperate need. As we gather together, May we remember When you share with me what is most important to you, That is where...

Let’s start with the people we love and those who love us, thankful they are in our lives obliging us to open our hearts. Let open hearts embrace the Earth, the sea and soil and stars, blessed by bold beauty, the bounty of being. Then with hearts open to beauty let us embrace the arts and the...

This ritual provides an opportunity for people to bless one another, look into other's eyes with respect and acknowledge the sacredness within. People may participate while seated or standing or may choose to sit in silent meditation or prayer instead. We travel together on a search for meaning,...

No hot house flowers, these, bred for perfection, dyed and trimmed, and arranged to order, clothed in ribbons and bows. Not these. No, these are hardy, raw and wild. Grown under the sky, they’ve weathered the wind and the rain and the heat. These drew nutrients from the neighborhood soil and...

Leader: What is abundance? What do we call riches and bounty? Congregation: Abundance is all around us. L: That we are alive is priceless; that we are loved is beyond worth. C: That we love others in turn fills our souls. L: The gifts of food that Mother Earth provides from Her body, endlessly...

Fertility in social movements and among people is not something we control. We cannot make new life like we make plans or money. It's hard to be fertile when we are not grounded. Fertility is about making new life that becomes self-determining: that does not belong to us. If we drain ourselves as...

Imagine if Easter preachers—and all the rest of us—had the chutzpah of Mary Magdalene.

This script is intended to take place over the arc of a worship service or children's chapel. People Needed: Narrator (can be Worship Leader) and Five Villagers....

As the first hint of green begins to peek through the barren ground As that little sprig grows into a healthy stem As that stem grows into a stalk and forms a bud As that bud slowly opens with each new day To form a yellow daffodil Let us be, like that first hint of green, renewed by the warm of ...

“Each morning we must hold out the chalice of our being to receive, to carry, and give back.”—Dag Hammarskjold Each morning we hold out our chalice of being To be filled with the graces of life that abound— Air to breathe, food to eat, companions to love, Beauty to behold, art to cherish,...

We traveled long We traveled far To be right here Where we are Reach out a hand No need to fear 'Cause all we need Right Here