We hold in our hearts those who aspire to move from age-ing to sage-ing.

The moment of asking for help is a tender moment.

As my body begins to loose its hold On this life, this earth, this entirety, May I lay my past to rest And face the unknowable With courage and curiosity. May those to whom I am connected gather. May they recall me as I am and have been....

Can we just sit here for a minute, Holy One? Some of us are carrying pretty heavy stuff. . . . . . And we could all use a moment of peace. To count our breath. To quiet the noise. To let our spirits be still. . . . . . Perhaps as we sit, we will count our blessings. Name them, one by one. . . . . .

Gracious God, We are not supposed to talk about hearing voices in our head. That’s how rumors get started. But there’s a voice, a familiar stranger, that we can’t seem to turn down or turn off. One that says we’re a mess, a mistake, a fool, a fraud. That voice says everyone else has it...

Spirit of Life and Love, Holy One of our Being and our Becoming, That which is Sacred Within, Among, and Beyond Us… We know so many stories about You: God, Lord, King, Father. Earth Mother, Great Spirit, Universe. Holy Parent, Divine Love, Deepest Longings, Covenanted Partner. We know stories...

On my worst days, it is gravity I am most grateful for: the way the earth pulls at me from her core, yearns for me, keeps me pressed tightly against her surface. When my own core is hollowed out, when I have no more mass than a leaf dead on the branch, still this is enough for the earth to find me.

As the child leaves the doorstep, the parent prays: Please, keep my child safe, And give me the courage to let them go out to explore the world. The child prays, Watch over my parents while I’m gone, And help them believe that I really do know what I’m doing. The grandparent prays, Thank you for...

You do not have to wear the dress. You do not have to have a party. You do not have to dance the waltz con tu papa. You do not have to accept the gift of your last doll. You can break those traditions. You have right of passage into adulthood simply for being you. We are thankful that you...

Mystery of the Universe – Ground of our very Being, Truly it is said that you make the sun rise, and the life giving rains fall, on both the just and the unjust And in that way, yours is an abounding grace, and we give our thanks. But it is also true that none of us are ever really spared –...

Spirit of Life, ever adapting and renewing, we come together this morning with yearnings that do not match: We yearn for stability, for even one moment of feeling like we know what is going on, for the ability to predict and prepare for what is coming next. Yet we also yearn for change....

Spirit of life and love, God of memory, mourning and history, Bring before us the truths of serving in war Bring before us— In compassion and in gratitude— Those who faced violence so we may know peace We remember these sacrifices through monuments We remember these names, carved into stone...

I invite you to enter a period of quiet for a guided meditation. You may wish to adjust your position so that your spine is straight, your body relaxed, your hands resting gently in your lap. You will probably want to close your eyes and shut out all the distractions of the light....

If another strains to breathe, may our voices be the gentle rise and fall. If another chokes on tears, may our voices be an opening to hope. If another has forgotten, may our voices be a memory upwelling. If another is adrift, may our voices be the calling of community.

The things to do have been done, well, for the most part. The people we need are in place, almost. We are ready, or as ready as we will be. Bless this most perfectly imperfect beginning. May we find the right people to do the right things as we go....

We carry bags with us throughout the week for many reasons. (If you have a bag with you, and you want to have it blessed, please bring it forward, send it forward with a helper, or lift up your bag when you hear me describe you.) Some of us take books and homework to school Some of us bring our...

We gather with a hunger for reconciliation. What is done cannot be undone. What is done next must now be done with care. We gather because we are hopeful, Because we have visions and dreams of a brighter future. That there may be more than vision in this room, These are the wounds we must heal...

Rest now, Rest in the peace of this moment. Be at ease. Look up at the stars, and down at the grass: Imagine the stars looking back at you over years and centuries, across oceans of empty space. Imagine the feel of the grass on your bare feet and feel it—dry and crunchy, soft and supple....

Let us listen deeply to what is on our hearts, Let us listen to what our fears are; Let us listen to the young children, Let us listen to the teens, Let us listen to the elders. Let us listen when the world is sick. Let us listen....

For the setting sun from an airplane window; for the rising sun from a train window after riding all night; for the rising sun and setting sun in directions that feel foreign; for the sunlight even when we are lost. For the times the heart has longed to be alone. For the times the heart has ached...

I believe in the radical idea that men have the full human capacity to nurture.

I invite you into a period of quiet meditation. Close your eyes if you wish, and get comfortable in your seat. Think about the father-figure you carry in your heart. I invite you to remember the gifts and the wounds you received from that person or persons. If any feelings come up, just breathe...

Worship Leader: In this moment of worship we call to mind those times of failure and regret common to all of us. We remember first, in silence, those times when we have failed to do all that we meant to do, or through our actions failed to be all we were meant to be....

O Maker of Order and Shaper of Beauty, we are grateful for the world in which we live. Instill in us that sense of awe, that we may walk with humble hearts, open to the beauty of all that surrounds us....

All that we have been separately and all that we will become together is stretched out before and behind us like stars scattered across a canvas of sky. We stand at the precipice, arms locked together like tandem skydivers working up the courage to jump. Tell me, friends: What have we got to lose?

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,...

Spirit of Life and Love, known by many names and yet fully known by none, we give thanks for this time and this place of renewal. We give thanks for the ability to begin again: after the disaster, after the tragedy, after the loss, after meeting the challenge set before us....

Holy God, hear our prayer. There is pain and there is sorrow, there are broken relationships and broken hearts. Sometimes we are the cause of those things. We have caused pain. We have broken the relationship....

Kids, I want you to do something special: I want you to put on your backpacks, if you brought them, leaving the back pocket open just enough for us to drop in a small gift...and I want you to stand up on your pews....

Each person (mostly children but some adults will have brought their backpacks too) comes forward with their backpack and stands in a group. The prayer follows, then worship associates give each person a “luggage tag” bearing a flaming chalice logo. Spirit of Life and Hope and Love, for many of...

Imagine this. On the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, every fall, every year, the people make their peace with anyone they have wronged or slighted or injured or in any way neglected in the past twelve months....

People ask me sometimes, “Is this a gay church?” It is a privilege to answer: “Ours is absolutely, gladly, hopefully and humbly, gaily, a gay church, a gay tradition, where everyone, including heterosexual members and friends, is welcome, where everyone is needed, where everyone’s experience...

Six weeks into the church year, I have realized that I am the minister of a church where things usually go wrong. This morning the copy machine jams repeatedly. The bulletin describing the order of worship has been copied with the second page first and also upside down....

[Names], as you step forward into your next chapter, we send with you our fondest hopes and blessings. May life bring enough challenge to fuel your dreams, enough affirmation to honor your gifts and enough nurture to give your spirit peace. Believe in your vision. Follow your dreams....

Blessed is this ground on which we stand. Holy is this place. Holy are the places of memory, the places which have formed us, where we store the icons of success and shattered dreams and gather threads and pieces of what we would become. . . Holy are the places of memory....

“We want to give you an update on our progress,” the captain said over the PA. A silent groan went through the passengers: the word “update” meant the problem wasn’t fixed. I was on a plane sitting on the tarmac trying to get to the East coast where I was officiating at my nephew’s...

Spirit of Life, Earth and Sea and Sky, Place of deep longing in my heart Find your way from silence to voice Give me strength and courage to speak truth through my life For I am a creature of the Universe, small but infinite A momentary body in the sea of life, and also the sea itself I am a...

Let us tell the stories of mothers… stories that could be true. Let us tell of warm mothers, soft and round, likely to be found with flour on their nose, and always ready to pour you a glass of milk to go with the cookies on your plate. These mothers are increasingly rare. Let us tell of mothers...

If we have any hope of transforming the world and changing ourselves, we must be bold enough to step into our discomfort, brave enough to be clumsy there, loving enough to forgive ourselves and others. May we, as a people of faith, be granted the strength to be so bold, so brave, and so loving.

May I move gently through this cloudy, murky, gray day. May I remember that this is just one day, and that showing up is at least half of what is asked of me. May I set aside my underlying anxiety that I will not get to everything and put my trust and faith onto the riverbank of human community —...

Today we share in a blessing for losers, risk-takers, all failures far and wide.... Blessed are they who fall in the mud, who jump with gusto and rip the pants, who skin the elbows, and bruise the ego, for they shall know the sweetness of risk. Blessed are they who make giant mistakes, whose...

In a world so filled with brokenness and sorrow It would be easy to lose ourselves in never ending grief, To be choked by our outrage To be paralyzed by the enormity of suffering, To feel our hearts squeeze tight with hopelessness....

Spirit of Life, Spirit of Love, Spirit of Generosity, As we draw near to that quiet essential side of ourselves, may we open enough to consider the sacred choices we make each minute, each hour, each day that add up to a lifetime. Let us become aware that here is the place to be forgiven, and to...

Spirit of Love and Power, we are gathered today in beloved community that we might manifest in our lives the values and truths that we hold dear. Let us rejoice that we are together for this time is holy time, the transformation we seek is holy work, and the bonds that hold us together are sacred.

We, all of us, build houses for our dreams.. The masonry and lumber, glass and tiles, A solid form, wherein we see our hopes, A shelter and protection for our growth....

In the spirit of community and a sense of purpose in our ministry: Let us commence the discovery of our strengths, our concerns, our grief and our joy. Let this journey be one of love, authenticity and reverence....

O Thou unseen source of peace and holiness, we come into thy secret place to be filled with thy pure and solemn light. As we come to thee, we remember that we have been drawn aside from the straight and narrow way; that we have not walked lovingly with each other and humbly with thee; that we have...

When we are overwhelmed with the world And cannot see our way clear, When life seems a struggle between tedium and apathy Or frenzy and exhaustion; When today seems a punishment and tomorrow a torment, May we find the courage of patience. May we recognize courage in ourselves and our companions;...

In between, liminal, that space where we wait. Between moments; events, results, action, no action. To stand on the threshold, waiting for something to end, And something new to arrive, a pause in the rumble of time. Awareness claims us, alert, a shadow of something different....

Our locks tell us a lot about our lives. Locks of all kinds hold my attention because of a dream I had when I was thirteen. In the dream a gray-haired woman in a white coat sat behind a desk. I knew she was me, far in the future. Behind her on the wall was a cross-stitched sampler with a motto. I...