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We declare that there are many paths to the sacred. We hold fast to the notion that one religion does not hold all the truth for all time, not even Unitarian Universalism. We maintain that a free, open, and respectful dialogue is one of the primary ways our theological perspectives evolve and grow.Quote | By Sheri Prud’homme | April 25, 2024 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #UUAGA, Pluralism, Sacred, Truth, UUA Bylaws, Vision for UUism -
We proclaim with Love on our side: Our bodies are sacred. Our minds are blessed. Our spirits are beloved.Chalice Lighting | By Karishma Gottfried | April 24, 2024 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Body, Fat Liberation, Grace, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Love, Sacred, WorshipWeb, Worship -
Today, we are charged to remember. To know that as we live together in community, we are also in community with the silently singing lives in the vast congregation of the earth as well... Let us remember, and then act.Reading | By Irene Glasse, Rebekah Savage | April 24, 2024 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animals, Connections, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Environment, Nature, Sacred, WorshipWeb, Worship -
There in the deep sack of night, a tiny Hope was born.Poetry | By Jennifer Pratt-Walter | March 29, 2024 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Beginnings, Birth, Earth-Centered, Hope, Joy, Love, Peace, Sacred, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb, Worship -
The oldest stories tell us we came from the dust, and to dust we will return. But dirt? That’s different. Dust is fine, often even sterile. Dirt, on the other hand, is made up of messier stuff.Ritual | By Joy Berry | March 11, 2024 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Earth, Earth-Centered, Nature, Reverence, Sacred, WorshipWeb, Worship -
Advent encourages us to be present in each moment of waiting.Reflection | By Megan Lloyd Joiner | December 7, 2022 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Advent, Christianity, Contemplation, Patience, Presence, Sacred, Worship -
May this chalice light guide us toward the courageous and openhearted apology, toward repair of relationships in our lives.Chalice Lighting | By Joanna Lubkin | October 1, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Forgiveness, Judaism, Relationships, Sacred, Yom Kippur, WorshipWeb, Worship -
The drag show was heaven broken open, given to us for the evening. Everything for a little while was perfect—and I saw the face of my God.Reflection | By Jami Yandle | July 1, 2020 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Freedom, Gender, God, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Sacred, Sexuality -
What if you thought of it as the Jews consider the Sabbath— the most sacred of times? Cease from travel. Cease from buying and selling. Give up, just for now, on trying to make the world different than it is. Sing. Pray. Touch only those to whom you commit your life. Center down. And when your...Poetry | By Lynn Ungar | March 17, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #COVID19, Body, Contemplation, Direct Experience, Healing, Judaism, Sacred, Wisdom -
Before I birthed my baby, he was a possibility, a kick against my insides. With that first cry, first breath, he became a person in the world.Reflection | By Caitlin Cotter Coillberg | February 26, 2020 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Beginnings, Birth, Body, Children, Death, Direct Experience, Family, Grief, Mothers, Sacred -
One: To become is a life long process. Nothing is constant, not even the self. We evolve in the midst of narratives meant only for some and ways of being made narrow by fear and power. We must, then, have the courage to listen to the truth of our own lives, to the wisdom that comes from within—...Litany | By enfleshed | January 21, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Change, Connections, Direct Experience, Growth, Humanism, Interdependence, Love, Relationships, Sacred, Transformation, Valentine's Day -
This story is great to be acted out by four women (of applicable ages for each direction) around a large bowl/vessel....Story | By Katie Sivani Gelfand | January 7, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Generations, Imagination, Listening, Nature, Sacred, Spirituality, Unitarian Universalism, Water Communion, Women -
Perhaps for a moment the typewriters will stop clicking, the wheels stop rolling the computers desist from computing, and a hush will fall over the city....Poetry | By Rebecca Ann Parker | November 21, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Beauty, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Interdependence, Love, Mystery, Sacred, Transcendence, Winter Solstice / Yule -
Deeper than DNA, more fundamental than molecules or quarks, at our living core, we are wholeness and transfiguring love. We often forget that power, becoming lonely or resentful, comparing ourselves to others, acting out of our fears rather than our living our glory....Invocation | By Chip Roush | February 11, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Community, Faith, Fear, Growth, Humanism, Love, Mystery, Sacred, Spirituality, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness -
This has been published with "they/their" pronouns; please use the most fitting pronoun in your setting. Claimed by death, we remember [Name]'s life Blessings for a life well lived Blessings for their peaceful departure Blessings for their shared friendships Blessings for their humor and wisdom...Blessing | By Addae Ama Kraba | January 17, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Death, Ending, Gratitude, Grief, Journey, Letting Go, Love, Memorial Services, Sacred, Transcendence -
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....Chalice Lighting | By Ben Soule | January 7, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Commitment, Connections, Faith, Hope, Interdependence, Justice, Living Our Faith, Love, Peace, Sacred, Unitarian Universalism, Worship -
We feel the season turning. The early sunset glancing through the red-tinged leaves. The newspaper arriving in the cool morning air. The flock of migrating swallows. A feeling of being on the edge of something new. These are the Days of Awe. A time to welcome a new year and a time to make the old...Opening | By Ben Soule | January 7, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Awe, Conscience, Contemplation, Judaism, Mindfulness, Peace, Reconciliation, Rosh Hashanah, Sacred, Wonder, Yom Kippur, Worship -
Within the heart of the flower, the fountain of beauty Within the heart of the community, a fire that warms and dances Within the heart of each of us, a spark of the spirit of life. Holy, holy, holy.Chalice Lighting | By Amy Zucker Morgenstern | May 29, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Beauty, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Flower Communion, God, Nature, Paganism, Sacred, Wonder -
May my wisest self guide me through this day. May she remind me to look through eyes of wonder and see the abundant beauty of Here and Now. to live from my toes up, grounded on this precious earth and in this miraculous body....Prayer | By Elaine Kiziah | December 13, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Body, God, Goddess, Growth, Presence, Sacred, Unitarian Universalism, Wonder -
Come into this place, bringing all you hold with you. though your heart be heavily burdened, whether you be on the brink of tears or burn with unquenchable rage this community can hold you and your strongest emotions, yes, even the messy ones are welcome here. Come in if you sing just a bit too...Invocation | By Elizabeth Mount | December 13, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Connections, Creativity, Direct Experience, Diversity, Faith, Humanism, Inclusion, Living Our Faith, Purpose, Sacred, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness -
Last summer at General Assembly, I walked out of the sanctuary we had made from the convention center space. As tired as I was, I returned more and more to my deeply introverted default of self, and I passed a woman who had to stop to talk with me....Reflection | By Glen Thomas Rideout | May 10, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Anti-Oppression, Arts & Music, Direct Experience, History, Humanism, Love, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Respect, Responsibility, Sacred, Unitarian Universalism -
Our grief is a holy thing. It is that proof that another life touched ours in a profound way. It is the mark of love, the mark of connection, and the mark of a life well lived. We will mourn, we will cry, we will miss (Name)....Closing | By Tracie Barrett-Welser | April 25, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Death, Grief, Memorial Services, Relationships, Sacred -
Late in his life, the philosopher Richard Rorty — a well-known atheist — was asked by an interviewer if he could define holy. Perhaps the interlocutor thought the aging and dying Rorty would be stumped by the question or would fall into some traditional language of reverence. But Rorty was not...Reading | By David Breeden | April 20, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Dignity, Hope, Humanism, Sacred, Unitarian Universalism -
Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson, is a novel that takes the form of a letter or journal that a dying, elderly Congregationalist minister in Gilead, Iowa, writes to his 7-year old son in 1956 – written so that one day the boy will know something about his father’s life and character. In this passage...Reading | By Marilynne Robinson | March 10, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Animal Blessing, Animals, Awe, Calling, Christianity, Faith, Leadership, Ministry, Ordinations, Power, Sacred, Unitarian Universalism, Wonder -
"The soul is made of love and must ever strive to return to love. Therefore, it can never find rest nor happiness in other things. It must lose itself in love. By its very nature, it must seek God, who is love." —Mechthild of Magdeburg, 13th century Germany For twelve years, Daisy has been the...Reflection | By Jake Morrill | March 8, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Animals, Christianity, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, God, Imagination, Lent, Love, Nature, Presence, Sacred, Searching, Unitarian Universalism -
Kristin Kany wrote this multi-voice poem in 2016 to be read by a group of "diverse moms." I am mother Mother 1: I am Mother Mother 2: I am Mother Mother(s) 3: I am Mother Mother 4: I am Mother Mother(s) 5: I am Mother Mother 6: I am Mother I am Mama, I am Mommy, I am Chinese, Jewish, African,...Affirmation | By Kristin Kany | March 7, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Body, Children, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, Growth, Humanism, Love, Mother's Day, Mothers, Relationships, Sacred, Secular -
Here is where we gather in the presence of the Sacred. Here is where we gather to experience the Holy Here is where, together, we face the unanswerable questions and acknowledge that not knowing is as sublime as it is frustrating....Opening | By Patricia Shelden | February 27, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Community, Direct Experience, Diversity, Sacred, Unitarian Universalism, Unity -
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...Blessing | By Rebecca Ann Parker | February 9, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Brokenness, Choice, Community, Humanism, Integrity, Living Our Faith, Love, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Sacred, Secular, Service, Seven Principles, Unitarian Universalism
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How does it happen? this transformation....Opening | By Everett Howe | February 1, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Business Meetings, Community, Direct Experience, Humanism, Inclusion, Interdependence, Sacred, Unitarian Universalism, Unity -
The winter solstice is a time to look back upon our ancestors, gather our family and friends close, and rejoice in the return of the sun. It is a time of renewed hope and a time of resurrection – for just as Arianrhod’s Wheel turns and the Oak King resumes his rightful place, so must we go on.Meditation | By Andrea Hawkins-Kamper | January 10, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Community, Connections, Earth, Earth-Centered, Nature, Paganism, Sacred, Spirituality, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
This is the key to the mystery, The Word became flesh.Poetry | By Rebecca Ann Parker | December 1, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Awe, Body, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Connections, God, Immanence, Sacred, Unitarian Universalism, Wonder -
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...Blessing | By Gwen Matthews | November 30, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Abundance, Caring, Community, Family, Gratitude, Grief, Humanism, Love, Oppression, Sacred, Secular, Sorrow, Thanksgiving, Unitarian Universalism
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Gather we now into this space, this time when the Wheel turns and the Veil shatters. Gather we now to remember, to grieve, to prophesy, to complete our harvests before the Long Dark comes. Gather we now to tell the Old Stories and sing the Old Songs, to be as we have always been —the Voice of our...Invocation | By Andrea Hawkins-Kamper | October 26, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), All Souls Day, Autumnal Equinox, Community, Connections, Día de los Muertos, Earth-Centered, Generations, Halloween, Interdependence, Paganism, Reverence, Sacred, Samhain, Spirituality, Tradition, Unitarian Universalism -
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,...Blessing | By Lyn Cox | September 25, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Abundance, Community, Connections, Diversity, Generosity, Gratitude, Inclusion, Journey, Presence, Sacred, Unitarian Universalism -
My friends, when you go from here know that our hearts are always in a holy place, for we are always connected to one another. Know that deep down, our hearts beat in one universal rhythm. May we each find the sacred space to hear it.Benediction | By Israel Buffardi | September 22, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Arts & Music, Community, Connections, Love, Music Sunday, Sacred, Unity, Valentine's Day
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"I remove my shoes because this is hallowed ground," the guide says. "A holy place, not an everyday life place." The guide tells us how we know—or think we know—it was the one and not the other for those people millennia ago. But aren’t the places where we live holy ground? Don’t our very...Meditation | By Lisa Doege | August 24, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Direct Experience, Discernment, Earth-Centered, Humility, Imagination, Indigenous American, Sacred, Searching, Spirituality, Wisdom -
In a world ravaged by violence, by hatred, by conflicts that seem eternal and insoluble, sometimes the only thinbg we can do is be still for a moment to remind ourselves what is real: the sun that rose this morning, the dirt under our feet, the air whispering in and out of our lungs....Opening | By Elena Westbrook | August 8, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Mindfulness, Presence, Sacred, Simplicity, Spiritual Practice
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Come, come, whoever you are. Do you hear that voice calling you, calling us? That voice which calls us together here today in this room made holy by our presence and by the sacred breath we share in our singing and speaking and silence....Invocation | By Ian W. Riddell | July 30, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Awe, Community, Connections, Direct Experience, Hospitality, Interdependence, Sacred, Unity, Wonder -
Desire and sexuality are not held in high regard by many of the world’s religious traditions today. And sex? Don’t even go there! As extremism rises, desires are seen as objects of suppression while bodies become things to control. The Greeks first articulated this idea of separation of the...Reading | By Robin Tanner | March 2, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Body, Christianity, Direct Experience, Intimacy, Islam, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Sacred, Secular, Sexuality -
One day, your church was born. Maybe it was a gathering of saints, called together for the common worship of a wrathful god, ceaselessly praying between bouts of decrying the evil of Christmas or dancing. Or maybe a few brave souls answered a notice in the newspaper, curiosity piqued by the...Reading | By Sean Neil-Barron | February 26, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), Building/Space Dedication, Business Meetings, Change, Child Dedication, Community, Creativity, Direct Experience, Generations, Installations, Leadership, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Religion, Sacred, Unitarian Universalism, WorshipWeb -
We light this flame As our fervent plea to brighten the dark corners of our hearts; We hold this flame For in it is the promise of warmth for souls grown cold in loss and despair; We kindle this light That we might continue to find comfort in its warmth; strength in its light; holiness in its...Chalice Lighting | By S. William Feiss | November 10, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), All Souls Day, Animal Memorial, Death, Día de los Muertos, Forgiveness, Healing, Love, Meaning, Memorial Services, Purpose, Sacred, Samhain, Sorrow, Strength, Truth -
Your body is welcome here, all of it. Yes, even that part. And that part. And yes, even that part. The parts you love, and the parts you don’t. For in this place we come with all that we are All that we have been, And all that we are going to be. Our bodies are constantly changing, cells die and...Opening | By Sean Neil-Barron | June 5, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Body, Connections, Direct Experience, Diversity, Intimacy, Joy, Sacred, Self-Care, WorshipWeb -
Let us be attendant now upon hope, faith, and love. Let us know ourselves to be in the presence of the Source and Ground of these things and everything, everything known and unknown, everything known and to-be-known, everything known and never-to-be-known. Here, in the conjunction of past and...Meditation | By Richard F. Beil | May 14, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Faith, Honesty, Hope, Installations, Justice, Love, Ministerial Transition, Peace, Sacred, Service, Solidarity, Transcendence
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The sacred is present and available to us wherever we look or are willing to find it. If we remain open and expectant—watching out of the corners of our eyes, keeping our ears cocked, putting away all preconceived ideas—our lives will emanate the sacred.Quote | By Abhi Prakash Janamanchi | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Listening, Revelation, Sacred -
In what form did the spirit appear to you today, the blossom of a flower, the tug of a child’s hand, the silent twinkling stars, an old woman smiling at the bus stop, a lover’s gentle hug, a presence so close to your soul you could almost touch it, words of truth formed unbidden in your...Poetry | By Jean M. Olson | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Direct Experience, God, Immanence, Mystery, Sacred
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Of course I want the truth, but here’s the rub: Truth doesn’t sit around still as a rock, it breathes and flows and turns inside out. Ever seen a lion in a cage? He paces and glowers. That must be how God feels locked in our little religions. Look how big the sky is, the deep distances between...Poetry | By Janet Hutchinson | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Awe, God, Mystery, Revelation, Sacred, Truth, Wonder
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It is not old, Yet it comes through the wisdom of the ages. It is not young, Yet it comes through the passion of innocence. It is not revolutionary, Yet it comes proclaiming change. It is not solitary, Yet it travels alone, seeking the open heart. It is not lonely, Yet it seeks relationship....Poetry | By Stephen M. Shick | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Connections, God, Reverence, Sacred
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You bring yourself before the sacred, before the holy, before what is ultimate and bigger than your lone life bigger than your worries bigger than your money problems bigger than the fight you had with your sister and your aches and pains bigger, even, than your whole being, your self who is part...Poetry | By Angela Herrera | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Generations, Mystery, Sacred, Wonder
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We meet on holy ground, Brought into being as life encounters life, As personal histories merge into the communal story, As we take on the pride and pain of our companions, As separate selves become community. How desperate is our need for one another: Our silent beckoning to our neighbors, Our...Opening | By Richard S. Gilbert | April 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Community, Connections, Purpose, Relationships, Sacred
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The diversity of the human species is astounding. The fact that we can gather together for common experience is nothing short of a miracle. Today, let us celebrate some of those differences....Opening | By Dawn Skjei Cooley | March 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Community, Covenant, Diversity, Sacred, WorshipWeb