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

We did what humans frequently do: we created a ritual.

Speaking from the heart can turn an ordinary meeting into a rewarding one.

Today we kick off Religious Education classes with [over number registered] children and youth in our congregation. [Number of volunteers] adult volunteers carry the sacred privilege and responsibility of journeying beside them on our behalf....

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.

The word liturgy is a fancy word meaning the formulation of a religious service. Its etymology tells us that it means “the work of the people.” In many Unitarian Universalist contexts, the verb worship is intransitive. We do not worship something or someone. We claim the act of worship as...

We light this chalice to honor our work, to celebrate our community, and to bring hope and determination to our mission in the wider world....

This is the hour. The time has come. Mindful of our responsibilities as leaders of this faith and guardians of the living tradition, we call upon that great cloud of witnesses—those who came before, those who are here now and those who have yet to come. We seek their presence, love and support in...

Our [congregation name] ancestors are the ones who physically bought this land*, built some of our buildings, raised the money to create this space. They're also the ones who made sure there was a safe and welcoming community, who created a religious education program to promote justice and...

Note: this was written for a worship service with a Wizard of Oz theme. Come you accidental pilgrims, you who find yourself on a journey of surprise and wonder. Come you who emerge into this place as an act of liberation. Come you who seek a life of mindfulness and a place to test your thoughts.

May each one among us have skin that longs to touch other skin: fingertips that long for other fingertips or whole hands and even arms; bodies that want to stand next to other bodies, not alone, while singing and bending, stirring soup. May ones whose skin doesn’t cry out for other skin wish it...

One of the potential spiritual lessons of sports comes in its ability to connect people—to each other as well as to a team of strangers. Not too long ago, I was in a workshop in which we were discussing “peak experiences,” those mystical, transcendent experiences of what Abraham Maslow would...

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....

Dear God, Spirit of Life and Love, An Eagle Scout Court of Honor marks the end of one journey, a journey of participating in Scouting. Now a new journey begins with a commitment to better Scouting where all may participate. Bless all of N's future endeavors....

Dear God, Spirit of Life and Love, Creator of the mountains and the forests, It is good to be gathered here on the occasion of N receiving his/her/their Eagle Scout Award. We are thankful for the service he/she/they has/have given to his/her/their troop/crew/ship, community and council. We are...

When we light our chalice everyone focuses on the flame. Yet it is the paraffin of the candle, the cotton of the wick, the potassium chlorate and sulfur of the match, and the oxygen in the air around us that makes that flame possible. As leaders we are not called to be a lone beacon on a hill.

The following ritual—which could be used to honor a congregation's founders—is used at First Unitarian Church of Des Moines (IA) to honor decade(s) membership anniversaries. Those celebrating 10, 20, 30, etc. years of membership are invited on stage, given a rose for each decade of membership,...

Leader: Today we mark the turning of a season. We mark it with the ritual exchange of flowers. We mark it with the election of new leaders and our annual business meeting. And right now, in this moment, we mark it with celebration of outgoing leaders. [Invite outgoing leaders forward] There is a...

Blessed is the person who feeds and warms, washes, and comforts a child and soothes them in illness. For they shall be called caregiver. Blessed is the person who gives shelter and food, clothing, toys, books and tools. For they shall be called provider....

All summer, workers have been building a brick wall along the road by my neighborhood. Against the brutal heat, they stretch a tarp overhead to get a little shade. I’ve watched them take bricks in their dusty brown hands one by one, butter them thickly with mortar, line them up, and tap them...

Imagine with me that you’re going along a trail in the woods in Vermont and you come across a steep gorge with a river rushing at the bottom. There is only one way to get across. You see a bridge and it’s made of… this: [show basket of grass… long overgrown grass, and pass it around so kids...

We extinguish this flame, But we keep its light in our hearts, with its message of love and justice, Taking it outside these walls to the world we live in, until we are together again.

“The Miseducation of Justice-Making” excerpted from Nathan C. Walker (2014) Exorcising Preaching: Crafting Intellectually Honest Worship. St. Louis: Chalice Press. What does justice-making look like, feel like, when we receive hostile communication? Are we hostile in return? Or is something else...

“Beyond the Zero-Sum Game” excerpted from Nathan C. Walker (2014) Exorcising Preaching: Crafting Intellectually Honest Worship. St. Louis: Chalice Press. For centuries, insiders have been democratizing their religions. Incremental moments of institutional reform have led to a new era of...

On a foggy Christmas Eve, Santa realized Rudolph could make the difference in guiding the sleigh.

Once upon a time there was a drop of water named Higgins. Higgins was no ordinary drop of water. He was a drop with a dream. Higgins lived in a valley where it had not rained in a very long time, so all the lovely green grass was turning brown, all the beautiful flowers were wilting, and all the...

O God of life, help us make this church a refuge from the world, a place where the rules are different....

(This was written for the opening worship at a district board retreat....

With gratitude and grace we lead forward to answer the call of our faith, we move happily together into the unknown, we open ourselves to growth, we go forth to begin the change to our corner of the world, we covenant together to transform the world through love and we are moved by Spirit to...

Once, there was a little girl named Amanda who loved to help other people. She helped her Papa David and Papi Caesar to clean the house, she raked up the leaves in her neighbor Jim’s yard when he was in pain and couldn’t do it himself, and she tutored her friend Sara in Math. So, when it came...

Imagine yourself on a wide, flowing river in a small boat, You are one little speck of being in a wide expanse of water bordered by rocky cliffs, towering trees and bright blue skies. Ahead of you are boulders and white water rapids, but also calm pools and sand bars for picnics. Around you are...