These words are taken from "We Need One Another," by George Odell: Reading #468 in Singing the Living Tradition.

“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,...

All that we need is here now. From the ages of the earth we have gathered energies in wood, coal, oil, and other remnants of life. And the air, it is here too, and it need not be pure. All is ready, here, in the dark. Will you strike yourself against life’s hard surfaces and let the flame out, or...

In one church it was meals, prepared and frozen to be shared with those in need. Food was handed out at the door, or taken to where it was needed. In another church it was casseroles, brought to families whose strength was consumed by illness or disaster....

Once there was a little girl who worried about a very big problem—world hunger. She read in the newspaper about children all over the world who did not have enough to eat. She wanted to do something about it, but she was only a little girl and this was a giant problem. What could she possibly do...

When I was a child, the day after Thanksgiving was steeped in ritual. Every year my family would travel to Chicago for the holiday festivities. Our tour was always the same: We'd tromp up and down Michigan Ave., admiring store windows with animated mechanical dolls that served as actors for the...