When Jesus was baptized the spirit descended upon him like a dove and God said, “This is my son, in whom I am well pleased.” It must have been a great feeling, but it didn’t last long. The next thing Jesus knew, the nice spirit that had descended like a dove became aggressive and drove him...

Two women, thin, one small, one gray-haired, sit side by side on a high-backed bench. The smaller one leans against the other, lays her head atop the other’s shoulder, wraps her arm around the other. The one wrapped around, leaned against and onto, sits upright. The smaller one sits up also, but...

A few summers ago my wife Suzanne and I took our son Christopher gem mining in the mountains of North Carolina. We mounded a pile of mud and dirt, got a sifter, and began sifting through the soil in search of treasure. Liberal religious education is like gem mining. In a Unitarian Universalist...

Adapted from Flower Sunday, 1969 On a day such as this may a great change come upon us. The sounds we have been hearing have been discordant; the sights we have been seeing have been violent; the words we have been reading have been hateful. All this has been wearying, discouraging and distracting.

God of our hearts, that which enlightens and ennobles us, we come together in a unity of spirit to celebrate a personal commitment of these young men and women. We join in thanksgiving....

We gather to be together,We gather to celebrate and to support our beloved communityWe gather to commune in body as well as in spirit.Let us share both the food and the fellowship we find here tonight.

"For a time, I rest in the grace of the world and am free." —Wendell Berry In this time of meditation, may you rest in the grace of the world and be free. In weakness, may you sense the strength of the eternal hills, and rest in the grace of the world. In failure, may you be upheld like the...

May we open ourselves ever more fully to that Eternal Mystery which lures us onward toward life and creativity. May we find the courage to live our faith, to speak our truth, and to strive together for a world where freedom abounds and justice truly does roll down like water. May we know the...

May the walls of this house be strong in the face of storms: Whether of winds or of words, whether of thunder or of tyranny. May the windows of this house be clear to the world's light: Whether of dawns or of daring, whether of sunsets or of stillness....

May our lives be blest according to the depth of our love, the persistence of our faith, our willingness to forgive and be compassionate, and in proportion to our yearning to be free. Amen.

May your journey know joy and contentment and satisfaction.

I am Unitarian, I live and work in this faith. Jesus is my guide And God is my help. We, humans, are all brothers/sisters, Our law is one: love. The goal of our work is shared, Happy are those of God's Kingdom...

Spirit of Life, How easy it is to speak your name and offer this prayer at this season of re-birth and renewal!! The spirit of life is everywhere, evident in each new bud and shoot. We pray that our lives may be blessed with that same renewal we see all around us in nature's annual celebration....

For their service and their sacrifice, we pause in the silence of memory and respect.

Spirit of life, we come together this Easter morning to rejoice in the ongoing song of life that is within us and around us....

Spirit of life, we come together this Easter morning to rejoice in your ongoing creation around us and within us. We come to rejoice, but we come with burdens of sorrow and pain, of shame and fear, of false obligation and false pride. On this Easter morning may we discover a joyous and courageous...

Spirit of life, we come from different spaces. Some of us arrive alive with hope and joy. Some of us come in loneliness or fear -- looking for friendship and support but not sure we'll find it.

Spirit of life, we are joined today in a moment of gratitude for a perfect fall day -- for a last blaze of sunshine in a sapphire sky, before the rain and snow -- for gold and crimson leaves, before we are mired in piles of slush -- for the moment of peace and contemplation in which to appreciate...

Spirit of Life, We are here as a community dedicated to all that is good and just and beautiful. We ask that we might be strengthened in our dedication to a better world. In time of war, when national pride and anger overwhelms the call for world community, We would remember all those around the...