We reflect in thanksgiving this day for all those whose lives have nurtured ours.The life-giving onesWho heal with their presenceWho listen in sympathyWho give wise advice ......

We gather this morning in celebration and appreciation. We rejoice in those true treasures and gifts of life that are beyond any price. We rejoice especially in the children of our church, for their music and their words, for their laughter and their song, and for the bright joy of their very...

Trees of Earth let bud your leaves let them open wide let them gently fall in annual cycle. Let fallen leaves make soft bed for Jesus at his birth and may leafy humus make renewal of our humanity....

O Thou whose voice speaks from within the heart and soul of all, help us to be still, calm, silent, and thoughtful. We desire to listen, to learn and to meditate in such a way that our lives will grow in a new depth of wisdom and understanding....

O Thou whose power we see in the stars and whose presence we experience as love, we would today be sustained by that power and open to that love. Help us to remember that "as we sow, so shall we reap"—that whatever we project out from ourselves also comes back to us....

O Thou, whose kingdom is within, may all thy names be hallowed. May no one of them be turned against the others to divide those who address thee. May thy presence be made known to us in mercy, beauty, love and justice. May thy kingdom come to be in the life of all humankind....

Thou who knows the secrets hidden within all hearts; thou who knows all sorrow and all joy, who knows all hope springing from sources unknown, who knows all loneliness, all desolation, all sadness; thou who knows all this, and understands, and with everlasting love seeks to lead us in each moment...

Thou who art the vital center of our lives --...

Thou that hearest, listen -- In the beginning is the cry -- inarticulate -- inchoate -- essential. The primal cry of desire. Much later comes the word -- ordered -- various -- pattern on a dark glass....

Teach my heart healing words. Show me the words that help rather than harm. Instruct me in the verbs that bring energy, the nouns pointing to the real, the adjectives describing your subtleties....

The stone has got to be rolled back from the tomb again and again every year. Roll up your sleeves. He is not coming back, you know....

Spirit of life, You've been a father and mother to us all We enter into this time of silence and reflection With mixed emotions. This is mother's day—a day set aside to honor, celebrate, and in some cases, simply to reflect on those women who gave us birth. Some of us come to this day with joy,...

Spirit of Life, We pause to give thanks for many gifts of life that are ours, gifts we find expressed and enhanced in the community of this church. We are grateful for our family and friends and all they mean to us....

Let us join in a moment dedicated to that quiet power within us. It is within that we find the will to face the world; it is within that we find the love to embrace the world; it is within that we find our personal identity and know the world. Yet, within us is also a great void....

Prayer - Wayne Arnason O God, whom we know as love, we gather here this morning as seekers and finders, creators and destroyers, givers and receivers of love....

We join together now in a time of meditation or prayer, spoken at first and then for a time in the peace that silence brings.

Blessed be the flower that triumphs at last Over the snows, over the centuries, over the heavy feet of cattle and of soldiers treading down the fragile places of the earth....

Let us join our hearts and minds together in the spirit of meditation and prayer. May these moments of quiet lead us to the heart of the season, which is peace. May we breathedeeply of peace in this quiet place, relax into its warmth, know we are safe here, and let us open our hearts to the...