Not gold, nor myrrh, nor even frankincense would I have for you this season, but simple gifts, the ones that are hardest to find, the ones that are perfect, even for those who have everything (if such there be). I would (if I could) have for you the gift of courage, the strength to face the...

Holy and Creative Light, teach us to love this earth, our home. Together we live in one small house, even though to us it seems so large, with so many rooms. This quiet star, marbled blue and white, was hanging here and spinning in black space long before we came....

"Heart's delight, Source of mercy," beyond my sight yet beside my soul, holy is the very thought of thee. Justice is your call and love your enfolding heart. Abide with us day by day even in our stumbling, that we may grow in our compassion for our kindred....

Out of a troubled world of expediency and selfish strife, we come to this place set apart for the renewal of vision. Great Unity beyond all differences, should our lives be narrowed by personal sorrow or tragedy, envision us with a sense of worth; should we be weary of the diminishing purposes of...

God of the Autumn, help us to live with the grace of falling leaves the enthusiasm of the flaming Aspens with the serenity of the old trees, whose roots reach deep into the earth. God of the Autumn, help us to know that living and dying are one that life is precious, and beautiful, and limited....

God of tears and the mysterious silence, God of suffering and God of hope, you have made for everything a season. This is the season of our sorrow, of our grief, and we pray for grace to deal with what seems impossible to deal with....

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

God of goodness, you are the life of life, the breath of all, the eternal yet ever-changing wholeness into which infinity is poured and from which life is born anew. To you I offer myself, with you I simply am; as you I amaze myself with energy, compassion and calm....

God of all peoples, Spirit of life and love, be in our hearts and minds this hour. Bless this gathering and this place. Help us tonight to speak to one another as we would be spoken to, with truthfulness and kindly regard....

God of all oppressed persons, remind us of your presence in voices of protest; shatter our self-complacent faith in liberty freely given; and remind us of the cost of hard-won freedom. Let the pain of strangled dreams return us to a knowledge of our own triumphs in the struggle to be free....

God of all generations, in all the power, mystery and design of this world, draw us near, inspire us to see anew the life before us. Make us like the child who sees so clearly and touches so deeply. From the source of our being, we yearn for new vision, new eyes to see the world, new ears to hear...

Giver of being and freedom, thou who touches our lives in unforeseen ways, who unsettles our ease and upsets our self-satisfactions: We wait in these moments of stillness to let the hidden processes of healing and growth do their silent work within us, and to let the quiet work of reconciliation ...

Let us be united in the spirit of aspiration and thanksgiving: Eternal light, toward whose quickening dawn all generations yearn, we lift our hearts in thanksgiving for all true ministry, for those of every time and place who take upon themselves all suffering along the way, who are quick to sear...

Eternal God, Source of All Creation, we would give substance to our thankfulness by resolving to make right use of the gifts we have received from thy bounty. With thy gift of the senses we would fashion and preserve a world of beauty for all....

Eternal God, Mother and Father, Spirit of life, we gather grateful for the companionship of hearts and minds seeking to speak the truth in love. We gather grateful for our heritage, for the women and men before us whose prophetic words and deeds make possible our dreams and our insight. We gather...

Divinity is our birthright. God nods to God from behind each of us. But let us remember, as Mr. Emerson said, "divinity is behind our failures and follies also." In the silence that follows, let us pray that we may notice and accept the Divinity of tiny things the Divine of ordinary miracles and...

Divine Spirit of our comings and goings, bless those who go forth, andbless those who stay....