We gather here to worship: to seek the truth, to grow in love, to join in service; to celebrate life's beauty and find healing for its pain; to honor our kinship with each other and with the earth; to create a more compassionate world, beginning with ourselves; to wonder at the mystery that gave ...

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

We come together today in praise and thanksgivingfor the gift of life itself.Someone gave birth to us and some of us havegiven birth.All of us have been mothered in our time,All of us have mothered.Let our time today be one of recognition-- That we arrive from so many places,Joy and...

We come to this hour knowing that it is but an hour. Yet out of all the hours in the week this is one that is set apart: an hour that is saved, an hour that is savored. It is a time for us to recognize what gives life meaning. It is a time to honor what we value. It is a time to celebrate our lives.

We reach out, both backward into history and forward into the future, to link together the generations in this imperfect, but blessed, community of memory and hope.

We are people of all ages who enter this space bringing our joys and our concerns. We come together in hope. We greet each other warmly with our voices and our smiles. We come together in peace. We light the chalice to symbolize our interdependence and our unity. We come together in harmony. We...

We are here that we might have life and have it more abundantly, so that we might share it with others. Come, let us join together as a generous people.

We are called to gather in worship as a beloved community. We are called to set aside distractions and anxieties, that we might touch deeper springs and be renewed. We are called to seek and to share comfort for the hurts that afflict....

Water! Earth! Air! Fire!...

To this house we come bringing our boldest dreams—seeking here the inspiration and strength to make them be! To this house we come hoping to bury broken dreams, to be sustained through their pain and to discover new ones amidst their tears. We come here lonely, isolated from meaningful human...

There are some heights to which we have not risen, and never will; there are some depths to which we have not fallen, and never will, we pray. Somewhere between there are places where we can reach up and reach out for the strength we need for our journey. This is such a place. Thus we pause for...

Spirit of life, come to us to break down barriers; to widen horizons; to make us less judgmental. Help us to see the larger picture and the kinder conclusion; to love and let live; to embrace and forgive; to sustain and care....

Spirit of life, be present with us this hour. Join us today as we gather in a wider search for truth and purpose. In this quest, may we greet one another with open hearts and minds; may we inspire each other to consider new questions and seek deeper meaning; and may we cultivate wisdom and...

Here in this sanctuary of ancient dreams and wisdom and beauty we come to grow, to be healed, to stretch mind and heart, to be challenged, renewed; to be helped in our own continuing struggles for meaning and for love; to help build a world with more justice and mercy in it; to be counted among t...

From the power of our memory and history, With high hopes for the days that lie ahead, We gather to craft the destiny we share with one another. We gather with faith in the practice of democracy. We gather with hearts and minds open To the wisdom in every voice among us. In our gathering, May we...

For our community gathered here, for the spirit that called us together and drew us to this place: We give thanks this day....

Everything begins on the verge of awareness. The dawn is not and then is. Sleep is and then is not. In between is the awakening. The passage of thin light, between, breaks open the day. The passage of thin sound, between, flows into the day. Too soon the numbing rumble of traffic swells, the day...

Enter with me the sacred space. Bring with you what is yours— a burdened heart, a joyous song, a wearied spirit, a seeking mind. Bring the gift of yourself to the altar. It is an honorable gift.

Do not leave your cares at the door. Do not leave there your pain, your sorrow or your joys. Bring them with you into this place of acceptance and forgiveness. Place them on the common altar of life and offer them to the possibility of your worship. Come then, and offer yourself to potential...

Creator of all times and seasons, and of all the seasons of our lives, we gather in this place, thankful for the days that have been, even those that have tried our souls; and hopeful for the days that shall be, even those that shall demand of us the best that we have of faith and hope and courag...