(5 minutes)

Materials

• A copy of Singing the Living Tradition, the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook
• Small worship table
• Chalice, candle, and lighter, or LED battery-operated candle

Preparation

• Set the chalice on the worship table.

Description

Gather the group in a circle. Ask a participant to light the chalice as you or another participant read these opening words from Theresa Soto, published in Spilling the Light: Meditations on Hope and Resilience (Skinner House Books, 2019):

To be free, you must embrace
the breadth of your own existence
without apology, even if they try to take
it from you. You must know, not that you
can do whatever you want; you are not
a kudzu vine, eating entire hillsides for
the purpose of feeding your own lush life. You
must know instead, that inside you are entire
Universes—milky blue, magenta, and gold—
expanding. But to actually be free, you must
know and you must fight for the entire
Universes inside of everyone else.
Being free is not a license, but
A promise.

Tell participants that this workshop invites them to reflect on their spiritual and emotional lives and the qualities they bring to their leadership roles.