The words we cast to fill the silence left by one we loved never are enough.

Memorial Day is not to be celebrated. It is to be observed, scrutinized, and witnessed on behalf of the true witnesses of our human failure to love our neighbor as ourselves.

A triumph of love over death is the core of the Easter message.

I am afraid and exhausted from the constant fear. I don’t know who to trust for information about the virus.

Impermanence, mortality, ashes, dust: this is the truth of being human.

The wilderness alongside every moment, sprawling in each direction, holds more than the silence that theologians imagine of God.

Spirit of Life, Spirit of Love, we come today carrying our grief, our memories, and our love. We gather around screens and devices, reaching out with our minds and hearts to join in this most ancient of human customs: honoring one whom we loved who has died....

How can we adapt something we usually do in person—memorial services and celebrations of life—to happen online over videoconference? It’s a question that many of our congregations are facing as we contend with COVID-19 and restrictions on gathering. Some of the challenges are identical to...

When restrictions on gathering are lifted, many congregations will have several memorial services they will need to schedule and hold. This page offers tips for planning services smoothly, so that the focus can be on pastoral care and grief support.

When authorities limit in-person gatherings to 25 or 10 or even fewer people, it necessarily affects our capacity to hold funerals and memorial services....

My UU faith—and my parents’ lived examples—informed my thinking about living and dying, sustaining and influencing me more than I realized.

Before I birthed my baby, he was a possibility, a kick against my insides. With that first cry, first breath, he became a person in the world.

As my body begins to loose its hold On this life, this earth, this entirety, May I lay my past to rest And face the unknowable With courage and curiosity. May those to whom I am connected gather. May they recall me as I am and have been....

As we kindle this the flame, we honor and remember Those who have passed into the mystery. Their brightness lives on in our vision; their courage lives on in our commitments; and their love continues to bless the world through us.

We are grateful to mark time with seasons, to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, or to gather as family to remember our loved ones. In all these seasons, may we give thanks for the breath of life, ever mindful of the fragile nature of existence. May we live fully in each moment....

Think of where you feel safe and at peace. What’s the signal that tells you it’s okay to be at peace? (Ask for answers.) For people in the United States military, there’s a special signal that says “you’re okay, and you’re at peace.” It's a melody called "Taps," and it's only 24 notes...

Spirit of Life and Love: Under the vast spiral of time and space, surrounded by the simple blessings of a community of care and love, we carry these memories of (our beloved) with us back to the community and life they* loved. We pray: Grant us strength, wisdom, and thanksgiving....

"Grief no more needs a solution than love needs a solution. We cannot 'triumph' over death, or loss, or grief. They are immovable elements of being alive. If we continue to come at them as though they are problems to be solved, we'll never get solace or comfort in our deepest pain."...

[S]piritual and meditative practices are not meant to erase pain. That's a symptom of our pain-avoidant culture, and not an accurate portrayal of the practices themselves. It's a misuse of so many beautiful teachings to force them into roles they were never meant to play....