We cannot know what all the year may bring, and would we heed the prophecy if we could?

Later, poets would tell of stars, shepherds, and seers, songs of angels…

Where do you keep your love? Invite love in.

We call upon all the transcendent gifts of renewal to be bestowed upon us, for an energizing renewal to fill us in all the ways that serve our lagging spirits when our own resilience wanes.

Spirit of Love, come alongside with all the holy nudges that we need, so we may live in such a way that we celebrate all the blessings that we have been given. So we may be the blessings in the world.

“Now and here, in this unlikely, perhaps un-replicated, gorgeous world, this shimmering, sorrowing world, we exist, together … We are here now, and we all belong. Beloved.”

“What is the most loving, life-affirming choice I can make in response to life’s circumstances?”

Voice still and small, as we turn inward we listen for you. Deep inside all, this Easter morning, open our hearts to hear you in the figure of Jesus.

A ritual for honoring and remembering beloved ancestors and the recently departed, with roots in both the Christian and Pagan traditions.

Together we create a love energy more powerful than any force of oppression…

This reflection on Love is part of a collection entitled, "Theological Reflection on Shared Values" by Rev. Dr. Sheri Prud’homme. In 2024, Unitarian Universalists adopted six shared values, centered around love, as a guiding expression of their faith.

Lead us to the love that holds us all and is with us always; the love that can help us through the messy and necessary life-altering work of building movements across beliefs, across difference, for change that can endure.

Ours is the work of creation. Ours is the work of inviting people into an irresistible movement, rooted in our belief that a new world is possible. And the center of our work is love, and joy, and the spirit of abundance.

As we light this chalice, we kindle the spirit of the great turning: the movement for justice alive in this nation today. May we feel it in our bones, and in the stillness of this hour, may we sense it calling our name.

As Unitarian Universalists, we believe democracy is more than a political system; it is a shared journey, a collective responsibility, and a profound act of faith in one another.

Oh Spirit of Life and Love, fortify us with the wisdom and tenacity of our ancestors to continue toward the promise in the founding documents of our nation: a nation where all of us are created as equals and are endowed with the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Our faith also gives us hope. A faith that knows that transformation is a holy and sacred task, that affirms that the democratic process is a faithful act, that brings a generous heart and a lens of justice and liberation to all that we do, that values equality and equity and is centered in love.

As we set down this work for the day, may we release with it all that has wounded us, keeping close only what has fed and enlivened our spirit... When we bless the world with our love, we are blessed in return.

In these times of fragmentation... to canvass is to choose the deeper assurance of interconnectedness and to heed the call of radical, all-embracing love.