You can’t be prejudiced, racist, sexist, or homophobic. After all, you belong to this faith. You don’t carry pitchforks and march with the Charlottesville gang. You don’t vote for Trump and you started the Women’s March chapter in your city. You are a good person with good intentions; you...

I light this chalice for all the times you have lit this chalice; For every time you struck the match Or flicked that zapper thing Or empowered a nervous parishioner to do the same. I light this chalice for all that you've done: For all you've fostered and cultivated and nudged; For all you've...

I choose to believe in community. I choose to believe in the difficult, slow work of building a common life.

We give thanks for your presence among us. You are living examples of courage and perseverance. We give thanks for the stories you have collected through the years. By sharing your stories, you help shape ours. We give thanks for the many tasks you have undertaken for the betterment of others. We...

Among other wonders of our lives, we are alive with one another, we live here in the light of this unlikely world that isn’t ours for long. May we spend generously the time we are given. May we enact our responsibilities as thoroughly as we enjoy our pleasures....

In a few moments, there will be a splendid party celebrating (name)’s passage into young womanhood. At that time, she will receive a series of traditional gifts, symbolizing the duties as well as the privileges of her new status....

Last year for Lent, I decided to say yes to any request. I made it all the way to Easter without  having to honor my decision.

"Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion."

Our communities of memory and promise are founded upon covenants because we all need a defense against the impulse of immediate feelings that challenge our best intentions. It is necessary to be reminded from time to time of what you said you were going to do, and what you really want, over and...

Let us hold a quiet moment together as our chalice is lit. As the wild wind bites, so does the still flame warm us. As the deep snows block our doors, so does the gentle flame bring us out....

I put my faith in you. I put my faith in every one of you who woke up this morning with the weight of loss—manifesting as numbness, anger, fear, or an alienating, aching pain. I put my faith in you, and I pray you will put your faith in me. We need one another now, because we will not make it...

This message for all ages involves two people, one of whom will need to bring forward a broken mug, plate, or bowl. These two leaders might hold a private rehearsal so that, in worship, this feels natural and playful — and yet meaningful....

It’s been said that it’s easier to untangle a string of lights if you plug them in; it’s no different for people. Humans, just like strings of lights, are wired for connection.

As a child, growing up Catholic, my sense was that we should give away forgiveness like candy at Halloween: freely and readily, to anyone who comes asking. As an adult Unitarian Universalist, however, I have realized that forgiveness is a lot more complicated and challenging than that image would...

“If I ask you a question, do you promise to tell me the truth?" For future reference, if a child asks you this question at Christmas time, EVADE.

I do not wish to breathe another breath if it is not shared with others. The breath of life is not mine alone. I brought myself to be with you, hoping that by inhaling the compassion, the courage, the hope found here, I can exhale the fear, the selfishness, the separateness I keep so close to my...

“You cannot convince people to love you. This is an absolute rule. No one will ever give you love because you want him or her to give it. Real love moves freely in both directions. Don’t waste your time on anything else.”...

Empathy isn’t just something that happens to us—a meteor shower of synapses firing across the brain—it’s also a choice we make: to pay attention, to extend ourselves. It’s made of exertion, that dowdier cousin of impulse. Sometimes we care for another because we know we should or because...

There’s something deeply moving for me about the idea of a love that will always have my back.

I am not alone. I don’t have to face the world alone and I don’t have to fix the world alone. When I need hope, I find it in on the faces of my people. All we need is hope... and for that, we have each other.