Poem Try to Praise the Mutilated World , by Adam Zagajewski (translated from the Polish) Try to praise the mutilated world. Remember June's long days, and wild strawberries, drops of wine, the dew. The nettles that methodically overgrow the abandoned homesteads of exiles. You must praise the...

"...you are no longer strangers and sojourners but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God." Ephesians is a book in the New (Greek) Testament; it's one of Paul's epistles (or letters), written to an early Christian church in Ephesus.

I you us them those people wouldn’t it be lovely if one could live in a constant state of we? some of the most commonplace words can be some of the biggest dividers: they? what if there was no they ? what if there was only us ?...

Spirit of life and love God of many names—and no name— Divine spirit which resides in all, We do not always understand each other. We do not always speak or listen carefully. We often find it difficult to look beyond our selves to our common purpose, and We cause suffering to each other and...

In a world with so much hatred and violence, We need a religion that proclaims the inherent worth and dignity of every person. In a world with so much brutality and fear, We need a religion that seeks justice, equity, and compassion in human relations . In a world with so many persons abused and...

To worship God is nothing other than to serve the people. It does not need rosaries, prayer carpets, or robes. All peoples are members of the same body, created from one essence. If fate brings suffering to one member The others cannot stay at rest.

Spirit of life and spirit of grace, Rest with us this day, in this place. We lift up every joy, every gladness, We hold up every hurt, every sadness Spoken in this good company As well as every secret feeling Held quiet in the hollows of our hearts.

Many of us, O God, don't believe in prayer. We're more comfortable with meditation, particularly the silent part. And some of us aren't sure we believe in God, or we scarcely know what the word means. But we do know that we care, that we care about one another and the kind of world we live in. We...

Indwelling God, who art infused throughout all existence, we hallow thee with many names. Thy Kingdom is within the human heart. We accept life for all that it can be, on earth as throughout all creation....

Ah, how beautiful is this day. How crisp and clean the air. How clear the sky. How full of life the teeming earth. And we are alive! Yes, we feel the beat of our own hearts, the pulsing of life in our veins, the rhythm of our breathing....

Leader: Whether you have come here with heart full or heart empty, with spirits high or low, rested or tired, hopeful or despairing, Congregation: Whether we have come here out of habit, conviction, loneliness, or curiosity, Leader: You belong here because you are here, and all that you have and ...

It is a good morning to be together! When winter's darkness spreads across the land, and cold seeps through our thickest coats, we hurry here, drawn by the warmth of faces familiar and new, to the welcoming walls of this house. Here, for this hour, we open ourselves to new understanding,...

Welcome to this common, sacred space. Common, because we are all welcome. Sacred, because here we transform the ordinary and attend to the profound. We carry with us our regrets, doubts, fears, stories, laughter; may they inspire our worship....

We have come into this room of hope where our hearts and minds are opened to the future. We have come into this room of justice where we set aside our fear to name freely every oppression. We have come into this room of love where we know that no lives are insignificant....

May the love that overcomes all differences, that heals all wounds, that puts to flight all fears, that reconciles all who are separated, Be in us and among us now and always. Amen.