Each of us has gifts and wounds from those who fathered us. This is inevitable; even the best fathers in the world disappoint their children sometimes. Otherwise we wouldn’t be able to grow up. But I know that some wounds are deeper than others. Some people’s hearts have been broken by their...
Reading
| By
Myke Johnson
|
April 13, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
I invite you into a period of quiet meditation. Close your eyes if you wish, and get comfortable in your seat. Think about the father-figure you carry in your heart. I invite you to remember the gifts and the wounds you received from that person or persons. If any feelings come up, just breathe...
Meditation
| By
Myke Johnson
|
April 13, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
On this Father’s Day, we recognize the vast spectrum of experience and the often-complicated feelings that surround such a celebration. We honor those fathers and father figures in our lives who have loved, supported, encouraged and instructed us, and we seek to share these gifts with others. We...
Meditation
| By
Rod Richards
|
April 13, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
Here here is where you can lay it down Lay down all that you have carried the weight of the world that has rounded your back leaving you aching and exhausted Here here is where healing begins where burdens are set down and alongside one another’s their magnitude does not seem as great Here here i...
Opening
| By
Joan Javier-Duval
|
April 13, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
Open your hearts, my friends, And let yourself feel the reality of absence. Open your hearts, and acknowledge That we gather in the presence of death. Open your hearts. Make room For the healing balm of connection, the release of forgiveness. No matter what pain dwells within your spirit, Or how...
Opening
| By
Maureen Killoran
|
April 13, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
May whatever gatherings or activities we engage in this Sunday afternoon help restore us — our connections to one another; our sense of hope, beauty, and fun in this world; our deep knowing that we have to take care of ourselves and each other with love and joy if we are to soulfully survive the...
Benediction
| By
Heather Rion Starr
|
April 13, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
“We are not primarily put on this earth to see through one another, but to see one another through.” — Author unknown Standing roadside, stranded, watching thousands of dollars rise in the smoke coming from under the hood, it’s easier to fight about who forgot to put oil in the car than to...
Reflection
| By
Teresa Honey Youngblood
|
April 12, 2017
| From
Braver/Wiser
I come on Sunday feeling weary, having worn out the snooze button on my alarm clock. I come on Sunday feeling frightened, having seared my eyes reading the latest news. I come on Sunday feeling burdened, having fretted about my work day worries....
Offering
| By
Jessica Lin
|
April 6, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Direct Experience, Faith, Generosity, Living Our Faith, Money, Responsibility, Unitarian Universalism
We give to remind ourselves how many gifts we have to offer. We give to remember that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. We give because we believe in music and sacred space. We give with the faith that, together, we have enough.
Offering
| By
Kristin Collins
|
April 6, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
I invite you to rise in body or in spirit, and join hands with your neighbors. Hands touch hands. These hands you hold now, once held _________’s hands. Hand by hand we touch those who are here with us, and those who are no longer with us. And hand over hand, we touch all of humanity. Let our...
Benediction
| By
Matt Alspaugh
|
April 6, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
Tagged as: Connections, Death, Memorial Services, Relationships
"We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and, to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and...
Reflection
| By
Daniel Gregoire
|
April 5, 2017
| From
Braver/Wiser
Before beginning, dramatically turn your back on the congregation and children, and place a smudge on cheek. It is important that this be a smudge that is large enough for the congregation to see, but does not cover the whole face. One cheek is good. Turn around....
Time for All Ages
| By
Karen G. Johnston
|
April 4, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
Tagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, Anti-Oppression, Community, Covenant, Direct Experience
Worship Leader: In this moment of worship we call to mind those times of failure and regret common to all of us. We remember first, in silence, those times when we have failed to do all that we meant to do, or through our actions failed to be all we were meant to be....
Prayer of Confession
| By
Rosemary Bray McNatt
|
March 31, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
He phoned more than an hour ago to say he was on his way home. But I have yet to hear the scrape of the iron gate, the rattling keys, so I worry. Most married women fret about a tardy husband: black women like myself worry more....
Reflection
| By
Rosemary Bray McNatt
|
March 29, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
We are sometimes selfish, sometimes complicit with systems that do harm, sometimes the cause of pain and injustice. Until we can hold compassion for ourselves and others—until we can be forgiving when we fall short—our love is incomplete.
Reflection
| By
Sean Parker Dennison
|
March 29, 2017
| From
Braver/Wiser
Characters: Narrator, Very Important Person, Enemies (including Leader of the Enemies), Spider, and at least four Cave Rocks. Materials needed: Grey, silver, or white yarn Narrator: I’d like to share a story with you today – a story about a simple little spider who did an amazing thing. You’ll...
Time for All Ages
| By
Diana Davies
|
March 28, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
Believe that further shore Is reachable from here. Believe in miracle And cures and healing wells. —Seamus Heaney, “The Cure at Troy” With a name like mine, it’s easy to guess I’m Irish. My forebears were among the millions who struggled to escape Ireland’s disastrous Potato...
Reflection
| By
Maureen Killoran
|
March 22, 2017
| From
Braver/Wiser
Tagged as: Direct Experience, Family, Generations, History, Hope, Immigration
The author suggests supplementing this Time for All Ages with a PowerPoint/slide show of interesting doors and asking the kids to imagine what is on the other side of each of them... Who here knows the book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe? Can one of the kids in the room tell me how Lucy...
Time for All Ages
| By
Molly Housh Gordon
|
March 18, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
Every mother has a different story, though we tend to group them together. We like to think that partnered moms have it good and single moms have it rough, but the truth is that we're a diverse bunch....
Reading
| By
Cheryl Strayed
|
March 15, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
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We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association and its members in the development of WorshipWeb.
Each of us has gifts and wounds from those who fathered us. This is inevitable; even the best fathers in the world disappoint their children sometimes. Otherwise we wouldn’t be able to grow up. But I know that some wounds are deeper than others. Some people’s hearts have been broken by their...Reading | By Myke Johnson | April 13, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Children, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Generations, Growth, Healing, Humanism, Pain, Parents, Secular
On this Father’s Day, we recognize the vast spectrum of experience and the often-complicated feelings that surround such a celebration. We honor those fathers and father figures in our lives who have loved, supported, encouraged and instructed us, and we seek to share these gifts with others. We...Meditation | By Rod Richards | April 13, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Children, Direct Experience, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Generations, Healing, Men, Relationships, Secular
Here here is where you can lay it down Lay down all that you have carried the weight of the world that has rounded your back leaving you aching and exhausted Here here is where healing begins where burdens are set down and alongside one another’s their magnitude does not seem as great Here here i...Opening | By Joan Javier-Duval | April 13, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Brokenness, Community, Healing, Hospitality, Unitarian Universalism
Open your hearts, my friends, And let yourself feel the reality of absence. Open your hearts, and acknowledge That we gather in the presence of death. Open your hearts. Make room For the healing balm of connection, the release of forgiveness. No matter what pain dwells within your spirit, Or how...Opening | By Maureen Killoran | April 13, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Forgiveness, Grief, Healing, Love, Memorial Services, Mourning, Relationships, Sorrow, Unitarian Universalism
May whatever gatherings or activities we engage in this Sunday afternoon help restore us — our connections to one another; our sense of hope, beauty, and fun in this world; our deep knowing that we have to take care of ourselves and each other with love and joy if we are to soulfully survive the...Benediction | By Heather Rion Starr | April 13, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Balance, Connections, Direct Experience, Joy, Playfulness, Presence, Secular, Unitarian Universalism
“We are not primarily put on this earth to see through one another, but to see one another through.” — Author unknown Standing roadside, stranded, watching thousands of dollars rise in the smoke coming from under the hood, it’s easier to fight about who forgot to put oil in the car than to...Reflection | By Teresa Honey Youngblood | April 12, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Anger, Community, Conflict, Self-Respect
I come on Sunday feeling weary, having worn out the snooze button on my alarm clock. I come on Sunday feeling frightened, having seared my eyes reading the latest news. I come on Sunday feeling burdened, having fretted about my work day worries....Offering | By Jessica Lin | April 6, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Direct Experience, Faith, Generosity, Living Our Faith, Money, Responsibility, Unitarian Universalism
I invite you to rise in body or in spirit, and join hands with your neighbors. Hands touch hands. These hands you hold now, once held _________’s hands. Hand by hand we touch those who are here with us, and those who are no longer with us. And hand over hand, we touch all of humanity. Let our...Benediction | By Matt Alspaugh | April 6, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Connections, Death, Memorial Services, Relationships
"We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and, to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and...Reflection | By Daniel Gregoire | April 5, 2017 | From Braver/Wiser
Before beginning, dramatically turn your back on the congregation and children, and place a smudge on cheek. It is important that this be a smudge that is large enough for the congregation to see, but does not cover the whole face. One cheek is good. Turn around....Time for All Ages | By Karen G. Johnston | April 4, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, Anti-Oppression, Community, Covenant, Direct Experience
Say it with me, loud or soft: “All of us need all of us to make it.”Litany | By Megan Foley, Julián Jamaica Soto | April 1, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Anti-Oppression, Commitment, Direct Experience, Humanism, Interdependence, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Salvation, Secular, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism, Unity, Vulnerability
Worship Leader: In this moment of worship we call to mind those times of failure and regret common to all of us. We remember first, in silence, those times when we have failed to do all that we meant to do, or through our actions failed to be all we were meant to be....Prayer of Confession | By Rosemary Bray McNatt | March 31, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Grace, Healing, Integrity, Living Our Faith, Relationships, Responsibility, Self-Respect, Unitarian Universalism
We are sometimes selfish, sometimes complicit with systems that do harm, sometimes the cause of pain and injustice. Until we can hold compassion for ourselves and others—until we can be forgiving when we fall short—our love is incomplete.Reflection | By Sean Parker Dennison | March 29, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Anti-Oppression, Brokenness, Compassion, Conscience, Direct Experience, Disability, Growth, Honesty, Humanism, Multiculturalism, Secular, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism, Vulnerability
Characters: Narrator, Very Important Person, Enemies (including Leader of the Enemies), Spider, and at least four Cave Rocks. Materials needed: Grey, silver, or white yarn Narrator: I’d like to share a story with you today – a story about a simple little spider who did an amazing thing. You’ll...Time for All Ages | By Diana Davies | March 28, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Acceptance, Animals, Caring, Earth, Inclusion, Interdependence, International, Kindness, Nature, Salvation, Secular, Self-Respect
Believe that further shore Is reachable from here. Believe in miracle And cures and healing wells. —Seamus Heaney, “The Cure at Troy” With a name like mine, it’s easy to guess I’m Irish. My forebears were among the millions who struggled to escape Ireland’s disastrous Potato...Reflection | By Maureen Killoran | March 22, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Direct Experience, Family, Generations, History, Hope, Immigration
The author suggests supplementing this Time for All Ages with a PowerPoint/slide show of interesting doors and asking the kids to imagine what is on the other side of each of them... Who here knows the book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe? Can one of the kids in the room tell me how Lucy...Time for All Ages | By Molly Housh Gordon | March 18, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Beginnings, Bridging, Change, Direct Experience, Discernment, Ending, Hospitality, Journey, Secular, Self-Care, Transformation
Every mother has a different story, though we tend to group them together. We like to think that partnered moms have it good and single moms have it rough, but the truth is that we're a diverse bunch....Reading | By Cheryl Strayed | March 15, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Children, Direct Experience, Family, Fathers, Humanism, Identity, Love, Money, Mother's Day, Mothers, Parents, Relationships, Sacrifice, Secular