Note: This ritual involves writing grievances on a piece of paper and casting them into a flame. All our lives we have been told to seek that which is good, to turn our faces from the dark and toward the light, toward beauty, toward truth. But the truth is that the world is not always good. The...
Ritual
| By
Jay E Abernathy, Jr
|
January 21, 2015
| From
WorshipWeb
We, the Members of the [Name] Unitarian Universalist Congregation, dedicate this chalice to Truth, to Community, and to Commitment. Recognizing that each person possesses a portion of the greater Truth, and knowing that no one may comprehend Truth in its entirety, we affirm that this flame shall...
Ritual
| By
Thomas Rhodes
|
January 21, 2015
| From
WorshipWeb
We come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. Some of us grow in bunches. Some of us grow alone. Some of us are cupped inward, And some of us spread ourselves out wide. Some of us are old and dried and tougher than we appear. Some of us are still in bud....
Opening
| By
Thomas Rhodes
|
January 21, 2015
| From
WorshipWeb
To be shared after the flowers have been distributed... Within our hands we hold the resurrection of the world. Transient and imperfect, these blossoms are still gifts of infinite value. Like ourselves. Too often we seek permanence and perfection. Resisting change, blind to our shortcomings, We...
Meditation
| By
Thomas Rhodes
|
January 21, 2015
| From
WorshipWeb
Do you seek eternal life? Would you accept it if you knew it was already yours? None of us knows what the future may bring. None of us knows the hour of our passing. But this we may know— Eternal life is ours, here and now. Look within this moment. Its span of time may be the briefest of instants.
Meditation
| By
Thomas Rhodes
|
January 21, 2015
| From
WorshipWeb
Holy Spirit of Life and Love, You who are our source and our ultimate destiny, Lead us this day on a crooked path. So often we are in so much of a hurry Taking the direct route to our goal, Not allowing ourselves to be distracted, Sometimes being too direct with one another in all that we seek to...
Meditation
| By
Thomas Rhodes
|
January 21, 2015
| From
WorshipWeb
Let us enter into a time of meditation, contemplation, and prayer. Feel the earth beneath your feet as it supports you. Feel the love of this community as it surrounds and enfolds you. Feel your breath as it flows in and out of your body. Listen to your heartbeat. Listen to your heart......
Meditation
| By
Thomas Rhodes
|
January 21, 2015
| From
WorshipWeb
Let us enter into a time of meditation, contemplation, and prayer. Feel the earth beneath your feet as it supports you. Feel the love of this community as it surrounds and enfolds you. Feel your breath as it flows in and out of your body. Listen to your heartbeat. Listen to your heart....
Meditation
| By
Thomas Rhodes
|
January 21, 2015
| From
WorshipWeb
Minister: The life of our religious community is fluid, ever changing with new lives, new visions, new possibilities and new ministries. [Length of time] ago we welcomed our intern minister, [Name]. And we have been changed....
Ritual
| By
Kayle Rice
|
January 21, 2015
| From
WorshipWeb
Somos una gente del arco iris. We are a rainbow people. The rainbow is an arc of light brilliantly displaying all the colors of the visible spectrum, all the colors that combine to make the astounding beauty of our world, all the colors that combine to reflect the astounding diversity of human...
Reading
| By
Naomi King
|
January 21, 2015
| From
WorshipWeb
It is said, “The Lord loves a cheerful giver,” yet we’ll accept from a grouch as well. As the ushers prepare to take this morning’s offering, may each of us look into not just our wallets or our checkbooks to see how much we have with us. Let us also look into our hearts and see what is...
Offering
| By
Erik Walker Wikstrom
|
January 21, 2015
| From
WorshipWeb
Tagged as: Christianity, Direct Experience, Faith, Generosity, Gratitude, Stewardship
Each week we take up an offering for the support of this congregation, and often, for the support of others who are working for a better world. To be honest, we need your support—especially in todays economy, when pledges are down and the future appears uncertain. But there is another truth here...
Reading
| By
Thomas Rhodes
|
January 21, 2015
| From
WorshipWeb
When I was in third grade at Evergreen School in Plainfield, NJ, my best friend was John Carvana. At 8 years old, I was awkward physically and socially, and I was drawn to John’s intelligence and easy grace. The friendships of young boys are less about whispered secrets than about hanging out and...
Sermon
| By
Fred Small
|
January 21, 2015
| From
WorshipWeb
includes quotations by bell hooks In conversations about the initiative for greater diversity, our Unitarian Universalist Association-wide commitment to become more inclusive, one of the questions that inevitably arose was, ‘What do we want diversity for? What is our motivation?’... Perhaps it...
Reading
| By
Tracey Robinson-Harris
|
January 21, 2015
| From
WorshipWeb
The human race is a vast rainbow bursting into view of white and black, red, yellow and brown. Yet for all blood is red, the sky is blue, the earth brown, the night dark. In size and shape we are a varied pattern of tall and short, slim and stout, elegant and plain....
Reading
| By
Richard S. Gilbert
|
January 21, 2015
| From
WorshipWeb
For religion to be significant, it has to provide more than the comforts of community. It also has to provide opportunities for deepening, for what I call spiritual growth, and for the casting down of false images and stereotypes, which hurt us all. A good religion has to open us to the real...
Reading
| By
Mark Belletini
|
January 21, 2015
| From
WorshipWeb
Why should we intentionally work for diversity? The responses to this question vary widely. Of course, hard demographic realities suggest much. But for me, beyond any demographic or sociological justification, there is a theological imperative....
Reading
| By
Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley
|
January 21, 2015
| From
WorshipWeb
My father asked if I am gay I asked Does it matter? He said, No not really I said, Yes. He said get out of my life. I guess it mattered. My friend asked why I talk about race so much? I asked, Does it matter? He said, No not really I told him, Yes. He said, You need to get that chip off your...
Reading
| By
Mark Hicks
|
January 21, 2015
| From
WorshipWeb
Frances, an African American woman: To be African-American in this country is to face racism throughout life, however subtle. The love of one’s family is paramount in reducing the damage of racism on one’s wholeness. Unitarian Universalism is splendid as an affirming church family. Its primary...
Reading
| By
Mark Hicks
|
January 21, 2015
| From
WorshipWeb
Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Diversity, Kwanzaa, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Multiculturalism, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Unitarian Universalism
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WorshipWeb’s Origin Story
Conceived in 1999, WorshipWeb was implemented in late 2000 and 2001 through funding from the Unitarian Universalist Association’s successful 1997 “Handing on the Future” capital fund campaign.
We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association and its members in the development of WorshipWeb.
Birth is a miracle of love and courage, bringing light into the world; Death is a loss of light, but no less an act of courage, For we are born from— and return to— mystery. Source: © Lori Gorgas Hlaban, 2009...Chalice Lighting | By Lori Gorgas Hlaban | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Beginnings, Birth, Courage, Death, Ending, Faith, Hope, Journey, Love, Mystery
Note: This ritual involves writing grievances on a piece of paper and casting them into a flame. All our lives we have been told to seek that which is good, to turn our faces from the dark and toward the light, toward beauty, toward truth. But the truth is that the world is not always good. The...Ritual | By Jay E Abernathy, Jr | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Brokenness, Forgiveness, Letting Go, Vulnerability, Wholeness, Yom Kippur
We come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. Some of us grow in bunches. Some of us grow alone. Some of us are cupped inward, And some of us spread ourselves out wide. Some of us are old and dried and tougher than we appear. Some of us are still in bud....Opening | By Thomas Rhodes | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Beauty, Diversity, Earth, Earth-Centered, Flower Communion, Humanism, Imagination, Nature, Secular, Unitarian Universalism
Holy Spirit of Life and Love, You who are our source and our ultimate destiny, Lead us this day on a crooked path. So often we are in so much of a hurry Taking the direct route to our goal, Not allowing ourselves to be distracted, Sometimes being too direct with one another in all that we seek to...Meditation | By Thomas Rhodes | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Beauty, Caring, Connections, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Home, Humility, Journey, Relationships, Simplicity, Trust, Unitarian Universalism, Vulnerability
Somos una gente del arco iris. We are a rainbow people. The rainbow is an arc of light brilliantly displaying all the colors of the visible spectrum, all the colors that combine to make the astounding beauty of our world, all the colors that combine to reflect the astounding diversity of human...Reading | By Naomi King | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Diversity, Inclusion, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity
It is said, “The Lord loves a cheerful giver,” yet we’ll accept from a grouch as well. As the ushers prepare to take this morning’s offering, may each of us look into not just our wallets or our checkbooks to see how much we have with us. Let us also look into our hearts and see what is...Offering | By Erik Walker Wikstrom | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Direct Experience, Faith, Generosity, Gratitude, Stewardship