We receive fragments of holiness, glimpses of eternity, brief moments of insight. Let us gather them up for the precious gifts that they are, and, renewed by their grace, move boldly into the unknown.

From the power of our memory and history, With high hopes for the days that lie ahead, We gather to craft the destiny we share with one another. We gather with faith in the practice of democracy. We gather with hearts and minds open To the wisdom in every voice among us. In our gathering, May we...

Do not leave your cares at the door. Do not leave there your pain, your sorrow or your joys. Bring them with you into this place of acceptance and forgiveness. Place them on the common altar of life and offer them to the possibility of your worship. Come then, and offer yourself to potential...

Creator of all times and seasons, and of all the seasons of our lives, we gather in this place, thankful for the days that have been, even those that have tried our souls; and hopeful for the days that shall be, even those that shall demand of us the best that we have of faith and hope and courag...

Come down off the ladder. Wash out that paintbrush. Shake the sand out of your shoes. Get up off your muddy knees, and give the garden a morning off. Fold up the newspaper. Turn off the coffeepot. Close up your calendar, already filled with dates, and times, and people, and places that claim you.

Come, all you who seek truth, abide in love, and honor peace, enter into this house with thanksgiving; come into these gates with praise. Enter into this sacred space, all you who hunger for righteousness. Through these doors, all footsteps lead to the source of our being, where we shall be filled.

As we gather together this morning, May we learn to recognize and affirm The pieces of possibility -- The bits of good -- we bring. May we encourage rather than control; Love rather than possess; Enable rather than envy....

Note: This call to worship was written to be preceded by the first three sentences of "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver (Singing the Living Tradition #490). As we enter into worship, put away the pressures of the world that ask us to perform, to take up masks, to put on brave fronts. Silence the voices...

Amid all the noise in our lives, we take this moment to sit in silence -- to give thanks for another day; to give thanks for all those in our lives who have brought us warmth and love; to give thanks for the gift of life. We know we are on our pilgrimage here but a brief moment in time....

Prayer - Wayne Arnason O God, whom we know as love, we gather here this morning as seekers and finders, creators and destroyers, givers and receivers of love....

Come ye into this house of worship! Come in and find peace and rest, inspiration and aspiration, fellowship and love. Come in and find light for your darkness, a friend's touch for your loneliness, and music for your soul. Come in and let your heart sing for all the blessings that are yours this...

Come, let us worship together. Let us open our minds to the challenge of reason, open our hearts to the healing of love, open our lives to the calling of conscience, open our souls to the comfort of joy....

Come into this house of worship. Come in bringing all of who you are. Rest and quiet your week-worn spirit, for you are here to touch again eternal springs of hope and renewal. Calm your hurried pace. For this hour let the cares, the fretfulness and worry be set aside. Forgive yourself—you are so...

Come into this circle of community. Come into this sacred space. Be not tentative. Bring your whole self! Bring the joy that makes your heart sing. Bring your kindness and your compassion. Bring also your sorrow, your pain. Bring your brokenness and your disappointments....

Come in. Come into this place which we make holy by our presence. Come in with all your vulnerabilities and strengths, fears and anxieties, loves and hopes. For here you need not hide, nor pretend, nor be anything other than who you are and are called to be....

Who can be certain where the self stops and the universe begins? When we breathe, it is the air from the passing wind that fills our lungs. To our nostrils drifts the fragrance of the woodland flower. When we taste, it is of the earth's flavors and its saltiness. When we eat, it is of the field's...

When my mind is still and alone with the beating of my heart, I remember many things too easily forgotten: the purity of early love; the maturity of unselfish love that seeks nothing but another's good; the idealism that has persisted through all the tempest of life.

When I was a child, the day after Thanksgiving was steeped in ritual. Every year my family would travel to Chicago for the holiday festivities. Our tour was always the same: We'd tromp up and down Michigan Ave., admiring store windows with animated mechanical dolls that served as actors for the...

O Deep Mystery of our lives -- voice in our hearts and light in our minds -- in the joyful freedom of our fellowship, we are here together as adventurers called forth in spirit, men and women moving, yearning, questing, pushing the limits of our lives outwards to what is more loving and just, mor...

After the words, a quiet; after the songs, a silence; after the crowd only the memory recalls the gathering. Peace and justice have need of you after the words, the music, and the gathering. God grant you the depth for dedication to justice. God grant you the will to be an apostle of peace. Amen.