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Unitarian Universalists use different terms for the words that begin a worship service, including call to worship, invocation, and opening words. These words invite the congregation from their separate lives and to the common place and time of the worship hour.

(In Unitarian Universalist worship if there are Opening Words there is generally not an Invocation, and vice versa.)

Search Words for Worship Services

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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4

  • A black and white photo of a sunbeam cutting through the chancel of the Stavropoleos Monastery (Bucharest, Romania)
    We gather today in the presence of the old old story of death defeated by emptiness, of hope and newness triumphant over fear and separation. We come, hearts heavy with pain and anxiety, spirits flattened by exhaustion and apathy, vision darkened by strife and violence. We come seeking connection...
    Opening | By Ian W. Riddell | July 30, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Christianity, Connections, Easter, Hope, Strength, Unitarian Universalism
  • On a black field, six UU chalice logos make a rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. A small caption reads "All of who you are is sacred. All of who you are is welcome."
    Come one, come all! Come with your missing pieces and your extra screws Come with your hard edges and your soft spots Come with your bowed heads and upright spines Come all you flamboyant and drab verbose and quiet fidgeting and lethargic All you with large vision and tender hearts All you with...
    Opening | By Ian W. Riddell | July 30, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Body, Hospitality, Humanism, Inclusion, Limitations, Unitarian Universalism
  • A happy border collie sits behind the last wooden pew in a sanctary full of people
    Come hoof and trunk and tail and horn and paw and wing and claw; Come bird and reptile, mammal born all full of nature’s law. Bring bark and crow and ribbit, too and silent stare and hiss; Bring purr and trill and warble, too and voice no ear can miss....
    Opening | By Ian W. Riddell | July 30, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Animal Blessing, Animals, Earth-Centered, Gratitude, Nature, Secular
  • Over an out-of-focus background of musicians on a chancel, a single hand is raised in praise, fingers spread
    Come, come, whoever you are. Do you hear that voice calling you, calling us? That voice which calls us together here today in this room made holy by our presence and by the sacred breath we share in our singing and speaking and silence....
    Invocation | By Ian W. Riddell | July 30, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Awe, Community, Connections, Direct Experience, Hospitality, Interdependence, Sacred, Unity, Wonder