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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

Displaying 101 – 120 of 527

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  • Two pairs of hands hold a map and a compass, as if to get bearings mid-journey.
    Set your compass to point towards hope and begin your journey home.
    Opening | By Lindasusan Ulrich | June 2, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Brokenness, Community, Healing, Wholeness
  • A wash of colored smoke, drifting in abstract patterns, colored blue and violet and pink.
    Here we gather to celebrate hope, and the infinite possibilities of love.
    Chalice Lighting | By Tom Goldsmith | April 28, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Freedom, Hope, Love, Purpose, Unitarian Universalism, Worship
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    We are all able In different ways With various strengths and talents. We are all holy Part of the universe And the interdependent web. We light this chalice Cherishing our differences And holding each other in sacredness.
    Chalice Lighting | By Cindy Fesgen | April 17, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Diversity, Inclusion, Worship
  • A red candle, lit and emanating a wisp of smoke, hovers in the dark. The lower half of a person's face is seen in the background.
    As we light this flame, we remember friends and loved ones near and far and we give thanks. As the fire burns brightly, we open our minds and hearts to new ways of being and we feel alive....
    Chalice Lighting | By Leia Durland-Jones | April 17, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Community, Hospitality, Inclusion, Love, Worship
  • Against a vibrant, deep red wall, a Black parent cradles and smiles down at a happy toddler.
    We cannot begin to find ourselves without love.
    Opening | By Elizabeth Barish Browne | April 12, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Body, Children, Connections, Father's Day, Humanism, Interdependence, Love, Mother's Day, Parents, Relationships, Secular, Trust, Worship
  • A field of purple flowers, in Latvia, with small lights reflected on them.
    Easter is a holiday of miracles.
    Opening | By Peggy Clarke | March 31, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Belief, Christianity, Easter, Hope, Love, Nature, Worship
  • Four young adults, with their backs to the camera, wrap their arms around each other outdoors as bright sun shines around them.
    Unitarian Universalism has a place for you. It is right here.
    Chalice Lighting | By Tara Humphries | March 3, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Community, Inclusion, Worship, Young Adults, Youth/Teens
  • A view of the starry sky at night, straight up, through the silhouette of trees around the edges.
    Amidst the swirl of life's challenges, fears, and even moments of crisis, I make time to gaze at the night sky to see the vastness there, And to remember that this moment in time is but a flicker— Not an inconsequential flicker— For what I do and think now does matter. My work, though, is to let...
    Chalice Lighting | By Cindy Terlazzo | January 11, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Balance, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Integrity, Love, Wonder, Worship
  • Unitarian Universalist Association Chalice
    More than relic— Living symbol: Beacon to the bewildered illuminating refuge; Light of love calling to community; Signal of sacred mission. Shine now in the world, Set being ablaze, Kindle our courage, Ignite intuition. Spark our hearts to service. Glow hope.
    Chalice Lighting | By Mary Shelden | January 9, 2021 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Worship
  • A person in a gray shirt is doing a jigsaw puzzle, holding up a piece to someone else on a video call on a cell phone.
    It's okay to be feel weary of resiliency and wholeness and learning and growth.
    Opening | By Sharon Wylie | November 16, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #COVID19, Change, Community, Growth, Resilience, Self-Care, Wholeness, Worship
  • A bouquet of pink and white flowers rests on a wooden coffin, as seen from above.
    May today bring forth transformation in ourselves—from grief, healing; from memory, wholeness; and from celebration, love.
    Chalice Lighting | By Mira Mickiewicz | November 10, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Memorial Services, Remembrance Day, Worship
  • Protesters hold a Standing on the Side of Love banner outside the US Supreme Court
    To be a Unitarian Universalist means we’ll never be done with the work.
    Chalice Lighting | By Erika Hewitt | November 9, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Anti-Oppression, Community, Covenant, Identity, Living Our Faith, Purpose, Seven Principles, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism, Universalism
  • An abstract pattern of paint, with bright orange, dark blue, and white.
    It is now, when we are called to act on our values, not to hide, not to fear, but to be bold and loud.
    Opening | By Tania Y Márquez | October 19, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, Character, Courage, Direct Experience, Humanism, Justice, Living Our Faith, Responsibility, Secular, Worship
  • A lit candle in a jar, on the sill of an open window.
    We light this chalice to kindle a flame of warmth as a reminder of the connection that draws us in to a community that opens us up.
    Chalice Lighting | By Amy G. S. A. Brooks | October 14, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #COVID19, Autumnal Equinox, Winter Solstice / Yule, Worship
  • A woman and a small child wearing a kippah (yarmulke) kiss.
    May this chalice light guide us toward the courageous and openhearted apology, toward repair of relationships in our lives.
    Chalice Lighting | By Joanna Lubkin | October 1, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Forgiveness, Judaism, Relationships, Sacred, Worship, Yom Kippur
  • An apple, two pomegranates, and a small jar of honey with a label printed in Hebrew.
    We are held by the great Book of Life, in which it is written that we will inevitably face deprivation and discomfort. Each among us must contemplate our own place in it all.
    Opening | By Leah Ongiri | September 15, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Judaism, Rosh Hashanah, Worship, Yom Kippur
  • A crowd of people at the Lights for Liberty vigil in Pittsburgh
    We light this flame To ignite the sacred power of justice. We light this flame So that it may be a beacon of hope In moments of uncertainty, fear, anxiety, and the unknown....
    Chalice Lighting | By Jami Yandle | August 13, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Justice, Love, Power
  • A person wearing glasses, with curly hair tied back, sits in front of two computers with colorful images on their screens.
    Come. Gather. Not into a common space— sharing a physical closeness we long for, precluded by wise choice. But come, gather into this common time and a common space. We need to be together. We yearn for connection....
    Opening | By Jeff May | August 11, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #COVID19, Community, Relationships
  • A red candle glows, and the bottom half of a person's face is visible.
    The chalice, as a symbol of Unitarian Universalism, arose as a beacon of hope in an atmosphere of tyranny. The chalice arose as a sign of promise that the marginalized would neither be forgotten nor ignored, because they are beloved and precious from the perspective of the Holy. This morning, we...
    Chalice Lighting | By Erika Hewitt | August 5, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Anti-Oppression, Freedom, Generations, History, Hope, Oppression, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarianism, Wholeness
  • A mug of coffee, lit candle, and pair of glasses rests on a tray made of a slice of log.
    We light this chalice, symbol of our purpose to bring more love and justice into the world. We light this chalice, knowing our congregation as a church dispersed across communities, not bound by walls but connected through the web of life.
    Chalice Lighting | By Jennifer Gracen | June 21, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #COVID19, Connections, Unitarian Universalism