Spirit of Life and Love, each of us is called into the fellowship of this beloved community. As members, friends, staff, clergy and former clergy, we are called to treasure each other, to be thankful for each other in the name of the love that holds us all, that larger love that is beyond our understanding.

We give thanks for the time that Rev. [name] served as our Lead Minister and give thanks to the staff and lay leaders who served with them. Together, you were faithful to the good news that we are all worthy of love, respect, and dignity and are accepted for who we are and what we can bring to this precious life that we share.

[If this prayer is being offered after a period of absence.]
We give thanks for the space that Rev. [name] offered this congregation over the past [number] years, during which we renewed our sense of calling and vision for who we want and need to be for ourselves, for this community and beyond it, and for the earth.

May we continue to be guided by the spirit of love that holds us in its interdependent embrace.

May the boldness of the Spirit transform us;
May the gentleness of the Spirit lead us;
May the gifts of the Spirit equip us to live truthfully, faithfully and lovingly from this day forward.

This we pray, amen and blessed be.

Editor’s Note: We invite UUs to learn about the institutions, including WorshipWeb, that are shifting to the gender-neutral term Emerit.