With humility and courage born of our history, we are called as Unitarian Universalists to build the Beloved Community where all souls are welcome as blessings, and the human family lives whole and reconciled. With this vision in our hearts and minds, we light our chalice. —“A vision for...

Once upon a time there was a girl named Wendy. She loved grass. What can I say? She loved grass—she loved the feel of it between her toes; she loved the smell of it when it was freshly mown; she loved its bright green color. Wendy loved grass more than just about anything. One day her family...

Our time together is finished, but our work is not yet done: May our spirits be renewed and our purpose resolved As we meet the challenges of the week to come. The chalice flame is extinguished Until once again ignited by the strength of our communion. Go now in peace.

If you are who you were, and if the person next to you is who he or she was, if none of us has changed since the day we came in here— we have failed. The purpose of this community— of any church, temple, zendo, mosque— is to help its people grow. We do this through encounters with the...

Into our world we commend our spirits: May the strength we have gained in this communal hour sustain us as we resume the work that is at hand. Source: Association Sunday 2009...

Father, Mother God, here we are together—rich and poor; educated and not so well educated; gay and straight; democrats and republicans; some of us with light skin, some of us with darker; some of us walking, some of us unable to walk: none of us as whole as we would like to be—help us to know...

Let us join in the spirit of prayer and meditation. We are each different. Some of us are bigger and others are smaller. Some of us are taller and others are shorter. Our hair is different colors and our eyes are different shapes....

We who are here assembled Have made a conscious choice: We live intentionally. May we keenly attend to the silent, pulsing needs Here present at this altar, Made sacred by the power of our communion.

Come into this circle of love and justice, Come into this community where we can dream and Believe in those dreams— Come into this holy space where we remember who we are And how we want to live. Come now, and let us worship together!

In this hour may we be open To a rededication of treasured friendships, a renewal of spirit; May we relinquish the worries and anxieties of the past week, if just for this hour, and regain our strength Through this community of faith.

We come together this morning because within us there is something that knows we need more than we can find in our aloneness. We know—instinctively, in the depths of ourselves—that we need others for this journey of life even though we also guard our independence and individuality quite...

We unite in our differences in background and belief; We unite—with gratitude and hope: Hope for a world of differences; Hope for a world that honors difference; We unite in community With gratitude for difference. Source: Association Sunday 2009...

We light this chalice to find inner peace, love for each other, and faith in ourselves. Also, to be welcoming to whomever we meet and kind to all living creatures. So gather around this light of hope as we share this time together.

Someone told me once that Einstein thought time is a variable. That is to say that time is not a constant. Are you following this? I think Einstein was right. When I was a child, a year was a YEAR! Now a year is a week....

Note: Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) 2016 begins in the evening of Wednesday, May 4 and ends in the evening of Thursday, May 5. This week holds the annual observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Yom Hashoah. Jewish communities prefer not to call the dreadful events of the 1930's and...

Bob and Addie Polk had moved into the neighborhood in 1970, when the little houses were relatively new, and through the years they had been friendly with the neighbors. After her husband died, Addie kept more to herself, increasingly limited by declining health in older age....

A knock at the door, late morning. The dog makes a racket, but the two stand their ground. They are on God's business. I know before I open the door what they have to say—that God is the answer. I pull the door open, try to be pleasant, (but, please, don't talk too long). Two women, earnest,...

My dad died 28 years ago. I still have some of his things: A red plaid Pendleton bath robe. (I look like Dad in that thing now.) An old Sears table saw bought used in 1950. I still use it, (but for rough cuts only). An old grinding wheel, noisy as sin, but sharpens mower blades in no time....

As years go by and passions cool, we make love in places that young lovers only dream about. We make love at the kitchen table, a Scrabble board the mattress and hints to help the other our passionate kisses. We make love in the car, thrilling to beautiful scenery or a rarely seen wild animal. We...

If I should die, (and I will some day), I won't be far away. You will see me. When the big golden retriever ambles in and lies down under the kitchen table, he's lying at my feet. I'm in the chair....