Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a time when particular songs get sung; one of them is "Lift Every Voice and Sing." It gets sung in school, in church, and at various MLK day celebrations or over the course of Black History Month....
Reflection
| By
Aisha Ansano
|
February 27, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), America, Anti-Oppression, Arts & Music, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Direct Experience, History, Juneteenth, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Pain, Privilege, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity
No matter what tactics and methods racial justice activists use, the general response of society will be a collective head-shaking and tsk-tsk-ing — because what people are actually complaining about are not the specific tactics that are being used in the struggle for racial justice, but that the...
Reading
| By
Aisha Ansano
|
February 27, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a radical. He was called “the most dangerous man in America” by the FBI and had a 17,000 page FBI file at the time of his death. It wasn’t just KKK members or those in positions of power who disagreed with him or hated him. As Cornel West explains in...
Reading
| By
Aisha Ansano
|
February 27, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
Tagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, America, Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Direct Experience, History, Humanism, Justice, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Multiculturalism, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity
Here is where we gather in the presence of the Sacred. Here is where we gather to experience the Holy Here is where, together, we face the unanswerable questions and acknowledge that not knowing is as sublime as it is frustrating....
Opening
| By
Patricia Shelden
|
February 27, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
Blessed are we who gather with open hearts, together, in this space, today. Blessed are we: the chalice-lighters of resistance, justice, love, and faith. Blessed are we: the heretics, the outcasts, the walkers of our own way. Blessed are we: the border-crossers, the refugees, the immigrants, the...
Blessing
| By
Andrea Hawkins-Kamper
|
February 27, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
Prop needed: An oversized pendulum. If this is hard to imagine, wrap yarn around a kickball sized ball and attach it to a long rod. Any weight suspended on a string from a stationary object can be a pendulum. Today, I want to talk to you about SCIENCE! Who here loves science?...
Time for All Ages
| By
Tim Atkins
|
February 26, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
With whom do you believe your lot is cast? From where does your strength come? —Adrienne Rich Ethical question (although this really happened): You are in a local grocery store. An elderly, poorly-dressed white lady is pushing a cart, moving with obvious difficulty as she adds to her hoard first...
Reflection
| By
Maureen Killoran
|
February 15, 2017
| From
Braver/Wiser
"What we need is here" is a perfect, simple song by Episcopalian priest Rev. Amy McCreath. Its five words are the closing sentence of a Wendell Berry poem, "The Wild Geese," which inspired Amy to write this tune....
Music
| By
Amy McCreath
|
February 13, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
Tagged as: Arts & Music, Community, Direct Experience, Faith, Humanism, Living Our Faith, Power, Presence, Purpose, Self-Respect, Solidarity, Unity
“Everything around us and within us is made up of energy particles that are woven together into a universal tapestry. Since everything is connected, there is an intimate relationship between the atomic space around and within me, and the atomic space around and within you — regardless of where...
Leader Resource
| By
Erika Hewitt
|
February 9, 2017
| From
WorshipLab
Your gifts—whatever you discover them to be— can be used to bless or curse the world. The mind's power, the strength of the hands, the reaches of the heart, the gift of speaking, listening, imagining, seeing, waiting Any of these can serve to feed the hungry, bind up wounds, welcome the...
Blessing
| By
Rebecca Ann Parker
|
February 9, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
Over my head, I hear music in the air; over my head, I hear music in the air; over my head, I hear music in the air; there must be a God somewhere. —from "Over My Head," an African American Spiritual When you grow up in New York City, as I did, you'll learn one cardinal rule: to never look up.
Reflection
| By
Daniel Gregoire
|
February 8, 2017
| From
Braver/Wiser
No matter how weak or how frightened we may feel, we each have gifts that can make a difference in the world. In this coming week, may you do at least one thing to support the broken; to welcome the stranger; to celebrate what is worthy; to do the work of justice and love. Be strong. Be connected.
Benediction
| By
Maureen Killoran
|
February 7, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
The road that lies ahead of us is a long one, and the pace of progress will sometimes feel glacially slow. Never forget that glaciers over time can carve out grand canyons and great lakes. Moving tectonic plates can rise up mountains over millennia, or they can explode awe-inspiring volcanoes in...
Affirmation
| By
Israel Buffardi
|
February 7, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
These are anxious days. Hair-pulling, hand-wringing days. We are bombarded from all sides with new and unprecedented developments. Grave threats to our national values and institutions on one hand, and countless calls to action on the other... and then the flood of critique and analysis. Whose...
Meditation
| By
Jennifer Johnson
|
February 7, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
Out of the darkness, light. Out of the light, warmth. Out of the warmth, joy. Out of the joy, togetherness. May this flame hold us for the time we are here with one another.
Chalice Lighting
| By
Ben Soule
|
February 7, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
Now has come hard winter, With whip of wind and slash of snow and the diamond-bright stars in the black ice of the heavens. Just as we resist the season with shovel and scraper, wool and windbreaker, we embrace it with sled and snowboard, cocoa and comforter. Winter is here: let us find warmth in...
Opening
| By
Ben Soule
|
February 7, 2017
| From
WorshipWeb
It's in one tiny moment in time / for life to shine to shine Burn away the darkness You've got one tiny moment in time / for life to shine to shine To burn away the darkness I will be light. — “I Will Be Light” by Matisyahu About six months ago, I got a new tattoo. It’s a lit match on my...
Reflection
| By
Sean Parker Dennison
|
February 1, 2017
| From
Braver/Wiser
Tagged as: Activism, Anger, Anti-Oppression, Arts & Music, Despair, Direct Experience, Humanism, Identity, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Secular
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WorshipWeb’s Origin Story
Conceived in 1999, WorshipWeb was implemented in late 2000 and 2001 through funding from the Unitarian Universalist Association’s successful 1997 “Handing on the Future” capital fund campaign.
We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association and its members in the development of WorshipWeb.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a time when particular songs get sung; one of them is "Lift Every Voice and Sing." It gets sung in school, in church, and at various MLK day celebrations or over the course of Black History Month....Reflection | By Aisha Ansano | February 27, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), America, Anti-Oppression, Arts & Music, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Direct Experience, History, Juneteenth, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Pain, Privilege, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity
No matter what tactics and methods racial justice activists use, the general response of society will be a collective head-shaking and tsk-tsk-ing — because what people are actually complaining about are not the specific tactics that are being used in the struggle for racial justice, but that the...Reading | By Aisha Ansano | February 27, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, Anger, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Equity, Humanism, Justice, Multiculturalism, Oppression, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Solidarity
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a radical. He was called “the most dangerous man in America” by the FBI and had a 17,000 page FBI file at the time of his death. It wasn’t just KKK members or those in positions of power who disagreed with him or hated him. As Cornel West explains in...Reading | By Aisha Ansano | February 27, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, America, Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Direct Experience, History, Humanism, Justice, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Multiculturalism, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity
Here is where we gather in the presence of the Sacred. Here is where we gather to experience the Holy Here is where, together, we face the unanswerable questions and acknowledge that not knowing is as sublime as it is frustrating....Opening | By Patricia Shelden | February 27, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Community, Direct Experience, Diversity, Sacred, Unitarian Universalism, Unity
Blessed are we who gather with open hearts, together, in this space, today. Blessed are we: the chalice-lighters of resistance, justice, love, and faith. Blessed are we: the heretics, the outcasts, the walkers of our own way. Blessed are we: the border-crossers, the refugees, the immigrants, the...Blessing | By Andrea Hawkins-Kamper | February 27, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Anti-Oppression, Community, Covenant, Direct Experience, Humanism, Inclusion, Multiculturalism, Relationships, Seven Principles, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism
The blasphemy of body hatred has no place in this temple.Poetry | By Misha Sanders | February 27, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Beauty, Body, Dignity, Direct Experience, Diversity, Fat Liberation, Humanism, Inclusion, Secular, Self-Respect, Women, Worth
Prop needed: An oversized pendulum. If this is hard to imagine, wrap yarn around a kickball sized ball and attach it to a long rod. Any weight suspended on a string from a stationary object can be a pendulum. Today, I want to talk to you about SCIENCE! Who here loves science?...Time for All Ages | By Tim Atkins | February 26, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Atheism, Balance, Humanism, Science, Secular, Self-Care
I've come to view playing—intentionally seeking joy—as a means of radical resistance.Reflection | By Marisol Caballero | February 22, 2017 | From Braver/Wiser
With whom do you believe your lot is cast? From where does your strength come? —Adrienne Rich Ethical question (although this really happened): You are in a local grocery store. An elderly, poorly-dressed white lady is pushing a cart, moving with obvious difficulty as she adds to her hoard first...Reflection | By Maureen Killoran | February 15, 2017 | From Braver/Wiser
"What we need is here" is a perfect, simple song by Episcopalian priest Rev. Amy McCreath. Its five words are the closing sentence of a Wendell Berry poem, "The Wild Geese," which inspired Amy to write this tune....Music | By Amy McCreath | February 13, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Arts & Music, Community, Direct Experience, Faith, Humanism, Living Our Faith, Power, Presence, Purpose, Self-Respect, Solidarity, Unity
“Everything around us and within us is made up of energy particles that are woven together into a universal tapestry. Since everything is connected, there is an intimate relationship between the atomic space around and within me, and the atomic space around and within you — regardless of where...Leader Resource | By Erika Hewitt | February 9, 2017 | From WorshipLabTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Contemplation, Direct Experience, Leadership, Secular, Silence
Your gifts—whatever you discover them to be— can be used to bless or curse the world. The mind's power, the strength of the hands, the reaches of the heart, the gift of speaking, listening, imagining, seeing, waiting Any of these can serve to feed the hungry, bind up wounds, welcome the...Blessing | By Rebecca Ann Parker | February 9, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Brokenness, Choice, Community, Humanism, Integrity, Living Our Faith, Love, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Sacred, Secular, Service, Seven Principles, Unitarian Universalism
Over my head, I hear music in the air; over my head, I hear music in the air; over my head, I hear music in the air; there must be a God somewhere. —from "Over My Head," an African American Spiritual When you grow up in New York City, as I did, you'll learn one cardinal rule: to never look up.Reflection | By Daniel Gregoire | February 8, 2017 | From Braver/Wiser
No matter how weak or how frightened we may feel, we each have gifts that can make a difference in the world. In this coming week, may you do at least one thing to support the broken; to welcome the stranger; to celebrate what is worthy; to do the work of justice and love. Be strong. Be connected.Benediction | By Maureen Killoran | February 7, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Calling, Caring, Challenge, Direct Experience, Hope, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Service, Unitarian Universalism
The road that lies ahead of us is a long one, and the pace of progress will sometimes feel glacially slow. Never forget that glaciers over time can carve out grand canyons and great lakes. Moving tectonic plates can rise up mountains over millennia, or they can explode awe-inspiring volcanoes in...Affirmation | By Israel Buffardi | February 7, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, Agnosticism, Anti-Oppression, Commitment, Earth-Centered, Hope, Humanism, Patience, Progress, Secular
These are anxious days. Hair-pulling, hand-wringing days. We are bombarded from all sides with new and unprecedented developments. Grave threats to our national values and institutions on one hand, and countless calls to action on the other... and then the flood of critique and analysis. Whose...Meditation | By Jennifer Johnson | February 7, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Activism, Balance, Challenge, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Grace, Secular, Self-Care, Winter
Now has come hard winter, With whip of wind and slash of snow and the diamond-bright stars in the black ice of the heavens. Just as we resist the season with shovel and scraper, wool and windbreaker, we embrace it with sled and snowboard, cocoa and comforter. Winter is here: let us find warmth in...Opening | By Ben Soule | February 7, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Balance, Beauty, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Grace, Nature, Secular, Winter
It's in one tiny moment in time / for life to shine to shine Burn away the darkness You've got one tiny moment in time / for life to shine to shine To burn away the darkness I will be light. — “I Will Be Light” by Matisyahu About six months ago, I got a new tattoo. It’s a lit match on my...Reflection | By Sean Parker Dennison | February 1, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Activism, Anger, Anti-Oppression, Arts & Music, Despair, Direct Experience, Humanism, Identity, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Secular
How does it happen? this transformation....Opening | By Everett Howe | February 1, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Business Meetings, Community, Direct Experience, Humanism, Inclusion, Interdependence, Sacred, Unitarian Universalism, Unity