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When I think of power, strength, sheer physical force, I think of an avalanche. Tons of thundering snow come falling down the side of a steep mountain with the speed and irresistable force of a locomotive or freight train. In an instant an avalanche can sweep away everything in its path. But...Homily | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 6th Principle (World Community), Christianity, Earth, Earth-Centered, Easter, Flower Communion, Nature, Sacrifice, Transcendence, Transformation
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Maybe prayer doesn’t mean talking to God at all. May it means just listening. Unplugging the TV, turning off the computer, Quieting the mental chatter and distractions. Maybe it means listening to the birds And the insects, the wind in the leaves, the creaking and groaning of the trees, noticing...Meditation | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Contemplation, Direct Experience, Listening, Prayer Practices
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On Easter Sunday, we remember the teachings of Jesus as we celebrate the miracle of life, which is also closely related to the mystery of death. Jesus, for example, spoke of a seed. Unless it falls to the earth and is buried, it remains just a seed. But by going down, down beneath the ground, it...Homily | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Change, Christianity, Death, Easter, Faith, Growth, Transformation
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Asked if he was lonesome in his hut on Walden Pond, our neighbor Henry Thoreau famously replied, “How could I be lonely? Don’t I live in the Milky Way?” Thoreau doubtless would have been encouraged by the recent discovery of Kepler-22, a planet just 600 light years from earth right in the...Reading | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Advent, Awe, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Direct Experience, Science, Wonder
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Is the world getting more connected or more fragmented? Facebook, in conjunction with the University of Milan, recently announced that there were only 4.74 "degrees of separation" among its 700 million users (representing 10% of the world's population). That contrasts with the famous six degrees...Homily | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Community, Friendship, Homecoming / Ingathering, Interdependence, Solidarity
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We gather on this beautiful morning, the anniversary of a day painful to remember but impossible to forget ... We remember all the heroes and heroines of that day, the firefighters and emergency responders who demonstrated such courage in the midst of crisis....Meditation | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 6th Principle (World Community), America, Democracy, Nonviolence, Peace
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Gracious Spirit, Who makes the first to be last and the last to be first, Who makes the rain to fall and the sun to shine upon all, Help us to understand that life is not an contest Where having the most toys is the point of the game, To realize that the victor’s circle can be the loneliest spot...Prayer | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Acceptance, Dignity, Grace, Humility, Self-Respect
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Children widen the circle of our being in ways that are limitless. Every baby that’s born connects us to our history, our own parents, grandparents and unknown forbears who brought new life to the world in each successive generation. Every baby that’s born links us to the future, to a world yet...Meditation | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Birth, Child Dedication, Children, Children's / Religious Education Sunday, Children's Sabbath, Family, Fathers, Generations, Love, Mothers, Parents -
We draw from many wells, From oceans and rivers, From lakes and streams, From the muddy Mississippi to the roaring Rio Grande, From faraway places and from the ponds and puddles in our own backyards....Ritual | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Buddhism, Christianity, Community, Diversity, Hinduism, Humanism, Inclusion, Taoism, Unity, Water Communion
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We give thanks for love, Agape and Eros, Chocolates and pillow talk, And all of cupid’s arrows. For unrequited yearning And the grand passion burning, For quiet appreciation And platonic contemplation. For lovers, too, we offer thanks: Those gay and straight, near and dear, Gender metamorphic or...Meditation | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Intimacy, Love, Sexuality, Valentine's Day -
When used as a responsive reading, "We are waiting" is the congregational response. This is the season of anticipation, Of expecting, of hoping, of wanting. This is the time of expecting the arrival of something--or someone. We are waiting. This is the time of living in darkness, in the hues of...Responsive Reading | By Leslie Takahashi | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Advent, Balance, Calling, Christianity, Contemplation, Hope, Unitarian Universalism, Vision -
A tale of salvation, ecology, and sharing. Characters Narrator Noelle Voice in a dream Noelle’s sisters Jane, Rain, and Elaine Friendly farmer(s) Ship builder(s) Numerous animals: dogs, cats, mice, cows, horses, frogs, etc. Act 1 (Noelle at center stage, sitting, covered in blanket and appearing...Story | By Christian Schmidt | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Activism, Children's Sabbath, Christianity, Direct Experience, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Environment, God, Interdependence, Justice Sunday, Service, Water Communion
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We ask blessings on this, our church home. May this building be a tool to continue the good work of our helping hands, our loving hearts, and open minds. May this home be safe harbor for all who sail upon the sea of Life, and a beacon of hope to those on rough waters....Blessing | By Jennifer Stokes | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Building/Space Dedication, Commitment, Community, Empathy, Generosity, Gratitude, Home, Responsibility, Reverence, Stewardship, Vision, WorshipWeb
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"Why a flaming chalice?” the question comes. It’s the cup of life, we answer. A cup of blessings overflowing. A cup of water to quench our spirits’ thirst. A cup of wine for celebration and dedication. The flame of truth. The fire of purification. Oil for anointing, healing. Out of chaos,...Chalice Lighting | By Lisa Doege | January 22, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anger, Anti-Oppression, Beliefs & Principles, Brokenness, Courage, Disaster or Crisis, Healing, Oppression, Solidarity, Sorrow, Tradition, Truth -
Shall we pray? Too often, God, we have ignored you. We have lived as though you didn't matter. We have denied the new life that you would have us embrace; we have perpetuated that which depletes life. Forgive us for hesitating when we knew action was the needed response. Forgive us also for...Prayer | By Amy McKenzie | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Balance, Connections, Fear, Forgiveness, God, Hope, Letting Go
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Welcome to this common, sacred space. Common, because we are all welcome. Sacred, because here we transform the ordinary and attend to the profound. We carry with us our regrets, doubts, fears, stories, laughter; may they inspire our worship....Opening | By Amy McKenzie | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Doubt, Fear, Sacred, Searching, Unitarian Universalism, Unity
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When we say, "Go now in peace," we mean the peace that asks us to stop grasping after power over and the peace that demands that we live fully, that we love with a fierce love, that we hope with a bold hope, that we pray and sing and struggle....Closing | By Amy McKenzie | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Peace
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We are people of all ages who enter this space bringing our joys and our concerns. We come together in hope. We greet each other warmly with our voices and our smiles. We come together in peace. We light the chalice to symbolize our interdependence and our unity. We come together in harmony. We...Opening | By Carol Meyer | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Community, Hope, Purpose, Searching, Unitarian Universalism, Unity, Wonder
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We are here that we might have life and have it more abundantly, so that we might share it with others. Come, let us join together as a generous people.Opening | By John C Morgan | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Joy
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We are called to gather in worship as a beloved community. We are called to set aside distractions and anxieties, that we might touch deeper springs and be renewed. We are called to seek and to share comfort for the hurts that afflict....Opening | By Kirk D Loadman-Copeland | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Mindfulness
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Water! Earth! Air! Fire!...Opening | By Peter S. Raible | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Earth Day, Paganism
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We gather in community to rest from our labors, to greet our neighbors, and to open our being to insight and intuition of that greater reality of which we are a part. May we find in our time together inspiration and renewal....Opening | By Paul H L'Herrou | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Community, Friendship, Purpose, Sacred, Searching, Unitarian Universalism
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We gather here to worship: to seek the truth, to grow in love, to join in service; to celebrate life's beauty and find healing for its pain; to honor our kinship with each other and with the earth; to create a more compassionate world, beginning with ourselves; to wonder at the mystery that gave ...Opening | By Gary Kowalski | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Beauty, Courage, Earth, Healing, Listening, Mystery, Searching, Unitarian Universalism, Wisdom
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(This was written for the opening worship at a district board retreat....Opening | By Gina Whitaker | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Business Meetings, Leadership, Purpose, Responsibility, Service, Teamwork, Vision, Work
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We come together today in praise and thanksgivingfor the gift of life itself.Someone gave birth to us and some of us havegiven birth.All of us have been mothered in our time,All of us have mothered.Let our time today be one of recognition-- That we arrive from so many places,Joy and...Opening | By Mary J Harrington | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Mother's Day
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Spirit of life, be present with us this hour. Join us today as we gather in a wider search for truth and purpose. In this quest, may we greet one another with open hearts and minds; may we inspire each other to consider new questions and seek deeper meaning; and may we cultivate wisdom and...Opening | By Kathy A Huff | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Hospitality
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Here in this sanctuary of ancient dreams and wisdom and beauty we come to grow, to be healed, to stretch mind and heart, to be challenged, renewed; to be helped in our own continuing struggles for meaning and for love; to help build a world with more justice and mercy in it; to be counted among t...Opening | By Jack Mendelsohn | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 6th Principle (World Community), Justice, Work
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From the power of our memory and history, With high hopes for the days that lie ahead, We gather to craft the destiny we share with one another. We gather with faith in the practice of democracy. We gather with hearts and minds open To the wisdom in every voice among us. In our gathering, May we...Opening | By Heather K Janules | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), Work
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For our community gathered here, for the spirit that called us together and drew us to this place: We give thanks this day....Opening | By Jane E Mauldin | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Gratitude
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Everything begins on the verge of awareness. The dawn is not and then is. Sleep is and then is not. In between is the awakening. The passage of thin light, between, breaks open the day. The passage of thin sound, between, flows into the day. Too soon the numbing rumble of traffic swells, the day...Opening | By George Kimmich Beach | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Balance, Change
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Enter with me the sacred space. Bring with you what is yours— a burdened heart, a joyous song, a wearied spirit, a seeking mind. Bring the gift of yourself to the altar. It is an honorable gift.Opening | By Amarette Callaway | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Sacred, Searching, Wholeness
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We have reached the end of this time For the gathering of memory And for letting the imagination play with future possibilities. We have enjoyed magic moments and edified each other. Shall it be concluded, then? Or will this adventure, now commenced, continue?— Our separate paths converging,...Closing | By Michael A Schuler | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Beginnings, Ending, Imagination, Searching
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We receive fragments of holiness, glimpses of eternity, brief moments of insight. Let us gather them up for the precious gifts that they are, and, renewed by their grace, move boldly into the unknown.Closing | By Sarah York | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Grace, Gratitude, Purpose
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We shall overcome. When we can truly celebrate the diversity of contributions and talents offered by all people, we shall overcome hatred and prejudice and oppression. When we can truly extend our hands to one another in loving acceptance, we shall overcome the past that haunts us now. Living in...Benediction | By Jonalu Johnstone | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Change, Commitment, Juneteenth, Justice, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity
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We walk this earth but a brief moment in time. Amid our suffering and pain, however great or small, let us continue to learn how to celebrate life. Let us continue to grow in our capacity to love ourselves and each other. And let us continue to move toward the goal of a just world community....Closing | By Tim Haley | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Brokenness, Hope
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When all is quiet and we are small and the night is dark, may we hear the tender breathing of all who lie awake with us in fear, that together we may gather strength to live with love, and kindness, and confidence.Closing | By Jane Rzepka | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Compassion, Empathy, Fear
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Who could do better than to be a singer on the high wind-swept hills of life, bringing songs to the soul, songs full of loveliness and hope for all people.Closing | By David A Johnson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Hope, Joy, Wonder
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The Quakers speak not of a "worship service" but of their Meeting -- hence this benediction: With faith in the creative powers of life, With hope for the future of life in this world, With love for all others who share this life with us, Let us go forward together in peace. Our meeting has ended;...Closing | By Lindsay Bates | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Service
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Worship need not cease. It can echo in our lives, in our words, in our deeds, in our moods, in our dreams. Carry worship with you wherever you may go. Be a blessing in your going out and your coming in.Closing | By Gordon B McKeeman | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Sacred
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Spirit of life, come to us to break down barriers; to widen horizons; to make us less judgmental. Help us to see the larger picture and the kinder conclusion; to love and let live; to embrace and forgive; to sustain and care....Opening | By Rhys Williams | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Peace
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To this house we come bringing our boldest dreams—seeking here the inspiration and strength to make them be! To this house we come hoping to bury broken dreams, to be sustained through their pain and to discover new ones amidst their tears. We come here lonely, isolated from meaningful human...Opening | By Lawrence E McGinty | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Community, Connections, Purpose, Searching, Trust, Unitarian Universalism, Unity
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There are some heights to which we have not risen, and never will; there are some depths to which we have not fallen, and never will, we pray. Somewhere between there are places where we can reach up and reach out for the strength we need for our journey. This is such a place. Thus we pause for...Opening | By Paul H Bicknell | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Balance, Direct Experience, Gratitude
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We have come together to share our deepest concerns, speaking and singing words of inspiration and hope. We have committed ourselves to do what we can to ease the burdens of those who suffer, to stand for decency and compassion....Closing | By Robert F Kaufmann | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Anti-Oppression, Integrity, Living Our Faith, Unitarian Universalism, Anti-Oppression
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We have gathered here today to feel the truth in the depth of our being and to think on all that is most righteous and holy. Let us go forth to act in concert with those thoughts and feelings. Blessed be.Closing | By Carol Ann Huston | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Reverence
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When my mind is still and alone with the beating of my heart, I remember many things too easily forgotten: the purity of early love; the maturity of unselfish love that seeks nothing but another's good; the idealism that has persisted through all the tempest of life.Meditation | By Paul H Beattie | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Peace, Solitude, Spiritual Practice
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When I was a child, the day after Thanksgiving was steeped in ritual. Every year my family would travel to Chicago for the holiday festivities. Our tour was always the same: We'd tromp up and down Michigan Ave., admiring store windows with animated mechanical dolls that served as actors for the...Meditation | By Kaaren Solveig Anderson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christmas Eve / Christmas, Generosity, Humility, Service
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O Deep Mystery of our lives -- voice in our hearts and light in our minds -- in the joyful freedom of our fellowship, we are here together as adventurers called forth in spirit, men and women moving, yearning, questing, pushing the limits of our lives outwards to what is more loving and just, mor...Meditation | By Sheldon W Bennett | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Community, Unitarian Universalism
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After the words, a quiet; after the songs, a silence; after the crowd only the memory recalls the gathering. Peace and justice have need of you after the words, the music, and the gathering. God grant you the depth for dedication to justice. God grant you the will to be an apostle of peace. Amen.Closing | By Max A Coots | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Commitment, Justice, Peace, Power, Purpose, Responsibility, Service, Unitarian Universalism
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Let us join in a moment dedicated to that quiet power within us. It is within that we find the will to face the world; it is within that we find the love to embrace the world; it is within that we find our personal identity and know the world. Yet, within us is also a great void....Meditation | By Jay E Abernathy, Jr | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Individualism
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Prayer - Wayne Arnason O God, whom we know as love, we gather here this morning as seekers and finders, creators and destroyers, givers and receivers of love....Meditation | By Wayne B. Arnason | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: God, Love