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The miracle of grace is available to us even when it has been left untended.Reflection | By Jennifer Hundley-Batts | May 3, 2023 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Abundance, Direct Experience, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Food, Grace, Nature, Patience, Stewardship, Summer Solstice, Worship -
Ramadan, never forgotten, entices me back to Love, and I am home once againPoetry | By Summer Albayati | April 10, 2023 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Faith, Food, Islam, Ramadan, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality, WorshipWeb, Worship -
We must unstick our minds if we want to bring change into the world.Reflection | By Tomo Hillbo | March 8, 2023 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Contemplation, Direct Experience, Food, Growth, Humility, International, Reason, Revelation, Worship -
Food carries the love, wisdom, and stories of survival of a people.Reflection | By Tania Márquez | February 8, 2023 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Family, Food, Generations, Identity, Worship -
Growing connects me to ancestors who had their hands in the dirt because it was keeping them alive.Reflection | By Melissa Jeter | May 25, 2022 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Abundance, Earth, Earth-Centered, Family, Food, Food Justice, Generations, Growth, Humanism, Nature, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Secular, Spiritual Practice, Worship -
For me, “surrendering everything tenderly” brings an awareness of grace.Reflection | By Jake Morrill | December 15, 2021 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Advent, Food, Grace, Patience, Worship -
When I internalize cultural messages about the definitions of success or failure—or anything, really—I undermine my own sense of self-worth.Reflection | By HP Rivers | April 3, 2019 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Children, Compassion, Family, Food, Forgiveness, Grace, Letting Go, Limitations, Mothers, Self-Respect -
Of all the gifts in all the world, for love we are grateful. Of all the gifts in all the world, for helping hands we are grateful. Of all the gifts in all the world, for food we are grateful. May we remember that the best gifts don't arrive wrapped in paper or bows....Affirmation | By Amy Kindred | December 5, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Direct Experience, Family, Food, Gratitude, Presence, Table Grace -
Set up for this ritual: It's especially meaningful to have a congregant bake bread for communion. (If that’s not possible, store bought bread will do.) Cut the bread into cubes and place in baskets lined with napkins. Have a basket of gluten-free crackers available as well. To hold the juice, one...Ritual | By Sheri Prud’homme | October 22, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Body, Brokenness, Christianity, Food, Grief, Healing, Spiritual Practice, Thanksgiving, Transformation, Wholeness -
“There’s a hunger beyond food that’s expressed in food, and that’s why feeding is always a kind of miracle. It speaks to a bigger desire.” Note: one version of this quote, quasi-attributed, appears in Take This Bread (p. 23) by Sara Miles.Quote | By William E. Swing | June 1, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Abundance, Body, Communion (Christian), Direct Experience, Food, Food Justice, Generosity, Hospitality, Humanism, Searching, Secular, Stewardship, Table Grace, Thanksgiving -
Image | By Tim Atkins, Jessica Ferguson | February 9, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Food, Love, Playfulness, Valentine's Day -
Our souls and minds need sustenance as much as our physical bodies. May we delight in the ways we find to provide this nourishment to our whole selves.Reflection | By Aisha Ansano | July 26, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Body, Compromise, Direct Experience, Family, Food, Humanism, Peace, Secular, Self-Care -
This hands-on ritual could be used to celebrate Earth Day, a Solstice, or an Equinox. Before the service begins, set up a table or two (or more) with several stations for people to plant seeds....Ritual | By Diana Smith | July 4, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Abundance, Autumnal Equinox, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Food, Nature, Summer Solstice, Vernal Equinox, Water Communion -
Light We Seek, wherever I am on the journey toward wholeness for all of us—that is, toward racial equality—help me to forgive myself and others for missteps and missed opportunities, and guide my efforts to build up the relationships where love, justice, and understanding grow.Reflection | By Teresa Honey Youngblood | June 21, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Abundance, Direct Experience, Earth, Food, Food Justice, Generosity, Humanism, Nature, Race/Ethnicity, Stewardship, Work -
Dearly beloved, the story is told that a man named Jesus dined nearly two thousand years ago among his disciples on the eve of his arrest and crucifixion. Some say that Jesus took bread, spoke of it as his body, broke it into pieces and passed it among them to eat....Blessing | By Barnaby Feder | December 8, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Christianity, Communion (Christian), Community, Earth, Faith, Food, Generosity, God, Gratitude, Hospitality, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality -
May you never thirst. May your body and your spirit always have what they need. When you are in need of refreshment, or new life, may the waters be available to you. May you never know thirst unto death, in your body or in your soul. May you never thirst. And may your body and your spirit always...Blessing | By Erica Baron | October 13, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Autumnal Equinox, Balance, Body, Connections, Earth-Centered, Food, Growth, Journey, Justice, Life Transition, Searching, Self-Care, Spirituality -
I understand participation in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) as a spiritual practice or discipline. While the word discipline may want to make us run and hide, a spiritual practice or discipline is meant to help us find our center. Approaching my participation in the CSA as a spiritual...Reading | By Nicole Janelle | July 10, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Community, Contemplation, Direct Experience, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Family, Food, Food Justice, Gratitude, Nature, Spiritual Practice, Summer Solstice, Table Grace, Wonder -
We are hungry We are eating our daily bread and bowing our heads and yet we are hungry We are thanking the farmer and the farm worker and yet we are hungry We are speaking in spaces for food that is healthy and still we are hungry We are tiring of slogans that say Feed the Children and mean feed ...Meditation | By Debra Smith | February 11, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Christianity, Communion (Christian), Democracy, Direct Experience, Food, Food Justice, Generosity, Human Rights, Humanism, Justice, Justice Sunday, Poverty, Prayer Practices, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Spiritual Practice, Table Grace, Thanksgiving, Transcendence, Transformation, WorshipWeb -
This script is intended to take place over the arc of a worship service or children's chapel. People Needed: Narrator (can be Worship Leader) and Five Villagers....Script | By Tiffany Sapp | January 11, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), Abundance, Community, Food, Generosity, Gratitude, Stewardship, Thanksgiving, Unity, WorshipWeb -
Introduction The Cornbread and Cider Communion is a tradition in some of our congregations. With gratitude for our freedom and for our abundance, let us celebrate this ritual today mindful of Syrian and other refugees who are unable to go home, those for whom we pray safe passage and a welcoming...Ritual | By Dawn Skjei Cooley | November 24, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: America, Body, Communion (Christian), Food, Gratitude, Immigration, Interdependence, International, Solidarity, Thanksgiving, Unitarian Universalism -
What does “fair” mean? Is “fair” the same thing as “equal”? Which one is reflected in the concept of “justice”? Designed to be used as a Message for All Ages or as part of a Children's Chapel service, this activity uses cookies (yum!) to explore the differences between fair and...Activity | By Erika Hewitt | August 3, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Children's Sabbath, Direct Experience, Equity, Food, Justice, Playfulness, Power, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships, Seven Principles -
I’m curious to know what you believe… about what is the best...food. Think about that for a moment. And if you’re wondering what I mean exactly, I leave it to each of you to interpret as you choose. What do you believe is the best food? [Allow a few moments for reflection.] And when you have...Time for All Ages | By Martha Dallas | May 28, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Authority, Choice, Direct Experience, Food, Freedom, Meaning, Responsibility, Searching, Unitarian Universalism -
In one church it was meals, prepared and frozen to be shared with those in need. Food was handed out at the door, or taken to where it was needed. In another church it was casseroles, brought to families whose strength was consumed by illness or disaster....Meditation | By Mary Wellemeyer | May 13, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Activism, Caring, Community, Food, Food Justice, Generosity, Service -
This was created as a Message for All Ages for a service honoring Yom Ha’Shoah, the Jewish holiday for Holocaust Remembrance. In 2016, Yom Ha'Shoah begins on the evening of Wednesday, May 4th and ends on the evening of Thursday, May 5th. Once there was a place that was very bleak and dreary. All...Time for All Ages | By Martha Dallas | May 12, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Beauty, Connections, Direct Experience, Food, Generosity, History, Holocaust Remembrance / Yom Ha'Shoah, Hope, Judaism, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Secular, WorshipWeb -
When I begin to bless this food and close my eyes I lose myself first just in green: how do leaves grow themselves this green and how do they grow at all to be so large and how do they make themselves from soil which in itself is only brown and sunlight helps and water but how is the end of this,...Meditation | By Nancy Shaffer | April 18, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Awe, Body, Direct Experience, Earth, Food, Grace, Gratitude, Table Grace, Wonder
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The day after the seder, reality shoves back in like a football player with lowered shoulder. Dishes to wash: the browned kugel pan, chopping knives, the eggbeater that whipped the whites for Eppie’s matzah balls, the gravy boats that held haroset, the glass bowls encrusted with salt. All day...Poetry | By Rabbi Rachel Barenblat | March 24, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Food, Judaism, Passover (Pesach), Prophetic Words & Deeds, Spiritual Practice, Tradition -
Breakfast on kosher macaroons and Diet Pepsi in the car on the way to Price Chopper for lamb. Peel five pounds of onions and let the Cuisinart shred them while you push them down and weep....Poetry | By Rabbi Rachel Barenblat | March 24, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Direct Experience, Food, Freedom, Generations, Judaism, Passover (Pesach), Prophetic Words & Deeds, Spirituality, Tradition
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We thank you God for potlucks Where a multitude can cook With ingredients and spices That aren’t from just one book. From casseroles and dumplings, Hors d’oeurves and canapés, Puddings, sauces, pastas, To sensational flambés. How boring when there’s just one dish Or flavor to fit all. How...Meditation | By Gary Kowalski | February 19, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Abundance, Community, Diversity, Food, Friendship, Gratitude, Table Grace, Unitarian Universalism
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Let us join hands and hearts in gratitude on this wondrous day, where we have the abundance of our lives before us. We remember, on this day of bounty, all those who do not have enough, who are afraid, who are lonely, and who suffer....Meditation | By Naomi King | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Abundance, Commitment, Compassion, Connections, Fall, Food, Generosity, Gratitude, Poverty, Secular, Spirituality, Thanksgiving, Unitarian Universalism -
Overview: Harvest, Balance, and Mulching for Spring Theme or Background: Equinox/Harvest Time Materials involved: Apples for folks to share, paper leaf cutouts, pens, bowl of water, bell or gong Details: Opening Words: Robert T....Complete Service | By Austin Putman | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Autumnal Equinox, Balance, Contemplation, Earth, Earth-Centered, Food, Nature, Paganism, Samhain -
T... starts out with Turkey and with Tofu, and Together, H...reminds us of Happiness, may it grow beyond all measure. A...means All who are returning, a reunion in Fall, N...for Newcomers to our Fellowship, and hearty welcome to all! K...for Kind friends with whom we will share dinner, S... means...Chalice Lighting | By Maureen Killoran | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Abundance, Community, Fall, Food, Gratitude, Happiness, Integrity, Playfulness, Relationships, Thanksgiving, Tradition, Unitarian Universalism
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Each of us will be grateful this Thanksgiving in differing ways, Gathered in our separate families, Each with our own distinct recipes, customs and traditions; For some will have pies of mince, And others of pumpkin or apple; And some will dine early And some sit down late to the meal, Passing on...Meditation | By Gary Kowalski | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: America, Family, Food, Generations, Gratitude, Secular, Thanksgiving
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Moses was a rancher. Long before he became a famous Biblical patriarch who led his people to freedom from slavery, he was a simple rancher. And this simple rancher was tending his flock on the side of a mountain one day circa 1527 BCE, when he came upon a small forest fire—a burning bush. He was...Sermon | By Ana Porter | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Conscience, Earth, Food, Food Justice, Living Our Faith, Money
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To water in excelsis. In vino veritas. As the Son of Man (or, Jesus) came eating and drinking and made friends with the people of the earth regardless of social distinction or class, let us strive to do likewise in our own eating and drinking, thinking and speaking, living and acting....Closing | By Richard M Fewkes | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Community, Earth, Food, Food Justice, Friendship, Gratitude
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Loving Spirit, Be our guest, Dine with us, Share our bread, That our table Might be blessed And our souls be fed.Blessing | By Gary Kowalski | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Community, Food, Generosity, Gratitude, Home, Hospitality, Presence, Reverence, Sacred, Spirituality, Table Grace
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For food in a world where many walk in hunger For faith in a world where many walk in fear For friends in a world where many walk alone We give you thanks, O God. Amen.Prayer | By Anonymous | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Abundance, Children's Sabbath, Food, Friendship, God, Gratitude, Table Grace
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Seeds, scattered on fertile ground, are warmed by the sun and fed by the soil. They sprout and grow, producing great fields of grain. The grain is harvested and ground into flour and shipped across the nation....Ritual | By Michael J. Tino | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Abundance, Body, Christianity, Community, Food, Gratitude, Thanksgiving, Unitarian Universalism
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I have a story for you. It's a tale of two heads of lettuce. This one (hold up head of lettuce and maybe even move around the sanctuary as you speak) was grown in Salinas Valley, CA. It was grown according to conventional, industrial farming methods by a multi-national corporation. They used...Time for All Ages | By Melissa Carvill-Ziemer | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Community, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Economy, Food, Living Our Faith, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Responsibility -
...Our spiritual connection to the food we eat has...been harmed by a modern culture in which over-processed foods are so ubiquitous that we have ceased to think about foods in their whole forms any more. ...Michael Pollan writes, “Try this: Don’t eat anything your great-great-grandmother...Sermon | By Michael J. Tino | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animals, Earth, Food, Food Justice, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Responsibility
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Tomatoes are arguably the most consumed fruit or vegetable in our country....28% of Americans eat a meal every day that contains at least one tomato. It is estimated that every American eats about 29 pounds of fresh tomatoes a year and an additional 73 pounds processed in tomato sauces, ketchup,...Sermon | By Peggy Clarke | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Dignity, Direct Experience, Earth, Economy, Food, Food Justice, Human Rights, Nature, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Work
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I grew up on my family farm in the southern part of Illinois. There was nothing about it that was a golden age. And I’m NOT nostalgic about the good old days. I don’t like carrying water from the well out back. I don’t like going to an outhouse at 4 a.m. in the snow. I don’t like the wasps...Reading | By David Breeden | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animals, Food, Food Justice, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Respect, Responsibility, Unitarian Universalism
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There I was, at the "Big Question:" What is my relationship to the creatures on this earth, and to the earth itself? Are they, is it, here for me, or am I a part of it? How far does the interdependent web extend, and do I really believe that all of us are intimately connected with all of existence?Homily | By Peter Friedrichs | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Challenge, Earth, Environment, Food, Food Justice, Prophetic Words & Deeds
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I remember back to the 50’s and 60’s when, once a week, my mother would don her shirtwaist, climb into the family car, and make her way to the A&P. How did she choose her groceries then? In our family, in New England and a long way from the fertile, productive valleys of California, proximity...Reading | By Vicky Talbert | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animals, Earth, Food, Food Justice, Interdependence, Unitarian Universalism
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...For the affluent, sitting down to a dinner derived from perhaps twenty-five different food sources is taken for granted...Filling the plate and eating and drinking to fullness is a social event, an opportunity to admire the art before you, to pay your respects by consuming it....Homily | By Meri Gibb | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animals, Food, Food Justice, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Responsibility, Spiritual Practice
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What you choose to eat is important to both parts of how you live out the mission of our congregation—transforming your life and caring for the earth. ...How many of you have heard that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away?” Apples (and other fresh fruits) are healthy foods, and eating them...Homily | By Duane H. Fickeisen | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Direct Experience, Earth, Food, Food Justice, Justice Sunday, Responsibility
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...[H]ow we eat is not an isolated issue. While we would like to think, and often do think, with our independent human personalities, that what we eat is our own business, the truth is that what I eat, what you eat, has further reaching consequences than merely staying alive and being healthy. In...Sermon | By Alison Wohler | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Animals, Food, Food Justice, Nature, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Responsibility
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A meat eater comes up to a vegan: “Did you hear about the new study saying vegans are more likely to go blind? I guess it’s because you don’t get the proper nutrition.” The vegan replied, “Nah, it’s just from reading all of those tiny ingredient lists.” Vegans (vegetarians who don’t...Sermon | By LoraKim Joyner | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Animals, Compassion, Food, Food Justice, Responsibility
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Working to feed the hungry and obtain adequate food for poor people in our society has long been central to my own justice and service work. When I was in high school, I spent many weekends volunteering with a group called Youth Service Opportunities Project....Sermon | By Michael J. Tino | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Abundance, Body, Direct Experience, Earth, Food, Food Justice, Unitarian Universalism
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I [do not] mean to present myself as some kind of bodhisattva of compassion. However, in my better moments—at least in my more conscious moments—while I’m eating, I do try to imagine the lives and even the deaths of the creatures who nourish me. I try to think of the freedom and exhilaration...Reading | By Lillian Nye | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Activism, Animals, Body, Earth Day, Ethics, Food, Food Justice, Nature, Thanksgiving, Unitarian Universalism, Work -
To me democracy is an exciting, living practice, what we do every day. To most democracy doesn’t relate to our daily lives and it sure isn’t much fun. I now see that to engage in democracy, to jump into this living practice we all need something tangible to act on... Because food is our most...Quote | By Frances Moore Lappe | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Commitment, Democracy, Direct Experience, Food, Food Justice, Meaning