
Our Virtual Hymnal Task Force 🎶 seeks your input! Please fill out our survey, which will close on January 1, 2024.
To search for resources that support December's Soul Matter theme of Mystery, toggle the red arrow below and search for Spiritual Themes of: Wonder, Awe, Mystery, Searching
Toggle to filter resultsAvailable filters:
Changing a filter will refresh results (and remaining options) immediately.
- #BlackLivesMatter (1)
- 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity) (41)
- 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion) (20)
- 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth) (27)
- 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning) (18)
- 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy) (2)
- 6th Principle (World Community) (14)
- 7th Principle (Interconnected Web) (21)
- 2982 (1)
- Acceptance (25)
- Activism (5)
- Advent (4)
- Aging (2)
- Agnosticism (1)
- All Saints Day (2)
- All Souls Day (1)
- Anger (2)
- Animals (1)
- Anti-Oppression (21)
- Arts & Music (2)
- Atheism (1)
- Awe (7)
- Balance (5)
- Beauty (6)
- Beginnings (1)
- Birth (1)
- Body (21)
- Brokenness (26)
- Buddhism (2)
- Calling (2)
- Caring (3)
- Challenge (1)
- Change (1)
- Child Dedication (1)
- Children (4)
- Children's / Religious Education Sunday (1)
- Chinese New Year (1)
- Christianity (12)
- Christmas Eve / Christmas (3)
- Climate Justice (2)
- Coming-of-Age (1)
- Coming of Age (3)
- Coming Out (4)
- Commitment (6)
- Community (15)
- Community Ministry Sunday (1)
- Compassion (8)
- Compromise (1)
- Conflict (1)
- Connections (15)
- Conscience (1)
- Contemplation (1)
- Courage (5)
- Covenant (1)
- Creativity (1)
- Death (4)
- Democracy (1)
- Despair (4)
- DĂa de los Muertos (1)
- Dignity (1)
- Direct Experience (38)
- Disability (2)
- Disaster or Crisis (4)
- Diversity (14)
- Division (1)
- Doubt (1)
- Earth (8)
- Earth-Centered (5)
- Earth Day (1)
- Easter (2)
- Empathy (3)
- Ending (1)
- Environment (2)
- Equity (1)
- Faith (10)
- Family (3)
- Fat Liberation (1)
- Fear (4)
- Food (1)
- Forgiveness (6)
- Freedom (5)
- Gender (7)
- Gender / Sex Change (1)
- Generations (4)
- Generosity (2)
- God (4)
- Good (4)
- Grace (1)
- Graduation Recognition (1)
- Gratitude (7)
- Grief (9)
- Growth (4)
- Guilt (1)
- Healing (35)
- Health (3)
- Hinduism (1)
- History (1)
- Home (2)
- Honesty (3)
- Hope (11)
- Hospitality (6)
- Humanism (21)
- Humility (3)
- Identity (7)
- Illness (1)
- Immanence (2)
- Inclusion (9)
- Individualism (3)
- Integrity (4)
- Interdependence (4)
- International (1)
- Intimacy (5)
- Journey (3)
- Joy (6)
- Judaism (1)
- Justice (9)
- Justice Sunday (2)
- Kindness (1)
- Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer (8)
- Letting Go (7)
- Life Transition (2)
- Limitations (3)
- Listening (1)
- Living Our Faith (9)
- Love (18)
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday (1)
- Meaning (3)
- Meditation Practices (2)
- Memorial Services (2)
- Mindfulness (4)
- Mother's Day (1)
- Mothers (2)
- Mourning (1)
- Multiculturalism (13)
- Multiculturalism (6)
- Music Sunday (1)
- Mystery (8)
- National Coming Out Day (2)
- Nature (6)
- New Year (2)
- Oppression (3)
- Pain (5)
- Parents (1)
- Patience (1)
- Peace (5)
- Power (2)
- Prayer Practices (2)
- Presence (4)
- Pride Sunday (4)
- Privilege (2)
- Prophetic Words & Deeds (6)
- Purpose (10)
- Race/Ethnicity (6)
- Reconciliation (2)
- Relationships (10)
- Remembrance Day (1)
- Reproductive Justice (1)
- Responsibility (4)
- Reverence (2)
- Rosh Hashanah (1)
- Sacred (6)
- Salvation (3)
- Searching (3)
- Secular (16)
- Self-Care (3)
- Self-Respect (7)
- Service (6)
- Seven Principles (7)
- Sexuality (5)
- Shame (1)
- Silence (3)
- Solidarity (3)
- Spirituality (3)
- Spiritual Practice (6)
- Spring (1)
- Stewardship (2)
- Strength (6)
- Stress (1)
- Suffering (5)
- Thanksgiving (2)
- Tradition (1)
- Transcendence (3)
- Transformation (7)
- Transgender Day of Remembrance (1)
- Trust (2)
- Truth (3)
- Unitarianism (1)
- Unitarian Universalism (47)
- Unity (13)
- Universalism (1)
- Violence (3)
- Vision (3)
- Vulnerability (7)
- War (1)
- Water Communion (1)
- (-) Wholeness (121)
- Winter Solstice / Yule (2)
- Wisdom (2)
- Women (2)
- Wonder (3)
- Work (1)
- Worship (5)
- Worth (7)
- Yom Kippur (3)
- Youth Sunday (1)
- Advent (4)
- All Saints Day (2)
- All Souls Day (1)
- Child Dedication (1)
- Children's / Religious Education Sunday (1)
- Chinese New Year (1)
- Christmas Eve / Christmas (3)
- Coming of Age (3)
- Coming Out (4)
- Community Ministry Sunday (1)
- DĂa de los Muertos (1)
- Disaster or Crisis (4)
- Earth Day (1)
- Easter (2)
- Gender / Sex Change (1)
- Graduation Recognition (1)
- Justice Sunday (2)
- Life Transition (2)
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday (1)
- Meditation Practices (2)
- Memorial Services (2)
- Mother's Day (1)
- Mourning (1)
- Music Sunday (1)
- National Coming Out Day (2)
- New Year (2)
- Prayer Practices (2)
- Pride Sunday (4)
- Remembrance Day (1)
- Rosh Hashanah (1)
- Thanksgiving (2)
- Transgender Day of Remembrance (1)
- Water Communion (1)
- Winter Solstice / Yule (2)
- Yom Kippur (3)
- Youth Sunday (1)
- Acceptance (25)
- Activism (5)
- Aging (2)
- Anger (2)
- Animals (1)
- Anti-Oppression (21)
- Arts & Music (2)
- Awe (7)
- Balance (5)
- Beauty (6)
- Beginnings (1)
- Birth (1)
- Body (21)
- Brokenness (26)
- Calling (2)
- Caring (3)
- Challenge (1)
- Change (1)
- Children (4)
- Climate Justice (2)
- Coming-of-Age (1)
- Commitment (6)
- Community (15)
- Compassion (8)
- Compromise (1)
- Conflict (1)
- Connections (15)
- Conscience (1)
- Contemplation (1)
- Courage (5)
- Covenant (1)
- Creativity (1)
- Death (4)
- Democracy (1)
- Despair (4)
- Dignity (1)
- Disability (2)
- Diversity (14)
- Division (1)
- Doubt (1)
- Earth (8)
- Empathy (3)
- Ending (1)
- Environment (2)
- Equity (1)
- Faith (10)
- Family (3)
- Fat Liberation (1)
- Fear (4)
- Food (1)
- Forgiveness (6)
- Freedom (5)
- Gender (7)
- Generations (4)
- Generosity (2)
- God (4)
- Good (4)
- Grace (1)
- Gratitude (7)
- Grief (9)
- Growth (4)
- Guilt (1)
- Healing (35)
- Health (3)
- History (1)
- Home (2)
- Honesty (3)
- Hope (11)
- Hospitality (6)
- Humility (3)
- Identity (7)
- Illness (1)
- Immanence (2)
- Inclusion (9)
- Individualism (3)
- Integrity (4)
- Interdependence (4)
- Intimacy (5)
- Journey (3)
- Joy (6)
- Justice (9)
- Kindness (1)
- Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer (8)
- Letting Go (7)
- Limitations (3)
- Listening (1)
- Living Our Faith (9)
- Love (18)
- Meaning (3)
- Mindfulness (4)
- Mothers (2)
- Multiculturalism (13)
- Mystery (8)
- Nature (6)
- Oppression (3)
- Pain (5)
- Parents (1)
- Patience (1)
- Peace (5)
- Power (2)
- Presence (4)
- Privilege (2)
- Purpose (10)
- Race/Ethnicity (6)
- Reconciliation (2)
- Relationships (10)
- Reproductive Justice (1)
- Responsibility (4)
- Reverence (2)
- Sacred (6)
- Salvation (3)
- Searching (3)
- Self-Care (3)
- Self-Respect (7)
- Service (6)
- Sexuality (5)
- Shame (1)
- Silence (3)
- Solidarity (3)
- Spirituality (3)
- Spiritual Practice (6)
- Spring (1)
- Stewardship (2)
- Strength (6)
- Stress (1)
- Suffering (5)
- Tradition (1)
- Transcendence (3)
- Transformation (7)
- Trust (2)
- Truth (3)
- Unity (13)
- Violence (3)
- Vision (3)
- Vulnerability (7)
- War (1)
- Wholeness (121)
- Wisdom (2)
- Women (2)
- Wonder (3)
- Work (1)
- Worth (7)
- Adrienne Maree Brown (1)
- Alex Kapitan (1)
- Amarette Callaway (1)
- Amy Johnson (1)
- Andrew Pakula (1)
- Anonymous (1)
- Becky Brooks (1)
- bell hooks (1)
- Beth Lefever (1)
- Beth Merrill Neel (1)
- Bets Wienecke (1)
- Brian Kiely (1)
- Carolyn Croissant Clay Dewey (1)
- Chip Roush (1)
- Clarke Dewey Wells (1)
- Claudene (Deane) Oliva (1)
- Darcy Roake (1)
- Dawn Skjei Cooley (1)
- Debra Faulk (1)
- Del Mulhern (1)
- Dennis McCarty (1)
- DeRay Mckesson (1)
- Elandria Williams (1)
- Elizabeth Mount (1)
- Elizabeth Nguyen (1)
- Elizabeth Tarbox (1)
- Eric Williams (1)
- Erika Hewitt (4)
- Erik Walker Wikstrom (1)
- Erin Powers (1)
- Fred Small (1)
- Geoffrey Herbert (1)
- Gretchen Haley (1)
- Jack Mendelsohn (1)
- Jacqui James (1)
- James Ishmael Ford (1)
- Jamie Dorer (1)
- Jane Rzepka (1)
- Jason Shelton (1)
- Jay E Abernathy, Jr (1)
- Jay Wolin (1)
- Joan Javier-Duval (1)
- Joel Miller (1)
- Jo VonRue (1)
- Julia Watts Belser (1)
- Karen G. Johnston (3)
- Laura Bogle (1)
- Laura Horton-Ludwig (1)
- Leslie Takahashi (2)
- Linda Olson Peebles (1)
- Lindasusan Ulrich (2)
- Linette Lowe (1)
- Lisa Bovee-Kemper (1)
- Lois Van Leer (1)
- Lynn Ungar (1)
- Margaret Weis (1)
- Marilyn Maciel (1)
- Marilyn Sewell (1)
- Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley (2)
- Mark Belletini (2)
- Marta I. ValentĂn (1)
- Maureen Killoran (1)
- Megan Devine (1)
- Megan Visser (1)
- Melanie Morel-Ensminger (3)
- Myke Johnson (1)
- Nancy Bowen (1)
- Nancy McDonald Ladd (2)
- Orlanda R Brugnola (1)
- Paula Gribble (1)
- Paul Stephan Dodenhoff (1)
- Polly Leland-Mayer (1)
- Rebecca Ann Parker (1)
- Rebecca Pankhurst (1)
- Rebekah Taussig (2)
- Rev. Molly Brewer (1)
- Richard S. Gilbert (3)
- Ric Masten (1)
- Rig Veda (1)
- Robert T Weston (1)
- Sam Trumbore (1)
- Sarah Gibb Millspaugh (1)
- Seth Carrier-Ladd (1)
- Shantideva (1)
- Sharon Wylie (1)
- Sheri Prud'homme (1)
- Sister Joan Chittister (1)
- St. Francis of Assisi (1)
- Sunshine Jeremiah Wolfe (1)
- Susan L Van Dreser (1)
- Susan Maginn (1)
- Susan Werner (1)
- Sweethome Teacup (1)
- Tamara Lebak (1)
- Tess Baumberger (2)
- Thomas Rhodes (3)
- Tracey Robinson-Harris (1)
- UUA Leadership Council (1)
- Vanessa Rush Southern (1)
- Victoria Safford (2)
- Victoria Weinstein (1)
- Yolo Akili (1)
Displaying 1 - 20 of 121
-
Love this world, she whispers.Poetry | By Rebecca Ann Parker | November 30, 2023 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Beauty, Brokenness, Earth, Love, Wholeness, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wonder, WorshipWeb, Worship
-
It’s so [easy] to see the one disabled person and say, She needs a cure so she can fit into our world.Quote | By Rebekah Taussig | September 27, 2021 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Anti-Oppression, Body, Direct Experience, Disability, Justice, Oppression, Wholeness
-
When I was small and just learning how to do life in my body, I didn’t hesitate, didn’t hold back, didn’t worry how it would look, didn’t look for cues or ask for a line. My imagination ruled... I was entirely free to be, driven by the innovation my body inspired. This is the wild...Reading | By Rebekah Taussig | September 27, 2021 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Anti-Oppression, Body, Dignity, Direct Experience, Freedom, Justice, Oppression, Wholeness
-
The following is an excerpt from the Theological Statement that opens the May 2018 Report of the UUMA Ableism Task Force. The members of that Task Force were Rev. Josh Pawelek and Rev. Barbara F. Meyers, co-chairs; Rev. Mark Belletini; Rev. Erika Hewitt; Rev. Evan Keely; and Rev. Theresa I. Soto.Reading | August 17, 2021 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Anti-Oppression, Body, Disability, Inclusion, Wholeness, WorshipWeb, Worship
-
Set your compass to point towards hope and begin your journey home.Opening | By Lindasusan Ulrich | June 2, 2021 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Acceptance, Brokenness, Community, Healing, Wholeness
-
My broken is what makes me who I am today.Reflection | By Paula Gribble | February 24, 2021 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Beauty, Brokenness, Wholeness, Worship
-
As Unitarian Universalists, our journey is to transform the big and the small, to transform ourselves, and to transform the world.Responsive Reading | By Elizabeth Nguyen | November 9, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Calling, Freedom, Justice, Living Our Faith, Purpose, Seven Principles, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism, Universalism, Wholeness, WorshipWeb, Worship
-
The chalice, as a symbol of Unitarian Universalism, arose as a beacon of hope in an atmosphere of tyranny. The chalice arose as a sign of promise that the marginalized would neither be forgotten nor ignored, because they are beloved and precious from the perspective of the Holy. This morning, we...Chalice Lighting | By Erika Hewitt | August 5, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Anti-Oppression, Freedom, Generations, History, Hope, Oppression, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarianism, Wholeness
-
Pleasure reminds us to enjoy being alive and on purpose... Pleasure—embodied, connected pleasure—is one of the way we know when we are free. That we are always free. That we always have the power to co-create the world. Pleasure helps us move through the times that are unfair, through grief and...Quote | By Adrienne Maree Brown | February 15, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Beauty, Body, Direct Experience, Humanism, Joy, Love, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Secular, Self-Care, Self-Respect, Sexuality, Spiritual Practice, Wholeness
-
We speak so often of brokenness in religious life, Let us speak today of wholeness....Opening | By Sharon Wylie | May 28, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Acceptance, Anti-Oppression, Beauty, Coming Out, Gender, Humanism, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, National Coming Out Day, Pride Sunday, Secular, Self-Respect, Wholeness
-
Deeper than DNA, more fundamental than molecules or quarks, at our living core, we are wholeness and transfiguring love. We often forget that power, becoming lonely or resentful, comparing ourselves to others, acting out of our fears rather than our living our glory....Invocation | By Chip Roush | February 11, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Community, Faith, Fear, Growth, Humanism, Love, Mystery, Sacred, Spirituality, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness
-
[S]piritual and meditative practices are not meant to erase pain. That's a symptom of our pain-avoidant culture, and not an accurate portrayal of the practices themselves. It's a misuse of so many beautiful teachings to force them into roles they were never meant to play....Quote | By Megan Devine | February 4, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Brokenness, Death, Despair, Direct Experience, Grief, Healing, Humanism, Mindfulness, Pain, Secular, Spiritual Practice, Wholeness
-
Voice 1: You are beloved and you are welcome here Voice 2: Whether tears have fallen from your eyes this past week or gleeful laughter has spilled out of your smiling mouth Voice 1: You are beloved and you are welcome here Voice 2: Whether you are feeling brave or broken-hearted; defiant or...Opening | By Joan Javier-Duval | January 16, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Acceptance, Brokenness, Caring, Community, Compassion, Diversity, Inclusion, Love, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness, Worth, Worship
-
We all know loss and pain. Let none of it divide us. In the rising sun today Let us do together what we cannot do alone: Roll away the stones that close our hearts.Closing | By Joel Miller | December 21, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christianity, Easter, Love, Pain, Unity, Wholeness
-
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
-
“If your love for me requires that I hide parts of who I am, then you don't love me. Love is never a request for silence.”...Quote | By DeRay Mckesson | July 16, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Direct Experience, Humanism, Love, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Secular, Silence, Wholeness
-
When we say, "Save the rainforest," we don’t mean that we cease to honor the mighty cedars or the reaching pines. We mean that one particular piece of a deeply sacred whole is more at risk than others, and that this risk, this threat, is worthy of our very bravest actions. So it is with black...Quote | By Nancy McDonald Ladd | April 9, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, Activism, Anti-Oppression, Commitment, Humanism, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Wholeness
-
"Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion." from https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/All-about-Love--New-Vis… about Love, p. 215.Quote | By bell hooks | March 13, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Community, Connections, Healing, Interdependence, Love, Relationships, Wholeness
-
I had dreams about anywhere-else-but-here But our faith kept me close. I believed I had done something to deserve it. Our faith shouted, “No!” I tried to imagine it never happened But our faith reminded, “Yes, grief is real.” I thought I might die But our faith nurtured my life. I wondered...Poetry | By Megan Visser | January 23, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Community, Doubt, Inclusion, Living Our Faith, Love, Salvation, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness, Worth
-
Remembering to breathe and to breathe deeply and then once more, to take the breath in and let the breath out, we pause, poised as we are, at a point of risking, at a possibility of courage: #metoo. Risking vulnerability Risking pain Risking being known Risking being not believed Risking being...Prayer | By Karen G. Johnston | January 23, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Body, Courage, Direct Experience, Gender, Healing, Mothers, Sexuality, Vulnerability, Wholeness, Women
Search Options
- worship component, like chalice lighting or prayer
- tags include spiritual themes (like hope, winter, anti-oppression or trust), UU Principle, and holiday, holy day, or other occasion: (holiday pages)
- keyword searches the title, page text, tags, and author names
- author:Â list of authors
Using the Site Search Box
You can also use the search box in the upper right corner of any page.
Give Credit to Authors
Our authors and artists have granted permission for use by Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) member congregations for any worship service, including printing materials, projecting onto screens, or including in audio/video podcasts. Thank you for crediting the author or artist.
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.