We gather together....

How does it happen? this transformation....

May we see all as it is, and may it all be as we see it. May we be the ones to make it as it should be, For if not us, who? If not now, when?...

There's my temple! Believer, unbeliever or wild one. You are welcome! We have no definition of who we are but human. We have no code but that of respect. We have no creed but that of equality. There's my temple! Identity-seeker, sinner, stateless or not. You are welcome! We have no constraints on...

May each one among us have skin that longs to touch other skin: fingertips that long for other fingertips or whole hands and even arms; bodies that want to stand next to other bodies, not alone, while singing and bending, stirring soup. May ones whose skin doesn’t cry out for other skin wish it...

Good morning everyone and welcome to [congregation's name]. My name is {name} and I feel blessed to serve this healing and holy congregation. I'm so glad to see all of you here today on this brand new morning in this brand new world as we gather together in peace. Thank you for joining us: we who...

When we light our chalice everyone focuses on the flame. Yet it is the paraffin of the candle, the cotton of the wick, the potassium chlorate and sulfur of the match, and the oxygen in the air around us that makes that flame possible. As leaders we are not called to be a lone beacon on a hill.

For just as the body without the spirit is dead, faith without works is also dead. —James 2:26 Why are we still talking about inclusivity and diversity when we have done so little to make them real? Why are we still looking pained about the lack of diversity in the denomination?...

This children's worship activity relies on the use of objects that you'll have to assemble. Its author used Quarto! game pieces (shown in the accompanying picture)....

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....

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....

Come, come, whoever you are - you are welcome here! No matter your age, your size, the color of your eyes, your hair, your skin—you are welcome here! No matter how you came here, if you came alone, or with others— you are welcome here! No matter whom you love, or how you speak, or whatever your...

Reader 1: They teach us to read in black and white. Reader 2: Truth is this—the rest is false. Reader 3: You are whole—or broken. Reader 2: Who you love is acceptable—or not. Reader 1: My life tells its truth in many hues. Reader 2: We are taught to think in "either/or"s Reader 1: I believe...

As surely as we belong to the universe we belong together. We join here to transcend the isolated self, to reconnect, to know ourselves to be at home, here on earth, under the stars, linked with each other...

We light this chalice for all who are here, and all who are not; For all who have ever walked through our doors, for those who may yet find this spiritual home, and for those we can't even yet imagine. For each of us and for us all, may this flame burn warm and bright.

Leader: Whether you have come here with heart full or heart empty, with spirits high or low, rested or tired, hopeful or despairing, Congregation: Whether we have come here out of habit, conviction, loneliness, or curiosity, Leader: You belong here because you are here, and all that you have and ...

"We gather together": familiar words to many of us. "We"—called here not by name, not by special invitation—but we who are here, who, walking by the door, come in; who come anonymously, burdened and borne by our visions, yearnings, despairs, solitudes. "Gather"—called here not by law, not by...