This recipe has been tweaked over time, so adjust as necessary. Sometimes it yields more servings than anticipated. Sometimes it needs a bit more of this ingredient or that. It comes from generations who have gone before me, and I've added my own flavor along the way. A Recipe for Resilience One...

We call forth the life of our faith by igniting our chalice. This spark of new beginnings invites us into a sacred space to reflect where we have been and where we are going. Even knowing that this particular flame will intentionally end with our ritual extinguishing, we fear not its end… For we...

We kindle a flame we trust will lead us forward as we travel in unknown lands, where the question, “Shall I ever get there?” resounds: A clear pure note in every silence. Note: this chalice lighting is based on reading #486 by Dag Hammarskjöld in Singing the Living Tradition.

I am so tired and weary, So tired of the endless fight, So weary of waiting the dawn And finding endless night. That I ask but rest and quiet— Rest for the days that are gone, And quiet for the little space That I must journey on.

A religion that promises a life without tension, a life without conflict, a life without suffering, is a religion of passivity, a religion of mediocrity, a religion of insignificance. Everything worth doing in the world is a desperate gamble, a game of chance, where nothing is certain. What is love?

It’s a pilgrimage, like a trek around Mount Kailash, or perhaps Bodh Gaya, but it’s life itself, the whole thing, every moment. On the high passes of Mount Kailash, pilgrims hope for a kind of death, a rebirth of spirit, and it’s not a bad thing to go there, do that, if time and money allow.

“The beauty of the world is the mouth of a labyrinth,” writes Simone Weil. We would be foolish not to follow its call. And so we enter the labyrinth, lured by the whiff of a dream still in the making: the possibility of a new relationship, the promise of a new career, the potential for a new...

In order to get out I must go through. There is no other way. No other way? But there must be another way, an easier path, a well-lit road. I cast about, scan the horizon— No other way. The way out is the way through. The way through is the way hard....

Leader: Every endeavor begins with a first step, and encounters darkness and difficulty along the way. Response: We know the darkness of ignorance, of fear, and of tyranny. Leader: Yet we know the dawning of the light, the beginnings of hope, and the renewal of life....

The following can be read by one leader, read by several leaders, or read responsively between leader(s) and the congregation. Blessed are you who can question your own assumptions and listen with an open mind; you will receive new insights beyond your imagining. Blessed are you who suffer the...

During our darkest moments, still, there is hope. When facing our biggest challenges, still, there is hope. When all we can do is put one foot in front of the other, still, there is hope. When we can’t find the way out, still, there is hope. When all we can do to help is hold someone’s hand as...

We light this chalice to honor the memory of those who have come before us, kindling flames of wisdom in dark times, willing to challenge orthodoxy even at great personal risk, giving us a legacy of freedom and a love of truth, A legacy that warms our hearts and lights our paths.