We join our voices in a holy communion of mind and heart, dedicated to the promises that bind us in compassion, one with another. In this hour we light the flame that signals our intention to find the sacred in every living thing.

Ours is a communion borne of words and welcome. Our communion finds expression in caring and commitment to our highest ideals. Our communion lives on in our hearts though this sacred hour is ended.

The flame is extinguished, but not our hope for the future, our courage in the face of crisis, or the love we share in all the world.

By the light of this chalice we prepare for the future. We prepare ourselves for the times of triumph and times of trial that might come. We prepare ourselves to be present to one another with loving hearts even in the most difficult of times....

We call for this blessing on all sheltered here whether in body or in spirit... May the flame of our community ignite a love bold enough to share. And, in return May we all be embraced by a love that remains constant in times of sorrow and in days of great gladness.

(Can be preceded by singing the first verse of "Bright Morning Stars," Hymn 357 in Singing the Living Tradition) Day breaks on our gratitude for family and friends, For the freedom to find our own truth, For the company of those who gather here, And the promises we offer one another....

As we prepare to depart, we give voice to these hopes: May we know ourselves bound in community, even while we are apart. May a passion for justice burn in our lives. May we carry the light of compassion in our hearts and in our every interaction....

God of all oppressed persons, remind us of your presence in voices of protest; shatter our self-complacent faith in liberty freely given; and remind us of the cost of hard-won freedom. Let the pain of strangled dreams return us to a knowledge of our own triumphs in the struggle to be free....