This chalice is for the living, the changing, the becoming.

We are learning to regroup and remember perfection was never the point.

Whether you have made promises, broken promises, or are renewing your promises, you are beloved and you are welcome here.

Unitarian Universalism has a place for you. It is right here.

Give up the fight For some other moment Some other life Than here, and now Give up the longing for some other world The wishing for other choices to make other songs to sing other bodies, other ages, other countries, other stakes Purge the past; forgive the future— for each come too soon.

We light this flame For the art of sacred unknowing. Humbled by all that we cannot fathom in this time, We come into the presence of what we do know, Perhaps the only thing we can ever know: That Love is now and forever The only answer to everything And everyone In every moment.

[Written for two voices, here set for Worship Association (WA) and Minister (M)] WA: Perhaps some here have outgrown mystery. Maybe you have doubts about Santa, Or have forgotten the magic of a newborn child. M: One might easily lose touch with awe, In the struggle to do it all, Or simply to...

This opening was written for two voices, as indicated below. 1: Welcome, who come in friendship who long for genuine community... 2: May you be graciously received here as your authentic self. 1: Welcome, who come in curiosity, full of questions or simply open... 2: May you embrace wonder and...

Thresholds. We cross them every day. From room to room, from outside to inside, and back again, from here to there, from anywhere to everywhere, from age to age. Each threshold offers an opportunity for change, for renewal, for transformation, from what we were and what we are to what we can be....

Welcome, you questioners, seekers of Truth with a capital T, pilgrims longing for sanctuary, travelers needing harbor from the storm. Welcome, those who are holding on by a thread, determined breakers of the chains of loneliness and isolation....

We are a People of Memory. As inheritors of our ancestors’ legacy, we hold their stories tenderly. Gleaning wisdom from diverse journeys; united in hope for the future. Guide us to trust in love as we kindle this flame together.

We feel the season turning. The early sunset glancing through the red-tinged leaves. The newspaper arriving in the cool morning air. The flock of migrating swallows. A feeling of being on the edge of something new. These are the Days of Awe. A time to welcome a new year and a time to make the old...

We gather together on this Christmas Eve as fellow sojourners looking for light, for hope, for peace, and for love. We gather as people from many backgrounds, many faiths, many cultures, and many spiritual paths. But as we light this chalice, we gather as one body looking to the Nativity for its...

Voice One, Elder (with chalice): Across the generations we have carried the flame. We fought the injustice, sang the songs, spoke for truth, and built something lasting. We join in the line and we carry the flame forward. (pass chalice and mic to next speaker) Voice Two, Active Leader (with metal...

Let us be a faith that gathers, reaching for one another through the walls of hate others build, through the cages of ignorance and arrogance, and through the fear that burns city streets....

It is not by chance that you arrived here today. You have been looking for something larger than yourself. Inside of you there is a yearning, a calling, a hope for more, A desire for a place of belonging and caring. Through your struggles, someone nurtured you into being, Instilling a belief in a...

Happy new year! Happy new year for our beloved community. Happy new school year....

Be it real or metaphor, whatever is in your backpack, or your briefcase, or your purse that you’ve brought into this sanctuary that is weighing you down: leave it behind. Whatever you are carrying that is keeping you distracted, or caught up in shame, or guilt, or hopelessness: leave it behind....

Leader: In this sacred space People: Let us be still in the quiet. Leader: In this sacred space People: Let our hearts open as a butterfly’s wings. Leader: In this sacred space People: May the glow of this light shine within us.

We seekers are on a quest: A quest to discover truth and meaning. Sometimes we think we’ve found it— Wrapped up, glimmering with newness Straight off the intellectual assembly line. All the answers right here for us And others, if they’d only listen. But truth has a way of coming in disguise,...