Today, we are charged to remember. To know that as we live together in community, we are also in community with the silently singing lives in the vast congregation of the earth as well... Let us remember, and then act.

The oldest stories tell us we came from the dust, and to dust we will return. But dirt? That’s different. Dust is fine, often even sterile. Dirt, on the other hand, is made up of messier stuff.

The winter solstice is a time to look back upon our ancestors, gather our family and friends close, and rejoice in the return of the sun. It is a time of renewed hope and a time of resurrection – for just as Arianrhod’s Wheel turns and the Oak King resumes his rightful place, so must we go on.

Wind that whispers through the willow trees Sun that sustains us Water that washes over willing earth and weathered stones A smile shared and savored A child’s squeal of delight as she dances in the daisies and daffodils The quiet joy of gathered community This, this is the spirit of life and lov...

A person is ethical only when life, as such, is sacred, that of plants and animals as that of other men and women, and when one devotes oneself helpfully to all life that is in need of help.

In the beginning There was light Infinite and expansive Flowing out from an unseen center. Throughout Creation There is light From the steady Sun The glowing Moon The flashing Meteor The twinkling Stars And the auroras dancing in the northern skies....

The strength of the Earth is the stones And the same is the source of our bones. The Water flows across the ground And within our blood. The Air blows around the world And brings us our breath. The Fire streams forth from the Sun without ceasing And sustains our lives. By these elements We are...

We light this chalice for the web of life which sustains us, For the sacred circle of life in which we have our being, For the Earth, the Sky, Above and Below, and For our Mother Earth, and for the Mystery.

Fire and water, ancient opposites Sun and ocean, the cradle of life Dancing flame and dancing river— We invoke them together today As we kindle our chalice flame.

As frozen earth holds the determined seed, this sacred space holds our weariness, our worry, our laughter and our celebration. Let us bring seed and soul into the light of thought, the warmth of community, and the hope of love. Let us see together, hear together, love together. Let us worship.

Our eyes and minds turn now toward the ordinary. Leaving this space made sacred by our presence, take with you at least some seed of understanding, hope and courage and drop it into the confusion of the world....

May the Waters gathered here remind us of what each of us brings to this community and of the waters that nourished us before we were even born, that continue to give us sustenance and energy for our life journeys. and for all creatures on this earth....

As we light the chalice and fully embrace the sacred space created here this morning, please hold in your hearts the Unitarian Universalist principle which calls upon us to respect the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part....

Holy waters.... holy waters... holy waters... holy waters Holy waters, make us new. Holy waters, make us whole. Holy waters, make us free.