One: To become is a life long process. Nothing is constant, not even the self. We evolve in the midst of narratives meant only for some and ways of being made narrow by fear and power. We must, then, have the courage to listen to the truth of our own lives, to the wisdom that comes from within—...

Perhaps for a moment the typewriters will stop clicking, the wheels stop rolling the computers desist from computing, and a hush will fall over the city....

We light this chalice, the symbol of our faith, knowing that this morning many others across this land and around the world are doing the same. For us and for our far-flung kin it is a light of peace, of justice, and of love....

How does it happen? this transformation....

Gather we now into this space, this time when the Wheel turns and the Veil shatters. Gather we now to remember, to grieve, to prophesy, to complete our harvests before the Long Dark comes. Gather we now to tell the Old Stories and sing the Old Songs, to be as we have always been —the Voice of our...

Come, come, whoever you are. Do you hear that voice calling you, calling us? That voice which calls us together here today in this room made holy by our presence and by the sacred breath we share in our singing and speaking and silence....

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.

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...

Opening Prayer As we draw together this evening, let us pause for moment to remember the faces of the many women who have gathered in this space to build a house for <name>....

May the love that gives to life its beauty, the reverence that gives to life its sacredness, and the purposes that give to life its deep significance be strong within each of us and lead us into ever deepening relationships with all of life. Amen.

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....