Spirit of Life, God of Love, hear this cry which begins with gratitude for the human ability to take action to right the wrongs of our kin. If you are the force of Love, be loving to these dear ones who would rid the world of hatred and greed. If you are the force of Possibility, seed opportunity...

Last year for Lent, I decided to say yes to any request. I made it all the way to Easter without  having to honor my decision.

"How complicated it is to break silence: to open all of the secrets in all of our broken hearts. But silence does break; truth seeks the light. We're unraveling silence because we have determined that our power with one another is greater than the power someone once had over us."

Spirit of Life and of Love, Holy One that reaches wide to encompass all beings, Hold us to Yourself in this moment. We come to this place carrying so much in our hearts. Around us we hear the laments of a broken world, Torn by fire, storm and strife, Crying, “I too have suffered. I too have been...

Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson, is a novel that takes the form of a letter or journal that a dying, elderly Congregationalist minister in Gilead, Iowa, writes to his 7-year old son in 1956 – written so that one day the boy will know something about his father’s life and character. In this passage...

"What we need is here" is a perfect, simple song by Episcopalian priest Rev. Amy McCreath. Its five words are the closing sentence of a Wendell Berry poem, "The Wild Geese," which inspired Amy to write this tune....

An awakening passed through the whole theatre, and as if touched by some invisible hand, the people stood, clapped, shouted with joy, laughed, and wept… It was blessed to be connected to—no, to be a part of a community—a people. —Volker Kühn, in his essay about a cabaret performance during...

Do not be alone right now. Gather together. Gathering together grows courage: in ourselves and in others who see the numbers swelling. It is a small thing, but right now it is an important thing....

"The power of transgression is the archetypal foundational story of the Bible because we transgress; because we want to break our own codes, sometimes of morality, sometimes of ethics, sometimes of the power structures… because there is freedom in transgression, and there is power in...

The invisibility of whiteness means that one doesn't have to notice that one is white. So there are people, and then there are black people. There are people and there are Latino people. And people—just people, just folks—turn out to be white, but we don't notice it. White people have the luxury...

"The thing that's really slick about whiteness, if you will, is that most of the benefits can be obtained without ever doing anything personally......

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." This quote has been widely attributed to Martin Luther King, Jr.

Prayer of Thanks for Hoes & Scythes & Spatulas & Toothbrushes & Binoculars & the Myriad Other Tools & Instruments That Fit Our Hands So Gracefully & Allow Us to Work with a Semblance of Deftitude Lovely little inventions, just right for the job at hand—a lawn edger, for example, or an arrow, or...

Imagine if Easter preachers—and all the rest of us—had the chutzpah of Mary Magdalene.

Love is the aspiration, the spirit that moves and inspires this faith we share. Rightly understood, love can nurture our spirits and transform the world....

If you came to this place expecting a tame story, you came to the wrong place. If you came for a story that does not threaten you, you came for a different story than the one we tell. If you came to hear of the coming of a God who only showed up so that you could have a nice day with your loved...

Mindful that With great power comes great responsibility, We light this chalice in the hopes that In brightest day, in blackest night, Our faith will Flame on! —Spiderman, Green Lantern, & the Human Torch (compiled by Cynthia Landrum)...

As we approach our agenda let us remember that we are doing the work of the congregation.* When we do the work of this congregation*, we touch lives. When we touch lives, we change the world. May this chalice flame we now kindle remind us throughout our meeting of our ministry and our mission....

Reader 1: The word courage comes from the Latin cor, which means heart. According to poet Mark Nepo, the original use of the word courage meant to stand by one’s core: a “striking concept that reinforces the belief found in almost all traditions that living from the Center is what enables us to...

God of many names and mystery beyond all our naming, Our time together today is a precious gift. We gather in the name of justice in love and service to a higher good. We gather in hope for a world where oppression of any kind is challenged. We gather to spark the fire of commitment lit in every...