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Affirmations Benedictions Blessings Chalice Lightings Closings Invocations Litanies Meditations Openings Poetry Prayers Readings Responsive Readings Rituals Stories
The Beautiful and the Bitter

The Beautiful and the Bitter

A ritual honoring the story of love in our lives

E Erika Hewitt
Water Communion: God’s Voice in the Waters

Water Communion: God’s Voice in the Waters

A water communion liturgy that asks that we listen for God’s voice in the waters.

M M Jade Kaiser
A Ritual for Ingathering/Water Communion (international focus)

A Ritual for Ingathering/Water Communion (international focus)

Many Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations follow an annual Ingathering tradition on the first Sunday after Labor Day that includes a Water Communion/Ceremony ritual. Specific traditions vary widely, but often they include introductory remarks, a time for reflection, a sharing of water that...

E Eric Cherry
Transgender Re-naming Ceremony

Transgender Re-naming Ceremony

This name now symbolizes all that you truly are and are becoming.

L Laura Bogle
Ritual for a Coming of Age Service

Ritual for a Coming of Age Service

Today, we honor a journey that some of our youth have been on to mindfully enter the next phase of their lives… this is ultimately a time when we have invited them to think specifically about their own path.

K Kharma Amos
For Pride

For Pride

This glitter that we share with each other today is a reminder that each of us is beautiful in our sacred imperfection, our ever-changing selves, our glorious plurality.

H Hannah Roberts Villnave, Kayla Parker, and Caitlin Cotter Coillberg
Names and Tears: An All-Souls/Samhain Ritual

Names and Tears: An All-Souls/Samhain Ritual

A ritual for honoring and remembering beloved ancestors and the recently departed, with roots in both the Christian and Pagan traditions.

T Tiffany Fae Anderson
Dirt Communion

Dirt Communion

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.

J Joy Berry
Book Ceremony Ritual

Book Ceremony Ritual

This liturgy is for a ritual where the members of the congregation each bring to the service a meaningful book they would like to give away, and each member takes home a book that someone else has brought.

J Jami Yandle
The Power of Water

The Power of Water

The water of tears, the water of cleansing and renewal, the water of nourishment, and the water of change.

M Madelyn Campbell
An Empty Cup for Gaza

An Empty Cup for Gaza

During your congregation’s water ceremony, UUs for Justice in the Middle East invite you to place an empty paper cup next to the congregational vessel in solidarity with Palestinians.

U Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME)
Blessing a Congregational Banner

Blessing a Congregational Banner

This ritual is written for a congregation to bless a Black Lives Matter banner and raise it on their church building. It could easily be adapted for rededication of a banner, or for other banners that a congregation might display on their building to declare their values.

A Allison Palm
Holding the Hope for One Another

Holding the Hope for One Another

This is a ritual of caring for one another, couched in terms of struggle and hope.

E Erika Hewitt
Circle This Flame

Circle This Flame

This ritual begins by lighting a candle from the chalice, and placing it in position. A list of supplies is at the end of this resource. One: Fire. Source of warmth and life for our ancestors; and for humans still today....

A Amy G. S. A. Brooks
Labyrinth Walk for Healing the Gulf and Ourselves

Labyrinth Walk for Healing the Gulf and Ourselves

Recorded music (e.g., Mozart's Requiem; Arvo Pårt's Lamentate) will be playing as the background. Spoken introduction as people prepare to walk in silence: Let us open our minds and hearts to the power of healing that is in us and in the world around us....

M Melanie Morel-Ensminger
Commissioning of Community Minister

Commissioning of Community Minister

A script for commissioning an affiliated community minister.

E Elizabeth Harding, Susan Frances, and Eileen Wiviott
Equinox Seed Ritual

Equinox Seed Ritual

This hands-on ritual could be used to celebrate Earth Day, a Solstice, or an Equinox. Before the service begins, set up a table or two (or more) with several stations for people to plant seeds....

D Diana Smith
Advent Wreath Words for Four Sundays

Advent Wreath Words for Four Sundays

Each week until Christmas, we light a new candle on the Advent wreath, a circle of evergreens.

M Megan Visser
Eucharistic Prayer: Uncommon Oneness

Eucharistic Prayer: Uncommon Oneness

O One, for whom words to describe are always inadequate, we give thanks that you may be often found in the most common, the most basic of human experience. Particularly we give thanks for the common meal: that which has sustained us as individuals, as families and as faith communities. Among the...

K Kenneth Claus
Eucharistic Prayer: Insight

Eucharistic Prayer: Insight

We give you thanks, O God, for all that is good and kind and just. For all the wonders of nature that speak of your continuing divine presence: the sunrise and sunset, the rainbow, the waterfall, the roaring ocean and the quiet stream, the majestic mountain peak and the serene desert. We give you...

K Kenneth Claus
Eucharistic Prayer: The Didache Re-Imaged

Eucharistic Prayer: The Didache Re-Imaged

O God, we give thanks this day and every day for all you have made known to us through the life of Jesus. Glory to you throughout the ages. We give thanks for all the knowledge, faith and hope that is implanted in our hearts by the teachings of Jesus, whom you sent to us, and spiritually remains...

K Kenneth Claus
A Thanksgiving Communion

A Thanksgiving Communion

Seeds, scattered on fertile ground, are warmed by the sun and fed by the soil. They sprout and grow, producing great fields of grain. The grain is harvested and ground into flour and shipped across the nation....

M Michael J. Tino
A Blessing of Hands for Hospital Workers

A Blessing of Hands for Hospital Workers

Formed in your mother’s womb, these precious hands, which have been scraped, bent, worn down, and maybe even broken, are yet perfect in the Divine’s eyes. Bless these hands, for they bring comfort to those so in need of comforting. Bless these hands, for they nurture and care for those unable to...

C Charlotte Arsenault
A Dedication for Religious Education Teachers

A Dedication for Religious Education Teachers

Written during the February 2014 Teacher Development Renaissance Module, Pacific Southwest Liberal Religious Educator Association (LREDA) chapter. Minister: This morning we dedicate our Religious Education teachers who have been called to minister to our children, to our future. Without them to...

A Alison Crotty, Marci Beaudoin, Nancy Jasa, and Sarah Roberts
Reflections

Reflections

This simple ritual provides a quiet time during our Sunday service. We set up a small table at the front of the dais. There is a large bowl partially filled with water in the center of the table. On either side is a smaller bowl filled with pebbles that feel nice in the hand....

E Eric Kaminetzky
Blessing of the Waters

Blessing of the Waters

[sing Holy Waters] We bring waters from the four directions. Water from the north, from icy seas and frozen lands, water that commingles and is part of the water of the globe. Bless these waters, that they may be healing waters. May the waters make us new....

L Lindsay Bennett-Jacobs
Winter Solstice Blessing

Winter Solstice Blessing

With faithful progress, The Great Sun has traveled, From north to south again, And on this day pauses. So we also stand still, With the whole Earth, In quiet thankfulness, To the Source of Blessing, The Giver of All Light.

E Eric Williams
RE Teacher Dedication

RE Teacher Dedication

Sample Teacher Dedication Ceremonies Religious Educator(s) From Liz Jones, Religious Educator, First UU Church, San Diego, CA: This morning we wish to thank you for your commitment to this church, to our values, and especially to our children. You have accepted the responsibility of helping our...

C Cindy Leitner, Liz Jones, and Barbara Wells ten Hove
With Open Hands and Hearts

With Open Hands and Hearts

President: We at ______ welcome you as new members of our community this morning. You have come to worship, play, work and grow among us. Ours is a free fellowship; we have no creeds and you are free to bring your ideas and beliefs to this fellowship to share with others....

S Sarah C Stewart
Blowing the Shofar

Blowing the Shofar

The human breath rushed through an animal’s horn Once it was common Regularly echoing off sheep strewn hillsides, Ordinary as a bit of sparkle on a rain washed city sidewalk Now it calls from a distant past “Does anybody here know the right way to blow this thing?” The right way to blow a...

J John Marsh
Ceremony of Child Dedication

Ceremony of Child Dedication

The children being dedicated will take a walk around the sanctuary. Different church members and older children present in the pews will offer objects that will become a part of the child throughout the poem....

K Kate Howard
Retirement Recognition

Retirement Recognition

Today we are recognizing those in the congregation who have recently retired or are about to retire. The transition from an active work life to retirement is an important life transition....

C Carol Hepokoski
New Member Covenant

New Member Covenant

Minister: Today, we welcome into our community these new members, who have chosen to make a commitment to this congregation by signing our Membership Book....

L Laura Randall
Living The UU Principles

Living The UU Principles

Once a month we have an adult and a child lead a multigenerational part of the service called, “Living the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Principles.” The adult and child are chosen ahead of time so they can prepare the words they will say. We do a different principle every month, from October to...

K Karen J Hirsch
A Flower Communion for Colleagues

A Flower Communion for Colleagues

Opening words (by Tess Baumberger) Reader 1: There will be a brightness to this day Even if there be but cloud and rain outdoors. Reader 2: The brightness of this day comes from within, From this gladly gathered company....

T Tess Baumberger
A Blessing for the Ashes

A Blessing for the Ashes

Single Set of Cremains Whispering Breath of Mystery, rattling the windows of our spirits with tears and sorrow, draw us back to the wonderful, the loving, the beautiful times we had with name, whose ashes we now hold. Recall to us his/her / this one’s inspirational actions, caring, and commitment.

N Naomi King
Bridging Ceremony for Fifth Graders

Bridging Ceremony for Fifth Graders

Religious Education Director: Today, we celebrate you as you take the next step on your journey, moving from childhood to adolescence. This is a wonderful time in your life, full of hope and expectation and wonder. As you begin to explore more about who you are, you are like a kite....

D Dana Poss
Burning Bowl Ritual

Burning Bowl Ritual

Introduction As we continue to seek out the stories of hope in our world in the new year, there are also some things we would very much like to put behind us from the old year. The ushers have given you scraps of paper on which to inscribe those things from which we would seek to unburden ourselves.

V Victoria Weinstein
Jazz Funeral for the Old Year

Jazz Funeral for the Old Year

Introduction to a New Orleans Jazz Funeral Welcome to a new tradition for our church—a New Orleans-style jazz funeral for the old year. This service offers opportunities for reflection on the past year, a chance to “bury” whatever that was negative or hurtful to us in 20xx, and looks forward...

M Melanie Morel-Ensminger
Ritual for the New Year

Ritual for the New Year

We pause now on the edge of the New Year— An artificial beginning to be sure—but still a time to reflect. Like Janus, the god for whom January was named, we glance back at past joys and sorrows That what has past can guide us Toward what is yet to be. Let us reflect for a moment on some of the...

J Joan Kahn-Schneider
Transgender Rite of Passage

Transgender Rite of Passage

We come together today to celebrate, honor, hold and support your new life. We recognize the complexity that is gender, while also recognizing the complexity that goes into living a life that openly and honestly challenges the simplicity of our culturally imposed binary gender system. It takes...

D Del Mulhern
A Ritual of Joys and Sorrows

A Ritual of Joys and Sorrows

Introduction: Ours is welcoming community where we find connection; ...a spiritual community where we find meaning; Ours is a sharing community where our joys are amplified; ...a caring community where our sorrows are lessened; We take this moment to reflect on our joys and sorrows and acknowledg...

S Scott Phillips
Commissioning of the Church Leaders

Commissioning of the Church Leaders

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, a commissioning is "the act of granting certain powers or authority to carry out a particular task or duty." In many churches there is a common misconception that the leaders of the church run things—that the Board or the Council of Chairs has all...

E Erik Walker Wikstrom
Dedication of a New Chalice

Dedication of a New Chalice

We, the Members of the [Name] Unitarian Universalist Congregation, dedicate this chalice to Truth, to Community, and to Commitment. Recognizing that each person possesses a portion of the greater Truth, and knowing that no one may comprehend Truth in its entirety, we affirm that this flame shall...

T Thomas Rhodes
Meditation on Forgiveness (a ritual for Yom Kippur)

Meditation on Forgiveness (a ritual for Yom Kippur)

Note: This ritual involves writing grievances on a piece of paper and casting them into a flame. All our lives we have been told to seek that which is good, to turn our faces from the dark and toward the light, toward beauty, toward truth. But the truth is that the world is not always good. The...

J Jay E Abernathy, Jr
A Litany of Farewell to An Intern

A Litany of Farewell to An Intern

Minister: The life of our religious community is fluid, ever changing with new lives, new visions, new possibilities and new ministries. [Length of time] ago we welcomed our intern minister, [Name]. And we have been changed....

K Kayle Rice
Ceremony of Remembrance: Yom Hashoah

Ceremony of Remembrance: Yom Hashoah

Note: Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) 2016 begins in the evening of Wednesday, May 4 and ends in the evening of Thursday, May 5. This week holds the annual observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Yom Hashoah. Jewish communities prefer not to call the dreadful events of the 1930's and...

M Mary Wellemeyer
Bridging Ceremony: Your Time Is Now

Bridging Ceremony: Your Time Is Now

ALL: Today we honor the youth among us You who are stepping beyond and away and toward Today we share in your journey And encourage your discovery Young Adults (18-35): Today we welcome your energy And offer you a safe place to grow Today we celebrate your hopes and dreams Come live, breathe, thr...

J Jaynn Truran
If you woke this morning with a sorrow so heavy

If you woke this morning with a sorrow so heavy

If you woke this morning with a sorrow so heavy that you need the help of this community to carry it; or if you woke with a joy so great that it simply must be shared, now is the time for you to speak....

J Judy Welles
Honoring Those Who Have Mothered Us

Honoring Those Who Have Mothered Us

I don't know about you, but I'm a little bit skittish about holidays that seem to have originated with the greeting card people. That's not true, in fact, of Mother's Day....

B Barbara Child