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Affirmations Benedictions Blessings Chalice Lightings Closings Invocations Litanies Meditations Openings Poetry Prayers Readings Responsive Readings Rituals Stories
Chalice for the Earth

Chalice for the Earth

We light this chalice for the Earth, of which we all are part / Encendemos este cáliz por la tierra

A Adena Dannouf and Tania Y Márquez
I Breathe

I Breathe

As we light this chalice, may each breath remind us of the sacred rhythm of life, the pulse of creation, and the power we hold to shape the world around us.

C Craig Rowland
The Spark of Love

The Spark of Love

Love begets love, and it is love that lights our chalice.

a anastasia birosh
Into Many Coming Years

Into Many Coming Years

We cannot know what all the year may bring, and would we heed the prophecy if we could?

M Mary Shelden
The Infinite Divinity

The Infinite Divinity

We are whole and holy; we are loved beyond all measure. And in our refusal to accept anything less, may we know we are rooted in the infinite divinity.

J Jami Yandle
The Heart of a UU

The Heart of a UU

We kindle this flame (hold arms together in a chalice shape and wiggle fingers) to honor the heart of a Unitarian Universalist (hold hands together in a heart shape) Someone who shows strength (flex both arms in a strong motion) Someone who lends a helping hand (flip one hand, palm facing outward...

A Adena Dannouf
The Great Turning

The Great Turning

As we light this chalice, we kindle the spirit of the great turning: the movement for justice alive in this nation today. May we feel it in our bones, and in the stillness of this hour, may we sense it calling our name.

L Lisa Garcia-Sampson
A Tapestry of Souls

A Tapestry of Souls

We light this chalice to ignite the divine spark of the universe, whose pronouns have always been plural…

J Jami Yandle
Love Remains the Center (Lighting)

Love Remains the Center (Lighting)

We light this flame to remind us: love is the center. As we grow and connect, mature and deepen: love remains the center. When the light of truth burns all else away: love remains.

E Eric Hepburn
Opening to the Light

Opening to the Light

We light this chalice with all our soul’s longing, to be who we are, to be who will we will become, to be ourselves.

S SarahRuth Wekoye Davis
Honoring Our Labors

Honoring Our Labors

In recognition of Labor Day, we light this flame to honor all work, including the work of our hands and our backs, in gratitude for all the labors that support our world, and for all those who boldly continue the work of justice, equity, and peace.

F Florence Caplow
Chalice Lighting for Labor Day

Chalice Lighting for Labor Day

On this Sunday before Labor Day, we light this flame to honor all work. Not only the work we do for pay with our hands, our backs, and our minds, that is important, yes. But also the work we do for love!

P Paul Dalzell
The Light Within Us

The Light Within Us

We light our chalice as a symbol of the Light within us and the life that flows through the world around us.

B Brian C. Lee
Welcoming the Stranger

Welcoming the Stranger

Original version in English by Tracy Bleakney, traducción en español por Theresa Soto A child journeys far from home Fearful and brave, in need of safe harbor. Guided by this chalice, may we seek to understand the causes of flight. Like the comfort of a candle flickering in a window of darkness,...

J Julián Jamaica Soto and Tracy Bleakney
Created in the Image of Love

Created in the Image of Love

We proclaim with Love on our side: Our bodies are sacred. Our minds are blessed. Our spirits are beloved.

K Karishma Gottfried
Light is Returning

Light is Returning

Around us, light is returning. It rekindles the spirit of life in the skeletons of trees. It brings forth new shoots from the soil. It wakes us from our winter slumber, and invites us to see what lies beyond. We light this chalice in the spirit of our Earth’s awakening and to reaffirm our...

K Kate McPhee
All Animal Chalice

All Animal Chalice

We light this chalice, spark of the original fire of creation, to remind us that we all on this planet—the furred, the feathered, the finned, and the scaled, along with us featherless bipeds—we are all made of the same star-stuff and all share a common destiny. We all share the same hopes of a...

M Mark Causey
Different Yet United

Different Yet United

We come from many places—along different paths, bringing different truths.

P Pat Uribe-Lichty
Beacon of Freedom

Beacon of Freedom

Holy flame of times past, brighten this present moment…

T Tracy Johnson
Banned Book Chalice Lighting

Banned Book Chalice Lighting

We light this chalice, so that by its light we may read ALL the books…

J Julie Conrady
May This Light Guide Us

May This Light Guide Us

We light this chalice, here in the darkness of winter as we wait.

J JeKaren Olaoya
Light of Our Creative Spirits

Light of Our Creative Spirits

Illuminate our hearts and the spaces between them in this Sacred Time of unfolding.

T Tracy Johnson
This Night of Mystery

This Night of Mystery

We pause on this night of mystery, to tell the stories, to sing the songs, and to bring more light into the world.

L Linda Hart
The Ember of Hope, and Love Set Ablaze

The Ember of Hope, and Love Set Ablaze

What if sometimes it’s about sparking potential into possibility, and possibility into existence?

L Lisa Doege
Searching for Justice and Hope

Searching for Justice and Hope

“Verily with hardship comes ease...” (Quran; 94:5-6)

S Summer Albayati
Deep Calls Unto Deep, Joy Calls Unto Joy

Deep Calls Unto Deep, Joy Calls Unto Joy

Deep calls unto deep, joy calls unto joy, light calls unto light. Let the kindling of this flame rekindle in us the inner light of love, of peace, of hope. And "as one flame lights another, nor grows the less,” we pledge ourselves to be bearers of the light, wherever we are.

G Gordon B McKeeman
For Holy Days on Which We Recall the Old Stories

For Holy Days on Which We Recall the Old Stories

For holy days on which we recall the old stories, we light the flame. For Passover which reminds us of the courage and strength of those seeking freedom in the past, we light the flame. For Easter which reminds us that love is our greatest challenge, we light the flame....

D Dillman Baker Sorrells
Deepening the Spirit

Deepening the Spirit

We light this chalice, the beacon that calls us: To love To justice To a deepening of the spirit.

C Cynthia Landrum
Hymn to the Light

Hymn to the Light

Our light is the light of the sun, keeper of all we love; our light is the light of the earth, provider of sustenance; our light is the light of all living things, life precious like our own....

D David Breeden
Chalice Lighting invoking Thoreau

Chalice Lighting invoking Thoreau

Let us hold a quiet moment now as we light our Chalice. Henry David Thoreau wrote in his journal on February 2nd, 1841: "A child asked his father what became of the old moon, and he said it was cut up into stars." Consider the light. Light out of darkness. Light begets light....

B Ben Soule
Within the Heart of the Flower

Within the Heart of the Flower

Within the heart of the flower, the fountain of beauty Within the heart of the community, a fire that warms and dances Within the heart of each of us, a spark of the spirit of life. Holy, holy, holy.

A Amy Zucker Morgenstern
Chalice Lighting for Recognition of Ministry

Chalice Lighting for Recognition of Ministry

We light our chalice this morning in the spirit of gratitude, Thankful for years of ministerial service to this church, For celebrations of life and death, dedications, and communions, For leading worship, grounding our congregation in spiritual practice, Helping us to navigate the wonders and...

N Nick Wilbourn
We Gather As Many Drops

We Gather As Many Drops

We gather as many drops, each winding our own path down life’s surfaces and ruts. Here we pool together as a single body, flowing together for a time. Together we are a stream, at times even a river, for with our shared force we can travel toward oceans of meaning and seas of connection.

L Leslie Takahashi
We Carry The Flame

We Carry The Flame

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...

D Douglas Taylor
Living with Pride

Living with Pride

We light our chalice flame For those who lived their lives in closets of shame; For those who furtively visited the bars, where nobody knew your name; For the Stonewall riot—and the fierce transwomen who fought; For the plague, which still takes far too many, too young, too soon. So many gone. So...

L Lori Gorgas Hlaban
Grounding in Our Faith

Grounding in Our Faith

In a time of uncertainty, when everything around us is changing constantly— each day new developments, rising numbers, changing guidelines; when the world we live in suddenly seems upside-down and topsy-turvy: We light our chalice to remind ourselves of our grounding in our faith....

A Alice Anacheka-Nasemann
We inherit this free faith from the brave and gentle

We inherit this free faith from the brave and gentle

This light we kindle is set in the lamp of our history. We inherit this free faith from the brave and gentle, fierce and outspoken hearts and minds that have come before us. Let us be worthy inheritors of this faith and through our good works, pass it boldly to a new generation.

A Audette Fulbright Fulson
Let us Look First to the Response of Love

Let us Look First to the Response of Love

In these hard times, let us look first to the response of love. In the midst of challenge, may our chalice flame bear witness to the inherent worth and dignity of every human being. In the midst of uncertainty, may our chalice be a beacon of encouragement, that our values may guide our choices....

M Maureen Killoran
We Kindle this Flame

We Kindle this Flame

We kindle this flame as a symbol of the light we would keep glowing in our lives: of appreciation for those who differ, loving kindness for those who suffer, esteem for all who remind us of our heritage and calling as agents of the Most High.

P Philip Randall Giles
Still There is Hope

Still There is Hope

During our darkest moments, still, there is hope. When facing our biggest challenges, still, there is hope. When all we can do is put one foot in front of the other, still, there is hope. When we can’t find the way out, still, there is hope. When all we can do to help is hold someone’s hand as...

N Nadine McSpadden
There is Light

There is Light

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....

E Eric Williams
Faith in Summer

Faith in Summer

In faith, together, we light this small scrap of light, symbol of Grandfather Sun's enormous power, whose energy burns so brightly In these days of deep Summer, catapulting the leaves and vines, vegetables, flowers and fruits to astonishing size, lengths and heights, spilling over the tops of cag...

E Ellen Hamilton
For This One Hour

For This One Hour

For this one hour, Spirit of Life we let go. For this one hour, may we let go of our anxieties, our fears, our anger, our self-doubts, our regrets, our petty grievances, and our distractions....

P Paul Stephan Dodenhoff
We cast not our eyes below

We cast not our eyes below

We cast not our eyes below, we say to ourselves we are how we came, wounded from struggles, triumphant in our survival, entitled by birthright to belong to this the only humankind there is, saying I am included, I belong, I am here, and I will be and do....

M Ma Theresa "Tet" Gustilo Gallardo
May the Flame Burn True and High and Strong

May the Flame Burn True and High and Strong

The flaming chalice is the symbol of Unitarian Universalism. It is an everlasting flame for this community. It offers its warmth to those who are cold. It provides light to those who would see. It purifies and transforms this sanctuary into sacred space, this congregation into sacred community....

B Beatrice Hitchcock
Drawn Together

Drawn Together

We come together every week Bound not by a creed, Or a mutual desire to please one God Or many Gods Yet we are drawn together By a belief, that how we are in the world, Who we are together Matters. We light this chalice, together in the knowledge That love, not fear, can change this world...

J Jennifer Gracen
Chalice Lighting for Yom Kippur

Chalice Lighting for Yom Kippur

We light our chalice, symbol of our faith, For truth, sought through a questioning heart and an attentive mind; And for love, pursued through obstacles inside and outside our own human heart; And for forgiveness, and all it entails— The place where truth and love meet and merge.

V Vanessa Rush Southern
In a World Filled With Hate

In a World Filled With Hate

In a world filled with the darkness of ignorance, let us bring the light of reason In a world filled with the darkness of despair, may we share the light of hope In a world filled with the darkness of hate, let us shine the light of love...

D Douglas John Traversa
The Symbol of our Shared Faith

The Symbol of our Shared Faith

Joy and grief Health and sickness Light and Darkness Peace and anger Life and death Wholeness and brokeness We each bring all of these here to this sanctuary of unity in diversity For this one hour of this one day And pour them out Commingling the oil of our lives To become the flame of this chal...

P Paul Stephan Dodenhoff
Abundance Chalice Lighting

Abundance Chalice Lighting

We light our chalice this morning, grateful for the love that we experience in this beloved community. May the flame light the way for all who seek such abundance.

D Dawn Skjei Cooley