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Affirmations Benedictions Blessings Chalice Lightings Closings Invocations Litanies Meditations Openings Poetry Prayers Readings Responsive Readings Rituals Stories
The Promise and the Practice Litany: The Promise That Binds

The Promise and the Practice Litany: The Promise That Binds

We are a covenantal people, and the promise of our faith, which was enough to bring us together, should have been enough to bind us together in love.

V Viola Abbitt
To the Earth, We Return: A Burial Litany

To the Earth, We Return: A Burial Litany

We honor all our beloved dead whose bodies have returned to the earth, the earth that is our home. We honor their lives which shaped our own. We honor their love, which is beyond death. We honor their teachings, which teach us still.

E Elizabeth Bukey Saunter
All of Us Need All of Us to Make It

All of Us Need All of Us to Make It

Say it with me, loud or soft: “All of us need all of us to make it.”

M Megan Foley and Julián Jamaica Soto
A Ritual for Reproductive Choice

A Ritual for Reproductive Choice

May the beginnings and endings in our stories be held in unconditional love and acceptance.

J Julia Hamilton
A Time for Transformation

A Time for Transformation

Leader: For our earth, our ancient mother, blue-green planet of the galaxy, harbinger of lives beyond measure, we honor you with our humble presence, we bow with humility and gratitude. All: We pledge to transform our lives....

K Kate R. Walker
Litany for Those Lost to Climate Change

Litany for Those Lost to Climate Change

Leader: [if applicable: In addition to our own beloved dead], we take the time to acknowledge all those already lost as the world feels the effects of global warming and climate change. Thousands of people, as well as animals and plants, die every year from the effects of global climate change....

E Erica Baron
Easter Litany

Easter Litany

Note: Lisa Maria has provided instructions, below, to make this litany interactive and fun. One of her suggestions entails inviting an added written response from members of the congregation. #1: We celebrate the memory of winter’s sleep and the quieting of our souls. Response: Sing praises for...

L Lisa Maria Andreoli Steinberg
Wake up O my Soul

Wake up O my Soul

All: Wake up O my Soul Leader: It takes energy to stand and defiantly stand against voices that wear me down. All: Wake up O my Soul Leader: It takes the force of my will to take charge of my life and do what I can....

M Ma Theresa "Tet" Gustilo Gallardo
Why They Sing

Why They Sing

I believe music is god given Singing is an act of creation, of bringing into the world something that wasn't there before. Singing is a natural expression of my spirit—at the same time it can be soothing, energizing, crying, laughing, angelic or down in the dirt blues...it's all good! Singing is...

C Carie J Johnsen
The Home That Love Made

The Home That Love Made

This is the home that love made. It is full of the love that the founders felt, when they planned out these walls and raised these beams above us. This is the home that love made. It is full of the love of all who have worshipped here; those who have celebrated and grieved here; the babies...

A Amanda Poppei
Some people say that Jesus is the light of the world.

Some people say that Jesus is the light of the world.

Some people say that Jesus is the light of the world. We all can be the light of the world if we seek to act in ways that enlarge the realms of love and justice. When we share another's pain or offer a comforting ear to a friend in need, We are the light of the world. When we give bread to the...

R Rebecca A Edmiston-Lange
Live in me, Spirit of Life (a litany)

Live in me, Spirit of Life (a litany)

We pray: Live in me, Spirit of Life. We are alive Because others have lived And we all were born within homes we did not build. Live in me, Spirit of Life. Every one of us is alone No one can live a life but each self And we all will have made our choices before we die. Live in me, Spirit of Life.

J Joel Miller
A Litany for Sufferers of Domestic Abuse

A Litany for Sufferers of Domestic Abuse

[In the] spirit of love, harmony, and remembrance, we stand too often divided, too often set apart from one another in heedless ways. We seek to be compassionate but our vision may be clouded or distracted. We too often go forward, day by day, and look without seeing....

D Dennis McCarty
To the Death of Michael Brown: We Bear Witness

To the Death of Michael Brown: We Bear Witness

Turn and look at your neighbor. Not only can you probably see them. You can experience being in the same space with them today. If you were called as a court witness, you could speak to the truth that they exist. Today, we will bear witness to the death of Michael Brown....

J Julián Jamaica Soto
It Takes a UU Village to Raise a UU Child

It Takes a UU Village to Raise a UU Child

Leader 1: It takes a Unitarian Universalist Village to raise a Unitarian Universalist Child. We will read what we believe important for our children to learn, to know, and to experience. We invite you to respond by saying “It takes a village to raise a child.” Leader 2: It is important for our...

T Tess Baumberger
Jesus is Resurrected Litany

Jesus is Resurrected Litany

This can be read by a single voice, or the congregation can be invited to speak, responsively, the phrase "Jesus is resurrected." Jesus is resurrected— because his message of love, justice, healing, and liberation transcends time and space. Jesus is resurrected— because in his story we hear our...

K Kimberley Debus
Litany for Outgoing Leaders

Litany for Outgoing Leaders

Leader: Today we mark the turning of a season. We mark it with the ritual exchange of flowers. We mark it with the election of new leaders and our annual business meeting. And right now, in this moment, we mark it with celebration of outgoing leaders. [Invite outgoing leaders forward] There is a...

C Cathy Rion Starr
Charge to Engage

Charge to Engage

This charge was written to be led by several voices: one person says a line, and then all in attendance respond, “We charge you to engage.” Because your congregation is located in one of the poorest cities in the nation in the richest state per capita in the country We charge you to engage...

C Cathy Rion Starr
Litany of Compassion

Litany of Compassion

[In the] spirit of love, harmony, and remembrance, we stand too often divided, too often set apart from one another in heedless ways. We seek to be compassionate but our vision may be clouded or distracted. We too often go forward, day by day, and look without seeing....

D Dennis McCarty
Blessing of the Water

Blessing of the Water

This water is sacred. It is made sacred by the many hands that have poured it with intention and love, the many stories that each drop contains, the many lives surrounding it in this unique moment, connected by commitment and faith. This water is sacred. May it continue to flow through this...

R Ranwa Hammamy
Enter the Circle

Enter the Circle

Leader: Let us enter into the circle of energy and love; Response: All are welcome here. We are an inclusive community of faith and kindness, memory and hope; All are welcome here. We are a community with a deep and abiding trust in the promise of goodness in every human heart and soul. All are...

D Dori J. Somers
Together, We Arrive

Together, We Arrive

Let us call each other to this time and place, as we seek the Ground of our Being. When invited, please respond: “I am arriving. Together, we arrive.” We are here in body, and yet we are still arriving. When we left our homes this morning, we left behind to-do lists, coffee, household tasks,...

E Erika Hewitt
We Travel This Road Together

We Travel This Road Together

Please respond to this call to worship with the words: We travel this road together. From the busy-ness of everyday we gather once a week to remember who we are, to dream of who we might become. We travel this road together. As companions on this journey, we share the milestones we meet along the...

T Tess Baumberger
After "He Is Risen!"

After "He Is Risen!"

After the Hosannahs have all been shouted, After anguished moments in the garden have been spent, After “take this bread and eat, take this wine and drink,” After betrayal with a kiss, After hands washed and 39 lashes, After seven last words and “he breathed his last,” After crucifixion and...

J Joshua Mason Pawelek
Labyrinth Dedication Litany

Labyrinth Dedication Litany

One: Spirit of Guiding Love, we give thanks today for all of the people who followed a dream, and whose vision, persistence, labor, and commitment have given us the gift of this labyrinth. All: Bless this labyrinth and all who use it....

K Kristin Grassel Schmidt
Mother's Day Blessing Litany

Mother's Day Blessing Litany

This piece can be read as a meditation, or used as a litany, in which the congregation responds to each line (in unison), "We ask a blessing on this day." In one way or another, each of you was born of a mother. Because we are human, it's likely that your relationship with that mother is, was, or...

M Maureen Killoran
A Place to Forgive and to Be Forgiven

A Place to Forgive and to Be Forgiven

For those we have hurt in any way, whether through words or deed or thoughts. Here is a place to forgive and to be forgiven. For the excuses we have made, just to be right. Here is a place to forgive and to be forgiven. For the blame we have placed on someone else, again and again....

C Cathy Cartwright-Chow
Litany of Solidarity

Litany of Solidarity

Please join me in a litany of solidarity. Many of us face oppression, or our loved ones face oppression, and we fear that oppression will worsen....

C Catie Scudera
A Litany of With-ness

A Litany of With-ness

To the refugee family seeking a safe place For their children’s dreams, say: I am with you in this. To the trans teenager longing for a world That accepts them for who they are, say: I am with you in this....

P Phillip Lund
No One Is Outside the Circle of Love

No One Is Outside the Circle of Love

Leader: We know that hurt moves through the world, perpetrated by action, inaction, and indifference. Our values call us to live in the reality of the heartbreak of our world, remembering that: Congregation: “No one is outside the circle of love.” L: We who are Unitarian Universalist not only...

E Erika Hewitt and Susan Frederick-Gray
May We Live the Spirit of Pride

May We Live the Spirit of Pride

With gratitude for the freedom to be our true authentic selves, may we live the Spirit of Pride With the courage that comes from challenging fear, may we live the Spirit of Pride With sorrow for those who could not be here with us today, and in honor of those who died of AIDS or who lost their...

E Elizabeth Ketcham
We Grieve Together

We Grieve Together

As the news cycle brings us images of terror and heartbreak once again, We grieve together As each of us faces into this new level of horror, We grieve together As we remember other moments of pain, fear, and loss, We grieve together Yearning for an end to violence and suffering, We grieve togeth...

C Caitlin Cotter Coillberg
Sabbath Rest

Sabbath Rest

Leader: Because the daily pressure of life weighs heavy on our minds, on our bodies, and on our spirits. All: We need a time of sabbath rest. Leader: Because the stresses of our culture often leave us feeling burdened and looking for hope. All: We need a time of sabbath rest....

D Dan Lambert
Winter Solstice Litany

Winter Solstice Litany

Congregational response: “Blessings and praise!” For the darkness that nourishes our spirits; for the seasons that remind us that each moment has its own beauty; for generosity in whatever form: Blessings and praise! For snowy winter mornings before a single footstep disturbs the stillness; for...

F Florence Caplow
Us. Here.

Us. Here.

This litany is intended to be read antiphonally (the congregation, split left and right, reading it to one another). Here I am, my sibling. Here I am. Can you hear me? Here I am. Saying you . . . You. Here. Now. We. We are. Here. Us. Together. Can you. Hear me here? I am calling to you....

D David Breeden
Litany for Becoming

Litany for Becoming

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—...

e enfleshed
In Love

In Love

Rooting ourselves in love as the source of all we are, Let us love.

C Charles Thomas