The travelers had come a long way, and had a long way yet to go. Unable to come off the donkey without her husband’s assistance, and the grace of a large stone, still she came down, one hand to her back, feeling the ache throughout her body....
It's okay to be feel weary of resiliency and wholeness and learning and growth.
It is now, when we are called to act on our values, not to hide, not to fear, but to be bold and loud.
We are held by the great Book of Life, in which it is written that we will inevitably face deprivation and discomfort. Each among us must contemplate our own place in it all.
It is always good to give thanks! All that we have is a gift from life: our food, our relationships, our shelter from the cold. And when we give thanks, it is always good to be mindful of all people, and notice those who are suffering and do what we can to ease suffering and change its causes....
This is the season of endings and beginnings, when the small signs of dawn pierce through the night and something new is born. But first comes the waiting. First come the lessons of endings and beginnings....
Come. Gather. Not into a common space— sharing a physical closeness we long for, precluded by wise choice. But come, gather into this common time and a common space. We need to be together. We yearn for connection....
In this quiet hour may our spirits be renewed. In this gathering of friends may we be ready to extend ourselves to those in need, and with trust to receive the hand that is offered. In this community of ideals may we remember the principles that guide us and reflect upon those things that give...
Come. Let us be joined in seeking the aspirations of the heart. Come. Let us be joined in giving voice to those melodies which can heal the wounded soul. Come. Let us be joined in speaking the words which set us free.
We are here that we might have life and have it more abundantly, so that we might share it with others. Come, let us join together as a generous people.
Welcome to this place of possibility! This is love's hearth, the home of hope, a refuge for minds in search of truth unfolding, ever beautiful, ever strange. Here, compassion is our shelter, freedom our protection from the storms of bigotry and hate. In this abode, may we find comfort and courage.
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child... Here may you find a warm greeting a kind word a gentle touch Sometimes I feel like I have no friend... Here may you find a community of support a pulse of liberation a vision of hope Sometimes I feel I am almost gone......
To “invoke” is to “call forth” and is traditionally associated with calling upon God. You can also think of it as invoking the spirit of your community—its vision of justice, its playful energy, or its familial feeling. Invocations can also serve to introduce the theme that you’ll be...
February is not for the faint hearted, I think. It is so exceedingly ordinary, having neither the romance of spring nor the bravado of winter. And the ordinary is tough, it seems to me, demanding as it does not only endurance but imagination. We gather on this late winter morning in a village of...
Today is Father's Day, a day in which we honor and offer gratitude for our fathers, in whatever form or fashion they come into our lives—biological fathers, stepfathers, adoptive and foster fathers, grandfathers, spiritual fathers, and all of the uncles, brothers, and friends who, whether they...
In this hour of holy stillness we gather to honor the life and the person we love. In this hour of Holy Stillness we remind ourselves that the flames of life and love are never fully extinguished. In this hour of Holy Stillness we offer ourselves for sharing the weight of each other’s grief. In...
Open your hearts, my friends, And let yourself feel the reality of absence. Open your hearts, and acknowledge That we gather in the presence of death. Open your hearts. Make room For the healing balm of connection, the release of forgiveness. No matter what pain dwells within your spirit, Or how...
There is too much beauty in this world to give up on it yet, and it is always too soon to surrender to cynicism....
Let us be a faith that gathers, reaching for one another through the walls of hate others build, through the cages of ignorance and arrogance, and through the fear that burns city streets....
Give up the fight For some other moment Some other life Than here, and now Give up the longing for some other world The wishing for other choices to make other songs to sing other bodies, other ages, other countries, other stakes Purge the past; forgive the future— for each come too soon.
Leave aside the little thoughts that distract you from the depths of your soul, For this is a holy place, and now is a holy time. Join with the others in this room, this community of seekers, and together, let us find our Sabbath.
Come, let us worship together. Let us open our minds to the challenge of reason, open our hearts to the healing of love, open our lives to the calling of conscience, open our souls to the comfort of joy....
We are people of all ages who enter this space bringing our joys and our concerns. We come together in hope. We greet each other warmly with our voices and our smiles. We come together in peace. We light the chalice to symbolize our interdependence and our unity. We come together in harmony. We...
What life have we, if we have not life together? There is no life not lived in community, and no community not lived in celebration and praise! Adapted from lines from T. S. Eliot's "The Rock."...
Children of the earth and sky, we are nurtured, sustained, given warmth and light from above and below. Supported by earth's strong, firm crust, we build our homes, till the fields, plant our gardens and orchards....
Let us seek the quiet and the calm Let us lay aside our loud calling Let us lay aside our struggle Speak softly: let us listen to the melodies that recall other proportions Our moments tarry not with us Let us then seek the dimension that endures beyond all nowness and hereness beyond all...
I you us them those people wouldn’t it be lovely if one could live in a constant state of we? some of the most commonplace words can be some of the biggest dividers: they? what if there was no they ? what if there was only us ?...
Mother's Day is complicated. Joyful for many, yes, but complicated. It's right there on the calendar, even if your mother has died....
We come together tonight to remember the history, or the myth, that says hope was born in the form of a baby named Jesus. What is so compelling about the story of Jesus’s birth, his life, his love? Why has this story reached across the ages to us while so many others have faded into history?...
Here here is where you can lay it down Lay down all that you have carried the weight of the world that has rounded your back leaving you aching and exhausted Here here is where healing begins where burdens are set down and alongside one another’s their magnitude does not seem as great Here here i...
Every little thing that breaks your heart Is welcome here We'll make a space for it Give it its due time and praise for the wanting it represents the longing for something more, some healing hope that remains not yet We promise no magic no making it all better But offer only this circle of trust...
We feel the season turning. The early sunset glancing through the red-tinged leaves. The newspaper arriving in the cool morning air. The flock of migrating swallows. A feeling of being on the edge of something new. These are the Days of Awe. A time to welcome a new year and a time to make the old...
music arises from depths unknown often without words but never without meaning and spirit rises from deep within me seducing my body to join the song first a tremor in the soul, then tapping of toes breath aligns with breath, heart beats in syncopation and a stuttering buzz in my throat becomes a...
Let there be joy in our coming together this morning. Let there be truth heard in the words we speak and the songs we sing. Let there be help and healing for our disharmony and despair. Let there be silence for the voice within us and beyond us. Let there be joy in our coming together.
Come ye into this house of worship! Come in and find peace and rest, inspiration and aspiration, fellowship and love. Come in and find light for your darkness, a friend's touch for your loneliness, and music for your soul. Come in and let your heart sing for all the blessings that are yours this...
We come to love a church, the traditions, the history, and especially the people associated with it....
Whatever the need that brings you to this special place and hour, know most surely that it is best served through eager receptivity of mind and heart....
We arrive together here Travellers on life's journey Seekers of meaning, of love, of healing, of justice, of truth The journey is long, and joy and woe accompany us at every step None is born that does not die None feels pleasure that does not also feel pain....
Come, come to this place, whoever you are: Wanderer, worshipper, lover of learning, All seekers after what is true, All who seek a community of compassion & diversity Come, come to this place, whoever you are: Though you’ve broken your vows a thousand times And you’re too busy and you don’t...
(adapted from the original) We, whose journeys are always beginning We, whose mission always awaits us We, whose visions are bent on loving, We gather together here. We gather as a community drawn together out of common need, each toting our own carpetbag of treasures and dreams....
Your body is welcome here, all of it. Yes, even that part. And that part. And yes, even that part. The parts you love, and the parts you don’t. For in this place we come with all that we are All that we have been, And all that we are going to be. Our bodies are constantly changing, cells die and...
Come hoof and trunk and tail and horn and paw and wing and claw; Come bird and reptile, mammal born all full of nature’s law. Bring bark and crow and ribbit, too and silent stare and hiss; Bring purr and trill and warble, too and voice no ear can miss....
Come into this place with your whole self – the parts that are raw and exposed; the part that is beaming with joy; the part that is seeking the truth, the new, the possibility. Come into this place – open your heart, lay down your burden, lift up your hope – for something new to happen. Come...
Come, let us enter this space of hope and community. Come, let us enter this space with our sorrows, our joys, our passion and compassion. Come. let us enter this space with the stories of our ancestors, for their strength and wisdom beats in our hearts....
Voice 1: You are beloved and you are welcome here Voice 2: Whether tears have fallen from your eyes this past week or gleeful laughter has spilled out of your smiling mouth Voice 1: You are beloved and you are welcome here Voice 2: Whether you are feeling brave or broken-hearted; defiant or...
May we come into this building hallowed by generations of thoughtful worship. May we come into the company of this congregation, enlightened by reason and moved by concern. May we come with open minds and warm hearts....
Creator of all times and seasons, and of all the seasons of our lives, we gather in this place, thankful for the days that have been, even those that have tried our souls; and hopeful for the days that shall be, even those that shall demand of us the best that we have of faith and hope and courag...
We come to this hour knowing that it is but an hour. Yet out of all the hours in the week this is one that is set apart: an hour that is saved, an hour that is savored. It is a time for us to recognize what gives life meaning. It is a time to honor what we value. It is a time to celebrate our lives.
It is a good morning to be together! When winter's darkness spreads across the land, and cold seeps through our thickest coats, we hurry here, drawn by the warmth of faces familiar and new, to the welcoming walls of this house. Here, for this hour, we open ourselves to new understanding,...
Today we celebrate a dream awakening. Today we worship with renewed hope in our hearts. Today we act on an audacity of hopes and dreams for the future. Today we begin the hard work for justice, equity and compassion in all human relations, for today is a day like no other and it is ours to shape...
