“English” language resources
Prayer for diversity
Spirit of Life, Spirit of Love,
Spirit of Hope, Spirit of Justice,
God known by many different names, yet known to all faiths:
What a gift you have given us by making us different from one another!
Each of us with our own perspectives and beliefs,
Each of us with our own strengths,
Each of us
Go forward in peace
As we leave today’s gathering and head into the coming week, may we both find peace and work for peace.
May we be treated generously and treat the people around us with generosity.
May we have wisdom, strength, and patience and know when to exercise each.
May the community of love that we share here
Keeping the chalice flame burning
Be kind.
Be brave.
Be just.
Be merciful.
Be hopeful.
This is how we keep the chalice flame burning until we are together again to light it anew.
Taking the journey together
As we travel the paths that our lives reveal to us,
We are often not sure of the way, the distance, or the destination.
Nevertheless, we have each other.
We can look to one another for wisdom,
We can be grateful for each other’s companionship,
And we can seek support when we have lost hope.
What do we want from this church?
What do we seek from this church?
What is it that we want?
How do we plan to get it?
How will we know when we have it?
We light our chalice this morning to help guide our way.
Come we here in gathered meeting
Suggested Tune: Abbot’s Leigh 87 87 D
Come we here in gathered meeting, ours to live with love and prayer. Here a story to all our living, come we in thought word and deed. This we share in grace of giving, searching our ways to serve the call, here we stand, in song and speaking. This
Joseph Priestley
Any 76 76 76 76 tune will fit
I am a Unitarian.
Joe Priestley is my name.
I am a strict one-Godder,
who from West Riding came.
I preached the Word at Nantwich,
in Leeds and Birmingham;
but now I live in exile,
American, I am.
For wanting human freedom
they burned my
A prayer of concerns and joys
Spirit of Life, you who animate the Universe
Help us to remember the gift that is a human life.
With our consciousness and senses, we can touch, taste, see and feel
So much that is good, and alluring, and enticing.
Spirit of Life, some of us here today may be thinking of concerns more than joys,