Theme “History”
Meditational prayer
Let us take time for a meditational prayer.
Just to sit quietly and focus on being in this chapel.
Let all other thoughts subside.
Let them go to the back of the mind.
And in the silence of this chapel let our thoughts focus on our inner
Chalice lighting
The chalice is the fullness of life’s experiences
And the emptiness of innocent openness to wonder
As we light the chalice flame
Let us explore the empire of the senses,
Let us celebrate experience and experiment:
the twin expressions of freedom, reason and tolerance.
Chalice lighting
We gather here within these walls
Hallowed by the community
that has gathered here over the centuries.
Countless hands have tended the flame of fellowship
and countless more will keep the light burning. As we light the chalice flame today
Let us not hide our light under a bushel
but be a beacon of hope
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
Heritage of light
We light our chalice
to celebrate our heritage of light:
the light of science and of art;
the light of story and of poem;
the light of nature and of reason;
the inner light of spirit and of truth.
Now and then
Now and then somebody calls at the old chapel.
Searching, – for solitude, tranquillity, history or more likely – ancestors.
As they make their way up the ancient flagstone path they wonder whether they’re walking in the footsteps of their long dead relatives.
Is this the way that their great grandparents walked to their wedding? Were they nervous?
Pilgrims’ prayer
O Spirit of the ages, who transcends all time and space,
We are pilgrims on the path of love,
Seeking light and warmth to carry us on our journey.
Like our ancestors before us,
We ask for your strength and your guidance,
Your protection and your care,
As we walk along this day.
O