Chalice lighting
Chalice lighting
The flame rises from the chalice
as prayer proceeds from the heart.
The flame spends itself in giving light
But the heart is never spent in prayer.
May our hearts be inflamed with love
for all that is.
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
Chalice lighting
As we light this transitory flame
May a perpetual flame burn in our hearts
As we lift up this earthen chalice
May our hearts be filled with living waters
Chalice lighting for Rosh Hashanah
As the bird of space moved over the face of the waters
As the creative word was spoken
As the universe was born on this day
And life first emerged from the fertile clay
May the Divine Presence be with us
as we light this chalice:
a flame hovering over the void.
Chalice lighting for Harvest
We reap the fields and orchards
We gather in the wheat.
The gleaners at the margins
Look for our gifts.
Share the bounty of the land:
Open heart and open hand.
As we light our chalice flame
So we laud the holy name
of love.
Chalice lighting for Lammas / Lughnasadh
The corn is gathered,
The last sheaf bound,
The harvest gathered in.
Life is given that life may continue.
Let the games begin.
Let it be a dance we do.
As each sheaf is safely gathered in
Let’s illuminate the chalice flame
As we dance the harvest in.
Chalice lighting for Midsummer
The light is at the height of its power
The Sun shines fiercely.
But now that power must wane
Descending into the darkness
to be reborn.
Light and darkness dance
in the crucible of desire
and bring forth life.
So we light the chalice flame
to represent life, hope, love and laughter.