Gathering
Welcome & Announcements Worship Associate
Good morning. It is indeed a please to welcome you here this morning!
I am ______, and I am your Worship Associate this morning.
(optional: you can personalize this by adding something about yourself here - e.g., a role you have in the congregation, or length of membership - but something VERY brief)
If this is your first time visiting us, please fill out a Visitor’s Form so we can stay in touch. And you can find helpful information about this congregation and Unitarian Universalism at our Welcoming Table.
Our informational gatherings, UU & You, will resume in the fall. Dates and times will be announced in the Beacon, 1st UU's newsletter.
And if you find yourself in agreement with our principles and values, we invite you to consider becoming a Member of First Unitarian Church. Contact the church office at the number printed in the Order of Service.
Also, as part of our caring outreach to one another, we invite you to be part of the Sharing of Sorrows and Joys in our Service. You can celebrate a birth, marriage or achievement; mourn a death or loss; or request prayers for healing. To take part, write the name of your loved ones and your intention in the journal located on a table at the rear of the Sanctuary (and light a candle there, if you wish). Your milestones will be read at that point in the Worship Service.
There are Announcements included in the Order of Service. We invite you to take the time to read them, and if you want, take them home with you as a reminder.
Today’s speaker is <First Last Name>. <Insert brief bio of guest speaker.>
Whether you are guest, friend or member, it is good to see you today and we are glad you are here! Please join us following the Service for refreshments and conversation.
Centering (sounding the gong) after which Worship begins
Call to Worship or Opening Words Speaker
Kindling the Chalice Flame Worship Associate
Please rise in body or spirit as we kindle this chalice flame, symbol of our chosen faith. Let us read together the words printed in the Order of Service (pause.) Together we say,
May the light we now kindle inspire us
to use our power to heal with love, to help with compassion,
to bless with joy, to serve the spirit of freedom in the fullness of community.
[Speaker lights Chalice.]
Hymn Hymn Title #0000
Worship Associate or Speaker:
Please remain standing for the opening hymn, number <0000> in your teal/grey Hymnal.
Greeting One Another Worship Associate or Speaker
Please remain standing - we invite you to take this opportunity to greet one another, a gesture of welcome grounded in the practice of hospitality.
So take a moment to say hello to someone near you - especially welcoming those who are new to our community this morning or folks you might not have met yet - and offer a greeting of peace.
Community
Sharing of Sorrows and Joys Speaker
(Pianist quietly plays Spirit of Life #123 or other hymn)
We set aside these few moments in our service to note the significant events or people in our lives - to share our milestones.
In these moments of peace and reflection, we call to your attention the names of people whom we hold especially close today.
We hold them as we would each be held in our joys and celebrations, in our sorrow and prayer.
We begin by honoring our sorrows:
Caring Associate reads what "sorrows" have been shared...
Speaker:
In honor of each named and for all those who carry an unspoken concern with them this morning ... holding each and all in our compassionate thoughts and the prayers of our hearts… we breathe together. [Long pause (3 deep breaths) as music continues to play.]
Speaker:
And filled with the gracious spirit of life, we express our gratitude and honor our joys…
Caring Associate reads whatever joys have been shared
Speaker:
We honor our joys and our sorrows, our celebration and our grief,
as we gather in this beloved community.
We rest now in gratitude for the gift of life.
In this moment of breath and silence,
bear in mind those named and unnamed milestones,
and offer one another the gift of our presence
and the songs of our hearts...
please remain seated and join in singing Spirit of Life, hymn #123
Hymn - (congregation remains seated...) Spirit of Life #123 (or other selected hymn)
Meditation Speaker
Join with me now in a time of personal centering, and quieting, in a time silent contemplation. In this shared space, in our breathing together, we offer one another the greatest gift we can give one another - our very presence.
gong - Long silence... (30 secs - 1 minute) - gong
Amen and Blesséd be.
Receiving
Reading Worship Associate
Associate: Today’s reading is from <Title> by <Author>.
Musical Reflection Song Title ~ Composer
Sermon Speaker
(1000 - 1500 words; roughly two pages single spaced 12 inch font, 1 inch margins)
Commitment
The Offering Worship Associate
The Offering in liberal religion is a vital part of our history of faith.
As a covenanted community, people who freely choose to be here, our voluntary giving is symbolic of that freedom of choice.
Aware of the diversity of resources in this room, we encourage your generosity and invite you to give as you are able. And visitors need not feel compelled to give... if you wish you can let the offertory plate pass by.
It is in this spirit of welcome, inclusion and generosity that we accept this morning’s offering.
So let us say together the words printed in the Order of Service…
We give this offering in the spirit of our shared responsibility
To support this congregation - in compassion and action,
faith and fellowship, hope and wholeness.
We dedicate these gifts as we affirm our lives in community.
Offertory (music) Song Title ~ Composer
Returning
Closing Words Speaker
Hymn Hymn Title #0000
Worship Associate or Speaker:
Please rise in body or spirit and join in our closing hymn, singing number <0000>....
Extinguishing the Chalice Worship Associate or Speaker
Please remain standing as we extinguish the chalice flame and read the words printed in your order of service.
We extinguish this flame but not the light of truth,
the warmth of community or the fire of commitment.
These we carry in our hearts until we are together again.
Benediction Worship Associate or Speaker
As you are comfortable doing so, please join hands with those nearest you as we share these words of sending forth... Spoken Benediction
Postlude
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