PWR Worship Resource Packet Beloved Community
Theme-Based Ministry Project
Pacific Western Region-UUA & First Universalist Church of Denver
SLT = Singing the Living Tradition/ STJ = Singing the Journey / WW = UUA Worship Web/ T = Touchstones
Please attribute the authors of these resources in the Order of Service and in the service itself.
Part 1: Sample Order of Service
Part 2: List of Resources
Part 3: Worship Resources
Part 1: Sample Order of Service
This sample order of service illustrates one way to break the sermon (aka talk, lecture, etc.) into two or three parts. One part would use one of the sermon excerpts provided below, while the other one or two parts would be based on the theme and written and delivered by members of your congregation. An alternative using two parts would be to use two of the sermon excerpts in this packet.
Announcements
Gathering Music
Opening Words
Hymn
Chalice Lighting (either spoken by worship leader or in unison by congregation)
Sung Response #123 Spirit of Life by Carolyn McDade (remain seated)
Spirit of Life, come unto me. Sing in my heart all the stirrings of compassion.
Blow in the wind, rise in the sea; move in the hand giving life the shape of justice.
Roots hold me close; wings set me free; Spirit of Life, come to me, come to me.
Words of Welcome (by worship leader or Board member)
Meeting and Greeting (invite people to greet each other)
Music
Exploration I Suggested length 5 minutes (500 words) written by a member of the
congregation on the theme or use pat of one of the sermons in section 11.
(If you are just doing two explorations, eliminate this one.)
Sharing of Joys and Sorrows (with lighting of candles or another ritual)
(unison response) For the joys shared, we join you in celebration. For the sorrows and concerns spoken here, may you feel our sympathy and compassion. For all that remains unspoken, both joy and sorrow, may the caring of our community offer you both kindness and hope.
Readings from the Common Bowl (use ten quotes from the Touchstones journal read by two people alternating—don’t read the names of the authors of the quotes, but allow a few beats between them so people can absorb the words and the meaning.)
Exploration II Use one of the sermon excerpts provided below (ten minutes/1,000 words)
Offering
Reading or Responsive Reading
Exploration III Suggested length 5 minutes (500 words) written by a member of the
congregation on the theme.
Hymn
Extinguishing the Chalice by Elizabeth Selle Jones (in unison)
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.
Closing Words
Postlude
Part 2: List of Resources
1.0: Opening Words
1.1: SLT #580 The Task of the Religious Community by Rev. Mark Morrison-Reed
1.2: Come down off the ladder by Rev. David S. Blanchard (see below) WW
1.3: Called to Gather by Rev. Kirk D. Loadman-Copeland (see below) WW
1.4: Come into this circle of community by Andrew Pakula (see below) WW
1.5: What life have we, if we have not life together? by Rev. Charles A. Howe (see below) WW
1.6: We gather in community to rest from our labors by Rev. Paul H. L'Herrou (see below) WW
1.7: For our community gathered here by Rev. Jane E. Mauldin (see below) WW
1.8: Sabbath Invitation by Rev. John Millspaugh (see below) WW
1.9: We come to love a church by Rev. Andrew C. Kennedy (see below) WW
1.10: In this quiet hour may our spirits be renewed by Rev. Gary Kowalski (see below) WW
2.0: Chalice Lighting
2.1: Abundance Chalice Lighting by Rev. Dawn Skjei Cooley (see below) WW
2.2: The Struggle for Freedom by Rev. Paul Sprecher (see below) WW
2.3: UU Heritage by Rev. Elizabeth M. Strong (see below) WW
2.4: Blessed is the fire that burns deep in the soul by Rev. Eric A. Heller-Wagner (see below) WW
2.5: O light of life by Rev. Samuel A. Trumbore (see below) WW
2.6: A Communion of Heart and Soul by Rev. Bruce Southworth (see below) WW
3.0: Hymns
3.1: SLT #1 May Nothing Evil Cross This Door (aka Prayer for This House)
3.2: SLT #12 O Life That Maketh All Things New
3.3: SLT #113 Where Is Our Holy Church?
3.4: SLT #145 As Tranquil Streams
3.5: SLT #323 Break Not the Circle
3.6: SLT #354 We Laugh, We Cry
3.7: SLT #360 Here We Have Gathered
3.8: SLT #389 Gathered Here
4.0: Stories & Illustrations
4.1: The Rabbi’s Gift (see below)
4.2: Is It Still Night? (see below)
5.0: Meditations
5.1: Come, yet again, come by Anne Slater (see below) WW
5.2: Here in this space we are gathered by Rev. M. Maureen Killoran (see below) WW
5.3: The Home That Love Made by Rev. Amanda Poppei (see below) WW
5.4: Popularity by Rev. David O. Rankin (see below) WW
5.5: A spirit of meditation by Rev. Linda M. Hansen (see below) WW
6.0: Prayers
6.1: How Shall We Pray? by Judith L. Quarles (see below) WW
6.2: Beloved Community by Rev. Fred L Hammond (see below) WW
6.3: The church is a body by Rev. Victoria Weinstein (see below) WW
6.4: O Deep Mystery of our lives by Rev. Sheldon W. Bennett (see below) WW
6.5: Prayer for those Gathered in Worship by Rev. Barbara J. Pescan (see below) WW
6.6: We thank them all by Mel Harkrader-Pine (see below) WW
6.7: Pastoral Prayer by Rev. Wayne B. Arnason (see below) WW
6.8: Universal Spirit of love, O God within each one of us by Rev. Dorothy May Emerson (see below) WW
7.0: Responsive Readings
7:1: SLT #443 We Arrive Out of Many Singular Rooms by Rev. Kenneth Patton
7:2: SLT #444 This House by Rev. Kenneth Patton
7:3: SLT #576 A Litany of Restoration by Rev. Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley
7:4: SLT #591 I Call That Church Free by James Luther Adams
8.0: Readings
8.1: Hallmarks of a healthy vital church by Rev. Tom Owen Towle (see below)
9.0: Extinguishing the Chalice
9.1: We extinguish this flame by Elizabeth Selle Jones (see below)
10.0: Closing Words
10.1: In this community by Rev. Sydney K. Wilde (see below) WW
10.2: Our time in this place by Rev. Kathy A. Huff (see below) WW
10.3: As far as our love flows by Rev. Annie Foerster (see below) WW
10.4: As we part now one from another by Rev. Eileen B. Karpeles (see below) WW
11.0: Sermons & Sermon Excerpts
11.1: Growing the Beloved Community! by Rev. Tom Owen-Towle (Excerpt, full text at http://jesspages.net/bestofuu/10/to-grow-toward-whom-we-might-become#more-67) (see below)
11.2: We Drink From Wells We Did Not Dig by Rev. Kirk Loadman-Copeland (see below)
11.3: Our Beloved Community by Rev. Charles J. Stephens (Excerpt, full text at http://www.uucwc.org/2009/12/06/our-beloved-community/) (see below)
11.4: I’m Sorry by Rev. Marni Harmony (Excerpt, full text at http://www.uutarpon.org/uutarpon_sermon__march06.htm) (see below)
Part 3: Worship Resources
1.0: Opening Words
1.1: SLT #580 The Task of the Religious Community by Rev. Mark Morrison-Reed
1.2: Come down off the ladder by Rev. David S. Blanchard
Come down off the ladder. Wash out that paintbrush. Shake the sand out of your shoes. Get up off your muddy knees, and give the garden a morning off. Fold up the newspaper. Turn off the coffeepot. Close up your calendar, already filled with dates, and times, and people, and places that claim you. This church is ready for you to fill its rooms, to create its spirit, to generate its warmth, to kindle its light. This church is ready for you to make community, to create beauty, to bend it toward justice, to serve its ideals.
This church is ready for you to be here, honoring our past, invigorating our present, and dreaming our future. This is your church. Here we are home. Here we are whole.
Let us begin.
1:3: Called to Gather by Rev. Kirk D. Loadman-Copeland
We are called to gather in worship as a beloved community.
We are called to gather in worship as a beloved community. We are called to set aside distractions and anxieties, that we might touch deeper springs and be renewed. We are called to seek and to share comfort for the hurts that afflict. We are called to desire more love, more justice, and life more abundant. We are called to truth, to mercy, to humility, and to courage. Let us answer the call with the yes of our lives.
1.4: Come into this circle of community by Andrew Pakula
Come into this circle of community. Come into this sacred space.
Be not tentative. Bring your whole self!
Bring the joy that makes your heart sing.
Bring your kindness and your compassion.
Bring also your sorrow, your pain.
Bring your brokenness and your disappointments.
Spirit of love and mystery; help us to recognize the spark of the divine that resides within each of us.
May we know the joy of wholeness.
May we know the joy of being together.
1.5: What life have we, if we have not life together? by Rev. Charles A. Howe
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!
1.6: We gather in community to rest from our labors by Rev. Paul H. L'Herrou
We gather in community to rest from our labors, to greet our neighbors, and to open our being to insight and intuition of that greater reality of which we are a part.
May we find in our time together inspiration and renewal. May we touch the holy in each other and be touched by the graciousness of life. May we find here a calm peacefulness that will carry us through the days ahead.
1.7: For our community gathered here by Rev. Jane E. Mauldin
For our community gathered here, for the spirit that called us together and drew us to this place:
We give thanks this day.
For moments we have shared with others; for times when we have reached out across barriers of distance and fear; for times when others have reached out to us; for moments when we have discovered another along our path:
We give thanks this day.
For this community of celebration and growth, introspection and solitude, and for those moments of "that peace which passes all understanding":
We give thanks this day.
For our gathering together out of distant places; for our weaving together out of many separate selves this hour of celebration and worship:
We give thanks this day.
1.8: Sabbath Invitation by Rev. John Millspaugh
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.
1.9: We come to love a church by Rev. Andrew C. Kennedy
We come to love a church,
the traditions, the history,
and especially the people associated with it.
And through these people,
young and old,
known and unknown,
we reach out --
Both backward into history
and forward into the future --
To link together the generations
in this imperfect, but blessed community
of memory and hope.
1.10: In this quiet hour may our spirits be renewed by Rev. Gary Kowalski
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 meaning to our lives, renewing our dedication to serve the highest that we know.
In this time of worship, may our minds be open to new truth, and our hearts be receptive to love, as we give thanks for this life we are blessed to share.
2.0: Chalice Lighting
2.1: Abundance Chalice Lighting by Rev. Dawn Skjei Cooley
We light our chalice this morning, grateful for the love that we experience in this beloved community. May the flame light the way for all who seek such abundance.
2.2: The Struggle for Freedom by Rev. Paul Sprecher
We light this chalice in memory of the courage of those who have struggled for freedom
The persistence of those who’ve struggled for justice,
And the love of those who’ve built beloved communities to carry on the light of hope.
2.3: UU Heritage by Rev. Elizabeth M. Strong
Our Unitarian heritage bids us light our chalice
In the name of freedom,
In the light of reason,
In actions of tolerance.
We gather in community to celebrate a heritage of freedom, reason, and tolerance.
Our Universalist heritage bids us light our chalice
In the name of faith,
In the light of hope,
In actions of love.
We gather in community to celebrate a heritage of faith, hope, and love.
Let us bring this Unitarian Universalist heritage into our world and our lives today.
2.4: Blessed is the fire that burns deep in the soul by Rev. Eric A. Heller-Wagner
Blessed is the fire that burns deep in the soul. It is the flame of the human spirit touched into being by the mystery of life. It is the fire of reason; the fire of compassion; the fire of community; the fire of justice; the fire of faith. It is the fire of love burning deep in the human heart; the divine glow in every life.