Opening/Closing Words

Opening words accompany the lighting of our chalice - the unique symbol of Unitarianism. Closing words mark the ending of the service and send the congregation forward with a final message and good words for the journey.

Here are some opening and closing words that have been used recently in our services. All were composed by our minister, Andrew Pakula.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Opening Words

We come together here this morning as people of diverse perspectives

We bring different beliefs, different loves, different fears, different joys, and different pains.

We bring with us also the unique, living stories and dreams of our own lives and the lives of those who came before us.

And yet, we here – with all of our differences – come together to form something altogether new.

A community: Held by common values. Warmed by love. Guided by reason, and deeply engaged in the search for meaning and that which is of ultimate value.

For this community, we illuminate the chalice, symbol of our free faith, as Unitarians do today throughout the world.

Through this simple act, we unite also with that larger community –

adding the light of our small flame to the great struggle to bring justice, love, and peace to the Earth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Opening Words

We illuminate this chalice – the symbol of our free and generous faith.

May its light reach into dark places

  to offer hope to the hopeless

  to give comfort to the suffering

  to bring reason where there is ignorance

  to show understanding where there is hatred

  and to shine like a beacon, showing the way home

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Opening Words

Oh flame of life and light

Blaze again in our hearts and minds

As we join together in this space made sacred by our aspirations

Let us celebrate the gift that is our life

And seek the great love that joins all beings as one

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Opening Words

We light this chalice candle, symbol of our free religious community

May it be a sign of welcome to all who seek

An illuminating light for all who are lost

And a reflection of the love that burns deep within each heart

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Opening Words

Within the chalice, dark and cold, lies the potential of flame

It is invisible – offering no light, odour, or warmth

And yet, with the mere touch of another flame it emerges

A generous source of light and heat

Within our often fearful hearts, lies the potential of the indwelling God

It is invisible and undetectable.

And yet, with the warmth of community, the touch of a caring hand, or even the hurt that breaks us open, it emerges:

An infinite source of hope and love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Closing Words

May your way be eased by love and lightened by gladness

May you find yourself called to your best and truest self

And may your heart respond to the call with the passion of youth and the wisdom of age – discovering the “why” of your existence

And bringing joy and meaning to all of your days

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Closing Words

When winter’s winds howl around you, may you find safety

When spring’s warmth touches you, may you emerge full of life.

When you are in bud, may love surround you and ease you into bloom

And when the season of blooming is over, may you find refuge in the sacred

  oneness of all things.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Closing Words

“What we are worshipping, we are becoming”*

May you worship love, that you may be loving

May you worship peace, that you may be peaceful

May you worship life, that its energy may flow exuberantly forth from you

And may you worship the ground of being, that you may be deeply rooted in the fertile loam of all that is sacred.

*Ralph Waldo Emerson

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Closing Words

Deep within you

There is a place of peace

A place of wisdom,

A place of love.

May this sacred centre be your guide

May it be you strength for the journey

May it fill you with hope when all seems hopeless

And may it lead you to know the sacredness in all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Closing Words

For Yom Kippur service

Let us be mindful of aiming

Though you will often miss the mark

May you ever aim for what is good, what is loving, and what is just

And when your efforts fall far from the target as they will

May you forgive yourself and others and begin again in love

May this be a place of aiming

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Closing Words

Our lives lie not in the dream that is yesterday

Not in the vision that is tomorrow

But in the fullness of the moment that is now.

May you awaken to all that surrounds you.

Life calls to you and invites your embrace.

May your answer be yes, yes, and yes.

Islington