Chalice Lightings
Curious about the history of the UU use of the chalice? There's a lesson on it in the 7+1 Principles lesson and here at the UUA.
Superheroes Chalice Lighting
by Cynthia Landrum
Mindful that
With great power comes great responsibility,
We light this chalice
In the hopes that
In brightest day,
In darkest night,
Our faith will
Flame on!
(inspired by Spiderman, Green Lantern, & the Human Torch)
Many of the Past Generation and Many of Today...
By Sophia Lyon Fahs
Many of the past generation and many of today have found three abiding values in prayer: the quiet meditation on life,
the reaching out toward the universal and the infinite,
and the courageous facing of one's profoundest wishes.
Let parents sense and share with their children the glory and mystery of everyday things.
Let them look with sympathy upon humanity's age-long dilemmas.
Let no questions be taboo.
The next generation can ill afford to have the deeper values deleted from the book of life.
A Symbol of Learning and Love
By Elizabeth Harding
Chalice with tea light candles on altar.
We Unitarian Universalists don’t drink from our chalice. Instead, we use it to hold the flame. The circle of the chalice helps keep the fire small. The flame doesn’t blind us. It doesn’t burn us. It gives us light, so we can see all the different things in the universe: even the invisible ones, because the Unitarian Universalist flame is a light of learning.
The flaming chalice is a symbol of learning and of love. It’s our symbol: the symbol of Unitarian Universalism.
Sacred Unknowing
By Amy Carol Webb
We light this flame
For the art of sacred unknowing.
Humbled by all that we cannot fathom in this time,
We come into the presence of what we do know,
Perhaps the only thing we can ever know:
That Love is now and forever
The only answer to everything
And everyone
In every moment.
Shared Light, Shared Future
By Josh, Prudence, & Percival Robern
We are all flames.
When we gather
hand in hand
our church
our community
our home
We inspire,
We celebrate,
We come together
Sharing our light
of hope
for our shared future.
A New Story into Being
by Rev. Dr. David Breeden
We tender this flame, opening the book,
turning to a page yet to be written.
Opening a story yet to be told.
May we fill this fresh page wisely.
May we write a new story into being.
May we together inscribe the page with hope.
Every Endeavor Begins With a First Step (adapted)
By Charles F Flagg
Every endeavor begins with a first step,
And encounters difficulty along the way.
We know the anguish of ignorance, of fear, and of tyranny.
Yet we know the beginnings of hope, and the renewal of life.
Blessed be the eternal power which inspires us to kindle this light.
Blessed be the source of light and of life. Amen.
Connected through the Web of Life
By Jennifer Gracen
We light this chalice,
symbol of our purpose
to bring more love
and justice into the world.
We light this chalice,
knowing our congregation
as a church dispersed
across communities,
not bound by walls
but connected
through the web of life.
Drawn Together
By Jennifer Gracen
We come together every week
Bound not by a creed,
Or a mutual desire to please one God
Or many Gods
Yet we are drawn together
By a belief, that how we are in the world,
Who we are together
Matters.
We light this chalice,
together in the knowledge
That love, not fear, can change this world
A Flame to Light Our Path
Fire consumes, and casts a bright light.
May our chalice flame consume our regrets for the past,
our fears about the future, and our worries about today.
May it light for us a path of joy and peace.
Blessed is the Fire That Burns Deep in the Soul
By 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.
Open to Unexpected Answers
By Julianne Lepp
A large gray rock is cracked down the middle, where many small colorful stones are caught
We seek our place in the world
and the answers to our hearts’ deep questions.
As we seek, may our hearts be open to unexpected answers.
May the light of our chalice remind us that this is a community of warmth,
of wisdom,
and welcoming of multiple truths.
The Pride Flame
By Linda lee Franson
We light this flame
to ignite our hearts and minds—
the spark of knowledge that enlightens,
the shimmering hope that burns,
the blazing love that engulfs our actions,
the bonfire of our commitment.
We light this flame for those
who celebrate themselves
who fear
who hope
who persevere
who stand on the side of love for all.
We light this flame
for those who have been ridiculed,
that they may find peace;
for those who have fought to marry,
that they may celebrate;
for those who live in uncertainty in the world,
that they may have hope.
We light this flame
to renew our commitment
that no one shall ever again
suffer for the right to love.
We light this flame
to celebrate our kaleidoscope of diversity:
working, loving, and living on the side of love.
For this, we light this flame.