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Starting a Service

Second Order of Service

This service begins in a mood of thanksgiving with a litany and a hymn of praise. An invocation prepares the congregation to engage profound human concerns through the worship service with openness, humility, and attention.

This service opens by approaching the holy and then turns -- in the period of meditation that follows -- to a time of centering.

Prelude

Opening Words - Read Responsively

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.
         -- Jane Mauldin, adapted

* Opening Hymn - SLT #21 - "For the beauty of the earth"

Invocation

Spirit of life, be present with us this hour. Join us today as we gather in a wider search for truth and purpose. In this quest, may we greet one another with open hearts and minds; may we inspire each other to consider new questions and seek deeper meaning; and may we cultivate wisdom and compassion. Let all who enter this sanctuary see a welcome face, hear a kind word, and find comfort in this community. And may all that is done and said here today be in service to love and justice. Amen.
         -- Kathy Huff

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Source: Based on an Order of Service by Westminster Unitarian Church, East Greenwich RI; in Commisson on Common Worship, Leading Congregations in Worship: A Guide, UUA 1983. Hymns from Singing the Living Tradition, UUA 1993.

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