Team Expenses
Opening Words
This words have been found outside of the hymnal.
Touchstones: Vocation
1.01: untitled, by Rev. John H. Robinson, Jr.
We gather this day to seek in the midst of our fragmented selves the unity which enfolds us all; to summon in the midst of the everyday that secret taste of danger, that peace which beckons beyond the trifles and deepens the human heart; to open our self-righteous selves to that judgment which we have tried not to hear.
We gather to worship that which is greater than we and which is our highest calling; to offer a gift of time for whatever God wants unfolded to unfold in our midst.
1.02: untitled, by Rev. Lindsay Bates
Come, let us worship together.
Let us open our minds to the challenge of reason,
open our hearts to the healing of love,
open our lives to the calling of conscience,
open our souls to the comfort of joy.
Astonished by the miracle of life,
grateful for the gift of fellowship,
confident in the power of living faith,
we are here gathered:
Come, let us worship together.
1.03: Put Away the Pressures of the World, by Rev. Erika A. Hewitt
As we enter into worship, put away the pressures of the world that ask us to perform, to take up masks, to put on brave fronts.
Silence the voices that ask you to be perfect.
This is a community of compassion and welcoming.
You do not have to do anything to earn the love contained within these walls.
You do not have to be braver, smarter, stronger, better than you are in this moment to belong here, with us.
You only have to bring the gift of your body, no matter how able; your seeking mind, no matter how busy; your animal heart, no matter how broken.
Bring all that you are, and all that you love, to this hour together.
Let us worship together.
1.04: untitled, by Rev. George Kimmich Beach
Everything begins on the verge of awareness. The dawn is not and then is. Sleep is and then is not. In between is the awakening.
The passage of thin light, between, breaks open the day. The passage of thin sound, between, flows into the day. Too soon the numbing rumble of traffic swells, the day glares.
Let the soft haze hang again across the row of morning. Wait upon the narrow moment, the first awareness of being in between! Live days and seasons on the thin edge of dawn, in praise that every single thing begins now!
1.05: untitled, 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.
1.06: If Just for This Hour, by Martha Kirby Capo
In this hour may we be open
To a rededication of treasured friendships,
a renewal of spirit;
May we relinquish the worries
and anxieties of the past week,
If just for this hour,
and regain our strength
Through this community of faith.
1.07: Call from Beyond by Rev. Susan Maginn
From beyond the playful ...clouds,
beyond the earth's thin blue line,
from beyond the bright moon and meteor showers,
we hear the call to look and listen carefully,
to turn away from a world that buys and sells happiness,
to fully experience the luring whisper of your heart's truth.
Why not today, why not now?
We are here and together at home in this evolving place,
home in this ever changing breath and body,
home in this dewy morning even as it reaches toward a hot high noon.
We hear the call from far beyond
and deep within and we do not hear it alone.
Come, let us worship together.
1.08: In Our Circle Again by Rev. Shari Woodbury
Here we are
in our circle again.
A circle of vision
and reflection,
A forum for deciding
and empowering.
Here we are
at the base of another bridge,
another space spanning
the shores of today and tomorrow.
Beckoning us to cross the chasm,
one day at a time.
Here we are
gathered again at the cusp
of the future,
at the boundary
that holds community together.
We are here,
in a circle of love and trust,
brought to this moment
by a series of choices and promises...
by hope and gratitude...
by our own shadows, faced
and befriended.
With a servant’s heart,
with a leader’s listening,
with a parent’s love, truer
than all our inner trembling,
let us model the health we seek for all
and lean into community.
Somewhere out there,
all we dream is possible.
Somewhere in here,
we are sowing the seeds.
1.09: Listen! The Spirit Is Calling! by Rev. John Saxon
Listen! Can you hear it? The Spirit is calling.
It calls us in the silence and through the noise and busyness of our daily lives. It calls us in the brightness of the day and the darkness of the night, in times of hope and despair.
Listen! Can you hear it? The Spirit is calling.
It doesn't matter what you call it for it has no name and has many different names. The Spirit of Life. The Spirit of Love. The Spirit of Compassion. The Spirit of Hope. The Spirit of Justice.
Listen! Can you hear it? The Spirit is calling.
It's calling to you and to me. It's calling us to greater wholeness, greater connection, greater service, greater love. It's calling us to heal the brokenness within ourselves, in others, and in the world. It's calling us to live more deeply. It's calling us to beauty.
It's calling us to laugh and dance and sing. It's calling us to live through life's pain and sorrow. It's calling us to live courageously and kindly, to speak our truth in love, and to bend the moral arc of the universe toward justice.
It's calling us into community. It's calling us into the greater Life of all.
Listen! Can you hear it? The Spirit is calling.
1.10: Rededication, by Linda Hoddy
Enter with me that still place within, the center, where we find not only our inmost selves, but also our connection to the farthest reaches of the universe.
Here we confront our aspirations and our failings.
Though we seek always for our lives to be full of goodness, we sometimes lack courage to right the injustices that confront us.
Though we seek always to be generous, sometimes our fears cause us to be greedy.
Though we seek always to walk the moral high ground, sometimes we judge others too quickly and too harshly.
Though we seek always to understand the larger mysteries, sometimes doubt causes us to lose faith in our purpose.
Here, in this space made sacred by our shared lives and our shared yearnings, may we find new courage, new generosity of spirit, forgiveness given and received, and rededication to the higher purposes of our lives.
1.11: Labor Day by Rev. Megan Dowdell
We enter this meeting house for kindness and comfort.
May rough-worn hands and aching backs be healed.
We enter this meeting house of hope for equality.
May those who labor to survive live to know justice.
We enter this meeting house of love and vocation.
May our bonds of solidarity be strengthened.
We enter this meeting house of courage and friendship.
May we proceed hand-in-hand toward freedom.
Note: The phrase "meeting house" can be replaced with "sanctuary.
