Sara Eileen LaWall writes,"Out of the flames of fear we rise with the courage of our deepest convictions to stand for justice, inclusion and peace." Inclusion may seem daunting at times but we can take simple steps to create a safe and welcoming community. Chorealis invites you to a time to celebrate and affirm UU values.

Sometimes we tell ourselves stories that don’t fit our situation anymore, or stories that are harmful to ourselves or others. In this service you will be given an opportunity to practice telling and questioning those stores.

ORDER OF SERVICE

Chimes

Welcome and Announcements

Land Acknowledgement

Prelude

Chalice Lighting - The Ember of Hope and Love Set Ablaze by Lisa Doage

Hymn 1010 - We Give Thanks (sing 3 times)

Sharing Our Abundance

Hymn 402 - From You I Receive (Sing 2X)

Service Leader Reflection

Hymn 1058 - Be Ours a Religion

Message - The Stories We Are Telling Ourselves – Rev. Rosemary Morrison

Video Three Wheels Turning - “These Old Stories” - A Capella song by Samara Jade (not recorded

Meditation

Candles of Joy and Concern

Hymn 1028 - Fire of Commitment

Extinguishing the Flame - It Becomes More by Amy Zucker Morgenstern

Benediction

Carry the Flame

Postlude

Only a Story Will Do:

Storytelling in Many Forms

January 19, 2025

Rev. Rosemary Morrison

Service Leader: John Sproule

Order of Service

Chimes

Welcome and Announcements

Land Acknowledgement

Prelude

Chalice Lighting

A Shared Story by Rev. Sandra Fees

For the stories

that long to be told and retold,

for the stories

that long to be imagined and reimagined,

for the stories

that long to be envisioned and celebrated,

we kindle this chalice.

May its flame bring the light

of different truths,

different paths

and different voices,

all needed to cultivate a transformative story

of justice, love and beauty.

Hymn 188 Come, Come, Whoever You Are by L. A. Ungar

Sharing Our Abundance

Hymn 402 From You I Receive (Sing 2X)

Story in Children’s Literature

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

Service Leader Reflection

Story in Dance Merrick Hanna -not reorded

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8DT-arJauw

Hymn 118 This Little Light of Mine

Story Telling Activity -small groups reflecting on these questions”

If I had to tell a story about today or yesterday, what would it be?

What is the lesson in the story?

Or, Was there a lesson in the story?

Meditation

Meditation hymn 123 Spirit of Life By C. McDade

Spoken Candles of Joy and Concern

Video A Better Story Line by Carey Newcomer -not recorded

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOsE845bVIc

Minister’s Reflection

Hymn 1064 Blue Boat Home

Extinguishing the Flame

Naming the largest truths… by Rev. Vanessa Southern

May the stories we tell

name the largest truths of what was, of what is,

and pull us forward

to what should be,

as stories were always meant to.

Benediction

Carry the Flame

Postlude Scenes from an Italian Restaurant with Billy Joel- not recorded

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izzM9LXqP-U&t=419s

A Cautionary Tale:

Stories Are Meant to be Complex

January 12, 2025

Rev. Rosemary Morrison

Service Leader: Lynne Turvey

Chimes

Welcome and Announcements

Land Acknowledgement

Prelude Sean Presiloski on guitar

Chalice Lighting

When We Pause to Remember

Rev. Alicia Ford (adapted by Rev. Rosemary Morrison)

When we pause to remember who we are:

companions on this grand experiment called life,

when we take a moment to shed the ways we have been carefully taught:

to believe that we are separate…that some people

Are superior to others…

When we take a moment to shed all of that

and hear our stories

hear and see each other into existence, into community,

when we take a moment to embrace…to practice a different

way of being…

When we answer the call of love,

then we are living into the promise

of building the world we dream about.

Becoming explorers and learners in this world around us,

humbled by what we do not yet know,

fulfilling the promise of healing a fragmented world,

laboring not just in hope…but also in Love.

In this spirit, we commit.

In this spirit, we gather.

In this spirit, we light our chalice!

Hymn 360 Here We Have Gathered by Alicia S. Carpenter

Sharing Our Abundance

Hymn 402 From You I Receive (Sing 2X)

Hymn 1052 The Oneness of Everything by J. Scott

Service Leader Reflection

Responsive Reading 660 To Live Deliberately

Musical Interlude Sean Presiloski on guitar

Candles of Joy and Concern

Meditation

Meditation Music Sean Presiloski on guitar

Message A Cautionary Tale: Stories Are Meant to be Complex

Hymn 1024 When the Spirit Says Do by M. Freundt

Extinguishing the Flame Terry Pratchett

There's always a story. It's all stories, really.

sun coming up every day is a story.

Everything's got a story in it.

Change the story, change the world.

Benediction

Postlude Sean Presiloski on guitar

Carry the Flame

Stand for Something Bigger Than Yourself

Robin Sharma (The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari) writes," There are no extra people alive today. Every single one of us is here for a reason, a special purpose. Each of us can shift from the realm of the ordinary into the heights of the extraordinary." Join Chorealis for a contemplative service featuring the words of Robin Sharma.

A Very UU Christmas:

How the Unitarians Saved Christmas

December 22, 2024

Reverend Rosemary Morrison

Service Leader: Declan Kiely

Chimes

Welcome and Announcements

Land Acknowledgement

Prelude Christmas Time is Here

Presented by Gordon Ritchie and Bill Damur

Chalice Lighting May This Light Guide Us

We light this chalice, here in the darkness of winter as we wait.

This temporary space is one filled with hopefulness,

love to be given and received,

miracles to be witnessed.

May this light guide us until the light of the sun returns again.

Hymn 231 Angels We Have Heard on High

Lighting the Advent Candles

Sharing Our Abundance

Hymn 402 From You I Receive (Sing 2X)

Special Music Once in Royal David’s City

Presented by Gordon Ritchie and Bill Damur

Service Leader Reflection

Reading ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore

Hymn 244 It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

Candles of Joy and Concern

Special Music What Child is This

Presented by Gordon Ritchie and Bill Damur

Message A Very UU Christmas: How the Unitarians Saved Christmas

Song Santa Claus is Coming to Town (Santa will be arriving about here)

Extinguishing the Flame

Carry the Flame by Rev. Brian Kiely

The Chalice is now extinguished,

but its light lives on in the minds and hearts and souls of each one of you.

Carry that flame with you as you leave this place and share it:

With those you know

With those you love and most especially,

with those you have yet to meet.

Benediction

Postlude Linus and Lucy

Presented by Gordon Ritchie and Bill Demur

Carry the Flame

UCE’s age old tradition of decorating our tree with warm items to give away. The baby candle will be lit, a world premier of a new Gordon Ritchie/Audrey Brooks composition in honour of a new baby born into our midst, and lots of carol singing.

ORDER OF SERVICE

Chimes

Welcome and Announcements

Land Acknowledgement

Prelude

Chalice Lighting - Opening to the Light by Sarah Ruth Wekoye Davis

Song - Jingle Bells

Lighting the Advent Candles – The Candle of Joy

Together we say;

We forget to sing until we hear birds sing in the morning.

Even in the middle of winter they have melodies.

There are miracles in the sunny days of winter

and joy in the possibility of transformation.

Sharing Our Abundance - Ministers Discretionary Fund

Hymn 402 - From You I Receive (Sing 2X)

Offertory - Oh Holy Night – sung by Maria Ouderkirk

Reading - Why the Evergreens Never Lose Their Leaves by Florence Holbrook

Song - Winter Wonderland

Service Leader Reflection - Maria Ouderkirk

Song - Silver Bells

Lighting the Baby Candle

Special Music – A World Premiere by Audrey Brooks and Gordon Ritchie - Song for Wee Ned

sung by Erin Vander-Mollen Pater

Candles of Joy and Concern

Message - Oh Mitten Tree - Rev. Rosemary Morrison

Decorating the Mitten Tree

Blessing the Mitten Tree

Song - Oh Mitten Tree

Oh Mitten Tree, Oh Mitten Tree,

How lovely are your branches,

Oh Mitten Tree, Oh Mitten Tree,

How lovely are your branches,

All filled with hats, and mitts and scarves,

to keep the people nice and warm.

Oh Mitten Tree, Oh Mitten Tree,

How lovely are your branches

Oh Mitten Tree, Oh Mitten Tree,

How lovely are your branches

All winter long a gracious deed,

A gift of warmth for those in need.

Oh Mitten Tree, Oh Mitten Tree,

How lovely are your branches.

Extinguishing the Flame - The Moment of Magic by Rev. Victoria Safford

Carry the Flame

Postlude

Slow down, be present, and allow ourselves to resist the headlong rish of a to-do list. On Buddha’s birthday, remind ourselves that we are human beings, not human doings.

ORDER OF SERVICE

Chimes

Welcome and Announcements

Land Acknowledgement

Prelude

Chalice Lighting - Two quotes by the Buddha

Opening Words

Hymn 16 - Tis a Gift to Be Simple

Lighting the Advent Candles - Together we say:

Infinite Spirit of Life, teach us to seek peace, understanding and justice.

Open our eyes and hearts to the work of peacemaking.

Sharing Our Abundance

Hymn 402 - From You I Receive (Sing 2X)

Service Leader Reflection – Jess Bisanz

Hymn 224 - Let Christmas Come

Message - Presence, Not Presents: What Would Buddha Do? - Rev. Rosemary Morrison

Video (not recorded) – Sarah McLachlin singing Gordon Lightfoot’s “Song For A Winter’s Night”

Meditation

Meditation Hymn 123 - Spirit of Life

Candles of Joy and Concern

Hymn 1051 - We Are

Extinguishing the Flame - by Thich Nhat Hanh

Benediction

Carry the Flame

Postlude

Join Chorealis for their annual Service of Carols and Lessons which will feature excerpts from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, read by Coralie Cairns and John Sproule. Published in 1843, it recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner and three spirits. Hear a tale of kindness, generosity, compassion, and transformation.

Mending and Minding:

Repairing the Fabric of Our Lives

November 24, 2024

Reverend Rosemary Morrison. Service Leader: Brandie Moller-Reid

Chimes

Welcome and Announcements

Land Acknowledgement

Prelude

Chalice Lighting

Being Sanctuary By Jo VonRue, Linette Lowe

Welcome to this space, this sanctuary of peace where we come to not only create our best selves, but to also do the work of creating a beloved community. We come together today as individuals much like individual pieces of glass or pottery that are different shapes, sizes, and colors, all of which are broken, with imperfect jagged edges, but always beautiful.

While our pieces may not always fit neatly together, it is within this sanctuary, guided by our Principles that we gather together to create a beautiful mosaic. May the brokenness and beauty you find in one another create peace in this space and fill our hearts with love as we create this special time together.

Hymn 347 Gather the Spirit

Opening Words

Sharing Our Abundance

Hymn 402 From You I Receive (Sing 2X)

Service Leader Reflection

Hymn 1058 May Your Life Be As A Song

Reading Excerpt from: ‘Unplug the Christmas Machine: A Complete Guide to Putting Love and Joy Back into the Season

Message Mending and Minding: Repairing the Fabric of Our Lives

Meditation

Meditation Hymn 1009 Meditation on Breathing

Spoken Candles of Joy and Concern

Hymn 1024 When the Spirit Says Do

Extinguishing the Flame

A Blessing for Presence

John O’Donohue

May you awaken to the mystery of being here

And enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.

May you have joy and peace in the temple of your senses…

May you respond to the call of your gift

And find the courage to follow its path…

May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame and anxiety never linger about you.

May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of soul.

May you take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention…

May you experience each day as a sacred gift, Woven around the heart of wonder.

Benediction

Carry the Flame

Postlude