We come together as flame in a living Chalice. We are the fuel: hearts and minds in community. We are the oxygen: the breath we share in words, music, tears, and laughter. May the heat of our passion and com-passion, our hope, our faith, our honest striving light this beacon, and may it guide us to a better world.
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Even though our individual faiths may be as varied as the clothes on our backs, let us gather in one community of faith. Through restless spirit and challenging questions, may each transcend the haste and heedlessness of the world. May we celebrate together, share together, dance together, agree to disagree, and return home richer and more full than we were when we arrived.
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Let us journey together through the deep places of our lives. Let us not dally with perfection or bow before some higher power because perfection is not in us and what is Greatest is not honored by abasement. Rather, let us look inward with honesty. Let us engage creatively. Let us act on our highest aspirations.
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Let us seek truth together, give thanks together, make merry and also grieve together. Let us join in loving challenge, faithful doubt, and grateful critique. Let us bring the best that we are, right alongside the empty places of our spirit–to give and receive things that are beyond naming.
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Let us not be so naive as to conflate the word, ‘Faith,’ with such words as ‘Belief’ or ‘Superstition.’ Faith is a life beyond easy words, a life that embodies the high values we proclaim, and the courage to act according to those values.
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