Resources for Unitarian Universalist Parents

Chalice Lighting

The Chalice is the symbol of our UU Faith.  Taking time to light a chalice at the table at mealtimes, or at family meetings, or special celebrations can help you and your family feel connected and deepen your sense of the sacred. 

We light our chalice in honor of new ideas,
It is the light of our coming together
to learn new things, see new beauty, feel new love.
                                                   (Pat Ellenwood)

Let not the hours pass by in the dark.
Kindle the lamp of love with thy life. 
                                                            (Rabindranath Tagore)

Help us to be the always hopeful gardeners of the spirit who know that without darkness
nothing comes to birth as without light nothing flowers.    --May Sarton

 Light the sacred fire
In honor of the sacred one
Who teaches love, compassion and honor
That we may heal the earth
And heal each other
                    (Ojibway)

May the light we now kindle
Inspire us to use our powers
To heal and not to harm,
To help and not to hinder,
To bless and not to curse,
To serve Thee in the spirit of freedom.
              (Jewish)

Light is the symbol of divinity and creative goodness.
Light is a symbol of law and justice.
Light is a symbol of warmth and unity.
Light is a symbol of remembrance.  
                                                             (Vetaher Libneu)

May the blessing of light be with you always
Light without and within.
And may the light of your eyes
Shine like two candlelights
In a window at night
Bidding the wanderers
To come in out of the dark
And the cold.
 

Holy and beautiful is the custom which brings us together
 in the presence of the Most High and three unseen guests attend, faith hope and love.

As we light this chalice
We take those little sparks
Glowing within all of us
And combine them to create this flame
(Natty Smith, 7th Grade from 1st Parish UU in Bedford, MA)
 

A candle is a small thing.
But one candle can light another.
And as it gives its flame to the other
See how its own light…increases!
                                               (Howard Thurman)

May the light of love always shine warmly in our hearts
And may that same love show itself in our deeds for one another
For we would be kind and loving to each other
The same way that we wish others to be toward us.

Come in, come in,
Come in to this sacred place, a place made sacred by our gathering in it.
Have compassion for everyone you meet even if they don’t want it.
What seems conceit, bad manners, or cynicism is always a sigh of things
          No ears have heard, no eyes have seen.
You do not know what wars are going on down there where the spirit meets the bone.
                                                                             (William Miller)

May the blessing of light be upon you,
       Light without and within.
May the blessed sunlight shine upon you
       And warm your heart till it glows like a great fire,
        so that strangers and friends may come and warm themselves.
May the light shine out of the eyes of you,
        like a candle set in the windows of a house
        bidding the wanderer to come in out of the storm.
                                                                             (an old Irish Blessing)

We light our chalice
Fragments of stars and sun
To light our hopes and dreams,
To make a way for peace and love.

We light this chalice in fellowship
      in love, laughter and praise,
drawing from it inspiration and hope,
      and strength for the days to come.

Brood over our spirits,
Blow upon whatever dreams Thou hast for us
That there may glow once again on our hearths
The light from Thy altar.
                                            (Howard Thurman) 

We gather in this house of faith
           this house of laughter and silence
           of memory and hope
Hallowed and blessed by everlasting light.

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark
from another person.  Each of us have cause to think with deep gratitude
of those who have lighted the flame within us.
                                                     (Albert Schweitzer)

I am not bound to win,
But I am bound to be true.
I am not bound to succeed,
But I am bound to live up to what light I have.
                                           (Abraham Lincoln)

We light this chalice for truth
      May the love of truth be with us always.
We light this chalice for  love.
     May love for others
      be strong in our hearts.

Let us open our eyes to see what is beautiful
Let us open our minds to learn what is true
Let us open our hearts to love one another.

We light this chalice as a reminder
of our highest aspirations.
may it always inspire us to bring our gifts of love
and service to the altar
Of humanity.
May we be reminded once again
that we are not isolated beings,
but connected in mystery and
miracle to the universe,
to this community
to each other and to all things eternal.