UU Lent

UU Lent 2020 – Day 44 – Gratitude

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Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul. – Amy Collette

The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy. – Henri Nouwen

Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone. – Gertrude Stein

We learned about gratitude and humility – that so many people had a hand in our success, from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean… and we were taught to value everyone’s contribution and treat everyone with respect. – Michelle Obama

A Thanksgiving for the Elements by Eric Williams

Blessed Curses, Cursed Blessings by Becky Brooks

UU Lent 2020 – Day 43 – Transcend

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According to Merriam Webster, transcend means 1) to rise above or extend notably beyond ordinary limits, 2) to outstrip or outdo in some attribute, quality, or power, 3) to be prior to, beyond, and above (the universe or material existence), 4) to triumph over the negative or restrictive aspects of

Prayer: Revel in the Mystery by Antonia Bell-Delgado

May we find the courage to revel in the experience of the mystery. 
May we approach the unknown with excitement (even if we can only muster a tiny bit).
May we celebrate the curiosity that leads to searching.
May we meet ourselves along the way and love us, unapologetically.

Amen.

Prayer for When Words Fail by Leslie Takahashi

Calling by Nancy Shaffer

UU Lent 2020 – Day 42 – Resilience

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“The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.” – Robert Jordan, The Fires of Heaven

“Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems.” – Gever Tulley

“It is really wonderful how much resilience there is in human nature. Let any obstructing cause, no matter what, be removed in any way, even by death, and we fly back to first principles of hope and enjoyment.” – Bram Stoker, Dracula

A Recipe for Resilience by Margaret Weis

The Strength of Water by Jamila Batchelder and Molly Housh Gordon

UU Lent – Day 39 – Mercy

CZ

“The quality of mercy is not strained.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest. It becomes
The thronèd monarch better than his crown.
His scepter shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings,
But mercy is above this sceptered sway.
It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings.
It is an attribute to God himself.
And earthly power doth then show likest God’s
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew, Though justice be thy plea, consider this-
That in the course of justice none of us
Should see salvation. We do pray for mercy,
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
To mitigate the justice of thy plea,
Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence ‘gainst the merchant there” – Portia – Act 4: Scene 1 Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

Seeking Mercy, Seeking Home by Erika A. Hewitt

Access Litany Prayer: A Responsive Reading by Bonnie Vegiard

UU Lent 2020 – Day 38 – Awe

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Give yourself a gift of five minutes of contemplation in awe of everything you see around you. Go outside and turn your attention to the many miracles around you. This five-minute-a-day regimen of appreciation and gratitude will help you to focus your life in awe. – Wayne Dyer

And if a person is religious, I think it’s good, it helps you a bit. But if you’re not, at least you can have the sense that there is a condition inside you which looks at the stars with amazement and awe. – Maya Angelou

I don’t think that faith, whatever you’re being faithful about, really can be scientifically explained. And I don’t want to explain this whole life business through truth, science. There’s so much mystery. There’s so much awe. – Jane Goodall

Psalm 23 for This Moment by Kevin Tarsa

The Cycle That Connects Us by Molly Housh Gordon and Jamila Batchelder

UU Lent 2020 – Day 36 – Confession

CZ

According to the dictionary confession means: 1) a formal statement admitting that one is guilty of a crime, 2) an admission or acknowledgment that one has done something that one is ashamed or embarrassed about, 3) intimate revelations about a person’s private life or occupation, especially as presented in a sensationalized form in a book, newspaper, or movie, and 4) a statement of one’s principles.

Confessing Communities by Robin Tanner