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Liturgy: Candles

 

In fire
is a time that is not a time,
and a place that is not a place,
between worlds,
and beyond.

We pray for and celebrate the ones who came before.

Light the first candle. The place of this ritual is now consecrated to the honour of the old ones.

We pray for and celebrate the ones presently here.

Light the second candle.

The place of this ritual is now consecrated to the honour of the present ones.

We pray for and celebrate the ones who are yet to come.

Light the third candle.

The place of this ritual is now consecrated to the honour of the ones to come.

O! Magical fire! Destroyer, remover, burning away what has gone.
O! Magical Fire! A Catalyst of change through energy, ever onward, ever renewing: creativity and rebirth.

Here, about the eve of February and the Lady Day of the Goddess of Fire, we prick a point in time for a celebration of the past, the present and the future - burning within these flames.

Adaptation, using the 'Lady Day Ritual', A Book of Pagan Rituals, p. 29

 

Now is the time of enlightmenment
Now is the light of vision,
Now is the purity of the ideal,
Now is the way of zeal and drive.
Now is the time of assertion and all consuming activity.

Light the first candle.

O! Magical fire,
Through thee we aspire;
To grant us re-birth;
On our Mother Earth.
As boon-fires of old;
Their stories unfold;
To regenerate;
To make us feel great.
On hills as of yore;
Thy flames we adore;
With wills all as one;
We reach to the sun

Crowther, P., Lid off the Cauldron, p. 132

Light the second candle.

The time has come and the moment is here
The sun is at her height and creation is in full flower.
But the days decline from now.
Let us glorify the moment while it is here,
In the knowledge of its certain return.

Light the third candle.

 

Do we believe in humanity, in its special divinity and its binding fellowship?
Do we believe that the universe can be made for good?
Do we believe in love as the right attitude and direction for all things?

Light the first candle.

Do we believe that no creed, religion, philosophy, science, political system and economic order is ever final?
Do we believe in further searching and going beyond what we have?

Light the second candle.

Do we believe constantly in a better order for ourselves and others, and seek to strive in thought and deed towards it?

Light the third candle.

 

We believe in the continuing renewal of life.
All life falls and rises, and through disaster, rebirth and stability fulfils itself.

And humanity too builds itself through generations, despite its tragic ignorant deeds, seeking a new history for the future.

Light the first candle.

This is where hope lies: in love, goodness and joy
All to be found in the journey of life
And through its mysteries.

Light the second candle.

Love, goodness and joy are the powers
Centred around the ancient altars and modern prayer houses
The powers which are in all of us
Here being expressed
And to be acted in the world.

Light the third candle.

 

Our movement began with the Calvinist Presbyterians, those for whom the ministers and the parish were the key to church life and national discipline. With the rise of the Bishops in the 1660's they left and began that which became this movement. First came Arminian theology, that all could be saved through choosing faith in the Trinity. Then came Arianism, the view that Christ was from God but not co-eternal, with biblical Unitarianism, that Jesus was a man under God. Then came a moderate liberal Free Christianity, and a rich Free Catholicism, and from Free Christianity came Religious Humanism, and pluralism. And here we are, liberals and radicals, inheritors of many strands and creators of new strands to come. Our task is to spread the witness of free creative religion for the benefit of everyone.

Let us think of all those who have gone before us in this church, its witness to the community beyond. And let us think of the wider movement and the pioneers of free religion. I light this candle to those of the past.

Light the first candle.

Let us think of how we came to be here. Our movement and we in this church We are here not just for ourselves but for others: our relatives, our friends and the community beyond. I light this candle to the present.

Light the second candle.

And let us think of those who will follow us. What is our movement and this church creating for the future? What witness will we leave to those who follow? I light the candle to the future.

Light the third candle.

Let us silently think on these things.

 

Religion is a mirror on the light of the world: it is a response and a source of the ethics of life itself. And our tradition gives great insight.

We remember the ejected of 1662 who stood for principle, not assenting and consenting to all and everything against conscience.

Light the first candle.

And we remember those who did not subscribe. Calvinism gave rise to the Arminian tradition, that all who wanted could be saved, the Arian tradition, that Christ was pre-existent but not co-equal with God, the Socinian tradition that Christ saves by example, the Unitarian tradition, that no Trinity could be found in the Bible, the Free Christian position of open, free and catholic faith, the Free Catholic tradition of creeds divide but symbols unite, the multi-faith tradition of good in all religion, the humanist tradition of the essential potential of all people, and the natural religion of the earth. And there are more traditions to come.

Light the second candle.

May we continue to develop in openness and honesty our approach to religion, to help our church and movement to evolve, to overcome our own darkness and create a better world.

Light the third candle.

 

Now we remember all those who have gone before us in this Unitarian church and the wider movement, who have allowed us to be here making our contribution in the challenge of faith.

Light the first candle.

We think of those who are to follow us as we work for the future, so that our approach to faith may be a sure foundation for them and a light to the community. We pledge ourselves to the future.

Light the second candle.

 

I light the first candle to the people of this church and the community in the Hull area who have gone before us.

Light the first candle.

I light the second candle to the people of this church and the community who live and work today in the Hull area.

Light the second candle.

I light the third candle to the people of this church and the community in the Hull area who are to follow us.

Light the third candle.

 

In meditation we lift our hearts in thankfulness for all the high and holy traditions which have come down to us from the days which are no more; for the wisdom of the seer, for the purity of the saint, for the constancy of the martyr, for the love of gentle hearts; for unknown and lowly saints whose names are forgotten, but who were faithful in their day and place.

Light the first candle.

For the great bond of unity and fellowship which knits together all who have lived, or are living now, to serve the noble concerns of humanity.

Light the second candle.

May we find strength in the thought that the invisible forces of Truth, Goodness and Beauty are ever at work in the world - and may we be faithful in our own witnesses to these.

Light the third candle.

 

Love is the spirit of this church, and service its law.
This is our great covenant:
To dwell together in peace.

Light the first candle.

To seek the truth in love.

Light the second candle.

And to help one another.

Light the third candle.

James Vila Blake

 

May we be no one's enemy, and may we be friends of that which is eternal and abides. May we never quarrel with those nearest to us: and if we do may we be reconciled quickly.

Light the first candle.

May we love, seek, and attain only that which is good. May we wish for everyone's happiness and envy no one's.

Light the second candle.

May we never rejoice in the ill fortune of those who wrong us. May we win no victory that harms either ourselves or our opponents.

Light the third candle.

Version of prayer by Eusibius

 

We live in seasons of hope and promise, as though Advent was all the year round. Hope is the foundation of our dreams, and our dreams are the engine of good works. I light the first candle to hope.

Light the first candle.

Confidence comes through our experiences, as conceived and written down through the ages. In all great scriptures we see the witness of hope for better things. I light the second candle to the scriptures.

Light the second candle.

Out of and recorded in the scriptures come the wise and deep prophets of tradition and messianism, seeing the present and future and calling for change. I light the third candle to the prophets.

Light the third candle.

Then comes the time of celebration, the time of festivity, the coming of the moment and the season where hope is realised. It is the time of birth, the potential of the present, the realisation of the future, the dream of all people in all ages. I light the candle for that season of our dreams.

Light the fourth candle.

 

I salute you. There is nothing I can give you which you have not; but there is much that, while I cannot give you, you can take.

No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in it today:
Take heaven.

Light the first candle.

No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in the present:
Take peace.

Light the second candle.

The gloom of the world is but a shadow; behind it, yet within our reach is joy: Take joy.

Light the third candle.

And so this Christmas time I greet you, with the prayer that for you, now and forever, the day breaks and the shadows flee away.

Fra Giovanni

 

Darkness falls over the face of the abyss, as it covers night after night. It gives an eerie silence and movement stills. Night contains its own knowledge, its own dark secrets.

Yet following the dark is dawn and light comes. The light will rise. The people of the darkness have seen a great light. Light is the great energy, the mover of the day. The light is a giver of life to all and expands knowledge.

The earth hurtles through space as it turns, and everywhere there is day and everywhere there is night. Everywhere there are people sleeping and waking, animals active and rested, life dying and being born: everywhere one elaborate creation and one humanity within.

We believe in the continuing renewal of life.
All life falls and rises, and through disaster, rebirth and stability fulfils itself.
And humanity too builds itself through generations, despite its tragic ignorant deeds, seeking a new history for the future.

Light the first candle.

This is where hope lies: in love, goodness and joy
All to be found in the journey of life
And through its mysteries.

Light the second candle.

Love, goodness and joy are the powers
Centred around the ancient altars and modern prayer houses
The powers which are in all of us
Here being expressed
And to be acted in the world.

Light the third candle.

 

In the past we wandered, perhaps like lost souls.
Perhaps much darkness we see, looking back;
We intended our best, though we see our faults.
Yet we appreciate what was done right, and its faithfulness,
Emerging from the past.

[Light the first candle]

And here we are in the present.
The present moment is always a crossroads in life.
From past darkness, can we see light?
Always we can turn this way and that.
Let is prayerfully and in loving kindness make the right decision.

[Light the second candle]

Move into the light.
The future presents with new opportunities
In life and love.
With faithfulness, go forth;
With another, others and oneself, go forth;
Go forth without stumbling or stain
And go with hope

[Light the third candle]