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Ingathering Water Ceremony: Water is Life!
Sunday, September 10 @ 10:30 am - 11:30 am
We gather to give thanks for having access to drinking water and for the bodies of water near us that allow us to refresh our bodies and souls. We recommit ourselves to defend, care for, and honor this sacred element on which our very lives depend. Join us as we bring together the waters that we have collected (from rivers, beaches, streams, or kitchen sinks) to pour into a common bowl, symbol of our Beloved Community. Rev. Dr. María Cristina Vlassidis Burgoa will be preaching.
How to Attend
We encourage masks in all buildings. Read more about our In Person Guidelines here.
• To virtually attend, please Zoom in using room number 989 3107 9078, passcode: chalice.
• To phone into the service, call 669-900-6833, Meeting ID: 989 3107 9078.
For those joining, please mute as soon as you enter the room, so everyone can hear. Please note, the services will be recorded, but at this time, there are no plans to share the recording.
More Information
Religious Education for children and youth happens during worship on Sundays. Children and youth arrive in the Sanctuary for the just a little bit and welcome in Sunday with a story and song. Then, they attend their own programs in the Education building. Learn more here!
If you don’t have a chalice, but want to light one, check out our Making a Chalice at Home page.
In person services are followed by coffee hour.
Children’s Story
Sermon Audio
Ingathering Water Ceremony: Water is Life!
Sermon Text
THE RAINMAKER, by Clarissa Pinkola Estés
You could be the water…
For by the scent of water alone,
the withered vine
comes back to life…
and thus …
wherever
the land is dry and hard,
you could be the water;
or you could be
the iron blade
disking the earth open;
or you could be
the ‘acequia’,
the mother ditch,
carrying the water
from the river to the fields
to grow the flowers
for the farmers;
or you could be
the honest engineer
mapping the dams
that must be taken down,
and those dams
which could remain
to serve
the venerable all,
instead of only
the very few.
You could be
the battered vessel
for carrying the water
by hand;
or you could be
the one
who stores the water.
You could be
the one who
protects the water,
or the one who blesses it,
or the one who pours it.
Or you could be
the tired ground
that receives it;
or you could be
the scorched seed
that drinks it;
or you could be
the vine,
green-growing overland,
in all your wild audacity …
Beloveds, whether you are visiting, or have been attending for decades, welcome home! We gather together once again, coming home like rivers to the sea, moved by our thirst for community, connection, belonging, hope, justice, and unconditional love.
We are Unitarian Universalists. We are known as seekers; we affirm a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We have no creed and encourage everyone to bring their questions, doubts, spiritual practices, the gifts of their experiences and perspectives, and their dreams for a more just and peaceful world. Ours is a collective, shared spiritual journey. We come from many backgrounds and hold many beliefs. We receive hope, courage, and love from this community. Whatever brought you here today and whatever continues to bring you back, whatever you carry in your heart in this moment, may you receive the message of welcome and love.”
Beloveds, the water ritual we are about to recreate is one of the most practiced UU ceremonies today. It was created by Lucile Schuck Longview and Carolyn McDade in 1980. Lucile describes that first ceremony:
“We were beginning to reach for new and inclusive symbols and rituals that speak to our connectedness to one another, to the totality of life and to our place on this planet. We moved in an intuitive response to the potential of water as a symbol of woman’s spirituality. Its universality emerged with our increased awareness of its presence and deep meaning in our lives. The water ceremony broke with tradition in significant ways. It was created by lay women, women who had long been silent in the pews. We gathered to worship in a way authentic and liberating to us around a large common earthen bowl. It was a ritual of being connected by a universal symbol, water, being connected to the totality of life.
The vital parts of the ceremony are the bringing of the waters, the sharing of their meaning, and the experiencing of the intermingled waters by the group. Each brings a container of water that has special meaning to them. They share with the group why this water is significant to them and what it symbolizes in their life.”
Today we recreate that first ritual with gratitude for having a spiritual home where we can gather to share our joys and sorrows, to reaffirm our solidarity with all those who struggle to gain access to clean water.
We gather to bless each other with tenderness, compassion, and joy. We gather to share our stories and to listen to each other so that we may deepen our trust and build bridges. We gather to signify that we have chosen this liberal faith to guide us and unite us as we strive to make this world a more just and loving place for all. As you prepare to pour your water into our communal bowl, please think about why this water is significant to you and what it symbolizes in your life.
Beloveds, our thirst for justice is deep, and so is our love for each other. May we receive the blessings offered here today, may we feel connected to each other, may we feel welcome, refreshed, and united. May we know that we are one in the spirit, one in the love, and that we are indeed in good company where there is a deep well of abiding love for each other. Welcome home! Amen.
