Channing Memorial Church, Unitarian Universalist

Our worship service begins promptly at 10:00 a.m. Sundays and usually is 1-hour long. A typical worship service begins with a musical and spoken call to worship, followed by the lighting of our chalice - the symbol of Unitarian Universalism.  Brief words of reflection are usually read as it is lit, inaugurating the start of the service. We sing a wide range of traditional hymns and contemporary songs. We often hear a Story for All Ages, setting a theme that can be understood at different levels by children and adults. Then our Sunday School children and teachers are 'sung' to their classes, and those remaining continue the worship service. We sometimes listen to, or share reading lines of, a poem or essay. A spoken prayer is followed by 5 minutes of silent meditation, during which the congregation is invited to come to the front of the sanctuary and light "Candles of Joy and Concern" to honor an event in their lives, or to reflect on or pray for something that is troubling. Our minister, Reverend Susan LaMar, delivers a sermon or, occasionally, we have a guest speaker who leads a service. Sermons are usually thematic and often touch on universal themes of life, truth, and meaning in today's world. Stories, myths, and poems, as well as scripture from a variety of world religions are often intertwined in the sermon. We close our services with music, a parting blessing, and the extinguishing of the chalice flame.