"How Do You Cultivate Compassion?" -- UUSE Virtual Worship, October 5, 2025

Gathering Music

Welcome and Announcements

Centering

Prelude

"Nothing Can Harm Our Love"

Written and performed by Tret Fure

Chalice Lighting and Opening Words

"With Dirt on Our Hands"

by Rev. Dr. David Breeden

Come into this moment

as if stepping into a garden at dawn,

quiet, tender, open to what may grow.

Let compassion be the flower

we bend toward.

We return as if returning to the soil,

hands in the dirt,

willing to tend what needs tending.

Here, today, we gather

to remember:

that the most delicate blooms

require daily care.

That attention is the water of love.

That we are still learning how to care.

Come.

Let us begin again in love--

tending the garden of the heart,

and the heart of compassion.

Opening Song

"A Piece of the Sky"

Written and performed by Tret Fure

(Chorus)

Raise your voice so high

Like it's a piece of the sky

Let it rain down around you, let it rain

Raise your voice so high

Like it's a piece of the sky

Let it rain down around us all

Introduction to the Service

Time for All Ages

"Spread it Around"

Written and performed by Tret Fure

Joys and Concerns

Musical Interlude

Offering

Our October Community Outreach Ministry recipients are MARC, Inc. and UR Community Cares.

MARC, Inc.

The Manchester chapter of The Arc, MARC provides the opportunity for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live meaningful lives of independence, choice, inclusion and continuous personal growth.

UR Community Cares

UR Community Cares, located in Manchester, bridges the gap between those eager to make a difference and those in need of support. Their mission is to connect volunteers with opportunities to assist older adults and individuals with disabilities, thereby strengthening communities and improving lives.

Offering Music

"The Tie That Binds"

Written and performed by Tret Fure

1st Reflection - Tret Fure

Musical Interlude

2nd Reflection - Ellen Williams

Closing Song

"Freedom"

Written and performed by Tret Fure

(Chorus)

Carry Freedom in your heart

Carry Justice as a goal

Carry Love in every fiber of the fabric of your soul

Carry Freedom in your heart

Carry Justice as a goal

Carry Love in every fiber of the fabric of your soul

Extinguishing the Chalice and Closing Words

Closing Circle

May faith in the spirit of life

And hope for the community of earth

And love of the light in each other

Be ours now, and in all the days to come.