"Strategic Planning: A Discipline of Resistance" -- UUSE Virtual Worship, February 15, 2026

Gathering Music

Welcome

Centering

Prelude

"Winter Morning Meditation"

by Mary Bopp

Chalice Lighting & Opening Words

#429 in Singing the Living Tradition

by William F. Schultz

Come into this place of peace

And let its silence heal your spirit;

Come into this place of memory

And let its history warm your soul;

Come into this place of prophecy and power

And let its vision change your heart.

Opening Hymn

"Come Sing a Song With Me"

#346 in Singing the Living Tradition

Words & Music by Carolyn McDade

Come, sing a song with me,

come, sing a song with me,

come, sing a song with me,

that I might know your mind.

(Chorus)

And I'll bring you hope

when hope is hard to find,

and I'll bring a song of love

and a rose in the wintertime.

Come, dream a dream with me,

come, dream a dream with me,

come, dream a dream with me,

that I might know your mind.

(Chorus)

Come, make a plan with me,

come, make a plan with me,

come, make a plan with me,

that I might know your mind.

(Chorus)

Come, share a rose with me,

come, share a rose with me,

come, share a rose with me,

that I might know your mind.

(Chorus)

Time for All Ages

"Brave Irene"

Written and Illustrated by William Steig

Musical Interlude

Announcements

Joys and Concerns

Introduction to the Service

Reading

"Our Roots of Resilience"

by Kimberlee Anne Tomczak Carlson

Imagine a Majestic Tree with strong roots

Feel the gravity of the earth holding you in place.

Wiggle your toes as if they were roots.

Roots connect you to the earth lending you strength.

Gently sway in the wind, turning your body like a trunk of a tree,

Leaning this way and that, bending as the air pushes and pulls.

What surrounds you, may sway you,

Make you bend and feel unbalanced

Wiggle your toes.

Know that your roots can hold you as you grow and learn.

A tree is nourished by the soil and water.

You are nourished by the food the earth grows and the water it provides.

You are cared for and loved by many people.

Breathe deeply

Still yourself

Know that your roots are strong.

Wiggle your roots.

Musical Interlude

Reflections from Stan McMillen

Musical Interlude

Reflections from Jen Edgerton

Offering

"We do not gather our gifts only for ourselves but to share with the larger community."

Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, fifty percent of our Sunday plate collections for the month of February will be shared with Manchester's African American and Black Affairs Council.

Offering Music

"The Majestic Tree"

by Mary Bopp

Reflections from Trisha Corey-Lisle

Closing Hymn

"May Nothing Evil Cross This Door"

#1 in Singing the Living Tradition

Words by Louis Untermeyer, Music by Robert N. Quaile

May nothing evil cross this door,

and may ill fortune never pry about

these windows; may the roar

and rain go by.

By faith made strong, the rafters will

withstand the battering of the storm.

This hearth, though all the world grow chill,

will keep you warm.

Peace shall walk softly through these rooms,

touching our lips with holy wine,

till every casual corner blooms

into a shrine.

With laughter drown the raucous shout,

and, though these sheltering walls are thin,

may they be strong to keep hate out

and hold love in.

Closing Words

#684 in Singing the Living Tradition

by Duke T. Gray

The blessing of truth be upon us,

The power of love direct us and sustain us,

And may the peace of this community

Preserve our going out and coming in,

From this time forth, until we

Meet again.

Extinguishing the Chalice

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.