Choosing When to Pray
Prayer is an important part of the spiritual lives of many UUs—but we also are clear that people need to choose for themselves how and when they will pray. It isn’t the government’s place to decide that for people.
In the early 1960s the UU Schempp family helped to make that clear in American law. Sixteen-year-old Ellery Schempp wasn’t comfortable with having to say the Lord’s Prayer and listen to Bible readings at his public school. His parents, Ed and Sidney Schempp, talked about the issue with Ellery and his siblings Roger and Donna. Together they decided that not only was it not right for Ellery to have to say a prayer he didn’t believe in, no kid should be required to say a prayer that didn’t match their beliefs or faith tradition.
Inscription from Franklin Roosevelt Memorial
So the Schempps challenged the school in court, and their case went to the Supreme Court. In 1963 the court ruled in Abington Township School District v. Schempp that it was unconstitutional for a public school to expect students to participate in school-sponsored religious activity. The 1st Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, and a UU family stood up to make sure that children were included in that guarantee.
Meal Blessing
Here is a little prayer of thanksgiving that your family might want to sing at meal times.
Thank you for this food, this food,
this glorious, glorious food,
and the animals, and the vegetables,
and the minerals that made it possible.
Prayer
November 2016
In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart. —Mahatma Gandhi
Articles
Prayer
In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart. —Mahatma Gandhi Read more »
A Thousand Ways to Pray
Early in my ministry career I interned as a religious studies teacher at Milton Academy, a prep school in New England. Read more »
Nominating Committee Seeks Leaders
The CLF’s Nominating Committee seeks members to run for positions on the Board of Directors beginning June 2017. Read more »
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We Open Many Doors
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ACTS Prayer: A Unitarian-Universalist Guide
Most religious traditions embrace some form of prayer as a part of meaningful spiritual practice. Read more »
From Your Minister
As I reflect on this month’s theme of prayer, scraps of poems and songs I love dance before me. Read more »
REsources for Living
I didn’t learn a whole lot about prayer growing up in a UU church in the 60s and 70s. Read more »
Did You Know?
…that the CLF is hoping to send holiday cards to our more than 700 prisoner members? You can help. Read more »
Prayer in a Time of Awe
Holy grandparents of the Universe…energies of creation…endless mysteries of life: You are the music that sounded before our world was born… Read more »
A Thousand Ways to Pray
Podcast: Download (Duration: 9:42 — 7.8MB)
Subscribe: More
Early in my ministry career I interned as a religious studies teacher at Milton Academy, a prep school in New England. Read more →
The Call to Prayer
Podcast: Download (Duration: 12:26 — 7.7MB)
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Allahu Akbar, the voice calls four times: “God is the most great.” Read more →
Nominating Committee Seeks Leaders
Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:02 — 974.3KB)
Subscribe: More
The CLF’s Nominating Committee seeks members to run for positions on the Board of Directors beginning June 2017. Read more →
Prayer
Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:08 — 1.1MB)
Subscribe: More
I pray every day—more than once most days. I’ll be completely frank and admit that I am not quite sure who or what I direct these prayers to, but that’s okay with me. Read more →
We Open Many Doors
Podcast: Download (Duration: 0:21 — 344.6KB)
Subscribe: More
At the CLF we open many doors to the quiet voice within—and we cannot keep those doors open without your support. Read more →
ACTS Prayer: A Unitarian-Universalist Guide
Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:32 — 3.2MB)
Subscribe: More
Most religious traditions embrace some form of prayer as a part of meaningful spiritual practice. Read more →
