Roy Croft
Love	

I love you, not only for what you are 
But for what I am when I am with you.

I love you, not only for what
You have made of yourself
But for what you are making of me.

I love you for the part of me
That you bring out;
I love you,
For putting your hand
Into my heaped-up heart
And passing over
All the foolish, weak things
That you can't help
Dimly seeing there,
And for drawing out into the light
All the beautiful belongings
That no one else had looked
Quite far enough to find.

I love you because you
Are helping me to make
Of the lumber of my life
Not a tavern, but a temple;
Out of the works of my every day,
Not a reproach but a song.

I love you
Because you have done
More than any creed could have done
To make me good.
And more than any fate could have done
To make me happy.

You have done it
Without a touch,
Without a word,
Without a sign.

You have done it
By being yourself.
Perhaps that is what
Being a friend means,
After all.

CHALICE CIRCLES

Unitarian Universalist
Church of Berkeley

Friendship

The only way to have a friend is to be one.
                                     Ralph Waldo Emerson

Yes’m, old friends is always best, ’less you can catch a new one that’s fit to make an old one out of.
                                              Sarah Orne Jewett

	

Opening/ Chalice Lighting
Kenneth Patton
Hymnal #443 

Check-in

Reading 
George Elliot
Middlemarch

Sitting in Silence/  Reflection

	

We arrive out of many singular rooms, walking
over the branching streets
We come to be assured that brothers and
sisters surround us; to restore their images
on our eyes.
We enlarge our voices in common speaking. 
We try again that solitude found in the midst of
those who with us seek their hidden reckonings.
Our eyes reclaim the remembered faces; their voices stir the surrounding air.
The warmth of their hands assures us, and
the gladness of our spoken names
This is the reason of cities, of homes, 
of assemblies in the houses of worship.
It is good to be with one another

Let us each briefly describe where we are in our lives now and notice what needs to be left aside in order to be fully present in our Circle.

Friendship is the joy, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring all right out as they are, chaff and grain together, confident that a faithful, friendly hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of comfort, blow the rest away.

Take a few minutes to center your attention in yourself and that part of your life you mean to share with this Circle.

		

Sharing/ Deep Listening

Acknowledging/
Deliberative Dialogue

Choosing new topics 

Check-out or Likes and Wishes 

Reading

Closing/ Extinguishing the Chalice
Wayne Arneson
Hymnal #698

Please share your understanding of friendship and what friendship has meant in your life.

At this time we acknowledge what has come up for us through listening to the thoughts and experiences of the others.

The next meeting's topic is settled, but at that meeting a new topic will be chosen.  This is a time to discuss what topics you would like to consider in your Circle.

In just a word or phrase please express what you liked in this meeting and then, again in a word or phrase, what you hope for future meetings.

See back page

Join hands or link arms as you read the closing words together.

Take courage friends 
The way is often hard, the path is never clear
and the stakes are very high.
Take courage.
For deep down, there is another truth.
You are not alone.