Please contact the minister about Rites of Passage, minister@beaconuu.com

Weddings

Whatever your situation, walk of life, race, religion, sexual orientation or gender, we are honored to walk beside you in this meaningful journey and hope to assist you with this joyful celebration of life and love. Our goal to help facilitate a wedding that celebrates your bond and your beliefs, whomever you love.

Contact to the church office to determine availability. Please review the rental guidelines and rental application.

Memorial Services – Celebrations of Life

Memorial services in the Unitarian Universalist tradition allow us to celebrate the life of the person who has died.  With music, eulogies, and readings that evoke the person’s presence, personality and ideas, we remember well, and hold and comfort one another in our grief.

Our minister (or another clergy, as arranged) meets with the family, and, based on memories they share, usually offers the eulogy.  Family members or loved ones may also choose to share memories or reflections about the person who has died. In most Unitarian Universalist memorial services, the casket is not present in the church during the service – but this is an option the family may choose.  Often families hold a reception following the service in our Dining Room, and our Fellowship team is often available to support these efforts.

There is no charge for the minister or for building use when the person who has died was an active member of the congregation. Non-members would pay a minister’s fee and for the use of the facilities. The minister may also be available for memorial services held at other locations and for interments.

Please call the church office for more information regarding memorial services. Our administrator will contact the minister.

Excerpt from a UU Celebration of Life

Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow. I am in the gently falling snow.
I am in the gentle showers of rain.
I am in a field of ripening grain.

I am in the morning hush.
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight. I am in the star shine of the night. I am in the flowers that bloom
I am in the quiet room.
I am the birds that sing
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and weep I am not there
I do not sleep.

Child Dedications

Rather than holding Christian-style baptisms or christenings, most Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations have child dedication ceremonies for infants and children.

In the UU tradition, children of any age can be named and welcomed into the wider community and the human family with a dedication ceremony.

Child dedications are most often a part of a Sunday morning service. Parents or guardians and the child are invited forward, as well as any siblings, godparents, or family members who are involved. The congregation pledges its support to the child and family; the godparents, family members, and parents pledge their support for the child in body, mind, and spirit.

The child is named, and the symbols of water and a rose are often used to express our gratitude for the original blessing or gift of life, our present happiness, and future hopes for the child. UUs do not have a theology of “original sin” but focus on the potential goodness in all and celebrate the “original blessing” of life.

Arrangements  can be made for a private dedication at the church, in your home, or a location of choice.  If you are interested in having a child dedication, please contact the minister.

 Excerpt from UU Child Dedication service:

“(Name), I dedicate you to the service of goodness, beauty, and truth. I touch you with this rose, a symbol of the beautiful unfolding life we wish for you.

I touch you with this water which symbolizes the purity with which you were born and will carry throughout your life. I touch you on your brow, your eyes, and your lips, that your thoughts, your vision, and your speech may be dedicated to the love and service of all humankind.”