Each meditation illustrates that faith is not to be taken for granted—it must be attended to, cared for, and practiced. The four writers who contribute to Singing in the Night offer hope, gratitude, and a sense of deep humility at day’s end:
• Gordon McKeeman compares religion to a van that needs regular check-ups, even when it seems to be in good working order.
• Kaaren Anderson imagines Eve, banished from the Garden of Eden, but thrilled. "I knew it lay before me," Eve exclaims, "my life, my opportunity, my humanness."
• Jane Ellen Mauldin offers an end-of-day meditation that includes "a silent sigh of gratitude for yet one more chance to do our job again, and go on."
• David Rankin contributes a poem that celebrates prayer and humility, "I love to pray . . . to peek through a mystic window and look upon the fabric of life . . . and to think how little I know."
All four contributors are ministers who don’t have all the answers. They have convictions and questions. They uphold faith yet express honest doubt, inspiring readers to trust their own questions.
The meditations in Singing in the Night have been selected from meditation manuals published annually by the Unitarian Universalist Association. They reflect the theological diversity of Unitarian Universalism, a non-creedal religion that draws inspiration from many faith traditions around the world. These meditations encourage readers to explore their own religious path, a path traveled by believers everywhere.