Bestselling author/editor, activist and ritual singer-songwriter adrienne maree brown affirms, “True pleasure—joy, happiness and satisfaction—has been the force that helps us move beyond the constant struggle, that helps us live and generate futures … worthy of our miraculous lives.” In times of confusion and chaos, how can we resource ourselves with joy in order to … Continue reading Joy as Resistance
William Sloane Coffin asserts, “Faith is not believing without proof but trusting without reservation.” How is such trust built? Part of building trust is being honest and authentic with each other. That means sharing who I am, who you are, and the dream we carry for the world. When we do this, we can trust … Continue reading Trusting the Process
Paula Cole Jones invites UUs to see Unitarian Universalism as less like a family and more like a “community of communities.” This is ever more relevant as many UUs are asking how we can organize together to put our values into action over the next four years. Today, we’ll explore the spiritual connections and joy … Continue reading Growing our Power as a Community of Communities
Come and affirm the mystery (and magic) of new beginnings: of light returning after Solstice, of new life being birthed in such an unlikely place as a manger. Let us rekindle courage and generosity, lighten our burdens, and renew our commitment to extend sanctuary and care within our web of relations.
Daniel Shkolnik quotes the Persian poet Kabir, “I laugh when I hear that the fish in the sea is thirsty,” and notes, “Are you thirsty for the divine? The sacred? The clear light of awakening? All around you, the world is wet with it.” In this season of dark and long nights, we will practice … Continue reading Approaching Presence with Mindfulness and Prayer
Where do you go to lay your burden down? To repair your spirits. Your heart. Your soul. Today we’ll visit places in the world, in the heart, and in our community, where we can practice the art of repair. Where spiritual practices don’t bypass our issues and needs; they bring us closer to actions that … Continue reading The Practice of Repair
Mister Rogers famously affirmed, “Listening is where love begins.” In UU, we listen to many sources for making meaning of what happens in our complex lives. Yet one of the primary sources UUs tend to listen to for evaluating truth claims is the testimony of our own experience and the lived experiences of others. As … Continue reading The Practice of Deep Listening to One Another’s Testimony
This Sunday we’ll celebrate coming together again for the beginning of our 2024–2025 congregational year. For our in-gathering water ceremony, please bring a small amount of water to symbolize a body of water that is important to you, whether it is from where you live, or a place you have visited. We will gather the … Continue reading The Practice of Invitation: Gathering the Waters
Pluralism is one of the core values of our UU tradition. And it is part of the motto of the United States, “e pluribus unum”—out of many, one. Sociologist of religion Robert Bellah states, “Not only is there such a thing [as institutionalized civil religion in America], …this religious dimension has its own seriousness and … Continue reading The Dance of Pluralism in UU and in the U.S.
UUs have long advocated to protect Earth’s ecosystems, struggling with the United States’ culture of independence, individualism, and capitalist freedoms to exploit people and the planet. What if the urgency of the climate crisis, paradoxically, calls for an end to protest and a deepening of acceptance? As human beings, we live with great dependence and … Continue reading The Middle Way of Interdependence
