Black Lives Matter Worship Collection

A black man in a "Black Lives Matter" T-shirt uses a megaphone to stir a crowd at a rally

This month’s Dismantling White Supremacy Resource comes from the UUA’s WorshipWeb. Recognizing that white supremacy is an institutionalized cultural pattern reaching far beyond any single incident or person, WorshipWeb has curated a collection of #BlackLivesMatter worship resources. The resources include:

  • Reflections by Black Authors

  • Braver/Wiser Reflections by Black Authors

  • Sermons, and

  • Other Worship Resources

Black Lives Matter (or #BlackLivesMatter) is a movement and a stance in response to this reality: the United States was built on a legacy of slavery, racism, and oppression that continues to take new, ever-changing forms. As “One Piece of a Deeply Sacred Whole” from the Rev. Nancy McDonald Ladd, senior minister of River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Bethesda, Maryland, illustrates, to say that "black lives matter" doesn't mean that black lives are more important than other lives, or that all lives don't matter:

"When we say, 'Save the rainforest,' we don’t mean that we cease to honor the mighty cedars or the reaching pines. We mean that one particular piece of a deeply sacred whole is more at risk than others, and that this risk, this threat, is worthy of our very bravest actions. So it is with black lives in this country, and the message that Black Lives Matter is important so long as this nation effectively functions as if they do not."

The systemic devaluing of Black lives calls us to bear witness, even as we acknowledge that oppression takes many intersecting forms. One way your congregation can respond to that call is to explore the readings in Black Lives Matter Worship Collection and use them in your worship services.
https://www.uua.org/worship/collections/black-lives-matter.