Displaying 1 - 33 of 33
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You can’t be a Unitarian Universalist and believe anything you want.Reading | By Alex Jensen | September 20, 2023 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Character, Identity, Integrity, Unitarian Universalism, WorshipWeb, Worship -
If we believe in the promise of our faith, we must continue pushing forward.Reading | By Elandria Williams | January 25, 2023 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Challenge, Change, Identity, Living Our Faith, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism -
We are part of the connective tissue that holds the legacy and future of our faith.Reading | By Elandria Williams | January 25, 2023 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Bridging, Coming-of-Age, Faith, Generations, Identity, Living Our Faith, Trauma -
When disability is understood as dependency, disability is posited in direct contrast to American ideals of independence and autonomy.Reading | By Kim Nielsen | February 17, 2022 | From WorshipWebTagged as: America, Body, Democracy, Disability, History, Identity, Justice, Multiculturalism, Oppression, Secular
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Disability is often elusive and changing.Reading | By Kim Nielsen | February 17, 2022 | From WorshipWebTagged as: America, Body, Disability, Identity, Multiculturalism, Secular, WorshipWeb, Worship
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Shame seems to be a bestselling product pumped out of all these crushing systems.Reading | By Rebekah Taussig | September 27, 2021 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Anti-Oppression, Brokenness, Direct Experience, Disability, Identity, Justice, Oppression
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Ironically, Americans who self-identify as not racist—whether they're conservatives, moderates, liberals, radicals, progressives—they don't realize… that we are connecting ourselves to a history of slave traders who self-identified as not racist (although they didn't use that term). We're...Reading | By Ibram X Kendi | January 16, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), America, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, History, Identity, Juneteenth, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Oppression, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity -
The first time I was told that I was too queer to be a congregation's minister, they asked, "What will the neighbors think?,” as if it were the most natural question in the world. It was then that I understood how grace works: it’s costly. It requires us to be uncomfortable, to get outside...Reading | By Chris Rothbauer | January 9, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Anti-Oppression, Coming Out, Direct Experience, Diversity, Identity, Inclusion, Integrity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Living Our Faith, National Coming Out Day, Oppression, Pride Sunday, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships, Solidarity -
A common "issue" in anti-racism work is the use of the term culture of white supremacy or white supremacy culture, which many people view as charged, controversial, or even deeply offensive. Sometimes there are even challenges/dismissals from people in positions of power/authority about it....Reading | By Carolina Krawarik-Graham | August 15, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Humanism, Identity, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Secular -
It is time to throw out our exceptional identity and humble ourselves... We have always done good in the world—it is in our DNA. The question is, are we ready to do better for our own people? Because the world includes every person in our faith—many of whom have been micro-aggressioned right out...Reading | By Marta I. Valentín | June 25, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Humility, Identity, Inclusion, Living Our Faith, Multiculturalism, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Seven Principles, Unitarian Universalism -
When I started attending a UU church, I was excited by the promise of worship that would draw from the arts, science, nature, literature and a multitude of voices. Indeed, some of the voices that Unitarian Universalists hear in worship each week belong to Thoreau, Emerson, Ballou, and others....Reading | By Connie Simon | October 15, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Community, Direct Experience, Identity, Inclusion, Listening, Multiculturalism, Pain, Personal Stories, Race/Ethnicity, Reconciliation, Unitarian Universalism
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Yesterday, a new employee—a white guy—walked into the bakery where I work. “Hi,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve met you yet.” He told me his name. “I’m Jabari,” I replied. “Are you American?,” he asked. I hesitated. “Yeaaaaaaaaaah.” “Well, it’s just that your name is...Reading | By Jabari S. Jones | July 31, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), America, Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Direct Experience, Humanism, Identity, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Secular -
Every mother has a different story, though we tend to group them together. We like to think that partnered moms have it good and single moms have it rough, but the truth is that we're a diverse bunch....Reading | By Cheryl Strayed | March 15, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Children, Direct Experience, Family, Fathers, Humanism, Identity, Love, Money, Mother's Day, Mothers, Parents, Relationships, Sacrifice, Secular -
Don’t speak to me of “healing” racism, or “wounded souls” or the “painful hurt” until you are willing to feel the scars on my great-great-grandmother Laury’s back. Don’t speak to me of “values” or “justice” or “righting wrongs” until you are able to feel the heartache...Reading | By Adam Lawrence Dyer | May 17, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, America, Anti-Oppression, Brokenness, Direct Experience, Healing, Identity, Justice, Personal Stories, Race/Ethnicity, Responsibility, Secular, Shame -
You’ve seen it. Two black men pass each other on the street. They nod. Subtle, sometimes imperceptible, but there is acknowledgement. “Do you know him?” “No . . . (yes) . . . no.” I learned this from my father and my grandfather and my other grandfather and my uncles and my great uncle and...Reading | By Adam Lawrence Dyer | May 17, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), America, Anti-Oppression, Connections, Direct Experience, Identity, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Solidarity, Unity
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Dear Liberal Allies, You and I learned very different things in very different ways. If you didn’t live an experience, then step aside. We students of color, gay students, trans* students, children of immigrants and refugees knew this stuff before our professors told us what to call it....Reading | By Trungles | March 30, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Growth, Identity, Justice, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Multiculturalism, Personal Stories, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Solidarity, Suffering
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A covenant is not a definition of a relationship; it is the framework for our relating. A covenant leaves room for chance and change, it is humble toward evolution. It claims: I will abide with you in this common endeavor, be present as best as I can in our becoming....Reading | By Lisa Ward | October 15, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Covenant, Direct Experience, Humanism, Identity, Integrity, Interdependence, Living Our Faith, Purpose, Relationships, Unitarian Universalism -
Most of us Unitarian Universalists are here because we felt welcome here — at last. Some of us were too agnostic somewhere else. Some of us weren’t vindictive enough somewhere else. We were too working-class somewhere else. We were too lesbian somewhere else. We were too nerdy somewhere else,...Reading | By Kenny Wiley | September 1, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, Activism, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Identity, Inclusion, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Unitarian Universalism
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Today we light our candle of remembrance. On April 19, 1943 the Jewish community in the Warsaw ghetto rose up against their captors in a valiant effort to regain their freedom and return a common humanity to those intent on destroying their very existence....Reading | By Karen Mooney | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Anti-Oppression, Brokenness, Direct Experience, History, Holocaust Remembrance / Yom Ha'Shoah, Human Rights, Humanism, Identity, Judaism, Prayer Practices, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Solidarity -
I somehow lost my chalice necklace on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston the same day I lost my marriage and my religion. I must have dropped it while I was walking down the street. It was a bad day. Let me back up. I grew up Unitarian Universalist. I had a chalice necklace for a long time that I only...Reading | By Robin Bartlett | April 26, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Identity, Meaning, Searching -
Identity is one of those concepts I have tried desperately to push to the sidelines for most of mi vida. It was always too complicated, too painful, or too divisive....Reading | By Saul Ulloa | April 26, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, Identity, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity
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I realized I was a woman, or more precisely at the time, a girl, the day in first grade I noticed boys were looking up my dress when I was on the monkey bars. I started wearing shorts under my dresses. I now prefer pants. I realized I liked other women when I was nineteen and noticed I was...Reading | By Kayla Parker | April 26, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Living Our Faith, Self-Respect, Young Adults
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The history and legacy of Unitarian Universalism are shaped as much by Emerson, Fahs, and Channing as it is by the ancestors in our congregations. We come to it through different avenues: the Internet, an invitation, reading the Transcendentalists, or as babies or little kids. I came as a fourth...Reading | By Elandria Williams | April 26, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Community, Direct Experience, Faith, Identity, Living Our Faith, Love, Violence, Wholeness
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A few years ago, my little sister moved in with me from our native Los Angeles to the coast of Maine. The move brought a lot of firsts for her: snow, the Atlantic Ocean, and seeing me as an older brother instead of an older sister....Reading | By Andrew Coate | April 26, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Choice, Direct Experience, Family, History, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Young Adults
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Unitarian Universalists are mosaic makers.Reading | By Marcus Liefert | April 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Community, Connections, Direct Experience, Friendship, Identity, Relationships, Unitarian Universalism -
I’ve always had a tough time falling asleep. As a child, I was skeptical about the whole idea of sleep. I thought, “Who needs it anyway? Can’t we just be awake all the time? Isn’t that what life is all about?” So it is not surprising that, when my now mother-in-law asked me a few years ago...Reading | By Nic Cable | March 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Choice, Direct Experience, Growth, Identity, Unitarian Universalism, Vision, Youth/Teens
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“So...what do you want to do with your life???” There was a time when this question haunted me like an existential crisis. Some might call it being in my twenties, but I certainly didn’t feel that such pain was just “to be expected.” I remember pouring over inspirational books. I found few...Reading | By David Ruffin | March 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Challenge, Character, Direct Experience, Identity, Purpose, Searching, Unitarian Universalism, Youth/Teens
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When we introduce ourselves to another person, we usually extend our hand and summarize ourselves with one word, usually our name. "Hello, my name is Naomi…" These are the kinds of face-to-face greetings that initiate relationships, that open our hearts and act as a bridge of connection from one...Reading | By Naomi King | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Dignity, Direct Experience, Humanism, Identity, Secular, Self-Care, Self-Respect, Unitarian Universalism, Worth -
We believe there is a place at God’s table for each and every child of earth Hey, ain’t that good news! We believe the giver of life has been given many names and loves the givers of all of them Hey, ain’t that good news! We are more interested in getting heaven into people now than getting...Reading | By John Corrado | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Belief, Good, Identity, Revelation, Unitarian Universalism
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Unitarian Universalists are proud of themselves for doing nothing to seek converts to their faith. A person’s religion is a private inward thing, it is said, and we should in no way seek to influence another person to choose our way in religion. The underlying principle here is respect for the...Reading | By Roy Phillips | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Commitment, Identity, Unitarian Universalism
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Living your Unitarian Universalism (UUism) means... If a grieving neighbor needs some companionship, you brew the pot of coffee and sit down to listen. Living your UUism means......Reading | By Anonymous | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Identity, Integrity, Interdependence, Living Our Faith, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Unitarian Universalism
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About The Author: The author self-identifies as Afircan American and psychology professional. Frequently I am asked, ‘Why should the UUA [Unitarian Universalist Association] spend money, time, and resources on racial and cultural diversity?’ I sometimes feel burdened with the expectation that I...Reading | By Anonymous | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), All Saints Day, Anti-Oppression, Diversity, Identity, Justice Sunday, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Responsibility, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness, Multiculturalism
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What you risk telling your story: You will bore them. Your voice will break, your ink spill and stain your coat. No one will understand, their eyes become fences. You will park yourself forever on the outside, your differentness once and for all revealed, dangerous. The names you give to yourself...Reading | By Laura Hershey | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Conscience, Direct Experience, Identity, Power, Privilege, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Truth, Vulnerability