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Displaying 141 - 160 of 338

  • I am always in a bit of a shock when December 1st arrives on the calendar. I always feel like there should be at least another week beyond Thanksgiving before I can even contemplate the next holiday....
    Reading | By Cynthia Frado | December 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Advent, Birth, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Compassion, Hope, Mindfulness, Unitarian Universalism, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wonder, WorshipWeb
  • I want to say to all those who would close the door, who would be guided by fear instead of hope, who would clutch in scarcity rather than live in generosity, who would say “No, you can’t come here”— I want to say: How dare you. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, . .
    Reading | By Matthew Johnson | December 7, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Acceptance, America, Anti-Oppression, Christianity, Direct Experience, Immigration, Inclusion, Justice, Secular
  • In eighth grade, we were assigned a project: to make a poster about some part of our ancestry. I made mine about the story of the 1930 migration, from Germany to the United States, of my great-grandmother, her husband, and their three children. My great-grandmother, Emma Johanna Jacoba Kranenburg...
    Reading | By Matthew Johnson | December 7, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Acceptance, America, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, Immigration, Inclusion, Multiculturalism, Prophetic Words & Deeds
  • Note: this reflection was written at the end of Rev. Janis-Dillon's week in Samos, Greece working in a Syrian refugee center. The people of Samos, Greece have done something that sounds ordinary, only it's not: they have treated the Syrian refugees like human beings. Past the terror of the rubber...
    Reading | By Bob Janis-Dillon | December 6, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Anti-Oppression, Compassion, Dignity, Human Rights, Immigration
  • We hear it said we are witnessing a “clash of civilizations.” We hear it from presidential candidates, from right-wing talk radio pundits, from white supremacist, nationalist and terrorist organizations. They say we live in the midst of a “clash of civilizations.” This is the first great lie...
    Reading | By Joshua Mason Pawelek | December 6, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), America, Direct Experience, Immigration, Inclusion, International, Justice
  • For many reasons, people depart. They leave home—or the places given to them, in place of home that might’ve been lost to war—and seek refuge from a thousand dangers and uncertainties. For many reasons—many of them inconceivable to us, who live in relative peace and prosperity—people...
    Reading | By Erika Hewitt | December 3, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Acceptance, America, Anti-Oppression, Compassion, Immigration, Journey
  • I heard the Second Brandenburg Concerto played in honor of Bach’s 300th birthday, and I was swept away. I remembered a story about the people who send messages into outer space. Someone suggested sending a piece by Bach. The reply was “But that would be bragging.” Some say we get what we...
    Reading | By Robert Walsh | November 18, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Arts & Music, Awe, Beauty, Direct Experience, Gratitude, Humility, Thanksgiving, Wonder, Worth
  • We gather together this morning, Because others came before us. Some have left examples for us to follow, Others lessons for us to learn from, and the paradox is that many have left both pain and joy. We honor our ancestors this morning, not because they are perfect, But because, without them, we...
    Reading | By Chris Rothbauer | November 11, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Community, Generations, History, Limitations, Meaning, Pain, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Vulnerability
  • 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged 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 WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, Activism, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Identity, Inclusion, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Unitarian Universalism
  • Hay tantísimas fronteras que dividen a la gente, pero por cada frontera existe también un puente. There are so many borders that divide people, but for every border there is also a bridge. Adapted from "Copla #1," Puentes y fronteras/Bridges and Borders, translated by Katherine Callen King.
    Reading | By Gina Valdés | August 26, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Anti-Oppression, Community, Connections, Culture, Direct Experience, International, Multiculturalism, Relationships, Secular
  • I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, To steal a view of the glorious...
    Reading | By Nelson Mandela | August 19, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Freedom, Humanism, Justice, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Relationships, Responsibility, Service
  • Community is the spirit, the guiding light of the tribe, whereby people come together to fulfill a specific purpose, to help others fulfill their purpose, and to take care of one another. from The Spirit of Intimacy: Ancient Teachings in the Ways of Relationships...
    Reading | By Sobonfu Somé | August 19, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Caring, Community, Connections, Direct Experience, Humanism, Purpose, Relationships, Service
  • “Look, look!” The strangers around me were shouting and pointing. I spun around. From my position halfway across the Brooklyn Bridge, I could see a large circle of light on the Verizon building, prominent in the New York City skyline. Inside the circle were three symbols that would have meant...
    Reading | By Annie Gonzalez Milliken | June 25, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Activism, Change, Courage, Economy, Hope, Joy, Justice, Love, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism, Unity
  • Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime; Therefore, we are saved by hope. Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; Therefore, we are saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; Therefore, we are saved by...
    Reading | By Reinhold Neibuhr | June 25, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Ethics, Faith, Forgiveness, History, Hope, Limitations, Living Our Faith, Love, Salvation, Work
  • They will march, walk, wheel, dance, shimmy and shake Block upon block of undulating color, flesh, banners, signs, clothing or lack thereof Hands raised, hands linked, apart, together Singing, shouting, chanting, silent, Joyous, tearful, nervous, afraid, proud, defiant, angry, happy, delirious,...
    Reading | By Lois Van Leer | June 9, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Inclusion, Joy, Justice, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Sexuality, Transgender Day of Remembrance
  • The first time I ever played “Taps” was at summer camp when I was ten years old. That was the year I started playing trumpet, so I can only imagine how it sounded. I know there was no way that I could have hit the high note near the end. The first time I played Taps in honor of those who died...
    Reading | By Paul S Sawyer | May 11, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), America, Death, Direct Experience, Grief, History, Memorial Day, Military, Military Service, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Secular, Veterans Day, War
  • We who are Unitarian Universalist not only affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person; we also affirm the inherent wholeness of every being -- despite apparent brokenness. No one reading these words is a stranger to pain, or the knowledge that things break, or break down: promises,...
    Reading | By Erika Hewitt | April 30, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Body, Brokenness, Direct Experience, Healing, Hope, Humanism, Wholeness, Worth
  • At age twenty, I had the fortune of traveling the world. Through a study abroad program, I journeyed to awe-inspiring destinations like India, Cuba, and South Africa. In the process, I witnessed extreme poverty, global wealth, power disparity, and the effects of war and militarism—all while...
    Reading | By Betty Jeanne Rueters-Ward | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: America, Change, Direct Experience, Globalism, Living Our Faith, Personal Stories, Privilege, Transformation, Young Adults
  • The first time my heart felt broken, I went to church. When my mom died, I went to church. When I failed a class, I went to church. When I failed a friend, I went to church. When I felt like I’d failed at life, I went to church. I didn’t go asking for forgiveness. I didn’t go asking for...
    Reading | By Kenny Wiley | April 27, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Death, God, Individualism, Mothers, Personal Stories, Relationships