Displaying 1 - 20 of 20
-
The wellspring of decency is loving this life in which people die, people suffer, there are limits, and we make mistakes. The wellspring, then, of moral action is not utopia, not a counterfactual vision, not a declaration that the world could and should be otherwise....Reading | By Sharon D. Welch | August 31, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Activism, Balance, Character, Commitment, Direct Experience, Ethics, Gratitude, Hope, Integrity, Justice, Purpose, Seven Principles -
Love leads us to observe in a much deeper way than any other emotion.Reading | By Adrienne Maree Brown | November 1, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Love, Purpose, Relationships -
Reason is an important tool, sure — an essential arbiter of truth claims about the world. But religion is grounded someplace deeper, where we experience the joy of living and are connected intimately with all that is....Reading | By Mark Ward | April 20, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Humanism, Purpose, Reason, Religion, Reverence -
This reading is an excerpt of the sermon delivered by Rev. Nancy McDonald Ladd on Sunday morning at General Assembly 2016. For as long as two or more have gathered in the name of the spirit, those two or more have fought some fake fights. You remember, perhaps, the classic wedding reading from...Reading | By Nancy McDonald Ladd | October 19, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anger, Christianity, Community, Compromise, Conflict, Conscience, Purpose, Relationships, Secular, Self-Respect, Seven Principles, Unitarian Universalism, Unity, Wholeness -
In the first episode of "Call the Midwife"—a British show about post-WWII midwives—the main character Jenny Worth is just starting as a midwife in the East End of London. She experiences a moment of disgust and overwhelm at witnessing the awful experience of one of her expectant mothers. She...Reading | By Forrest Gilmore | July 28, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, Compassion, Humanism, Integrity, Justice, Poverty, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Service, Spiritual Practice -
To become an anti-racist faith community, the key question for a white/white majority community is not “How do we get people of color to join our faith community?” It is, instead, “How can we make a prolonged, spiritually-rooted, engaged commitment to uprooting white supremacy within our...Reading | By Chris Crass | May 9, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Direct Experience, Freedom, Justice, Living Our Faith, Purpose, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Seven Principles, Solidarity, Unity -
One day, your church was born. Maybe it was a gathering of saints, called together for the common worship of a wrathful god, ceaselessly praying between bouts of decrying the evil of Christmas or dancing. Or maybe a few brave souls answered a notice in the newspaper, curiosity piqued by the...Reading | By Sean Neil-Barron | February 26, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), Building/Space Dedication, Business Meetings, Change, Child Dedication, Community, Creativity, Direct Experience, Generations, Installations, Leadership, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Religion, Sacred, Unitarian Universalism, WorshipWeb -
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 -
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 WorshipWebTagged 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 WorshipWebTagged as: Caring, Community, Connections, Direct Experience, Humanism, Purpose, Relationships, Service
-
“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 -
“This Ain’t No Country Club” excerpted from Nathan C. Walker (2014) Exorcising Preaching: Crafting Intellectually Honest Worship. St. Louis: Chalice Press. There is no time to be spinning around ourselves saying, “We’re so small. We’re a minority religion.” As if “minority” is...Reading | By Nathan C. Walker | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Courage, Meaning, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Searching, Unity
-
“Personal Spiritual Trainers” excerpted from Nathan C. Walker (2014) Exorcising Preaching: Crafting Intellectually Honest Worship. St. Louis: Chalice Press. When you come to me, come not with the expectation to have some passive clergyperson coddle you into complacency. No. Come to me as your...Reading | By Nathan C. Walker | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Direct Experience, Growth, Humility, Meaning, Progress, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Unitarian Universalism
-
There is no such thing as a lasting peace, a tranquility that will persist forever, a final resting place for the lion and the lamb. We yearn for the completion of our task, the fulfillment of our striving, the consummation of our journey. And this longing sows the seeds of our defeat....Reading | By Jeffrey A. Lockwood | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 6th Principle (World Community), Peace, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Unitarian Universalism, Work
-
The more we try to say precisely what is in our hearts, the more we find that we are speaking for multitudes of strangers the world over. The deeper we get down to our own fundamentals, the more deeply we represent those of other people. Like all human beings, I live on borrowed time....Reading | By Jack Mendelsohn | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Death, Meaning, Mystery, Purpose, Seven Principles, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness
-
From "The Young People in the Church," September 20, 1902 What is our idea of a church? Are we simply a mutual admiration society, meeting from Sunday to Sunday to congratulate ourselves that we are not so bigoted as other people, and sigh because they are not emancipated?...Reading | By Marion Shutter | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Unitarian Universalism, Vision
-
How shall we begin to live out our free faith? Nurture this precious light. When we do, we are beacons of freedom creating a safe place to rest, explore, and innovate. Nurture this precious light!...Reading | By Naomi King | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Community, Purpose, Reverence
-
Litany Response: “A Day!” Do we really apprehend what a day is? Do we feel its importance? Do we know its capacity? A day! It has risen upon us from the great depth of eternity, girt round with wonder; emerging from the womb of darkness; a new creation of Life and Light spoken into being by the...Reading | By Naomi King | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Purpose, Transcendence
-
Since the economy is in a kind of black hole, I was interested to read that researchers using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope have traced the building blocks of the universe back one more step and it leads to the massive black holes in space. We know that the Earth did not spring out of thin air...Reading | By Burton D. Carley | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Joy, Purpose
-
Setting ourselves to the task of Greening our Congregation, together we promise these things: Most simply, we will each do our small part to care for the earth around us. We will start with one step forward toward the thriving world that we envision....Reading | By Molly Housh | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Earth, Earth-Centered, Environment, Ethics, Purpose, Unitarian Universalism, Climate Change, Climate Justice