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I rise on the shoulders of ancestors whose names I can not know.Reflection | By Glen Thomas Rideout | September 14, 2022 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: #8thPrinciple, #BlackHistoryMonth, #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), America, Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, History, Oppression, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Self-Respect, Unitarian Universalism, Worship -
Discomfort /in the name of holy wholeness / Bring all of ourselves / in the name of holy, of wholenessPoetry | By Kiakiali Bordner | May 23, 2022 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Justice, Leadership, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Purpose, Race/Ethnicity, Solidarity, WorshipWeb, Worship -
In order to be welcoming, the systems of power and privilege in our spaces need to be actively dismantled.Reflection | By Shannon Lang | September 29, 2021 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: #8thPrinciple, #BlackLivesMatter, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Diversity, Equity, Hospitality, Humanism, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Unitarian Universalism, Worship -
The 8th Principle is about actively dismantling racism.Reading | By Shannon Lang | August 23, 2021 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #8thPrinciple, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Humanism, Integrity, Race/Ethnicity, Unitarian Universalism, WorshipWeb, Worship -
Do we who are UUs really believe in the values of our faith enough to enact to them in bold, clear, and unequivocal ways?Reflection | By Takiyah Nur Amin | June 23, 2021 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: #8thPrinciple, #BlackLivesMatter, 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), America, Anti-Oppression, Conflict, Direct Experience, Division, Equity, Justice, Living Our Faith, Race/Ethnicity, Unitarian Universalism, Worship -
This reflection was part of Side With Love Sunday 2021.Homily | By Julica Hermann de la Fuente | March 10, 2021 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #30DaysOfLove, #BlackLivesMatter, #SideWithLove, 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Equity, Humanism, Justice, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Multiculturalism, Power, Privilege, Race/Ethnicity, Relationships, Secular, Unitarian Universalism, WorshipWeb, Worship -
I've adopted the practice of spiritual reconnection with my ancestors to heal intergenerational trauma.Reflection | By Jabari S. Jones | February 10, 2021 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), America, Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Direct Experience, Diversity, Generations, Healing, History, International, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Transformation, Trauma, Worship -
The person who enjoys privilege always knows less about the person who lives under the weight of that privilege than the people who are actually under it.Quote | By Ta-Nehisi Coates | November 24, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Justice, Power, Privilege, Race/Ethnicity, WorshipWeb, Worship
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I do not believe the acts of oppressors are my people's shame.Quote | By Imani Perry | October 27, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Culture, Direct Experience, Generations, History, Humanism, Identity, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Self-Respect -
I was born nine years after four little girls were killed in Birmingham, Alabama, and two other boys later the same day.Reading | By Imani Perry | October 27, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, America, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, History, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, WorshipWeb, Worship -
The drug that says that whiteness is what matters most about white people is what makes so many of them think that is what must be protected at all costs.Quote | By Imani Perry | October 19, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Race/Ethnicity -
None of us would be here were it not for those who lived and won a fight that they were not meant to survive.Reflection | By Daniel Gregoire | September 23, 2020 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, History, Humanism, Justice, Living Our Faith, Race/Ethnicity, Unitarian Universalism, Worship -
It often feels like we’re shouting into the void. It was a gift to be reminded that sometimes someone is listening.Reflection | By Jodi Cohen Hayashida | July 8, 2020 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, America, Belief, Democracy, Direct Experience, Imagination, Justice, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Solidarity, Truth -
I learned the hard way that there is a deep difference between the Jesus that Black folks worship and the Jesus that white Christians worship.Reading | By Austin Channing Brown | June 27, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Christianity, Direct Experience, History, Power, Race/Ethnicity, Religion -
Sheltered in our homes, Or going to work, at risk, For week after week after week, We’re edgy, tired, a little raw. We are tender, vulnerable, Open. A little more open than usual. Those of us who are white, Who, before, might have been distracted Who, before, might have been too busy Who, before,...Prayer | By Ellen Quaadgras | June 17, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, Direct Experience, Race/Ethnicity, Solidarity -
Our conversations about the history of our country—the actions of our ancestors—can be made new and relevant and understandable. We can and must have these conversations.Reflection | By Heather Rion Starr | June 17, 2020 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Activism, America, Children, Direct Experience, Generations, History, Humanism, Parents, Race/Ethnicity, Responsibility, Secular, Unitarian Universalism -
May we all remember how inextricably we are linked in this fight for justice and freedom.Reflection | By Otto O’Connor | June 10, 2020 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Direct Experience, Generations, History, Justice, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Race/Ethnicity, Responsibility, Secular, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism -
Deep in the shadow of night, down near the crossroads and cemetery gates, with bitter liquor and cigar smoke wafting, I greet you. Clad in white, upon the floor before shrines, following the names of the Ancestors being uttered, I greet you. You are the sacred and righteous rage of my people.Prayer | By Byron "Tyler" Coles | June 2, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Activism, Anger, Awe, Direct Experience, Generations, Indigenous American, Meaning, Power, Race/Ethnicity, Relationships, Secular, Wonder
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I come from a long line of strong Black women. My grandmother used to share stories about how she caused “trouble” in town when a white man hired her to put up the displays in his store window. At that time, all the Black women in town worked as domestics in the homes of white ladies, or in the...Reflection | By Rayla D. Mattson | February 5, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Friendship, Generations, Integrity, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Truth, Women -
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 -
When you’re the only black man in a sea of whiteness, purses still get clutched, and people still cross the street, and hellos still get lost in the void.Reflection | By Adrian L. H. Graham | January 15, 2020 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Fear, Identity, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Relationships -
Can we strive to have the grace to back away when our presence doesn’t feel like safety?Reflection | By Misha Sanders | November 13, 2019 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Discernment, Humanism, Privilege, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Unitarian Universalism -
On August 25, 1619, the ship the White Lion arrived at Point Comfort, now known as Fort Monroe National Monument in Hampton, Virginia. The ship contained enslaved Africans. This is the first recorded arrival of Africans in America....Affirmation | By Kristen L. Harper | October 10, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), America, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Direct Experience, History, Juneteenth, Oppression, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity -
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 -
Shirley Chisholm was asked why she, a Black woman, was running for president: "You don't have a chance. Why are you doing that?" And she said, "Because I am in love with the America that does not yet exist," and that's how Unitarian Universalism is also....Quote | By Natalie Maxwell Fenimore | June 25, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, Anti-Oppression, Change, Commitment, Direct Experience, Generations, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity -
America has not yet faced our history of slavery, nor the malicious colonization and oppression of the Indigenous peoples.Homily | By Heide Cottam | January 7, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Anti-Oppression, Brokenness, Challenge, Compassion, Direct Experience, Empathy, Humility, Race/Ethnicity, Reconciliation, Truth, Worship -
A white woman pulled over and ran over to me with a shopping bag. As I looked down at the bag, I had very mixed emotions.Reflection | By Rayla D. Mattson | November 14, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Caring, Connections, Contemplation, Direct Experience, Faith, Generosity, Grace, Gratitude, Kindness, Parents, Race/Ethnicity -
I want to tell you about my bicycle. The frame is a sparkly kind of blue and it has pink handlebar tape. And guess what color the wheels are? Lime green! I love my bicycle. Now suppose this was your bicycle. And suppose one day you biked to school and totally forgot to lock your bike when you got...Story | By Isabel Call | November 9, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), America, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, History, Indigenous American, Race/Ethnicity, Thanksgiving -
Who are the angry birds in my life? What are the sticks I carry in my heart so as not to be hurt again?Reflection | By Yuri Yamamoto | September 12, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), America, Animals, Anti-Oppression, Community, Direct Experience, Earth, Earth-Centered, Fear, Inclusion, Nature, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Self-Respect -
Black people are so accustomed to being ignored and invisible that a simple acknowledgement—a simple I see you—from a peer goes a long way.Reflection | By DeReau K. Farrar | August 22, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), America, Direct Experience, Fathers, Friendship, Identity, Parents, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Solidarity -
You can’t be prejudiced, racist, sexist, or homophobic. After all, you belong to this faith. You don’t carry pitchforks and march with the Charlottesville gang. You don’t vote for Trump and you started the Women’s March chapter in your city. You are a good person with good intentions; you...Quote | By Brittany Packnett | June 24, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Privilege, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Relationships, Seven Principles, Solidarity -
My heart broke the day my son stood in the bathroom crying. He handed me a pair of scissors and told me to just cut it. I told him how beautiful his hair was and how sad I would be to see him cut it.Reflection | By Rayla D. Mattson | April 18, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Beauty, Body, Children, Courage, Direct Experience, Gender, Humanism, Mothers, Parents, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Self-Respect, Strength -
I wanted so badly to break free and let loose—but I just couldn't. I was stuck in my own false ideas of the congregation's expectations of me. Luckily, there’s still time.Reflection | By DeReau K. Farrar | January 16, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Arts & Music, Body, Direct Experience, Empathy, Freedom, Joy, Limitations, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Self-Respect -
Liking somebody, even loving somebody, is not enough to protect them from shade that you cannot even see, much less understand.Reflection | By Teresa Honey Youngblood | January 10, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Anti-Oppression, Character, Children, Coming-of-Age, Direct Experience, Humanism, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Truth -
This service was written by Rev. Clyde Grubbs and Mary Jane Holden, and adapted by Erika Hewitt. It uses readers—as many as ten, plus the Worship Leader—to tell the story of the Civil Rights movement as it unfolded over the course of a decade. This story was designed to be read while photos were...Script | By Clyde Grubbs, Mary Jane Holden, Erika Hewitt | January 4, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Activism, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, History, Humanism, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Solidarity -
This Lamentation is for two voices: one white, and one person of color/indigenous (POCI). Both voices invite people to repeat a refrain several times: white voices say, “So much has been lost,” and voices of color say, “Beloved, you must not be defensive when you hear our hurt.” The latter,...Responsive Reading | By Erika Hewitt, Rebekah Savage | October 15, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Forgiveness, Grief, History, Humanism, Listening, Multiculturalism, Pain, Personal Stories, Race/Ethnicity, Reconciliation, Secular, Unitarian Universalism
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When I was in middle school, I was taught that every person, to some extent, holds a set of prejudices that impact our perceptions of others. We were asked to think about what our prejudices might be, and how they might inform our relationships and our movement through the world....Homily | By DeReau K. Farrar | October 15, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Integrity, Living Our Faith, Money, Multiculturalism, Pain, Personal Stories, Privilege, Race/Ethnicity, Reconciliation, Unitarian Universalism
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I play this moment over and over again in my head: the day I heard of the Thomas Jefferson Ball, hosted by Unitarian Universalists in 1993. As a person of color, raised in a UU congregation, I felt a shiver down my spine as I learned something new and unsettling about the faith that I call home....Homily | By Rebekah Savage | October 15, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Commitment, Direct Experience, History, Integrity, Listening, Living Our Faith, Multiculturalism, Pain, Personal Stories, Race/Ethnicity, Reconciliation, Unitarian Universalism
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The summer of 2016 began as an exciting one for me: I was finally going to a beloved Unitarian Universalist conference and retreat center. I’d heard many wonderful stories about it, and I couldn’t wait to bring my three children with me. On the drive there, I felt excited about spending a full...Homily | By Rayla D. Mattson | October 15, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Community, Direct Experience, Multiculturalism, Pain, Personal Stories, Race/Ethnicity, Unitarian Universalism -
Diverse. Multicultural. Inclusive. Welcoming. If I made a list of every single Unitarian Universalist congregation I have served, visited or worshipped at, they would have a few things in common—including the use of these words. Perhaps on the front of the Order of Service?...Reading | By Carol Thomas Cissel | October 15, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Health, Listening, Multiculturalism, Pain, Personal Stories, Race/Ethnicity, Reconciliation, Unitarian Universalism -
Joy Unspeakable is not silent, it moans, hums, and bends to the rhythm of a dancing universe…. For our free African ancestors, joy unspeakable is drum talk… For enslaved Africans during the Middle Passage, joy unspeakable is the surprise of living one more day… For Africans in bondage in the...Reading | By Kimberly Quinn Johnson | October 15, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Arts & Music, Community, Direct Experience, Joy, Living Our Faith, Multiculturalism, Personal Stories, Race/Ethnicity, Spiritual Practice, 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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Let us open our hearts, still our minds and enter a time of prayer. Let us call forth and hold in our hearts the stories of all who have come before us, the memories of those who are with us today, and the hope for tomorrow and for all of those who will come after us. Let us be thankful for this...Prayer | By Viola Abbitt | October 15, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Commitment, Direct Experience, Forgiveness, Healing, Listening, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Reconciliation, Unitarian Universalism
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Spirit of Life and Love, God of Many Names, we gather in awareness of the opportunity before us as Unitarian Universalists. We have been given many chances before today to heal the wounds of the racism and oppression that have beset our denomination for many years, and held us back from realizing...Prayer | By Connie Simon | October 15, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Commitment, Community, Direct Experience, Healing, Integrity, Living Our Faith, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Reconciliation, Unitarian Universalism
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Loving inclusion has been an elusive goal within our congregations. We are a covenantal people, and the promise of our faith, which was enough to bring us together, should have been enough to bind us together in love. Many hearts have been, and often continue to be, broken, time and again....Litany | By Viola Abbitt | October 15, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Commitment, Community, Covenant, Direct Experience, Integrity, Listening, Living Our Faith, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Reconciliation, Unitarian Universalism
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We light our flaming chalice as a beloved people united in love and thirsting for restorative justice. May it melt away the tethers that uphold whiteness in our midst. May it spark in us a spirit of humility. May it ignite in us radical love that transforms our energy into purposeful action....Chalice Lighting | By Rebekah Savage | October 15, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Commitment, Community, Direct Experience, Hope, Integrity, Living Our Faith, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Reconciliation, Unitarian Universalism
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We are Unitarian Universalists. When we lift up our Seven Principles, some of us think of them as a form of theology—but they are more important to our collective than that: they do not tell us what we should believe; they tell us how we should be. They tell us how we should act in the larger...Invocation | By Viola Abbitt | October 15, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Anti-Oppression, Commitment, Community, Direct Experience, Integrity, Listening, Living Our Faith, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Reconciliation, Unitarian Universalism -
It was at a gathering of white women when this gathering of the waters first came to pass. White women in a second wave of gender self-awareness; awakening, connecting, making new meaning, shifting the old ethos. The solidarity of these white women was reflected in the waters each brought, waters...Invocation | By Renee Ruchotzke | October 2, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Earth, Gender, Identity, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Reconciliation, Tradition, Unitarian Universalism, Water Communion -
Each of us at the wedding had unique stories about their life, but most knew how it felt to be an Asian American in this country.Reflection | By Yuri Yamamoto | September 20, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), America, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Identity, Immigration, Inclusion, International, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity