The patchwork quilt of our theological heritage is torn and fraying in places, and it is stunningly vibrant in others. Some sections have been mended or wholly replaced… As we mature spiritually as a tradition and as people, we develop our capacities to be with the broken and the beautiful…

There is a mandate emerging from our theological heritage to dismantle the structures and systems which silence, harm, and exploit human beings and the varied ecosystems of our planet…

In an era when it is becoming clear that industrialized nations under a system of global corporation-controlled capitalism need to change quickly and dramatically for the benefit of all life, we will be called to experience generosity, gratitude, and hope in new ways.

Our religious communities at their best are places where we grow our capacities to be with experience in all its complexity and paradox, to listen deeply to one another, to allow ourselves to be seen and held in love, and to respond creatively and collectively.

The religious responsibility of the faithful is to remove and dismantle the systems and structures that prevent the full flourishing of life and to enhance and side with the movement of creative and active love.

We declare that there are many paths to the sacred. We hold fast to the notion that one religion does not hold all the truth for all time, not even Unitarian Universalism. We maintain that a free, open, and respectful dialogue is one of the primary ways our theological perspectives evolve and grow.

… increasing religious plurality in our congregations has brought in perspectives and practices from earth-based religions of many kinds, amplifying an understanding of humankind as one part of a great interconnected web of all existence and deepening our humility and reverence for the web of life.

We affirm the power of Love to heal what is broken, to hold us together across pluralities of diverse religious practices and beliefs, to hold us when things fall apart, to grow our capacities, and to guide us as we return again and again in our families and communities to side with Love.

In a patchwork quilt, each piece of fabric contains a story in itself—where, when, and how it was made; what other garment or fabric it once was part of; who created and touched the fabric. Sewn together, the quilt collectively tells other stories…

Today, we are charged to remember. To know that as we live together in community, we are also in community with the silently singing lives in the vast congregation of the earth as well... Let us remember, and then act.

When I remember to orient myself within the bigger picture, it recalibrates my perspective.

When we are engaged in acts of love, we humans are at our best and most resilient… If the goal was to increase the love, rather than winning or dominating a constant opponent, I think we could actually imagine liberation from constant oppression.

Crows found ways to adapt to our concrete forests but we have not yet found ways to make sure we are in balance with the rest of creation.

Disturbance opens the terrain for transformative encounters… Humanists, not used to thinking with disturbance, connect the term with damage. But disturbance, as used by ecologists, is not always bad—and not always human.

All organisms make ecological living places, altering earth, air, and water... In the process, each organism changes everyone’s world.

If you have come here tonight on Rosh Hashanah and feel that there is nothing to examine, no wound in your life to heal, no relationship to repair—then I hope you will listen especially closely to the shofar.

I look up and experience her music as a Beatitude of Peace, a feathery sonnet that rings of grace and hope...

There in the deep sack of night, a tiny Hope was born. 

This is my favorite thing about seaweed: it feels so much like my neurodiverse brain.

People who aren't neurodiverse tend to frame neurodiversity as symptoms of inconvenience to people around them. For me, my ADHD means beauty.

Appreciation and deep witness are beautiful gateways for returning to our most authentic selves.

When someone lists Unitarians or Universalists, they usually name white men. Never anyone Black like me.

From the beginning, the story of Black people in America has been told through the lens of white supremacy.

“[Democracy] is not merely majority rule based on the fact that the majority has the physical force to prevail…"

Scorekeeping is about who hurts whom more. In the long-term, no one wins.

If you’re seeking sacred Black “text” in our tradition, you have to examine the way our Black ancestors lived.

Remind me that success is not the only measure of a life.

May the words that I speak remind others that they are beloved.

It takes courage to bring our trust forward and invite another person to meet us there. This sometimes sure, often shaky, surrender is an opportunity to discover something deeper than the confines of our individual experience.

Death is a regular part of my job, which makes small talk weird for me at parties.

Just as I can believe in others, I also believe in me.

What “toast, boast, and oath” might you offer this January?

Fear not, the angels would text me. Hallelujah, I’d write back.

The journey toward inner truth is too taxing to be made solo.

The fulcrum of the Earth tilts toward goodness and I will ride along…

Spirits of winter, I celebrate you!

The Magnificat is a courageous and subversive song of praise; a call to social justice.

Love this world, she whispers.

I encouraged my students to question authority, especially my authority, because only rarely can we recognize our biases without help.

Building relationships requires the risk of being open and curious.

The path of repentance is one that can help us not only to repair what we have broken, but to grow in the process of doing so.

A person is not entitled to forgiveness if they haven’t done the work of repair.

The work of repentance demands curiosity, care, and a willingness to face hard things with bravery and honesty.

Atonement is, in the framework of my tradition, something that happens in connection with the divine.

We need to summon the courage to cross the bridge...

Holy Reconciler, help us make peace with each other.

We did what humans frequently do: we created a ritual.

God of our ancestors, may we find the ways in which we can connect across generations.

I believe that we are all "life drummers" just waiting to join in the rhythm.

Sometimes we need someone to witness the pain in holy stillness.