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

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

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

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

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.

We light this chalice, so that by its light we may read ALL the books…

We are the recipients of an incredible gift and a beautiful vision.

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.

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

I belong, and you belong, and we belong—just as we are.

What’s your most memorable story about getting lost? What do you remember about finding your way home?

I don’t know exactly when it happened, but something began to change.

democracy, today we will love you alive

Queer joy is resistance.

The only way we survive this modern agony is together.

There is no such thing as unskilled labor.

Beneath the snow, life is bursting, preparing for the next season.

Pleasure is one of the ways we know when we are free.

To be queer is to know the ways of holding all that shimmers to the light.

We are an angry and beautiful people.

Growing connects me to ancestors who had their hands in the dirt because it was keeping them alive.

None of us are mission-making machines.

The power to choose is the power of life in the midst of brokenness.

We can plant the seeds of love and justice in the world.

Love cannot fix everything, but it can keep us company.

Taking what we need and leaving the rest behind isn’t only a one time thing. We can do it anytime.

White supremacy culture tells me that I’m only "good" if I’m perfect, treating all falls as hard stops.

When covenant / breaks, we need to come home / to trust.

Happy kids are safer kids, because happy kids have adults they can ask for help.

We tend the spark of imagination and hope for the world to come.

We are living today with time to do good for ourselves and for each other.

I need to celebrate our human family, whose power and potential shimmer against the backdrop of deep time, because we aren’t at our best right now.

In order to be welcoming, the systems of power and privilege in our spaces need to be actively dismantled.

The 8th Principle is about actively dismantling racism.

I learned that love and support can be expressed in many different ways by different people.

To see how we fight still after entire lifetimes of struggle—and then to tell us to be more polite is just plain cruel.

Conflict resolution is in fact one of the greatest things that you can accomplish in your life and in your relationship. [W]hen I view people as not bringing conflict up, I think it’s being unfaithful to the relationship. I think it’s an abdication of your role in the relationship, and you are...

It takes all sorts of caring to create a supportive community.

Start by telling the story of your mistake. Keep practicing! This is a tool you can use in many different situations.

We cannot begin to find ourselves without love.

May I have the wisdom to be curious when I find myself grumbling about “them.”

A reflection from the Side With Love Sunday worship service.

This reflection was part of Side With Love Sunday 2021.

We are one, a diverse group of proudly kindred spirits, here not by coincidence but because we choose to journey together.

Black Queens saved our democracy. We owe them a great deal.

Holding people accountable for the impact of their behavior is not revenge; it’s what makes change and growth possible, and no real healing in community can come without it.

I experience the creative impulse as living just under the surface of the daily grind: tugging; imploring, When do we all get to sing together again?

This is a "love saves" story.