To search for resources that support March's Soul Matter theme of Transformation, toggle the red arrow below and search for Spiritual Themes of: Transformation, Change, Endings, Beginnings, Searching.
Toggle to filter resultsAvailable filters:
Changing a filter will refresh results (and remaining options) immediately. Searching by keyword or changing the number of items per page requires use of the "Search" button.
Displaying 1 - 50 of 65
-
Fear not, the angels would text me. Hallelujah, I’d write back.Reflection | By Marcus Liefert | December 20, 2023 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Advent, Awe, Children, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Direct Experience, Family, Hope, Parents, Wonder, Worship -
God of our ancestors, may we find the ways in which we can connect across generations.Reflection | By Chrissy Bushyager | November 1, 2023 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Children, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, History, Parents, Worship -
Love is reaching through the generations with expectations that I live through challenging times.Reflection | By Melissa Jeter | November 2, 2022 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Direct Experience, Earth, Fall, Family, Generations, Healing, Love, Presence, Worship -
Our family secret is soul-sucking depression.Reading | By Kate Landis | October 18, 2022 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Depression, Direct Experience, Family, Healing, Hope, Love, Mental Health, Secular, Truth, WorshipWeb, Worship -
Coming out is vulnerable, intimate, and holy.Homily | By Heather McDuffee | September 27, 2022 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #Pride, Acceptance, Christianity, Coming Out, Courage, Direct Experience, Family, Friendship, God, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, National Coming Out Day, Transformation, WorshipWeb, Worship -
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 -
Blessing something or someone is a way of expressing my gratitude and reverence for them.Reflection | By Tania Márquez | May 4, 2022 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Direct Experience, Family, Mothers, Power, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality, Worship -
Dear Creative Life Force, the infinite healing power of creativity is the best gift you've given to us.Reflection | By Erica Shadowsong | September 15, 2021 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Creativity, Direct Experience, Family, Identity, Personal Stories, Self-Respect, Worship -
Sometimes it feels like Father’s Day is more about enshrining a myth than it is about facing the realities of fatherhood.Meditation | By Ryan Urie | July 26, 2021 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Children, Direct Experience, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Generations, History, Parents, Secular, WorshipWeb, Worship -
Memorial Day is not to be celebrated. It is to be observed, scrutinized, and witnessed on behalf of the true witnesses of our human failure to love our neighbor as ourselves.Reflection | By George A Tyger | May 26, 2021 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: America, Death, Direct Experience, Family, Grief, Memorial Day, Military, Sacrifice, Secular, Service, Worship -
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 -
Minister: At this time, we would like to introduce a special ritual. The holidays can be an especially poignant time of year. Alongside the joy in these present moments, we may recall fond memories of past celebrations with our loved ones....Ritual | By Shari Woodbury | May 5, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Connections, Direct Experience, Family, Grief, Spiritual Practice -
We’re staying home. Love has never asked this of us before. We’re staying home, this is our gift to humanity. Let us wish each other well. For those staying home alone, I offer you this blessing. May you grow a deeper understanding of your own worth. Dear one, leaven the aloneness with gentle...Affirmation | By Linda Barnes | April 7, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #COVID19, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Building Community, Direct Experience, Faith, Families & Faith Development, Family, Love, Patience, Peace, Social Media, Worth, Communication -
Before I birthed my baby, he was a possibility, a kick against my insides. With that first cry, first breath, he became a person in the world.Reflection | By Caitlin Cotter Coillberg | February 26, 2020 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Beginnings, Birth, Body, Children, Death, Direct Experience, Family, Grief, Mothers, Sacred -
It was disruptive and strange to know that someone had died to bring this hope, and to wonder how the donor’s family mourned at the same time we rejoiced.Reflection | By Elizabeth Bukey Saunter | December 11, 2019 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Body, Direct Experience, Family, Fear, Interdependence, Mystery, Relationships, Vulnerability -
With a single generous gesture from my older child, her sister's belief in Santa stayed intact that year.Reflection | By Karen G. Johnston | December 4, 2019 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Christmas Eve / Christmas, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, Generosity, Parents, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Tradition -
The crisis was an opportunity to learn to be fully me and love it, inner turmoil and all. I learned that strength comes from authenticity, never from perfection.Reflection | By Tomo Hillbo | November 27, 2019 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Brokenness, Conscience, Direct Experience, Family, Grief, Healing, Love, Mothers, Self-Care, Self-Respect, Vulnerability -
May I always remember that Tango, like life, is a dance of the people. It’s meant to be shared, not practiced in isolation.Reflection | By Katie Romano Griffin | September 18, 2019 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Arts & Music, Balance, Body, Connections, Direct Experience, Family, Humanism, Multiculturalism, Playfulness, Power, Relationships, Secular -
As I go to sleep tonight, Please, love, hug my family tight. With stars and moon so big and bright Love shines round me like a light. As I go to sleep tonight, Please, love, hug my family tight. Can be sung to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"...Blessing | By Kathleen Green | July 27, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Children, Direct Experience, Family, New Child -
We can’t always predict which choices will wind up having a huge impact on us, whether it's bringing home a stuffed animal or taking a particular train to Oxford Circus.Reflection | By Lindasusan Ulrich | April 17, 2019 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Animals, Children, Direct Experience, Family, Humanism, Love, Mystery, Parents, Playfulness, Secular -
Of all the gifts in all the world, for love we are grateful. Of all the gifts in all the world, for helping hands we are grateful. Of all the gifts in all the world, for food we are grateful. May we remember that the best gifts don't arrive wrapped in paper or bows....Affirmation | By Amy Kindred | December 5, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Direct Experience, Family, Food, Gratitude, Presence, Table Grace -
It's an impulse of the human self to be known fully, and that’s almost never possible unless we risk the conversations that help us see past our initial impressions.Reflection | By Amanda Poppei | September 5, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Anti-Oppression, Connections, Direct Experience, Empathy, Family, Humanism, Humility, Identity, Individualism, Listening, Playfulness, Secular -
As the child leaves the doorstep, the parent prays: Please, keep my child safe, And give me the courage to let them go out to explore the world. The child prays, Watch over my parents while I’m gone, And help them believe that I really do know what I’m doing. The grandparent prays, Thank you for...Prayer | By Aoife Barrington-Haber | August 3, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Bridging Ceremony, Coming of Age, Direct Experience, Family, Freedom, Generations, Parents, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism, Youth/Teens -
For all the mothers and mother figures The grandmothers, aunts, and extended family members who mother The soon-to-be mothers, the wish-they-were mothers, the never-wanted-to-be mothers, the “it’s complicated” mothers The birth mothers, foster mothers, adoptive mothers, stepmothers The “used...Blessing | By Lindasusan Ulrich | August 3, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Children, Community, Direct Experience, Earth, Family, Fathers, Generations, Humanism, Love, Mother's Day, Mothers, Parents, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships, Secular -
In the days ahead, many of us will gather with family and friends, people with whom we may have long and complicated relationships. It helps to prepare. Let us enter into the spirit of prayer or meditation. Dear Spirit, Great Mystery that has blessed us with Life, help us to feel grateful....Prayer | By Susanne Intriligator | June 18, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Brokenness, Challenge, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Direct Experience, Family, Father's Day, Forgiveness, Healing, Humanism, Mother's Day, Searching, Secular, Thanksgiving, Tradition -
Tell me the story of my birth, and help me understand how you were changed the day I entered the world. Help me know love, deep in my bones.Reflection | By Mandie McGlynn | May 9, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Beginnings, Birth, Child Dedication, Children, Direct Experience, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Humanism, Love, Mother's Day, Mothers, Parents, Secular -
I wanted so much to believe that God was watching over this boy, that God was tender and protective and fiercely on the side of life and that this boy would not slip away.Reflection | By Elea Kemler | February 21, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Children, Depression, Direct Experience, Family, Healing, Humanism, Illness, Mental Health, Mothers, Presence, Secular, Unitarian Universalism -
I spent time feeling embarrassed—that somehow I had failed—because I had filed for divorce. It’s been over nine years now, and I wake up every single day happy with my decision.Reflection | By Rayla D. Mattson | February 14, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Children, Direct Experience, Family, Love, Mothers, Parents, Secular -
"When it comes to our children, we do not have the luxury of despair. If we rise, they will rise with us every time, no matter how many times we've fallen before. I hope you will remember that the next time you fail. I hope I will too. Remembering that is the most important work as parents we can...Quote | By Cheryl Strayed | January 30, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Child Dedication, Children, Coming of Age, Despair, Direct Experience, Failure, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Humanism, Integrity, Mother's Day, Mothers, Parents, Secular, Teacher Dedication -
Holy One, on this day of remembrance we say aloud their names again: the names of those who died this year. Died — the word is jarring. So jarring that we hardly use the word, substituting euphemisms that are a bit more vague. Sometimes people say “lost” when what they mean is dead: “We lost...Prayer | By Lori Walke | January 4, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), All Souls Day, Death, Día de los Muertos, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, Grief, Honesty, Love, Memorial Day, Memorial Services, Remembrance Day -
An adequate Christmas would have you calm and open, taking it in, accepting whatever is. Slow it all down like you might be, in some way, attuned to the pace of the Eternal. If you need, you can fake it at first.Reflection | By Jake Morrill | November 29, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Advent, Balance, Challenge, Choice, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Courage, Direct Experience, Family, God, Self-Care, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality, Thanksgiving, Winter Solstice / Yule -
Remembering is the art of holding a memory and sharing it; it’s drawing upon that memory so it can help us to grow into people who live lives of meaning and service. As a practice, remembering connects us deeply to each other and to the love that sustains us.Reflection | By Elizabeth Harding | August 23, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Community, Death, Direct Experience, Family, Friendship, Grief, Humanism, Love, Memorial Services, Remembrance Day, Secular, Unitarian Universalism -
Someone had broken into our garage. We picked our way through the space, storage tubs strewn about, ready to make a list of what was missing: two wool sweaters and half a tent. Someone was suffering a misfortune here, but it wasn’t us.Reflection | By Becky Brooks | August 9, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Abundance, Direct Experience, Empathy, Family, Gratitude, Home, Letting Go, Poverty -
Our souls and minds need sustenance as much as our physical bodies. May we delight in the ways we find to provide this nourishment to our whole selves.Reflection | By Aisha Ansano | July 26, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Body, Compromise, Direct Experience, Family, Food, Humanism, Peace, Secular, Self-Care -
Dear Moppies, Maddies, and Babas; men who have given birth, women whose children still call you Daddy, queer parents of all genders and none, There isn’t a holiday set apart for us. We’re reminded of that twice a year. But I see you. I see you next to your wife’s hospital bed, snuggling your...Reflection | By Evin Carvill Ziemer | June 12, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Acceptance, Anti-Oppression, Children, Direct Experience, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Inclusion, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Parents -
I believe in the radical idea that men have the full human capacity to nurture.Meditation | By Evin Carvill Ziemer | June 12, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Caring, Children, Direct Experience, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Humanism, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Mothers, Parents, Secular -
From the time I was a baby, my mother often displayed her love for me by reciting a list of endearments such as: mi chiquitica linda, mi preciosa, mi criaturita hermosa, mi alegría, la hija más amada en el mundo, el tesoro de mi corazón. Loosely translated, her litany would go like this: my cute...Reflection | By Lilia Cuervo | May 10, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Aging, Children, Death, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, Humanism, Love, Mother's Day, Mothers, Secular -
When my 85-year-old parents moved into their retirement home five years ago, my Dad found a comfortable role schlepping mats, blocks, and straps into the room where the Sunday yoga class was held. He was the only male, but it didn’t take him long to be an active member of the class instead of...Reflection | By Mary Howard | April 25, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Aging, Body, Children, Direct Experience, Family, Humanism, Letting Go, Listening, Parents, Secular -
We humans have both a natural desire and a spiritual need to feel connected and to grow roots, even if those roots aren't necessarily tied to a geographic place.Reflection | By Marisol Caballero | April 19, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Character, Commitment, Direct Experience, Discernment, Family, Home, Humanism, Identity, Secular -
On this Father’s Day, we recognize the vast spectrum of experience and the often-complicated feelings that surround such a celebration. We honor those fathers and father figures in our lives who have loved, supported, encouraged and instructed us, and we seek to share these gifts with others. We...Meditation | By Rod Richards | April 13, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Children, Direct Experience, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Generations, Healing, Men, Relationships, Secular -
He phoned more than an hour ago to say he was on his way home. But I have yet to hear the scrape of the iron gate, the rattling keys, so I worry. Most married women fret about a tardy husband: black women like myself worry more....Reflection | By Rosemary Bray McNatt | March 29, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), America, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Family, Fear, Home, Humanism, Multiculturalism, Oppression, Privilege, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Unitarian Universalism
-
Believe that further shore Is reachable from here. Believe in miracle And cures and healing wells. —Seamus Heaney, “The Cure at Troy” With a name like mine, it’s easy to guess I’m Irish. My forebears were among the millions who struggled to escape Ireland’s disastrous Potato...Reflection | By Maureen Killoran | March 22, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Direct Experience, Family, Generations, History, Hope, Immigration -
Every mother has a different story, though we tend to group them together. We like to think that partnered moms have it good and single moms have it rough, but the truth is that we're a diverse bunch....Reading | By Cheryl Strayed | March 15, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Children, Direct Experience, Family, Fathers, Humanism, Identity, Love, Money, Mother's Day, Mothers, Parents, Relationships, Sacrifice, Secular -
On Mother’s Day, let us mark how beautiful and complex it can be to mother and be mothered: To those who have mothered, we thank you. To those who rejoice in the work, the role, the presence of mothering and mothers, we celebrate with you....Affirmation | By Leah Ongiri | March 14, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Children, Direct Experience, Family, Identity, Mother's Day, Mothers, Secular, Women -
Kristin Kany wrote this multi-voice poem in 2016 to be read by a group of "diverse moms." I am mother Mother 1: I am Mother Mother 2: I am Mother Mother(s) 3: I am Mother Mother 4: I am Mother Mother(s) 5: I am Mother Mother 6: I am Mother I am Mama, I am Mommy, I am Chinese, Jewish, African,...Affirmation | By Kristin Kany | March 7, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Body, Children, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, Growth, Humanism, Love, Mother's Day, Mothers, Relationships, Sacred, Secular -
Your first Christmas, your last Christmas, this Christmas, and the redemption of the whole world are all happening right now, forever.Meditation | By Quinn G. Caldwell | December 14, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Advent, Awe, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Connections, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, God, Redemption, Spirituality, Tradition, Wonder -
We remember the joys our departed gave us which opened us up to the life shared which is now ours to steward.Meditation | By Leslie Takahashi | December 8, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: All Saints Day, All Souls Day, Death, Día de los Muertos, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, Grief, Immanence, Life Transition, Memorial Services, Mystery, Spirituality, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness -
It took me 37 years to recognize that I had been cloistered off from the beauty, the richness, and the heartbreaking complexity of other people’s experiences.Reflection | By Teresa Honey Youngblood | September 28, 2016 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 6th Principle (World Community), America, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, History, Humanism, Race/Ethnicity, Secular -
For the blessing of animal companions we give thanks. For the beautiful ones, those whose fur is silky and whose tails are long; whose feathers are brilliant or whose voices are splendid... we give thanks. For the frantic ones, the runts and the hungry, who run for a food bowl or a pat as though...Blessing | By Maureen Killoran | September 18, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animal Blessing, Animals, Caring, Direct Experience, Family, Generosity, Gratitude, Interdependence, Love, Nature, Relationships, Responsibility, Secular -
I understand participation in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) as a spiritual practice or discipline. While the word discipline may want to make us run and hide, a spiritual practice or discipline is meant to help us find our center. Approaching my participation in the CSA as a spiritual...Reading | By Nicole Janelle | July 10, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Community, Contemplation, Direct Experience, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Family, Food, Food Justice, Gratitude, Nature, Spiritual Practice, Summer Solstice, Table Grace, Wonder