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When someone lists Unitarians or Universalists, they usually name white men. Never anyone Black like me.Reflection | By Connie Simon | February 28, 2024 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: #8thPrinciple, #BlackHistoryMonth, #BlackLivesMatter, 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Generations, History, Identity, Race/Ethnicity, Self-Respect, Truth, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarianism, Universalism, Worship -
If you’re seeking sacred Black “text” in our tradition, you have to examine the way our Black ancestors lived.Reflection | By Takiyah Nur Amin | February 7, 2024 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: #8thPrinciple, #BlackHistoryMonth, #BlackLivesMatter, 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Anti-Oppression, Covenant, Generations, History, Identity, Living Our Faith, Race/Ethnicity, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarianism, Universalism, Worship -
Loving sometimes takes all that we have.Responsive Reading | By Patty Willis | March 8, 2023 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Courage, Forgiveness, Friendship, Love, Relationships, WorshipWeb, Worship -
Queer joy is resistance.Reflection | By cristy cardinal | November 23, 2022 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: #LoveResists, #Pride, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Activism, Anti-Oppression, Community, Direct Experience, Humanism, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism, Worship -
There is no such thing as unskilled labor.Reflection | By Sarah Skochko | August 31, 2022 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), America, Compassion, Dignity, Human Rights, Humanism, Labor Day, Secular, Work, Worship -
To be queer is to know the ways of holding all that shimmers to the light.Reflection | By Laura Solomon | June 8, 2022 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Acceptance, Anti-Oppression, Humanism, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Secular, 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 -
There’s never been a time in the United States history when black rebellions did not spark existential fear among white people.Reading | By Michelle Alexander, Leslie Alexander | May 12, 2022 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), America, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Freedom, History, Juneteenth, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, WorshipWeb, Worship
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The power to choose is the power of life in the midst of brokenness.Reading | By Rebecca Ann Parker | May 7, 2022 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Activism, Body, Brokenness, Choice, Direct Experience, Humanism, Integrity, Self-Respect, Unitarian Universalism, WorshipWeb, Reproductive Justice, Worship -
Love cannot fix everything, but it can keep us company.Reading | By Jen Crow | March 24, 2022 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Balance, Caring, Direct Experience, Gratitude, Humanism, Love, Relationships -
Let us grieve for our own pain, as oppressions / come between us, as sharp / as broken glass.Poetry | By Frances Koziar | March 2, 2022 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), Activism, Anti-Oppression, Courage, Integrity, WorshipWeb, Worship
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Happy kids are safer kids, because happy kids have adults they can ask for help.Reflection | By Quinn Gormley | March 2, 2022 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Anti-Oppression, Children, Coming Out, Direct Experience, Humanism, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Parents, Pride Sunday, Secular, Worship -
It’s so [easy] to see the one disabled person and say, She needs a cure so she can fit into our world.Quote | By Rebekah Taussig | September 27, 2021 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Anti-Oppression, Body, Direct Experience, Disability, Justice, Oppression, Wholeness
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When I was small and just learning how to do life in my body, I didn’t hesitate, didn’t hold back, didn’t worry how it would look, didn’t look for cues or ask for a line. My imagination ruled... I was entirely free to be, driven by the innovation my body inspired. This is the wild...Reading | By Rebekah Taussig | September 27, 2021 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Anti-Oppression, Body, Dignity, Direct Experience, Freedom, Justice, Oppression, Wholeness
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Shame seems to be a bestselling product pumped out of all these crushing systems.Reading | By Rebekah Taussig | September 27, 2021 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Anti-Oppression, Brokenness, Direct Experience, Disability, Identity, Justice, Oppression
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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 -
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 history of conquest is a scourge on the human condition. A lingering one.Quote | By Imani Perry | October 27, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Anti-Oppression, Evil, Freedom, Greed, History, Humanism, Oppression, Poverty, Secular
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I feel disoriented when I’m in a new place or situation and can’t figure out whether the rules are real or imaginary.Reflection | By Erika Hewitt | October 7, 2020 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Community, Direct Experience, Interdependence, Limitations, Living Our Faith, Secular, Self-Respect, Worship -
Part of being in community is noticing what's needed. Part of being in community is doing what is necessary but unclaimed.Reflection | By Christine Slocum | September 16, 2020 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animals, Caring, Community, Conscience, Generosity, Humanism, Interdependence, Nature, Responsibility, Secular, 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 -
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 -
I hope that this Great Silence, which has come alongside the suffering, holds the beginnings of our healing.Reflection | By Elea Kemler | May 6, 2020 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Balance, Beauty, Body, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Hope, Humanism, Imagination, Nature, Presence, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Secular, Spring -
“Specialists without spirit, sensualists without heart; this nullity imagines that it has attained a level of civilization never before achieved.” ―Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Raise your hand if you believe you’re not doing enough right now. Do you feel like...Reflection | By Jude Geiger | April 29, 2020 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: #COVID19, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), America, Anti-Oppression, Ethics, History, Humanism, Secular, Work, Worry -
If God’s name is love, then God compels us to resist the fall to sinful violence by pushing back with muscular resolve against the social structures that confine our capacity to care. A universalist God for a tragic era is not a gauzy, hymn-singing force of personal devotion that draws us...Quote | By Nancy McDonald Ladd | February 29, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Anti-Oppression, Commitment, God, Living Our Faith, Purpose, Responsibility, Universalism
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We have so many opportunities to bless each other in this world, but they don’t always announce themselves as moments of profound transformation.Reflection | By Lindasusan Ulrich | February 5, 2020 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Acceptance, Body, Direct Experience, Diversity, Fat Liberation, Friendship, Humanism, Kindness, Relationships, Secular, Youth/Teens -
One: To become is a life long process. Nothing is constant, not even the self. We evolve in the midst of narratives meant only for some and ways of being made narrow by fear and power. We must, then, have the courage to listen to the truth of our own lives, to the wisdom that comes from within—...Litany | By enfleshed | January 21, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Change, Connections, Direct Experience, Growth, Humanism, Interdependence, Love, Relationships, Sacred, Transformation, Valentine's Day -
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 -
We are never numbers to be tallied for turnout. We are more than a sum. Together, we are the hope and courage.Reflection | By Robin Tanner | January 8, 2020 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Activism, Commitment, Community, Hope, Justice, Presence, Solidarity -
Reader 1: We come today to gather together as Unitarian Universalists. Reader 2: We come today to join in the spirit of love and the service of life. Reader 3: We come today to be part of the stream of this living tradition. All: In our gathering, may we be blessed. Reader 1: Our shared faith is...Responsive Reading | By Monica Jacobson-Tennessen | January 2, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Commitment, Direct Experience, God, Justice, Living Our Faith, Love, Ordinations, Service -
Many: This morning* and all mornings, we are called to pay attention. One. We are called to pay attention to our individual lives, to our delights and pains. We are called to understand and cherish ourselves, to take good care of ourselves, to know ourselves as loving and worthy of love....Responsive Reading | By Amanda Udis-Kessler | January 2, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Caring, Compassion, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Interdependence, Justice, Mindfulness, Presence, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships, Respect, Unitarian Universalism -
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 -
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 -
Oh you You rebel You queer and wayward child You abandoned and listless You angry and forgotten You brown and black and indigenous You homeless and impoverished You dreamer You warrior You are not alone here You have never been alone Not in this place, not in this time Not in the whole of history...Poetry | By Anna Geoffroy | August 12, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Activism, Anger, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Humanism, Justice, Justice Sunday, Politics, Secular -
We are grateful to mark time with seasons, to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, or to gather as family to remember our loved ones. In all these seasons, may we give thanks for the breath of life, ever mindful of the fragile nature of existence. May we live fully in each moment....Affirmation | By Mary Frances Comer | July 20, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), Birth, Change, Death, Direct Experience, Generations, Gratitude, Love, Mystery, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Spirituality, Unitarian Universalism -
If justice is to be realized, our voices must speak loudly—even boisterously—of love.Reflection | By Lindasusan Ulrich | June 5, 2019 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), America, Animals, Community, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Globalism, Humanism, Interdependence, July 4th, Justice, Love, Nature, Purpose, Relationships, Secular -
To be free, you must embrace the breadth of your own existence without apology, even if they try to take it from you. You must know, not that you can do whatever you want; you are not a kudzu vine, eating entire hillsides for the purpose of feeding your own lush life. You must know instead, that...Poetry | By Julián Jamaica Soto | June 1, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Anti-Oppression, Freedom, Justice, Responsibility, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism -
People of color—and other marginalized people—can’t just want things to be different. It has to be everyone wanting things to be different for everyone.Reflection | By Rayla D. Mattson | May 29, 2019 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, Anti-Oppression, Commitment, Direct Experience, Humanism, Purpose, Secular -
"Compassion is love's response to pain." from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/500901.How_to_Be_an_Adult_in_Relati… To Be an Adult in Relationships: The Five Keys to Mindful Living, p. 36.Quote | By David Richo | March 5, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Compassion, Direct Experience, Humanism, Love, Pain, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Secular -
Love without justice is not love. Compassion without deeds is not compassion. Faith without action is not faith. And religion without politics is not religion. In my view, people of faith are not entitled to avoid politics for the sake of a short-lived spiritual high.Reflection | By James Gertmenian | January 30, 2019 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), 6th Principle (World Community), America, Direct Experience, Living Our Faith, Politics -
Surrender is the last thing, often the only thing, available. And so we give ourselves to it. We fear it is our end. Sometimes—with grace or luck—we find it is our liberation.Reflection | By Karen G. Johnston | January 23, 2019 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animals, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Fear, Freedom, Imagination, Interdependence, Ministry, Nature, Salvation -
The innkeeper isn’t part of most Nativity sets. No one sings carols about innkeepers. There don’t seem to be any paintings that include them. But we can imagine the scene: Bethlehem is crowded with people coming home for the census. It’s late at night when the innkeeper responds to a knock on...Reading | By Anne Dilenschneider | January 2, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Abundance, Anti-Oppression, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Compassion, Discernment, Empathy, Hospitality, Inclusion, Judaism, Kindness, Living Our Faith, Responsibility, WorshipWeb -
I trusted the woman at the pharmacy to be capable of hearing hard truth. Bless her wounded heart with its internalized misogyny. She just wants women to love and support each other. Thank you. Me too.Reflection | By Misha Sanders | September 26, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Anger, Anti-Oppression, Body, Direct Experience, Fat Liberation, Men, Mothers, Self-Care, Violence, Women -
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 -
I like to think that after many years of living together, our family has developed a certain sense of equilibrium, a certain ease with each other. From time to time, of course, differences arise and sometimes, and, occasionally, an act of outright rebellion....Reading | By Carl Scovel | September 4, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Direct Experience, Power -
Leader: Ours is a world alive and aloud with the presence of creatures and critters. Animals abound, interwoven in our human lives and wholly independent. This is the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part....Responsive Reading | By Karen G. Johnston | July 17, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animal Blessing, Animals, Awe, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Nature, Relationships, Responsibility -
I choose to believe in community. I choose to believe in the difficult, slow work of building a common life.Reflection | By Elea Kemler | May 16, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Challenge, Community, Conflict, Democracy, Direct Experience, Humanism, Interdependence, Relationships, Secular, Seven Principles, Unitarian Universalism -
Recently, I ordered 4-foot-tall rainbow bunnies for my church. Just after I hit “order,” I wondered if we really needed them. Later that day, one of my parishioners sent me a picture taken in front of a local church: on the lawn was an enormous banner with a picture of the Holy Family, and the...Reading | By Jonathan Chapman | April 25, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Anti-Oppression, Christianity, God, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Love, Pride Sunday, Unitarian Universalism