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

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

love is your song and you are fully loved in turn

Let us set aside hate, and devote our lives to the ways of peace and justice.  

we protest what others cherish

democracy, today we will love you alive

We are divine bodies of light and darkness

When you hear, “We are the liberating force, spirit, light, and love,” what does that conjure in your spirit?

As sacred beings, we hold the wisdom to know what is best for our own selves.

Queer joy is resistance.

Discomfort /in the name of holy wholeness / Bring all of ourselves / in the name of holy, of wholeness

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

Let us grieve for our own pain, as oppressions / come between us, as sharp / as broken glass.

Safety is not tied to our capacity to watch our neighbors, but rather based on our capacity to truly look out for one another.

We can’t run from ourselves. The answer to safety is always closer rather than farther away.

Help me live in gratitude for the LGBTQ+ ancestors who paved this road we walk and roll on.

It is now, when we are called to act on our values, not to hide, not to fear, but to be bold and loud.

Life is political, not because the world cares about how you feel, but because the world reacts to what you do.

Q: “I’m really struggling with my anger lately. I just feel angry all the time. What’s wrong with me?” There is nothing wrong with you because you are angry. Anger is a normal human instructional emotion, just like joy. It’s just that we as women—just like every marginalized...

It often feels like we’re shouting into the void. It was a gift to be reminded that sometimes someone is listening.

"I believe firmly that to practice love is to disrupt the status quo which is masquerading as peace." —posted on Austin Channing Brown's Instagram, June 17, 2020...

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.

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.

We are never numbers to be tallied for turnout. We are more than a sum. Together, we are the hope and courage.

I once saw a little sign, carved in wood, that read, “There is only the hard way.” Many of us have been harmed by theology that told us that suffering was a sacrifice that would bring us closer to God. Many of us were told that our suffering would redeem us, even when we knew that actual...

Do not fear agitation, for agitation is the rhythm of life itself; to be put into motion, to be stirred. Do not fear the movements that decenter what you always thought permanent. You carry within the center of your understanding, the compass to show you the way. Carry with you the love that will...

My four-year-old daughter has taught me this lesson: when a child wants to derail Business As Usual— to curb the hubris of adults who dare believe in schedules and plans and productivity— one fierce little body and one clear, piercing voice, strategically applied to the right pressure point,...

The wellspring of decency is loving this life in which people die, people suffer, there are limits, and we make mistakes. The wellspring, then, of moral action is not utopia, not a counterfactual vision, not a declaration that the world could and should be otherwise....

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...

On a holy night In 1969, In an Inn, also known as a bar, Called the Stonewall Inn, A basement— which had no running running water, Nor safe fire exits— Queer people, of many colors and kinds, Danced together, For it was the only place Where they were allowed to dance, At least, permitted to, by...

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.

When I say go in peace, I don’t mean “go in mindless oblivion.” When I say go in peace, I don’t mean “go without challenging yourself or others.” When I say go in peace, I don’t mean “go in utter ease and comfort.” When I say go in peace, I mean “go in peace, seeking justice.”...

Spirit of Life, help us to be present with all that is our life, both our deepest sorrows and our greatest joys, so that we can truly live: engaging fully in our own life and in our community. Spirit of Community, Help us know how linked we are, how each one of our cares touches us all....

Let this banner be a symbol of hope, A blanket of protection for those who need it, And a cape of power for those who must be empowered. Let this flag be a standard of our conviction to embody all of these things, And to be the change we will upon the world. Let the will we weave to empower and...

Spirit of Life, God of Love, hear this cry which begins with gratitude for the human ability to take action to right the wrongs of our kin. If you are the force of Love, be loving to these dear ones who would rid the world of hatred and greed. If you are the force of Possibility, seed opportunity...

People sometimes ask: Is Pride a protest Or a party? And the answer is Of course Yes. And why not? Why not Rejoice as we resist Dance as we demand change Celebrate as we create community that delights in All of who we are? So bring all of that With you this morning....

When we say, "Save the rainforest," we don’t mean that we cease to honor the mighty cedars or the reaching pines. We mean that one particular piece of a deeply sacred whole is more at risk than others, and that this risk, this threat, is worthy of our very bravest actions. So it is with black...

"Where are you a pastor?" It's not an uncommon question when you've chosen to do ministry in a small, rural town, especially when you wear a clerical collar much of the time. I'm getting used to the puzzled looks on people's faces as they struggle to reconcile a genderqueer body in this...

Spirit of Life and love, God of many names and yet none at all Our hearts are stretched thin. We see and hear the devaluing of people of color, of those with disabilities, of women, of immigrants; this list, incomplete as it is, is exhausting. And yet, we hold fast because we carry hope in our...

Gracious God, the week was filled with moments when words escaped me. They would not come. Forgive me, Holy One —I know it is the preacher’s job, but there were moments when I just did not know how to pray. First, at the hospital, labor and delivery, to see the new parents. The overnight bag sat...

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...

I was talking with God the other day, ‘cause we’re cool like that. And God said “Hey, I want you to tell people something.” And I was kinda busy, so I pretended like I didn't hear. And God poked me and said, “I’m not kidding. Pay attention,” (‘cause while we’re cool, we aren’t...

“Those of us who have in our history the commonality of suffering from hate, we know that those who won the day are those who chose love in the midst of hate.”...

May we recognize and abandon the familiar attitudes and practices that do not serve the whole. We are who we are and we have the opportunity to be who we want to be, to create a new inheritance for the future....

Failing to use a microphone is a form of exclusion. “When I’m excluded, I feel weary, frustrated, and invisible."

Spirit that runs through us all, help me to remember all the ways in which I am connected to others.

As we enter another week of uncertainty in the world, let us remember that there is only one side – that of humanity, and planet Earth. May we pray for peace; may we raise our voices with our elected officials and engage as we can in acts of resistance; and may we remember to take very good care...

Worship Associate: This is the message of our faith Congregation (left): To act with passion in the face of injustice. Congregation (right): To love with courage in the midst of life’s pain. Worship Associate: This is the meaning of our chalice flame. All: May it empower our hearts until we are...

I am not alone. I don’t have to face the world alone and I don’t have to fix the world alone. When I need hope, I find it in on the faces of my people. All we need is hope... and for that, we have each other.

My stomach turned when I first heard the term "white supremacy" used to describe the culture of Unitarian Universalism and our institutions. But I've reconsidered that response. I understand the pushback: we’ve been trained to see white supremacy as an overt expression of racism, replete with...