Life is full of hard edges and complicated choices. Braver/Wiser gives you weekly message of courage and compassion for life as it is. Every Wednesday we deliver an original written reflection and brief prayer, grounded in Unitarian Universalism. Join the Braver/Wiser community and sign up today!
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17
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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 -
From the beginning, the story of Black people in America has been told through the lens of white supremacy.Reflection | By Bev Spears | February 21, 2024 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: #BlackHistoryMonth, #BlackLivesMatter, Generations, History, Justice, Race/Ethnicity, Truth, 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 -
The Magnificat is a courageous and subversive song of praise; a call to social justice.Reflection | By Laura Dobson | December 6, 2023 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Activism, Advent, Anti-Oppression, Christianity, Courage, History, Justice, Multiculturalism, 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 -
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 -
I was leaving my mom in another world, located far away from mine.Reflection | By Mike Adams | October 6, 2021 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: History, Identity, Indigenous American, Indigenous Peoples Day, Race/Ethnicity, 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 -
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 -
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 -
“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 -
Traditions and habits can be changed or broken and that’s not always bad. It doesn’t mean we didn’t learn or like what we did in the past, it just means that we moved on to something else and that’s okay too.Reflection | By Rayla D. Mattson | January 16, 2019 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Body, Children, Choice, Direct Experience, Generations, History, Parents, Privilege -
Something new could come out of this moment of discomfort; something like healing. This is our opportunity to reimagine what Thanksgiving could be — and who we could be.Reflection | By Daniel Gregoire | November 21, 2018 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: America, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, History, Indigenous American, Responsibility, Thanksgiving -
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 -
An awakening passed through the whole theatre, and as if touched by some invisible hand, the people stood, clapped, shouted with joy, laughed, and wept… It was blessed to be connected to—no, to be a part of a community—a people. —Volker Kühn, in his essay about a cabaret performance during...Reflection | By Sean Parker Dennison | December 14, 2016 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Arts & Music, Community, History, Personal Stories, Power, Responsibility, Self-Respect, Suffering, Tradition -
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