We need to approach racism as it exists in our lives today, and not as an exercise in studying history. We need to share our experiences and viewpoints, and listen with open hearts and minds to each other, especially when we disagree....

What is true is that for Unitarian Universalism to move into a vibrant future, we will need to mine our past for stories of resistance to oppression, stories of openness to new ways of being religious, stories of transformation that have built new understandings into our narrative of who we are....

But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. — Christian scripture, Romans 6:22-23 You were made by God and for God...

Affection Connection — Love Extend your exploration of love by trying this activity on your own. For Couples: Couple Covenant Take some time together to work on your couple covenant. You are encouraged to refer to your work from earlier workshops....

Affection Connection — Commitment Extend your exploration of commitment by trying one or more of these activities on your own. For Couples: Managing Change With your partner, try applying the model explored in Alternate Activity 2, A Model for Managing Change, to one or more situations involving...

Affection Connection — Collaboration Extend your exploration of collaboration by trying one or more of these activities on your own. For Couples: Conflict Engagement Styles Take home Handout 1, Styles of Conflict Engagement, which you worked on individually in the workshop. Discuss it together,...

Affection Connection — Play Extend the workshop by trying this activity on your own. For Couples: Continuing the Covenant At the beginning of Principled Commitment, you began to sketch out what a covenant between you and your partner might look like. Now that you have considered the concepts of...

Affection Connection — Connection Remaining physically and emotionally connected can be a challenge when a relationship includes conflicting demands on each partner's time and attention. It is not uncommon for couples to end a week feeling as though they've hardly seen each other, let alone...

Affection Connection — Generosity Extend your exploration of generosity by trying one or more of these activities on your own. For Individuals: The Question of Money Money is one of the most powerful and emotion-laden symbols in our culture. Gratitude, generosity, scarcity, abundance — all the...

Affection Connection — Dignity Extend your exploration of dignity by trying this activity on your own. Seeing the Sacred in Each Other Centering deeply on that which you hold sacred in one another can be an important step in honoring both the individuals and the partnership. In this activity, you...

Affection Connection — Trust Extend your exploration of trust by trying one or more of these activities on your own. These deep listening exercises are adapted with permission from Practicing the Sacred Art of Listening by Kay Lindahl (Skylight Paths Publishing, 2003). For Individuals: Three...

Affection Connection — Humility Extend your exploration of humility by trying one or more of these activities on your own. For Individuals: Reflecting on Expectations Take some time to write individually, exploring the following questions: When did I know I wanted a long-term commitment with my...

Affection Connection — Covenant Extend your exploration of covenants by trying one or more of these activities on your own. For Couples: Reviewing Your Covenant Take some time to review your couple covenant together. Discuss how an outsider might observe your relationship if the covenant is...

We need not think alike to love alike. — Francis David May your life preach more loudly than your lips. — William Ellery Channing IN TODAY'S WORKSHOP... we discussed Unitarian Universalism. We reviewed our Principles, shared some of our sources for inspiration, and identified famous UUs.

Why not let people differ about their answers to the great mysteries of the Universe? Let each seek one's own way to the highest, to one's own sense of supreme loyalty in life, one's ideal of life. Let each philosophy, each world-view bring forth its truth and beauty to a larger perspective, that...

Don't use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist; use it be a better whatever-you-already-are. — His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso IN TODAY'S WORKSHOP... we discussed Buddhism, in particular, Zen Buddhism. We wrestled to obtain meaning from a koan that was both serious and...

When you begin to touch your heart or let your heart be touched, you begin to discover that it's bottomless, that it doesn't have any resolution, that this heart is huge, vast, and limitless. You begin to discover how much warmth and gentleness is there, as well as how much space. — Pema Chodron,...

In a free society, some are guilty. But all are responsible. — Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, 1944; 1964 Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they...

The Jews started it all—and by "it" I mean so many of the things we care about, the underlying values that make all of us, Jew and Gentile, believer and atheist, tick. Without the Jews, we would see the world through different eyes, hear with different ears, even feel with different feelings ...

Everyone who wills can hear the inner voice. It is within everyone. — Mohandas Gandhi IN TODAY'S WORKSHOP... we examined some of the fundamental concepts of the ancient faith of Hinduism. We discussed the four yogas or paths to enlightenment, Hindus' monotheism (belief in a single God), and some...