Katie Sivani Gelfand

Katie Gelfand, in a scarf and hoodie, in front of the Grand Canyon

Katie Sivani Gelfand is the Director of Religious Exploration in the congregation that raised her, the First Unitarian Universalist Church of New Orleans. Concurrent to this ministry she is also a certified Spiritual Guide, Reiki Master Teacher, and Ritualist.

From Katie Sivani Gelfand

Displaying 1 - 6 of 6

An elderly person with short curly white hair adjusts their glasses so they can wipe away tears with a tissue.

May you be tender and gentle with yourself

Prayer | By Katie Sivani Gelfand | September 13, 2023 | From WorshipWeb
Tagged as: Brokenness, Disaster or Crisis, Grief, Love, Self-Care, Self-Respect, Stress, Transformation, WorshipWeb, Worship
screenshot of a video frame showing three uu religious educators in costume

After the devastation of hurricane Katrina in 2005, the two UU congregations in New Orleans and one in Lacombe, LA formed a cluster known as the Greater New Orleans Unitarian Universalists (GNOUU) to share the work of rebuilding our UU churches and extending outreach into the community. For about...

By Katie Sivani Gelfand, Erica Merchant Lee, Cynthia Ramirez | April 1, 2021 | From Southern Region
A pitcher of flowers rests on the windowsill inside a room reseembling a chapel

This story is great to be acted out by four women (of applicable ages for each direction) around a large bowl/vessel....

Story | By Katie Sivani Gelfand | January 7, 2020 | From WorshipWeb
Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Generations, Imagination, Listening, Nature, Sacred, Spirituality, Unitarian Universalism, Water Communion, Women
Against a stark gold wall, with ornate floor tiles, a curving doorway leads into the next room.

We call forth the life of our faith by igniting our chalice. This spark of new beginnings invites us into a sacred space to reflect where we have been and where we are going. Even knowing that this particular flame will intentionally end with our ritual extinguishing, we fear not its end… For we...

Chalice Lighting | By Katie Sivani Gelfand | May 31, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
Tagged as: Beginnings, Challenge, Courage, Direct Experience, Divorce / Separation, Earth-Centered, Ending, Fear, Humanism, Job Loss, Journey, Leaving Home, Letting Go, Life Transition, Mystery, Secular, Unitarian Universalism
On a towel, a freshly baked loaf of bread. Behind it is a small dish of butter.

We light our chalice as a symbol of gratitude as we celebrate the abundance of our lives together. In this sanctuary we harvest bushels of strength for one another, and offer our crop with the hands of compassion and generosity....

Chalice Lighting | By Katie Sivani Gelfand | May 31, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
Tagged as: Abundance, Christianity, Communion (Christian), Community, Generosity, Grace, Gratitude, Stewardship, Strength, Table Grace, Thanksgiving, Unitarian Universalism
light plays on the ripples of water's surface, up close

We light this chalice as a symbol of reunion. We reunite in this sanctuary to share the flow of our hearts with one another. We gather together in ritual to celebrate our fountains of joy to hold each other through storms of grief to guide one another through rapids of transformation to rest...

Chalice Lighting | By Katie Sivani Gelfand | May 31, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Community, Connections, Direct Experience, Earth, Nature, Transformation, Unitarian Universalism, Water Communion

For more information contact .