Hospitality

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  Downrange of Mystery

  By Rebekah Savage

  A haircut, a cup of coffee, or just an honest “How are you?” can be transformed into a powerful moment between two people living in a hard world.
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  This Is What We Do Here

  By Erika A. Hewitt

  Despite being warmly welcomed over and over by the greeters, by the family sitting behind me, and by the lead pastor, I couldn’t shake that “guest” feeling.
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  Strangers at the Door

  By Erika A. Hewitt

  To offer hospitality, we first have to identify ourselves — sometimes in inconvenient or uncomfortable ways — as helpers; as willing to offer kindness or connection to someone we might disagree with.

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  Membership in the Small Church

  By Megan Foley

  Small congregations offer intimacy and inclusion, but can sometimes feel exclusive to newcomers. How might you bridge that divide?

Chalice Children

• Session 28: Teddy Bear Party
• Session 12: Family Snack Party
• Session 2: A Tour of the Inside of Our Congregation

Moral Tales

• The Messiah Is Among You

  Recrafted with permission of the author, Francis Dorff, O. Praem, of the Norbertine Community of Alberquerque, New Mexico, from his story...
• Session 7: Seeing Others with Awe
• Story 1 Mullah Nasruddin Feeds His Coat

  Adapted from a Middle Eastern Islamic folk tale which is attributed to different countries, including Turkey and Syria. Mullah Nasruddin...
• Session 6: Welcome One and All

Wisdom from the Hebrew Scriptures

• The Battle of Jericho

  Joshua 1: 1-3, Joshua 2:1-7,15-18, 21, Joshua 6: 1-25 (New Revised Standard Version) ... The Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun... saying...
• Workshop 4: The Battle of Jericho

Signs of Our Faith

• A Calabash of Poi

  Based on "A Calabash of Poi," originally published in In the Path of the Trade Winds by Coral Wells Thorpe (New York/London: G.P. Putnam's...
• Session 10: Signs of Welcome

Creating Home

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  John Murray and the Winds of Change

  You never know what the wind will blow in or which way the wind blows. The wind can change directions and maybe change your life. It...
• Session 12: John Murray
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  The Best Meal

  Inspired by a story in Tales for the Seventh Day: A Collection of Sabbath Stories by Nina Jaffe (New York: Scholastic Press, 2000). Once a...
• Session 8: Hare's Gifts
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  It Could Be Worse

  Adapted from a Jewish folktale from Poland In this fun and participatory story a farmer lives in a house with his wife and children and the...

World of Wonder

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  Habitat at Home

  By Julie Simon

  Kylie groaned on the sofa. Her best friend Georgia was sick. It was Saturday, and the girls had planned to ride their bikes to Sundale...

Sing to the Power

• Session 4: The Power of Place

The New UU

• A New Small Group

  It was the first gathering of a newly formed small group. The eight people who gathered in Ann's living room recognized one another, but...

Heeding the Call

• It's Up to Us

  Adapted from "The Real Heroes and Sheroes of New Orleans" by Lorrie Beth Slonsky and Larry Bradshaw. Original story appeared in the...

Love Connects Us

• Session 4: Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

Faithful Journeys

• Here They Come

  By Judith C. Campbell

  By Judith C. Campbell. Used with permission. From UU & Me!: Collected Stories, edited by Betsy Hill Williams (Boston: Skinner House,...
• Session 13: Build World Community
• Adin Ballou and The Hopedale Community

  By Elisa Davy Pearmain

  I want to tell you the story of Adin Ballou. He was born over two hundred years ago. He grew up to be a peacemaker and a Universalist...

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  Unitarian Universalists offer homes to asylum seekers in caravan from Central America

  By Elaine McArdle

  Central American asylum seekers, fleeing violence at home, may be released from detention centers to sponsors’ homes.
  Image credit: A US volunteer lawyer informs migrants on what to expect when requesting asylum in the US, at an office in Tijuana, Mexico, Friday, April 27, 2018.
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  California Unitarian Universalists offer homes to fire victims

  By Tina Porter

  California Unitarian Universalists offer their homes as fires overwhelm communities.
  Image credit: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
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  ‘That hurricane had a name: Transgender’

  By Suzi Chase

  I can’t imagine where I’d be had I not found my Unitarian Universalist congregation.
  Image credit: I can not walk more - shoe with pebble in it - Stock image
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  Three UU congregations sheltering immigrants

  By Elaine McArdle

  At least twelve other congregations are preparing to offer sanctuary.
  Image credit: © 2017 Elaine McArdle
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  The Breakthrough Congregation reimagined

  By Michael Hart

  UUA program will focus on congregations’ innovations more than membership growth; seeks nominations.
  Image credit: Courtesy UUA Congregational Life Staff Group
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  Refugees at home

  By Elaine McArdle

  Peter and Phyllis Morales have quietly shared their home with the family of two Mayan human rights activists since 2014.
  Image credit: © Dea Brayden
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  Indiana church’s Christmas dinner tradition

  By Heather Beasley Doyle

  Nineteen years on, a church’s annual Christmas Day Dinner brings the community closer than ever.
  Image credit: © gpointstudio/istockphoto
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  Introducing our first ‘seeker issue’

  By Christopher L. Walton

  Imagine a magazine you would hand to a friend who expressed curiosity about our liberal religion, or one your congregation might send to visitors.
  Image credit: UU World
• Why Martin Luther King Jr. wasn't a Unitarian Universalist

  By Rosemary Bray McNatt

  What would have happened if Martin Luther King Jr. had cast his lot with the Unitarian Universalists? A reflection on race and theology.

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  10 Things My Gym Taught Me about How to Be Welcoming in Worship

  By Erika A. Hewitt

  Going to my gym for weight-training and Spinning classes taught how leaders can create a climate of acceptance, encouragement, and empowerment for newcomers.