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To search for resources that support March's Soul Matter theme of Transformation, toggle the red arrow below and search for Spiritual Themes of: Transformation, Change, Endings, Beginnings, Searching.

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Displaying 1 - 20 of 24

  • Black and white photo of only the arms of dark-skinned people, raised as if praying in a church pew
    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/Wiser
    Tagged 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
  • Outdoors on a lawn, a group of Black friends are seated as if at a picnic. They're smiling and laughing with abundant joy.
    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/Wiser
    Tagged 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
  • A small child clutches a sandwich in their hands, showing fingernails painted light blue.
    We are the hands and feet of love. And sometimes its fingernails, too.
    Reflection | By Joanna Fontaine Crawford | May 10, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Body, Children, Direct Experience, Gender, Generations, Imagination, Unitarian Universalism, Worship
  • A broad, green leaf held by a Black woman's hands. A small tattoo of a heart is on her wrist.
    Love is reaching through the generations with expectations that I live through challenging times.
    Reflection | By Melissa Jeter | November 2, 2022 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Direct Experience, Earth, Fall, Family, Generations, Healing, Love, Presence, Worship
  • Seen from the chest up, a side view of three generations: a Black son, father, and grandfather standing side by side.
    I rise on the shoulders of ancestors whose names I can not know.
    Reflection | By Glen Thomas Rideout | September 14, 2022 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged 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
  • A black-and-white photo, taken from above, of the photographer's legs outstreched over water, and his young son nestled on top of his legs.
    Sometimes love is simply letting someone else like what they like.
    Reflection | By Nathan Ryan | April 14, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Children, Connections, Direct Experience, Fathers, Generations, Joy, Love, Parents, Searching, Worship
  • A black man in a dark space looks sideways into the camera. Across his face, in colored light, the letters A G C T represent DNA nucleotides.
    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/Wiser
    Tagged 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
  • 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
  • The corner of a gravestone, which is bedecked with toys and flowers and a fake butterfly stuck in the grass.
    In my small-town congregation, our beloved dead seem to linger with us for a little while.
    Reflection | By Elea Kemler | October 31, 2018 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), All Souls Day, Awe, Death, Día de los Muertos, Direct Experience, Generations, Grief, Love, Memorial Services, Mystery, Remembrance Day, Sorrow
  • A parent, holding food on a spoon, in front of a toddler reaching.
    For all the mothers and mother figures The grandmothers, aunts, and extended family members who mother The soon-to-be mothers, the wish-they-were mothers, the never-wanted-to-be mothers, the “it’s complicated” mothers The birth mothers, foster mothers, adoptive mothers, stepmothers The “used...
    Blessing | By Lindasusan Ulrich | August 3, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Children, Community, Direct Experience, Earth, Family, Fathers, Generations, Humanism, Love, Mother's Day, Mothers, Parents, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships, Secular
  • An elderly white man sits in a cozy green chair, smiling, surrounded by children around seven years old, two white girls and two black boys part of a larger group of kids.
    We give thanks for your presence among us. You are living examples of courage and perseverance. We give thanks for the stories you have collected through the years. By sharing your stories, you help shape ours. We give thanks for the many tasks you have undertaken for the betterment of others. We...
    Responsive Reading | By Elizabeth Stevens | May 15, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Aging, Direct Experience, Generations, Humanism, Inclusion, Relationships, Secular
  • An older woman sits at a table, gazing at a framed photo of a man, suggesting that she is his widow
    Holy One, on this day of remembrance we say aloud their names again: the names of those who died this year. Died — the word is jarring. So jarring that we hardly use the word, substituting euphemisms that are a bit more vague. Sometimes people say “lost” when what they mean is dead: “We lost...
    Prayer | By Lori Walke | January 4, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), All Souls Day, Death, Día de los Muertos, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, Grief, Honesty, Love, Memorial Day, Memorial Services, Remembrance Day
  • A square, faded, black-and-white photograph showing two men in overcoats, and a small boy in a suit, giving the impression of three generations.
    Each of us has gifts and wounds from those who fathered us. This is inevitable; even the best fathers in the world disappoint their children sometimes. Otherwise we wouldn’t be able to grow up. But I know that some wounds are deeper than others. Some people’s hearts have been broken by their...
    Reading | By Myke Johnson | April 13, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Children, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Generations, Growth, Healing, Humanism, Pain, Parents, Secular
  • An African-American mother cradles her infant twins, one in each arm, as the babies gaze out of a window.
    Kristin Kany wrote this multi-voice poem in 2016 to be read by a group of "diverse moms." I am mother Mother 1: I am Mother Mother 2: I am Mother Mother(s) 3: I am Mother Mother 4: I am Mother Mother(s) 5: I am Mother Mother 6: I am Mother I am Mama, I am Mommy, I am Chinese, Jewish, African,...
    Affirmation | By Kristin Kany | March 7, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Body, Children, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, Growth, Humanism, Love, Mother's Day, Mothers, Relationships, Sacred, Secular
  • A hazy, pink-tinged photo of christmas lights in purple, green, and white
    Your first Christmas, your last Christmas, this Christmas, and the redemption of the whole world are all happening right now, forever.
    Meditation | By Quinn G. Caldwell | December 14, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Advent, Awe, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Connections, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, God, Redemption, Spirituality, Tradition, Wonder
  • A close-up of framed photographs. In the foreground, a blurry color photo of two people. In the background, vintage-looking black-and-white photos of couples.
    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/Wiser
    Tagged 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
  • In front of a wheatfield backdrop, the silhouette of a person holding up an old-fashioned lantern (from a 2011 production of "The Wizard of Oz")
    Note: this was written for a worship service with a Wizard of Oz theme. Come you accidental pilgrims, you who find yourself on a journey of surprise and wonder. Come you who emerge into this place as an act of liberation. Come you who seek a life of mindfulness and a place to test your thoughts.
    Invocation | By Lyn Cox | September 22, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Courage, Diversity, Generations, Homecoming / Ingathering, Inclusion, Journey, Teamwork, Trust, Unitarian Universalism
  • a pile of baseballs
    Our Time for All Ages this morning is a time of make-believe. I’d like you to put your imagination caps on so that we can pretend together. Raise your hand if you've ever been to a baseball game. How many of you follow a team you think of as “your” team? Well, I have bad news. (Here’s the...
    Time for All Ages | By Erika Hewitt | April 2, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), Belief, Choice, Courage, Generations, History, International, Living Our Faith, Partner Church Observation, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Psychology, Secular
  • Clothing hanging in a closet.
    Who here has to go through their clothes sometimes, say every year or so? Maybe it’s something your parents make you do…. [ask for a show of hands] So I’m wondering: How do you decide what to keep and what to get rid of? [Take responses. If needed, suggest ones such as: Does it fit? Is it all...
    Time for All Ages | By Martha Dallas | May 12, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Change, Generations, Growth, Searching, Truth, WorshipWeb
  • Cover of Becoming: A Spiritual Guide for Navigating Adulthood
    This short, personal essay from Raziq Brown speaks to failure, loss and personal growth.
    Reading | By Raziq Brown | March 9, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Aging, Direct Experience, Failure, Generations, Men, Unitarian Universalism, Youth/Teens
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Conceived in 1999, WorshipWeb was implemented in late 2000 and 2001 through funding from the Unitarian Universalist Association's successful 1997 "Handing on the Future" capital fund campaign.

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association and its members in the development of WorshipWeb.