"It might sound strange, but we have a vision, and we have a mission to fulfill. Why not make that the exercise of our movement? If our version of heaven is the Beloved Community, why not be as committed to that work as other faiths are to their form of salvation?"
~ Thomas Earthman

http://iamuu.net/missional-uu/what-if-unitarian-universalism-were-something-we-do/



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If you're headed to GA by airplane, please be aware that there are delays and cancelations all over. Things are likely to not go quite as planned.

Remember that if you are wearing your UU faith on a shirt or jewelry, that may be someone's first impression of Unitarian Universalism. Do your best to make it a good one.



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That means that You own Your body and have control over it, guided by your own conscience, your wants for your health and mobility, and your aesthetics.

You have been given control of your own body and how other people interact with it or gain from it.

You own Your body and, guided by your own conscience, your wants for your health and mobility, and your aesthetics, you make the choices about it. You eat how you want; get tattoos or piercings or color your hair; give of your body to others where you feel you can and should and, just as important, do not when you choose not to.

Right now, the two places where this is most important to proclaim are abortion access and the rights of transgender people, especially youth. The right to access heath care that supports your bodily autonomy is crucial to having that autonomy. Allowing people safe and professional care for the body they inhabit is also vital to their mental health.

Protecting transgender youth from the effects of puberty safeguards their mental health while they figure out the long-term plan for their lives and the body they alone must live in. Letting people wear clothing or makeup to reflect who they are or even to seek professional medical modification is just and compassionate.

Allowing a person to opt out from the trauma and the risks involved in pregnancy gives them room to consider their lives and the direction they want to take and lets them choose when (and if) they are ready to be parents, which is also better for children.

We may individually disagree with their choice, but we respect that it is their choice to make. I am personally doing many things that I hope will reduce the number of people who seek an abortion, but that number will never be 0 and I respect that people who want an abortion have a right to the most convenient and painless procedure possible, respecting that the fetus does not have a right to use their body against their wishes AND that it cannot be moved safely to any other place anyway. It has no right to the womb, and thus no other rights are actually relevant.

And so it is, as with so many issues, Unitarian Universalism demands that we respect the right of conscience and allow people to express the truth of their identity and live the meaning into their lives through Bodily Autonomy.



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"All people are created equal" would qualify as one worthy interpretation of the first Principle of the UUA; The inherent worth and dignity of every person. The document talks about the need for a democratic process and of course the right to life and liberty. This document is part of our Unitarian Universalist heritage as surely as anything written by Emerson. And we are still working to live up to its hopes for humanity.

Read more:
http://iamuu.net/?p=1400


Today, we celebrate the writing of a prophetic document; an aspirational work that we still could stand to live more fully into. Our culture has changed a lot since an educated white man who owned …

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No one wants to join a church whose mission is "to keep the church open".

A seed can last for years as-is, but as soon as it takes the risk to open and sprout, everything can go wrong in just a day or two. But, the purpose of the seed isn't to remain a seed, and every seed takes that risk when certain conditions are met, never being sure that the conditions will stay good.

You church cannot grow if you aren't willing to take some risks, especially if you are unwilling to take risks that act on your stated mission and values. And if your church isn't growing, it is dying, because none of us will be here in 100 years to keep things exactly as they are; we need new people, and they need to be given permission to take ownership and make the church their own, too.



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"The point of it all is to love friends completely and utterly, at their best and worst, and to love more than just the good things. It’s about showing that you’re willing to accept them for whatever they are, that they should not feel insecure or self-conscious in your presence, which can be a hard task to achieve.”
― Esther Earl, This Star Won’t Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl

https://iamuu.net/being-uu/esther-day-world-needs-love/


Over the years, the I Am UU project has tried to push several new holidays as being very much in-line with Unitarian Universalism as we see it. Along with Loving Day and Labor Day, I want us to con…

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The 5 Smooth Stones of Liberal Religion were proposed by James Luther Adams, printed in his book of essays, "On Being Human Religiously". They were named for the stones David used to kill Goliath. The intent being that we can use these ideas to defend religious liberalism from conservatives of all types; ideas that just make sense, and lead naturally to liberal religious thought. JLA's version came as an essay roughly 12 pages long.

These are our original interpretation of his thoughts in graphic form, created for you to share. If you would like to download the graphic to share, please included the web addresses for our website and/or Facebook page
.
Support liberal religious outreach and help us manifest good in the world: Ko-fi.com/IAmUU
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Image Text:
The Five Smooth Stones of Liberal Religion
🪨 Human understanding of the universe is constantly expanding. We do not claim absolutes in knowledge or truth, instead allowing our faith to grow with new revelations and discoveries.
🪨 Healthy relationships are always consensual and mutual. All lives are equally valuable. We should always treat others with dignity and respect, and expect the same in return.
🪨 It is our goal and our responsibility to create a just and loving community where people are free to find truth and give meaning to their own lives.
🪨 Good and evil are, primarily, a matter of human perspective on natural events or human endeavor in the world. If we want there to be good, as we know it, in the world, we must do good.
🪨 History teaches us to be optimistic and believe that humanity has the capacity to solve human problems. Progress is neither constant nor inevitable, but we persevere in the march toward greater peace, justice, and equity.

Buy a poster! Or a pillow, if that's your thing:
https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/43736270



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Facebook reminds me that it is 7 years ago today that the logo for the I Am UU project was first debuted to the world. So much has changed since then!

Thank you all for being part of this community and for being patient while I figure out what comes next for this project now that I am a full-time religious professional.







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You can love something so much that your affection becomes dangerous and your desire to hold on to it ends up being a strangle hold. And I'm seeing it in Unitarian Universalist congregations right now....

https://iamuu.net/growth/you-can-love-something-to-death/


You can love something so much that your affection becomes dangerous and your desire to hold on to it ends up being a strangle hold. And I’m seeing it in Unitarian Universalist congregations …

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"Too often, our leaders lead from unexamined fear and frustration. We need to lead from our hopes, as embodied in the vision of the beloved community."
~ Paula Cole Jones

from "Untangling Conversations: A Drive Time Essay"
https://www.uua.org/leaderlab/safe-conflict-conversations



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"Labor Day isn’t about hard work and rugged individualism; it is about team work and community. It is about people coming together to build and create and lift each other up; people fighting together to build their communities and their countries. Labor was a movement by the people and for the people."
-- Thomas Earthman

https://iamuu.net/meditations/beloved-community-will-be-built-on-the-legacy-of-labor/



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Labor day is a secular holiday, but maybe it can hold a special place for Unitarian Universalists? As part of the ongoing development of our faith, Labor day feels fundamentally tied to our values and the Principles of the UUA. Last week was the 59th anniversary of the historic "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom", the event at which Dr....

https://iamuu.net/uu-principles/labor-worth-and-dignity/


Labor day is a secular holiday, but maybe it can hold a special place for Unitarian Universalists? As part of the ongoing development of our faith, Labor day feels fundamentally tied to our values …

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“Diversity may be the hardest thing for a society to live with, and perhaps the most dangerous thing for a society to be without.”
~ William Sloane Coffin, Jr.



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Our first Principle is the Worth and Dignity of every person.

Please remember, in this time of hard work and deep feeling as we work so hard to make a more just and compassionate world, that "every person" includes you. You have worth and dignity and it deserves to be respected and defended. You cannot give what you do not have and so you must not let your spirit become depleted.



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If you want to help share our message with more people and affirm the worth and dignity of the human who creates our posts, consider being a patron of this ministry:
Ko-fi.com/IAmUU

"We have to be able to see liberal religion as a force for good and a moral compass and spiritual bolster for the other practical organizations. Spirits get weary and battered, just like bodies do... People are hurting, and learning that there is a community willing to welcome them, their whole selves, and encourage them to be their personal best is, in some cases, nothing less than lifesaving."

Read more about building and sustaining liberal religion in the 21st century: http://wp.me/p4fWUi-c2

Be more than a follower; be an active supporter of liberal religious outreach and Unitarian Universalist ministry by pledging a dollar a month on Patreon: Patreon.com/IAmUU



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A lot of congregations don't have adult religious exploration. A lot don't have professional RE at any age.

If we provided video courses with information sheets for in-person volunteers, would you all be interested in subscribing? Or if we made them Zoom friendly for you?

We want to help people feel more confident telling the world "I Am UU", and we think teaming up with congregations directly may be the way to do that.



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"We can’t keep doing things the way we were in 2019. We learned new things about worship and community and we shouldn’t long to forget them. We built new skills that we should want to put to use. Our membership is not the same, and we need to allow that to be alright or we’ll run off most of the potential members that we all hoped for. We have to allow the church to change to meet their needs along with our own."

~ Thomas Earthman

https://iamuu.net/growth/you-can-love-something-to-death/


You can love something so much that your affection becomes dangerous and your desire to hold on to it ends up being a strangle hold. And I’m seeing it in Unitarian Universalist congregations …

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Happy Chalica to those who participate.



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We are working to get the I Am UU project registered as a Non-Profit. It takes time and money to do so, so we wanted to ask if that would actually mean anything to our friends and followers:

Would it make any difference to how you view the I Am UU project if we were registered as a 501 religious organization?

If you appreciate what we do, please consider sending a holiday bonus? Ko-fi.com/IAmUU

#Kofimas



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Hello! The person sharing this with you is a Unitarian Universalist.

Maybe you've heard about us from Stephen Colbert or Garrison Keillor, maybe you've heard us mentioned on The Simpsons. It's long past time for us to speak for ourselves and tell the world who we are.

This is your invitation. Ask your friend some questions. Let them tell you what being a Unitarian Universalist means to them.

If you want to know what being a Unitarian Universalist means to your friend, this is a great time to start a conversation. No one will call or come to the house, but we welcome questions about what we stand for and why.



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This is the shortest day of the year, and in years past we have asked people to use the longest night as an excuse to share a flaming Chalice and invite their friends to ask about Unitarian Universalism. And it was a very popular idea for a few years.

But, we don't want to give the impression that "dark" is inherently a bad thing. The dark is a place of dreaming and imagination. It represents wonder and the unknown. Darkness is too often used as a metaphor for badness, and that isn't fair at all; too much sun is just as bad as not enough.

A few years back, the idea stopped being fun to promote because we had to keep taking about how this isn't about darkness having a moral weight and how it was just a good excuse to shine our light, our symbol of faith and community, where it would be seen. And yet, every year, we see a few people still sharing our posts an inviting the friends to learn about Unitarian Universalist values and goals, and we love that their seem to be a few people who keep up this tradition of their own personal motivation.

We see your shares, and it warms my heart that the idea still matters to some of you.



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Today is the first official day of winter, the day of Yule and the Solstice, the 4th night of Hanukah, and there are so many other holidays in the week before and after today.

Whatever you celebrate this winter, we wish you all the best and a happy New Year.

https://iamuu.net/meditations/happy-holidays/


Between the first of November and the end of January, there are dozens of holidays and holy days, some major and some not, some with deep traditions and some that were created in the last century. …

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Some of you have noticed that our website is down. Not that many...

Traffic has been down for a little while and we are trying to rethink what the I Am UU project is for, so we've let the old website become unlisted while we figure out what the future holds.

The content is all saved. If you have a piece you want a copy of, reach out and let us know.



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The goal of the I Am UU project was always to help people feel more confident and more eager to claim Unitarian Universalism in their daily lives.

The way that happens has evolved--at first we just shared links about positive UU news, encouraging you all to share them and tell your friends "This is my faith". Then, we started making memes for sharing, because that was the new way Social Media was taking off and not many people were doing it. Then came the blog, which was republished in newsletters and even used in worship for years.

It is time for I Am UU to change, again, and offer something else. Exactly what that is hasn't been decided, but it is going to be more personal and more direct. It is going to be about building your own identity and confidence in Unitarian Universalism as *your* faith.

And it is going to mostly be a subscription service.

For years, we've given away almost everything we make and counted on the people who appreciated it to cover our costs, much like NPR. It covered our costs for 5 years, but it does not anymore. Everything is more expensive and giving is down.

But, we can actually offer a lot more when we switch to direct subscription. We can offer levels of engagement and access and let you all decide what you need from us.

So, be on the lookout for more discussion about what this might look like in the coming weeks. Thank you all for being part of this community. We hope that you are proud of what we have done, together.



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None of us are actually free until we all are, friends. If I am not free to be me, then you being yourself is a privilege, not a right.



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Differences aren't divisive until someone chooses to make them so. The problem is not that someone is different, but that their difference is held against them.



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Rev. White's sermon "Science Is Real" is now online! View at tinyurl.com/Sermon031818, or download the podcast on iTunes.

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Happy (official) Spring!


Traditional Flower Communion blessing by Norbert Capek. Happy Spring!
Photo: Heather Michaels, used with permission
Design: Lori Stone Sirtosky

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Our website is back! IAmUU.org is up and running, but we're already thinking about what comes next...

The I Am UU project has always been about helping to make Unitarian Universalism easier to understand and share, but how we do that has always been in flux. With social media platforms prioritizing video, we need to once again rethink how we fulfill our core mission.

What do you all think? How can we help you? Is your idea something you and your congregation would support financially? Or is the I Am UU project going to remain a side quest?

(photo of your admin delivering a sermon last year bc Fb)



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Thoughts and Prayers are meant to strengthen and support action, not to replace or supplant it. We have to do the actual work.



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So...



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The I Am UU project is run by a nonbinary Religious Educator.



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I am having feelings about continuing to create content and viewership for Facebook and Meta.

The company is factually bad for our country and the health of many of its users. They don't produce the content that we all come here for, but there is no compensation for those of us who do make the site worth coming to. And now they are getting involved in politics in ways that disturb me.

But, part of the point of the I Am UU project has always been to make it easy to share Unitarian Universalism and to make Liberal Religion more visible on the internet, and for a lot of people, "Facebook" is the internet now.

We welcome the thoughts of our community on the issue.



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“Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely”
~ Clarissa Pinkola Estés



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Stewardship isn’t, in reality, about money. The money is a tool of stewardship, a way to measure it, but real stewardship is the intention. Stewardship is about the desire to change the world for the better.


In our culture, “Money” is a form of measurement; the time and energy you spend throughout the week is translated into dollars. Dollars are then spent to pay for work; buying the time a…

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If you like what we post, you can almost literally buy more of it by supporting this ministry financially.

The more support we get, the more time we can spend on this and the better tools we can afford to use.

The links are on our Website (if we put them here, it makes the robot angry).

https://iamuu.org/about/can-get-involved/#gifts



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Just a reminder that our admin and founder, Thomas Earthman - SJC, does preach as well as leading workshops on outreach, communication, and faith development.

If you are interested in an engagement for the summer, it is not too early to get in touch!



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Imagine a television with no stations...

Without pages like this one, Facebook is a blank high-tech bulletin board. And it makes money selling ads based on our content and keeps all that for themselves. So we need your help...


Imagine a television with no stations. Without pages like this one, Facebook is a blank high-tech bulletin board. And it makes money selling ads based on our content and keeps all that for themselv…

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Folks, we are at the point where the I Am UU project either needs to become as active as we've ever been, or we need to shut down. We cannot continue to keep operating this project as a part-time effort.

That choice is up to you.

https://iamuu.org/i-am-uu-news/can-we-keep-i-am-uu-on-line/



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Unitarian Universalism isn't a structure, but a set of tools and a place to build with them. It is up to you to make something with what we offer.

https://iamuu.org/being-uu/monday-mediation-free-faith-assembly-required/



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Conservatives cannot get that a lack of creed is not the same thing as "you can believe anything you want", but despite what you may have seen on Facebook, your neighbor probably is NOT a Unitarian Universalist.


I’ve recently seen people share this post from December 2019 written Jonathan Tjarks and shared in several places: The mistaken premise of the article is that because Unitarian Universalism d…

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Our last blog post really stirred up some feelings in ways we did not expect. Mostly because the thing that people grabbed onto is something we've said many times. It was the focus of several blog posts and mentioned in several others. It's something foundational. It's something that our clergy and professional religious educators learn as the basis for all of our work...

"Are you telling me that being UU isn’t only being in ethical and philosophical alignment but must include active participation in a congregation?"

Yes. Yes we are. And we've been saying it all along.

Covenantal religion requires covenant. It's inseparable and practically tautological.

Membership is a choice we make over and over, not a right granted once and carried forever. Our Principles cannot be lived in isolation, and so you have to be a UU to actually be UU.

So, let's focus on why that's a problem and see if we can solve it.



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So, the question keeps being asked:

"What makes one a Unitarian Universalist?"

Since all definitions are exclusive, in order for Unitarian Universalism to have any definition, it must exclude some people. So, who gets to make that decision? What is the cut off?

Officially, the definition is "Someone who is a member of a UU Congregation." Membership is defined by the congregation and anyone who meets the responsibilities is in.

What other definition is there that actually has meaning, but is somehow less "exclusive" than this?



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A number of people felt strongly enough about Thomas saying that he was burned out to reach out via email, which is a strange way to respond to that message.

That said, most such replies were quite positive and supportive. Most of those messages of support came from UU Professionals, and it was actually nice to hear from my colleagues on this.

The I Am UU page will stay up for now, but I do not know when or If I will actually be posting more content. It still takes time and energy that I don't feel good about giving right now. I do feel a little better than last night, so we'll see where that goes.

I will not be taking further questions at this time.



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There is a discussion in the I Am UU Community group about what the future holds for the I Am UU Project. We invite all the people following this page to add their thoughts, but ask that they be phrased to be constructive and/or encouraging.



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Members(hip) Matters: In a post written before the events of late last week, Thomas intended to continue the discussion of membership in Unitarian Universalism...


Editor’s Note: Today’s post was written before the events of last week on our Facebook Page. I will write more about all of that, maybe as soon as this week, but for now, this was the f…

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Quick post only to say that Thomas is posting on the public figure page, Thomas Earthman - SJC .

I'm still working out what comes next for this page. If you have constructive feedback or encouragement to share, please go to the I Am UU Community to add to that discussion.

Photo for the robot...



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It is not faith that is divisive, but pride.



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It is time to announce that this page will not be updated any longer. The group will become "We Are UUs", and the website will stay up so you can link to the hundreds of posts and pages there. This page stays up, so you can link to the work published here, but it will not be updated any longer. New UU content will be shared to the group, and more general encouragement, inspiration, and thoughts on justice and governance will be on my Public Figure page, Thomas Earthman - SJC



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Friends and followers, the time has come...

This page will stay up, but Thomas will not be posting here any longer. Don't unfollow just yet; we're working on some things that could be pretty cool...

The website will still be up, but we are thinking of a redesign and maybe changing the focus of it.

The We Are UUs Facebook group has changed names but will remain active and under my administration.

If you want to follow Thomas as a community minister, social media creator, and general encourager, you can do so by following Thomas Earthman - SJC. Yes, I know that I am leaving a lot of fans of this page behind, but I want the people who choose to be there.



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One more post to say that I am going to take down the I Am UU shop at the end of June. I might put some of the designs up somewhere eventually, but I make no promises at this point.


IAmUU is an independent artist creating amazing designs for great products such as t-shirts, stickers, posters, and phone cases.

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Purchase links are in the description for each shirt. Thank you for whatever support you can give, even just a share with your UU friends.


When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.

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We had someone steal our logo to sell shirts to our community, so we're putting this up for now.

Thomas is still posting new content on a new page under his own name, if you miss that sort of thing.

We're not posting to this page anymore and still figuring out what comes next. The website remains up, and we do still have a RedBubble shop if you want merch that isn't stolen.

If you see someone offering to sell you this image, please report the comment so we can remove and block them.



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I am working a degree in Communications now, and this page is not currently being updated. It will remain, and eventually it will be something slightly different than what it was. Until then, I enjoy being able to see the "Memories" and I hope you do, too. I usually share them in the group, "We Are UUs"



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My gratitude for the community that built up around this work is beyond my ability to express today.

Breaking my hiatus to say, "Thank you".



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