We're starting end-of-year fundraising early so that you can have items in time for the holidays. First up is this fair-trade t-shirt featuring one of our most popular designs!

We rely on the generosity of the community that appreciates our work to fund this ministry. Please share this link with your congregations and UU friends!

https://inktothepeople.com/uu-pride



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"The DNA of your ancestors is alive in you. Look at your children and grandchildren and see yourself and your ancestors. Think of the decisions made by your parents and grandparents. Their choices shaped your life. And the choices we make every day shape the lives of those to come. The interconnections stretch across time. This is what the Día de los Muertos reminds us of, and this is its power."

~ Peter Morales, "Bringing the Dead to Life "



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Next up in our end-of-year fundraiser, we have a special edition coffee mug! This is really just for ordering one or two (or three). If you want to restock the church kitchen, email Thomas about a bulk order.

https://inktothepeople.com/i-am-uu-coffee-chalice


Ok. It's not a real chalice. No one drinks coffee from an actual chalice. Still, this mug is great & you'll be supporting liberal religious outreach!

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We need to raise some money for the end of the year and we are trying to offer these items early enough that you can get yours in time for the holidays.

We are entirely funded by the generosity of the people who like what we do--people just like you. We need website hosting, software subscriptions (you can't just buy things outright anymore), phone and electricity, and caffeine to make this ministry possible. All of those things require that we bring in some money. And when it is time to upgrade or replace a computer or we have some other big expense, we have to turn to you all to make it possible.

So, we are currently offering this Fair Trade t-shirt and this special edition coffee mug to try and help us coast into the new year!

Shirt:
https://inktothepeople.com/uu-pride

Mug:
https://inktothepeople.com/i-am-uu-coffee-chalice





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Things are so messy right now, so hard for so many of us. You are still here, still doing your bit of good where and how you can. Be proud of that.

Take a moment to be grateful for the community and friends you have and all the ways that they support you. Gratitude isn't always reflexive, but it helps us when we reframe and focus on the good things in our lives. We don't have to ignore what is hard in order to be grateful for what isn't.

Unitarian Universalism reminds me every day that I am not alone in my search for truth and meaning. I am not alone in striving for a more just and compassionate world. I am a person of inherent worth and dignity, and what I do matters.

And so are you, my friend.

#MidweekMotivation

Support my ministry:
Ko-fi.com/IAmUU



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This fundraiser is really important to planning our next steps. We need to know if the community that follows us is willing to invest, and since we have some pretty great designs, we thought we'd give you a chance to own a couple.

The cost of everything is up, especially hardware. If something goes out, we need to be able to replace it quickly to keep things running. That is why we need to raise funds ahead of a possible disaster! And you get a great product!


We're starting end-of-year fundraising early so that you can have items in time for the holidays. First up is this fair-trade t-shirt featuring one of our most popular designs!

We rely on the generosity of the community that appreciates our work to fund this ministry. Please share this link with your congregations and UU friends!

https://inktothepeople.com/uu-pride

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Armistice Day was meant to focus on the horrors of war, the beauty of peace, and the victory of democratic forces over authoritarianism. America has lost something by focusing, instead, on Veterans today.

https://iamuu.net/celebrations/reclaim-armistice-day/


Armistice Day was meant to put the focus on peace, on the horror of war, and on the victory of democratic nations over authoritarianism. The United States is missing something by focusing today, in…

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This is the FINAL DAY to order this Fair Trade t-shirt and be part of this fundraiser to help keep I Am UU stable for the new year!

Think of it as the thank-you gift for your contribution OR think of it as us selling a shirt for a small profit to subsidize the rest of the ministry, but please know that without your support, we cannot keep publishing new images and posts to help share Unitarian Universalism with the world!

Please, please tag your friends in a comment, share the link with your church, and consider whether you think this page matters (or maybe you just like the shirt). We need to see a lot more sales if we're going to keep producing the same quality content in the new year!

https://inktothepeople.com/uu-pride/



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Today, November 20th, is the Transgender Day of Remembrance.

"With 46 known deaths since January 1, HRC has officially recorded more violent deaths of transgender and gender non-conforming people than any year since we began tracking this violence in 2013."

https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/marking-the-deadliest-year-on-record-human-rights-campaign-announces-release-of-annual-report-on-violence-against-transgender-and-gender-non-conforming-people



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Our website is due for renewal and we don't know if there is enough interest to make it worth the fee. Do you read posts on IAmUU.net? Do you share them with your congregation and friends?

If so, we need to hear from you! Which posts have been meaningful? Which have started conversations? Are they maybe worth supporting with a small gift, either one-time or monthly?

Help directly by giving on Ko-fi (pronounced like "coffee")
Ko-fi.com/IAmUU

OR Buy some presents at our RedBubble Shop:
IAmUU.net/Shop



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We profess the inherent worth and dignity of all people. We believe that compassion and justice should be the focus of relationships between people. These things not evident in the world we currently live in. They are currently just our best guess about what Beloved Community will look like. Our Principles have changed and will likely change again.

https://iamuu.net/meditations/faith-unitarian-universalist-2


Many Unitarian Universalist will gladly give you a litany of things they do not believe. If asked about “Belief” in a religious context, some of us have a hard time committing. It’…

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These last several years have been hard on a lot of us. You might be feeling like you haven't achieved as much as you hoped. Let me tell you that it's OK.

You survived. You did what you needed to do to make it through, and that's the achievement that matters most.

Just focus on doing your best each day, remembering that your best is going to change from one day to the next and that progress isn't a straight line.

#MidweekMotivation



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We don't expect perfection.

By covenanting as Unitarian Universalists we commit to trying to grow and improve, even if it is in small ways; even if it sometimes looks like going backwards. We commit to making changes and seeing how they work out and then taking that information and using it for making more changes.

We are always in a state of growth, even if sometimes that growth isn't visible to others, and that only comes from recognizing that we are never perfect. It takes some amount of humility because perfection isn't possible. We are never completely done growing.

We can always be better, and we can count on our community to help us get there.

#MidweekMotivation



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Whether you are a Patron or just a supporter of my work, I want to know what you think I should be planning for the new year:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/59955694


Official Post from Thomas Earthman

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Our website is temporarily down. We hope to have it up again in a couple of weeks, but we just cannot afford the hosting fees right now.

Thank you all for understanding...



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Our website is down, so we are sharing this message posted on another platform. If you want to help get the website back up, you can sign up as a Patron while you are there!

https://www.patreon.com/posts/60038027


Official Post from Thomas Earthman

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Do you want I Am UU to stay online? Then I need your help.

I've renewed IAmUU.net for the month, as it would have been completely deleted on Tuesday night, but I renewed it for only one month.

We need to know if you value our website. We need to see it in the form of a small gift to keep it online. If you have shared our "Ten Things We Want You To Know About Unitarian Universalism" or "Are You Looking For Something Different" or any of our other posts, please consider whether you can afford to help us keep them online.

The more we raise, the longer we can renew for and the longer we pay for, the better the deal! We're hoping to raise at least $700 to cover the costs for 3 whole years. If we raise more, please know that it will go towards helping a lay community minister plan for a better new year and encourage them to write and create more content to help share Unitarian Universalism with the world.

One-time gifts can be given through:
Ko-fi.com/IAmUU

Or become a monthly Patron for added content:
Patreon.com/TEarthman







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We did it, friends. The longest night is over and they get shorter from here until June.

The new year has a lot of potential, though we already know that it comes with difficulties. It is up to us to overcome them or to be overcome.

Beloved Community is possible, but it will take so much work. Like so many things, it is work that gets easier the more people we share it with.

That's why Unitarian Universalist evangelism matters: people need an invitation to check us out and see if we are who we say we are, or at least how hard we are working to become what we aspire to. If we live into our values, there are many people who would gladly join in our mission.



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Being a Unitarian Universalist actually asks a lot of us, and it isn't for everybody:
-We discuss important questions but refuse to give you a simple, rote answer.
-We ask you to believe that you are worthy of compassion and respect, as so is literally everyone else.
-We ask you to love humanity while fully acknowledging the bad things we need to be discouraged from doing to one another.
-We make no promise of eternal reward (or punishment), but tell you that your actions will live on, and they matter anyway.
-We ask that you keep trying to be your best self, without telling you what that is supposed to be, though we will be there to help you figure it out for yourself.

Just because we are willing to accept everyone does not mean that we should expect everyone to feel like they belong. Some people will not be comfortable in liberal religion. Some people need certainties we cannot give them in good faith.

We cannot convert people to Unitarian Universalism; they either understand it and want to be part of it, or not. They see us doing together what they are already doing alone, and some of them will want to be part of that community. Those people are out there, waiting to hear about us. Let's make sure they find us. Let's go invite them in.
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Image is a flaming chalice cut-out activity with the words "Unitarian Universalism: Free Faith* Assembly Required"

Help us reach people who might not know that UUism exists:
Ko-fi.com/IAmUU



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"Innovative Liberal Religious Outreach"

That's the tag line on our website, because liberal religion is a community good for all of us looking for belonging and encouragement without dogma and condemnation and we think that is something worth inviting people into. If we don't share, we will surely continue to fade away.

We've been sharing that message for a decade now, with posts meant for UUs and for seekers, and we've helped quite a lot of people chose to visit their local congregation, and a lot more to recommit to one they already had a relationship with. "IAmUU.net" has made Unitarian Universalism stronger, and we are proud of what we host there.

But it is all at risk of coming down. It costs money to keep it online, and we don't make much. We depend on the community to cover our expenses, and we don't have a strong enough level of monthly support to do that, yet.

And so, in times like this, we have to have a sort of pledge drive to ask people to help us out. And the reception is always mixed, but we find that the people who complain aren't really missed while the people who give are always kind and complimentary.

So, I ask if you can think about your interactions with our page and the interactions you've seen from others and if there is a value there; is there a benefit to you, to Unitarian Universalism, or maybe to Facebook in seeing our posts? Can you put a number on that for the year? For 2 years? For however long you have been following? Then, give that number (or whatever you can truly afford) to help keep us online?

Ko-fi.com/IAmUU

Or, become a monthly patron of Thomas Earthman and get more inspiration, more encouragement, and maybe even tools for your own worship!
Patreon.com/TEarthman



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For me, the meaning of Christmas is hope and dedication; hope that the world can be better than it is and dedication to know that it can only get there through human hands doing divine work...

https://iamuu.net/meditations/holy-night-every-night/


We cannot celebrate every single day. While I am grateful to the Labor movement every day, I set aside Labor Day (and May Day) to observe that; just as I am grateful to our armed forces, we have Ve…

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Our posts have been re-printed in church newsletters. They have been copied to church websites. Several churches use our art as their profile icon on social media or the banner for their Fb group.

We're proud of all of that, but we need to know what it is worth to you; we need your financial support to keep our website online and to feel making new art and posts to share Unitarian Universalism with the world.

Is you value what we publish, please give what you can to sponsor more innovation and outreach in 2022

Ko-fi.com/IAmUU



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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.

We don't want to be defined by pop-culture anymore, and this message is being shared as an invitation. 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 uninvited, but we really want to let people know who we are and what we stand for. If you're curious, please ask!



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"People are hurting. They are hurting because they were born with dark skin in a place where that is still a minority condition, and where that condition has historically kept them from opportunity...

"Our congregations are not pledged to uphold the status quo. We are not covenanted to make people comfortable. We promise to one another and the world that we will (among other things) affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. When black people are being oppressed and their concerns are being ignored, we have a duty to say to them, 'We hear you, and we care. We will affirm your inherent worth and dignity. Black lives DO matter.'”

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Taken from this post to our blog, responding to negative feedback on #BlackLivesMatter

http://iamuu.net/social-justice/blm-blowback/



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Over this long weekend a lot of people are going to be quoting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And, if tradition holds, a lot of them are going to be pulling quotes out of context and misrepresenting what Dr. King believed.

I encourage you all to read one or two of Dr. King's lectures, in their entirety, this week. Here are some suggestions on where to start.


James Luther Adams, in his foundational “5 Smooth Stones of Liberal Religion” said that, as religious liberals, We deny the immaculate conception of virtue and affirm the necessity of s…

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New Completely Fungible Tokens to support the I Am UU Project!

You buy the thing, you own the actual thing and get to do what you want with it!

Ok, honestly, we're about out of gimmicks, and these are just coasters, but they are available through our shop along with dozens of other products with dozens of different designs on them.

IAmUU.net/Shop

Our Website hosting expires next week. We want to be able to get the best deal on renewal, so we need to raise another $250 to get the 3 year package. If you go buy something now, we'll go ahead and put that money towards the website in anticipation of the eventual payout.

Or, to help more directly without buying anything, you can use one of these links:
Ko-fi.com/IAmUU
Patreon.com/TEarthman



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Even at the famous March on Washington, among the leaders of the Civil Rights and Labor movements, there was still prejudice and marginalization. We can learn a lot from examining that, and we can choose to do better in our own work.


Today, you will hear a lot about the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was the setting for the most celebrated words of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., what has become know as …

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An interfaith group of clergy leaders, responding to protests and demonstrations and the arrest of these activists, released a public statement to the local press:

“We are now confronted by a series of demonstrations by some of our Black citizens, directed and led in part by outsiders. We recognize the natural impatience of people who feel that their hopes are slow in being realized. But we are convinced that these demonstrations are unwise and untimely.”

Now, I must confess that I have altered the above ever so slightly, substituting the word “Black” for the original, “Negro”. With that one change, the condemnation of Martin Luther King Jr., which inspired his “Letter From a Birmingham Jail“, sounds almost exactly like the condemnation we hear today against #BlackLivesMatter:


Today will present many, many chances to read the words of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. There are already oh-so-many opportunities for the curious to study his work. There are many, many sch…

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"Being UU is a choice to be part of something and letting that something help you be a better member of the various communities you move through. Unitarian Universalism is about trying to be your best self, knowing that you will occasionally fail, and trying again. It is about building and rebuilding relationships; we have to adjust and grow as we learn."

~ @Thomas Earthman

https://iamuu.net/being-uu/covenant-is-a-relationship/



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"God" is not a name. The New King James Bible uses the word "gods" hundreds of times to refer (disdainfully) to deities of other cultures.

The world has worshiped thousands, possibly millions, of gods throughout history. The methods of worship and the stories told about them helped define cultures for tens of thousands of years.

Each of these gods represented the hopes and/or fears of a community. Learning about them teaches us much about humanity.

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The I Am UU project is all about making it easier for you to confidently and proudly tell the world "I Am UU". We hope to inspire conversations about what it means to be Unitarian Universalist and why belonging matters to each of you. We want you to have those conversations with one another so that it is easier to have them with the people you meet in your daily life, should it come up. Some UUs seem almost ashamed of their church, they are so resistant to bringing it up, and we want to help change that.

We are not sponsored, edited, or endorsed by the UUA, but the UUA is well aware of our work. We are lay-led, crowdfunded, and grassroots, much like many of your congregations. And like a congregation, our work is too important to charge admission for! We give it away because we want people to share it and start conversations among their friends. The shares are what we work for!

If you value what we do, it helps a lot when you make a comment about it. Likes are great, but comments are more informative and help us get seen.

If you *really* value our work, we need funding, and with over ten thousand fans, it wouldn't take a lot to fund us if more people just gave a little.

Ko-fi.com/IAmUU

Patreon.com/TEarthman

And you can buy this design on a shirt, a mug, and lots of other products:
IAmUU.net/Shop



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We all have an image of ourselves in our heads. We also know that there are people in the world who do not see us the way we see ourselves; they have seen or heard or otherwise experienced something that has them thinking we're not as good as we seek to be. And they are right. From their limited perspective, you were not....

https://iamuu.net/meditations/to-be-good-do-good/


We all have an image of ourselves in our heads. We also know that there are people in the world who do not see us the way we see ourselves; they have seen or heard or otherwise experienced somethin…

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If you like the way Thomas writes, you might also like the way they speak. Thomas is available for sermons and guest speaking both virtually and in person.

Please send requests to Thomas@IAmUU.net!



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Every few weeks, something we post really takes off and reaches a lot of people who have no idea what Unitarian Universalism is and it starts the kind of conversation we are most proud of here at I Am UU.

But, what do you tell someone about what Unitarian Universalism is? It's not simple, and it isn't the same for everyone. We do have some tips, though, about what we think is important to know:

https://iamuu.net/learn-unitarian-universalism/10-things-want-everyone-share-unitarian-universalism/


A friend asks you about Unitarian Universalism. You are wearing a piece of jewelry with a flaming chalice on it, or maybe drinking from your Flaming Chalice adorned coffee mug, and the questions co…

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We're going to start a new thing this weekend and we want to give you a heads-up so you can participate.

We're going to start a thread over on the I Am UU Community group midday Sunday and ask people to share the best quote from the service at their congregation. We're going to do this every Sunday and your quotes might get used in future I Am UU media!

Be sure to join the group and watch for the prompt on Sunday!

Photo just for attention...



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The I Am UU project is only possible because people like you, who follow the page and share our work, also pledge to make it happen. For as little as $1 a month, you can help us make Unitarian Universalism easier to understand and share with the world and help people who are looking for *something* find out if they might be looking for liberal religion.

We depend on crowd funding, and we lose pledges all the tone as people change jobs or have kids or for hundreds of reasons, so it's vital that we also get new sponsors. And ultimately, we hope to do more than just sustain the project; we want to keep growing and offering more, because far too many of you have had the thought:

"Why didn't I know about Unitarian Universalism sooner?"

We're here to help tell people.

Ko-fi.com/IAmUU



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The goal of religious education in a Unitarian Universalist setting is, in short, to make better citizens of our members; to help them be people who work and fight for a more Just, Compassionate, and Equitable world....

https://iamuu.net/being-uu/why-i-am-a-professional-religious-educator/


The goal of religious education in a Unitarian Universalist setting is, in short, to make better citizens of our members; to help them be people who work and fight for a more Just, Compassionate, a…

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As you may have seen yesterday, Thomas is proud to be a professional UU Religious Educator.

And it looks like several congregations are finally at the point where they are looking for a new DRE, which is awesome! As a professional, let me give you a tip:

A search packet doesn't have to be 5 pages to be informative and compelling (we are going to look at your website), but it really does need to spell out if you are meeting the fair compensation guidelines and it helps if we know that you looked at them and can tell us which chart to look at to see if maybe this is a good move.

We want to know what you are offering. You should include whether you are using UUA guidelines for pay AND for benefits. We're going to want to know congregation size and geoindex, so please go ahead and include that. (Congregation size is vital to even knowing if your program is a good fit, anyway)



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I have seen a chalice similar to this one used all over the web, but it seems like no one has a high resolution version.

We've recreated it and we offer it, free of copyright concerns, for all of Unitarian Universalism.

Tips appreciated!
Ko-fi.com/IAmUU









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"Tolerance, openness to argument, openness to self-doubt, willingness to see other people's points of view - these are very liberal and enlightened values that people are right to hold, but we can't allow them to delude us to the point where we can't recognise people who are needlessly perpetrating human misery."
~ Sam Harris



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It feels important, when it comes up, to say that Unitarian Univeralism is not the same as the Unitarianism or Universalism that existed 100 years ago. We should be proud that we can trace our theological heritage back to John and Abigail Adams, but they would not recognize out faith as their own.

And that fact seems to upset some people...

https://iamuu.net/?p=2440


I get a lot of… feedback when I point out that, despite a centuries-long legacy that got us to this point, Unitarian Universalism is less than 60 years old. The religion we teach today would …

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Quick reminder that this page has almost no budget for promoting posts and we rely entirely on you all, our community, to react, share, and - most importantly - to leave comments! Comments are what seem to currently drive visibility!

So please drop by the page and see if there isn't something there that is worth a few seconds to say, "I like this" or maybe ask a question!

This photo is Thomas Earthman, your page administrator, as he appears in their job as a Faith Development Facilitator.



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Are you one of the many hyphenated UUs?

It has been a while since we last showed these off and we have added a lot of new followers since then. These badges were created to help show that being a Unitarian Universalist doesn't mean giving up what you believe in order to belong; many theologies and practices are compatible with Unitarian Universalism as we base membership more on who you are and what kind of impact you try to have than on what you believe.
























These are simple images in badge form, to show that being a Unitarian Universalist doesn't mean giving up your relationship with the divine, or having to start one if you aren't in need of it. You can hold a wide range of theological beliefs, and still be part of our humanist religion, focused on making this a better world.

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The world is a huge mess right now, and I want to remind you of two things:

1: The moral arch of the universe has always bent towards justice, even if it isn't always even and steady progress.

2: It only bends because people do the work to bend it. This progress was not inevitable or predestined. It was the result of real effort and often great cost, often born by those who were closest to the harm and who had the least to give (or lose).

Optimism is not foolish, even in the face of terrible events, but it must be coupled with work, done in love and in anger and sometimes in desperation, but always in the hope that we can make a positive difference in the direction of history. It is not foolish because it is indeed the prevailing thread of human history.



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In light of new attacks against Transgender people, especially here in my hoe state of Texas, we offer this from the archives:

"When we say that we affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person,it means we will stand up for those who do not look like us. We will speak up for those who do not speak our language. Our community includes every person who wants to live in a more just, more compassionate, more peaceful world. Everyone is our neighbor."

https://iamuu.net/meditations/inherent-worth-and-dignity/


Your worth and dignity are inherent. They cannot be discarded or taken away. Maybe you made terrible choices yesterday or all last year. Today, you can choose to be different; today you can choose …

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Facebook Fails Us, Again: We are being throttled on the biggest Social Media network because their robot is stupid and they don't employ humans to check its work.

https://iamuu.net/social-media-2/facebook-fails-us-again/


We have been made aware that our Facebook reach has been throttled. We are being seen by all of the people who asked Facebook to show them our posts, and there is no way to appeal this. So, you mig…

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For Ash Wednesday, let us remember that the Bible got some things absolutely right:

"Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return."

Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 [NIV]

Let us remember that we are all made of dust, not just of the Earth, but of long dead stars. Our time is finite, and it is up to us to make it matter (no pun intended).





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Being a UU requires a willing commitment, and it is a commitment we have to make time and again as members of the congregation.

https://iamuu.net/meditations/no-one-is-born-a-unitarian-universalist/


One thing that separates the Baptists from the Lutherans and Presbyterians (and there are a few) is that Baptists don’t believe you can be baptized until you are old enough to understand what…

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Seasonal funnies in case you need to remind friends and fellow congregants about Daylight Saving Time this weekend.

https://www.facebook.com/IAmUUPage/posts/3101956059829841















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There are a lot of congregations looking for a new DRE, and that is really exciting (as a Religious Educator myself).

Want to stand out? Make sure that you actually list your salary range and benefits. I have seen and heard of several congregations that say they are meeting UUA Compensation Standards only to find out that they aren't offering the full benefits package or don't have a budget for professional development or expenses. That is really going to matter to a candidate making choices about their career path. So is admitting whether you have the budget for a *credentialed* professional or not.

Being a good employer is part of being a good steward of the congregation and its mission, and it is part of making sure you have the best person for this important work. We Religious Educators are more likely to want to work with a congregation that admits where things stand over one that tries to obscure the facts.



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Looking for something to ponder or to inspire you?

No new Monday Meditation this week, but there are literally dozens on IAmUU.net, a website with no cookies, no pop-ups, and no advertisements.

We are able to keep our website tidy because people just like you support it directly through our crowd funding platforms. And you can sign up for perks as a supporter, too!

Ko-fi.com/IAmUU

Patreon.com/TEarthman

(Photo added to appease the robot)



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This page is all about liberal religion and, specifically, Unitarian Universalism. Our goal is to make it easier to understand and share about big, important topics.

What we teach here is Unitarian Universalism. It is complex and it is rich in heritage and deep in content. If we are doing it well, it will make us all uncomfortable at times, as growth is generally uncomfortable. We understand that doesn't always fit neatly on social media, and we admit fully that we cannot encompass the whole message on any one day.

It just cannot be simplified very far and still be meaningful; the simple posts are always incomplete.

We proclaim the worth and dignity of absolutely every person and the human capacity to be a better person today than we were on our worst day. There are no monsters; there is no "other"; we are all on the same team, ultimately. Beloved Community is for absolutely everyone or it isn't complete.

We will proclaim open revelation and we will sometimes do so in scientific terms. We will proclaim humanist values in the language of faith. We will invoke the names of deities if they are relevant, and we will do so with reverence. We will say that Black Lives Matter and Love is Love and No Human is Illegal and that none of us will get all of that right all of the time; we will defer to the people most impacted for leadership in anti-oppression work and make space for them, even when that upsets people with privilege and power.

We are not here to have the most followers on Facebook and our goal isn't to sell t-shirts. We are here to affirm and promote the Principles of Unitarian Universalism as positive guidelines for sharing the planet Earth. We've been lucky that in fulfilling that mission, we have become one of the most popular and fastest growing UU social media projects, but we assure you that it is a side effect of doing what we feel called to do.

We invite respectful conversation and constructive criticism. We also understand that some people will not support our work. Some people are not going to be UUs and some UUs see things very differently. No need to level insults or threats. Feel free to unfollow or even block our page if that is what you need to do for your own peace of mind. We are not all called to do the same work, and that is one thing most of us love about Unitarian Universalism.

If you are still with us after all of that, thank you and welcome aboard.



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Some questions to consider about your RE program as you ready the church budget for the Spring Congregational Meeting:

https://iamuu.net/growth/religious-education-is-worth-investing-in/


Some things to consider as many congregations start getting their budget ready for the spring congregational meetings: Who are the most vulnerable people in your church? Who are the people who are …

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The I Am UU project takes a lot of time and specialized skill to run. Thomas has actually been recognized as uniquely qualified for this ministry and even nominated for several national awards.

But, it's still barely paid for by the support we currently have. We really need to know if this project is worth the time and energy that it takes. We need to know if you all value it enough to fund it or if it is time to move on...

https://iamuu.net/i-am-uu-news/thomas-birthday-pledge-drive/


Do you find my ministry moving? Inspiring? Encouraging? Do you want even more of that? There are 6 weeks until my Birthday and I am having a Patreon Member drive in celebration. Patreon allows you …

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Why are you UU?

What do you get from membership in your UU community? How do you give back?



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Here is another popular UU chalice design that seemed to be in need of a high-resolution update. This is not an original concept, we just made a version that scales up better.

We offer this design absolutely free of copyright claim to all Unitarian Universalism.

If you appreciate the work and want to support us, you can so so through this link:
Ko-fi.com/IAmUU

Or, join us as a monthly supporter for even more benefits!
https://iamuu.net/i-am-uu-news/thomas-birthday-pledge-drive/







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Many people come to a Unitarian Universalist congregation searching for answers to life's great questions.
We do not provide them...

It can be disappointing for visitors to hear that we do not have answers, religion, or a faith that can be taken home from a few short visits.

We need to make sure that the love, the encouragement, and the hope that we do have to give away is always enough to sustain them as they find their place in our community.


It can be disappointing for visitors to hear that we do not have answers, religion, or faith that can be taken home from a few short visits. We need to make sure that the love, the encouragement, a…

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If you love the art, the writing, the inspiration, and the encouragement you get from the I Am UU project, you might consider joining Thomas' Patrons, who will be getting all of that before it is available to the public. Your support means that he can keep creating and keep helping share Unitarian Universalism!

https://iamuu.net/i-am-uu-news/thomas-birthday-pledge-drive/


Do you find my ministry moving? Inspiring? Encouraging? Do you want even more of that? There are 6 weeks until my Birthday and I am having a Patreon Member drive in celebration. Patreon allows you …

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Today is the Transgender Day of Visibility!

This project is the private ministry of a nonbinary religious educator! If you appreciate it, today is the PERFECT day to become a Patron!

https://iamuu.net/i-am-uu-news/thomas-birthday-pledge-drive/



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Do you appreciate the art, the writing, the inspiration, and the encouragement you get from the I Am UU project? Did you know that we are entirely crowd funded by people just like you? Your support means that we can keep creating and keep helping share Unitarian Universalism!

https://iamuu.net/i-am-uu-news/thomas-birthday-pledge-drive/


Do you find my ministry moving? Inspiring? Encouraging? Do you want even more of that? There are 6 weeks until my Birthday and I am having a Patreon Member drive in celebration. Patreon allows you …

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There is Still a Place for Liberal Religion in the World. It isn't that the world is less spiritual or community minded, they just don't know how liberal religion is different. It's not for everyone, but there are people seeking what we offer.

https://iamuu.net/evanglical-uu/there-is-still-a-place-for-liberal-religion/


One can get a lot of hits to their website by talking about the death of religion. “People aren’t going to church!” “Paganism is on the rise!” People are writing all t…

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Another Clip-art refresh!

We are taking clip art, which we understand to be in the public domain, and making high-resolution versions, and sometimes adding versions that have been dressed up a little. These are not original designs and we make no claim of copyright. They are absolutely free for use.

The first one is known as "Double Circle Outline Flame" or the "e" from Steve Bridenbaugh's Chalice Font.

The second is labeled "Double Circle" and is the "h" from Steve Bridenbaugh's Chalice Font.

The other two are new embellishments.

















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Tolerance is not Inclusion: Welcoming people into a community that refuses to change to accommodate them is never going to be sustainable.

https://iamuu.net/meditations/tolerance-is-not-inclusion/


Here on the blog last week, I talked about how the world still needs liberal religion; how many people still want all the community benefits and even the rituals and commemorations that come with r…

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My heart aches for every person who feels unwelcome in their church, who would embrace Jesus' commandment to love one another, but cannot abide the bigotry of their elders. I am sorry that, during Holy Week, you do not have the comfort of familiar worship.

My heart absolutely breaks for every LGBTQA person who is reading, again, that their worth and dignity can be debated and denied. You are loved. You are good enough. You deserve better.

Gender and Sexuality do not impede a person's ability to love or be loved by the divine and should not effect their place in the religious community.
____
Image of the end of a rainbow on the far left, a vivid blue sky over a green hill with the following words over it:

No one should be denied the comfort of community or full admission to serve their faith because of who they are or who they love.

Service to God and full membership in the religious community should never be withheld on account of gender or sexuality. God is Love; Love is Divine.



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The I Am UU project has been a hub of UU social media for over a decade, and we are proud of the work we have published. We want to be able to keep sharing Unitarian Universalism with you and, through you, with the world.

To do that, we need people willing to be more than followers and fans. We need supporters who pledge just a few dollars each to make this ministry possible.

It comes with extra content!
https://iamuu.net/i-am-uu-news/thomas-birthday-pledge-drive/



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Our Principles are aspirational. We know that the world does not honor the inherent worth and dignity of every person. We know that we do not yet have universal equity and compassion.

What we also know is that we are on a long, winding path to those things. Rulers once held themselves up as gods, then simply as chosen by God. Now, most of humanity knows better.

Progress is slow, but it is being made. Being committed and believing in a better world helps make Beloved Community possible.



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The I Am UU page has been running for 12 years now. It is one of the oldest private UU ministries currently going. It has led hundreds of people to talk to a friend about what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist and gotten many of them to visit their local congregation.

But, your admin cannot keep creating new art and writing for free. The cost of living is skyrocketing and the project is becoming unsustainable. We need your support if we're going to keep this ministry alive.

Please consider what this page means to you, and what you can afford to give, and make a pledge to support Unitarian Universalist outreach and reflection.

Ko-fi.com/IAmUU

OR sign up for even more writing:
Patreon.com/TEarthman



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No one should be forever judged by their worst decision. We can all make choices today to be someone we can be proud of. The only person who can make that choice for you, though, is You.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/65405608


Official Post from Thomas Earthman

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Has this week been hard on you? It has been a tough one for me.

If you like this kind of content, please consider becoming a Patron for more!

https://www.patreon.com/posts/43522168


Official Post from Thomas Earthman

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Hello friends. Thomas here with some news:

The I Am UU project has always been a labor of love. We tried to make it something more sustainable, but it never worked out; we had a push to get people to sign up as Patrons for 6 weeks and we lost more Patrons than we gained. The project has just never been self-supporting.

And it has taken a lot of labor. There were plenty of 60 hour weeks over the last 12 years. There were years when I posted almost daily and write a Monday Meditation almost every week. I have developed a lot of very specific skills and became a graphic designer (which was not part of the original plan).

And based on the support we have right now, we do cover the cost of keeping the website up with gifts from the community. We will leave it there for as long as we can, but updates will be even less frequent.

We simply do not make enough to allow me to continue putting time and effort into the project. You may have noticed that there has been less content in the last year, and that is because I have been working part-time as a DRE.

As of next month, I will be working full-time as Director of Religious Education at a congregation here in North Texas. That means that there will be very little time left to work on the I Am UU project. Just moderating the I Am UU Community group will take up most of that. There will occasionally be a new graphic or a quote that I just have to share, but the page will be much quieter.

If you would like to follow Thomas Earthman as a community minister and DRE, you can like that page. If you would like to still read prayers, chalice lightings, and reflections that I write, you can also become a Patron of my ministry (Link in comments), where I expect to be publishing more often now that I am spending more time on faith development.

I will be shutting down the I Am UU Patreon, so that the few Patrons still subscribed there will no longer be charged unless they move to another payment platform OR join the active Patreon (link in comments). Ko-fi will still be active for those who want to support the website (Link in comments).

Thank you all for being here. It has been an honor to lead this project and the community that has grown up around it. The old posts and graphics will still be here for you, and I might surprise myself and start posting again if I get into a rhythm in my new position.



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We advocate for UU Evangelism because we have a beautiful message and there are people out there who are desperate to hear it; they really want to know that some group of people is striving, together, for a more just and compassionate world.

We're not out to convert anyone, but people need to be informed about Unitarian Universalism and invited to check it out for themselves.



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The President does not control gas prices. In fact, he has very little to do with them (which is why he hasn't lowered them).

Congress has much more control, should they choose to use it.





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"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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