We sang the tune "Standing on the the Side of Love" in the service today, but we were asked to sing it changing the words to "Answering the Call of Love". I like both phrasings, and it was explained that the songwriter approved the change. We were even invited to cross out the original words in the hymnal and write in the new ones if we wanted. I'm bothered by the idea that saying or singing "standing on the side of love" is seen as ableist. I told my husband, who doesn't attend, and he said, "what about deaf/hard of hearing people?" as a sarcastic comment about the alternate way of singing it. I think what bothers me is that we can't see the word stand as having a meaning other than to support oneself on the feet in an upright position, as Merriam-Webster says. I would so much rather we address ableism in a different way. It seems counter productive to raising awareness of ableis. There are so many situations in which language needs to be thoughtfully changed, but in my opinion this is not one of them. Anyone else care to share your opinion?

Hello Friends, I'm not sure what I am asking in this post. Maybe just some encouragement, maybe some venting, but also ideas and perspective. I went to a small Christian high school, and have never been to a reunion. But for some reason, I said yes to the 40th anniversary class reunion. I now live a lot closer to the school than previous years, maybe that is why. Why I have avoided it is complex. I didn't feel like I fit in with the other students, and don't have a lot of positive memories from the place. I can tell from social media that many of the people I went to school with have become more politically conservative, and I have become more progressive. And last, but not least, I have some pretty terrible family of origin dynamics, and don't want to field questions about my estrangement from family. So, why am I going? A big part of me does want to go. I wonder if I can connect with anyone else who didn't feel like they fit in. I am curious if there are any other fellow de-converts. Also, I want to be more open to connecting with people I am politically at odds with if it is possible. (?!). And the perspective of seeing other age mates...ageing, marking time together feels like it could be meaningful. I kind of hope that I am pleasantly surprised. Anyway, I'm a little worried about how to field any questions about my state of non-Christian. I do feel so much better having the community and path of Unitarian Universalism as my steadiness. I would have been taught growing up that UU is a cult. From my experiences and knowledge, I know many people I will encounter would be so sad to know I am no longer Christian. I wouldn't be surprised if there is actually worship singing and prayer at the class reunion. I'm sort of afraid that will make me feel very emotional and uncomfortable. So any pointers on navigating this event? Any experience like this?

Is there a collection of well-known, standard Christmas tunes that have lyrics changed to humanist or pagan themes? In our hymnal there are only a handful., which I do love. I would love to have a fuller set. Are there any songwriters who would like to work on this?