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I need to celebrate our human family, whose power and potential shimmer against the backdrop of deep time, because we aren’t at our best right now.
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Continue reading "From the UUA President: Ingathering In Complicated Times"
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I attend UU online. Most of the congregation are seniors and I’m 18.
Since I can’t attend in person, I would have no way of knowing if there are people my age.
It’s possibly that there are people my age at my church and I just don’t know it, or since it’s online, they just haven’t been attending.
I started attending UU during the pandemic so I haven’t had a chance to meet people or talk to anyone, other than attend the meetings. (I have Panic Disorder so I haven’t the courage to attend a small prayer group online yet when they do breakout rooms in the zoom call).
But I would like to get to know some people. Just don’t really know how to go about doing that.
Continue reading "From the UUA President: We Are Held In Covenant"
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Continue reading "A Prayer for This Transgender Day of Remembrance"
Continue reading "The Practice of Faithful Risking: Congregational Examples"
One of the best ways I know to get things moving when I’m facing significant change is to engage my imagination. The facts of my situation, and the logic and reason I use to arrange them, will only take me to the edge of what I know. Even using my five senses will only extend as far as the range of my sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. But imagination has the ability to reach farther by accessing the deeper well of the unconscious and creatively rearranging what I’ve known before. The uniquely human capacity to imagine is a valuable threshold skill that can open a way into and through the unknowns of a future filled with change.
When we cling to what we know, it is easy to forget about the massive storehouse of knowledge hidden within each of us, a vast library filed away behind a door aptly labeled “the unconscious.” It is there, in the back stacks of the mind, that our experiences first get shelved. Cognitive scientists tell us less than one percent of that material gets transferred to our conscious mind. Like a “closed stack” library where patrons submit requests for materials to be retrieved by librarians, our unconscious stores an expansive collection of knowledge entirely out of sight. Some of it is also out of reach of language itself, collected and shelved as pre-verbal feelings, sensory experiences and images that constitute the knowledge we call intuition. Dream worker and author Jeremy Taylor called this knowledge “not-yet-speech-ripe,” using an old Anglo-Saxon term for the unconscious.
Fortunately, accessing the treasures of the unconscious does not require mastering the Dewey decimal system or turning to a librarian. Rather, we can be assisted by the colorful cast of characters appearing in our dreams at night, or by any piece of music, poetry or art that speaks to us. We only need to pay attention to anything flinging open the doors to the unconscious and beckoning us in to wander among the hidden stacks, often without knowing what we are looking for.
Imagination, dreams, ritual and the arts are all tools for accessing this larger pool of consciousness. In dominant culture today, these ways of knowing are often disparaged as less reliable and useful than science and historical fact. But any scientist worth their white coat knows that exploration begins with a dance between curiosity and imagination. We need to access a larger body of knowledge, especially when facing an unknown future. Our imaginations, creativity and dreams all extend our awareness to do just that.
Wang Maohua, a tai chi master in Beijing, once gave me an important lesson that changed my understanding of tai chi and now also guides me on the threshold of change. He began our time together by asking me to show him the tai chi I practiced at home. But soon after I launched through several forms, he stopped me. I was pushing myself through the moves, he observed.
“Try to focus your attention on the space above your head and below your feet,” he advised instead. “Extend your awareness to the space beyond your fingers.” He then led me in a meditative journey through my body, awakening me first to the space within my body and then beyond it. He told me to stop pushing my body. “Instead,” he said, “let your body move by a gentle intention into the space around it, where your awareness is already waiting to meet it.”
We can borrow this practice of “gentle intention” when living on the threshold, casting our awareness across the gap of the unknown. By imagining ourselves on the far side of our threshold, we are actually stretching our attention beyond the limits of our senses. Gentle intention will open our awareness, allowing us to perceive what lies beneath the surface of things. It is a way of open-ended wondering, imagining what we are moving toward. Then, having imagined ourselves on the far side of the threshold we are crossing, we look up to find our own self waiting there, encouraging us on, and welcoming us as we arrive in a place where we have never been before.
excerpted and adapted from Living in the Between: a thresholder’s guide to personal and global change, by Karen Hering, to be published by Skinner House in late 2020.
Attached media: https://web.archive.org/web/20211110172819/https://www.questformeaning.org/podcasts/20_09/01.mp3
Continue reading "A Message From The UUA President: Holding One Another In Compassion and Prayer"
This is an incredibly positive and important update to the UUA's guidelines for congregations in these turbulent times. Rev. Susan Fredrick-Gray and rest of the UUA administration have the unanimous support of the UUA Board of Trustees.
The UUA recommends that congregations plan for virtual operation until May 2021.
https://www.uua.org/pressroom/press-releases/message-uua-president-updated-guidance-gathering
I'm looking for books by scientists, astronauts, engineers who wrote about spirituality or perhaps their own spiritual awakening. I'm thinking of Einstein's quotes or Carl Sagan quotes. Books that reflect a "science AND spirituality" perspective or a "science AND religious" perspective.
Hello my fellow UUs,
My congregation is looking into creating some sort of space where members can send messages to each other, other than via email. The main platform that comes to my mind is a private Facebook group.
Do you have ideas for other platforms that could be used? Or do any of you have prior experience with having a private Facebook group for your congregation, and do you like it?
As a first grader, Ruby Bridges was part of the first group of students to racially integrate schools in Louisiana. In 1960, six African American children passed placement tests to go to white schools. Ruby was one of them. Two of the six children decided to stay at their all-black schools, three were assigned to McDonough School and Ruby was the one student assigned to integrate William Frantz public school. She integrated that school all on her own. In that first year, many white parents pulled their children from the school, including the parents of the rest of the first grade class. Most of the teachers left too. For all of first grade it was only Ruby and her teacher.
As Ruby remembers it, her mother rode with her in the car with the federal marshals for the first two days of school. After that, her mother had to get back to work and look after the two younger children. So, Ruby rode with the marshals by herself. Ruby’s mom told her, “If you feel afraid, say your prayers. You can pray anytime and God will hear you.”
I highlight this because when I explore faith, I keep bumping up against courage. When we look at faith not as a set of beliefs, but rather as a source of strength that keeps us holding on to our values when it gets difficult, or a source of hope when we feel lost, we are also talking about courage. In Ruby’s story, you hear how her mom was showing her how to keep moving forward even when she was afraid, through prayer, through her faith.
It’s so easy to see courage as boldness, bravery, fearlessness. It’s so easy to ascribe courage to heroic figures throughout time, to put it on such a high shelf that it feels unattainable. I want to rid you of that idea.
Courage is something we all need. It’s something we all can live in our lives—something attainable. More than this, it is needed. Not just in historic lives, not just in dramatic moments, but every day. We need the courage to show another way to live—a way that is not based in ego or control, not out of domination, power or materialism. We need ways of being in the world that don’t place our sense of worth in being right or being successful, but rather in being human, in being true to ourselves. And for this, we absolutely need courage.
As researcher and author Brené Brown says, we need the courage to show up fully as ourselves in our lives and to let ourselves be seen. Vulnerability begets vulnerability and courage is contagious. She points to Harvard researchers who show that real change is sustained by leaders who are able to show vulnerability. This vulnerability is perceived as courage and it inspires others to be courageous. We need this kind of courage in a world, in a country, in a society, that needs great change. To do this, we need to learn how to develop courage in our own lives and how to teach courage to our children.
Courage is not simply a virtue—it is a quality that the rest of the virtues depend on. C.S. Lewis puts it this way: “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” Whatever it is we hold highest—if it is a commitment to peace and nonviolence, if it is a commitment to human dignity for all, if it is equality, if it is kindness or compassion, a respect for the interdependence of creation—to live these in our lives, to inspire them in our world, we need courage. To truly live these values, there will come a time where we need
courage to stay true to them, to practice them at the testing point.
Courage isn’t just strength, and it is certainly not just a forcefulness of will. We look to Dr. King, Ruby Bridges, Mahatma Gandhi, Harriet Tubman, Harvey Milk and we call them courageous because in their dedication to principles of human dignity and worth, of equity and opportunity, they risked themselves. Their actions made them vulnerable. Brené Brown, in her book Daring Greatly, writes “Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage.”
Vulnerable comes from the Latin, “to wound;” it means being in a place of risking yourself. Brown talks about the problem of being so afraid (even unconsciously) of our vulnerability that we seek to control everything around us in order to minimize risk and avoid being hurt. When we do this we separate ourselves from others, and even from our own lives, in order to distance ourselves from the possibility of pain. In this circumstance beginning to learn to share yourself—your whole self, your fears, your needs—being willing to be seen is a critical step to developing courage.
It takes courage to let ourselves be seen. But it is so important because it is in being seen, in vulnerability, Brown says, that we find the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, empathy, authenticity and courage. The vulnerability of sharing our whole selves opens up a door to a level of connection and being and understanding that is a source of incredible strength and joy.
On the other hand, I want to be careful about how we look at different types of vulnerability. Brown’s definition and perspective is valuable, but it might sound different from a place of social or physical vulnerability. Many of the people I named as models of courage were or are people marginalized because of the color of their skin, their gender, their sexual orientation. They would rightly argue they didn’t need courage to get in touch with their vulnerability; they needed courage not to be victimized by it.
Vulnerability on its own is not courage. We can make ourselves vulnerable out of stupidity, out of a thirst for drama or danger or adventure. Sometimes we are vulnerable because of our position in life, vulnerable because of poverty, vulnerable as children to the power of adults, vulnerable for any number of reasons beyond our control.
Vulnerability and courage are not the same thing. In fact, Brown says “Perfect and bullet-proof are seductive, but they don’t exist in the human experience.” All of us are vulnerable. Of course, we are vulnerable to the elements of nature and illness, but also to the risks of loving and losing, of trying and being unsuccessful, vulnerable to social and political circumstances. We are not all equally vulnerable, to be sure. Nevertheless, it is simply a fact of existence. Courage is how we respond to that vulnerability.
So courage is not the same thing as vulnerability. Courage is an inner strength to recognize our vulnerabilities, yet to go forward in spite of them. The courage to take action is not about being certain about what’s next. It is instead a determination not to surrender to the vulnerability, but rather to try to go forward despite the risks.
This is important because I don’t want to leave you with the idea that vulnerability is something we ought to seek, or cling to. Attempts at perfectionism and control are dangerous, but it is just as problematic to think only of our vulnerability, to deny our power, our agency, our choices, our worth.
When it comes to developing courage, or inspiring it in others, the very first step is being able to be fully yourself.
Sometimes sharing your story of truth—sharing fully the way you doubt or fail, the way you experience the world, that “raw truth” as Brown describes it—is the most courageous thing we can do in a moment. And in those moments, vulnerability not only sounds like truth and feels like courage—it looks like courage. And it can inspire others to be courageous in telling their truths, in being fully themselves and openly engaged.
We remember our agency, and we hold on to the faith—by whatever name we call it—that gives us strength to keep working for what we believe in, to advocate for ourselves and others. We teach courage by living it in whatever ways present themselves, by getting off the sidelines and letting ourselves be seen.
Ruby Bridges says she remembers that her dad didn’t want her to go to the white school. Her mom did. She thought it would give Ruby better opportunities later on and she thought it would matter to other black children and families. She said her parents talked all summer about it and finally her dad was persuaded by her mom. I have no doubt that her mom’s courage, her parents’ courage, and that of the families that stood with them, and the teacher who taught and came to love Ruby, all helped her develop courage—a courage that stayed with her throughout her life.
We teach courage by modeling it. We grow our courage by being able to name our own vulnerability—connecting with others by sharing our truth, but not getting stuck there. We grow our courage by holding to our agency, our sense of worth and our own power to shape our lives. And we grow our courage by living our values, even at the testing point. May we all grow courageous hearts, and may we teach courage to our children.
Attached media: https://web.archive.org/web/20211110105514/https://www.questformeaning.org/podcasts/20_02/03.mp3
This book has hit the theological world like a storm. David Bentley Hart is a giant in the theology world and he has with this book "come out" as a full-fledged universalist. He basically argues for a view of the Christian faith that founded the Universalist side of the UU tradition. I am wondering if its even been mentioned in UU circles?
Hi all,
I'm preparing for a work-related trip to DC coming up soon, and I'll be in the area on Sunday morning, September 8.
On previous work trips, I've attended both All Souls DC, and River Road in Bethesda. I'm open to attending either place again, or finding another one if I can find a connection who's willing to be social.
I grew up Irish Catholic decided to raise m kids Unitarian Universalist. Even though I come from a liberal Catholic family & no one gave me a hard time, it was painful to choose not to raise my kids in the faith that had been my family's identity for generations.
Our monthly Potluck Lunches will take a break over the summer.pic.twitter.com/jsHMdbKNIV
“Summer Lite Services” continue... Sunday Service - July 7th, 10:30am “Independence Day...Our Way!” Join us as we celebrate the American experiment in democracy in music, song, and poetry. Service Leader: Regis Sabol. Asst. Service Leader: Ginny Sabol. Music: UUCE All-Star Band
Would you preach at a Unitarian Universalist church? (I'm not in a position to offer a pulpit, just asking.)
Congregational Meeting this Sunday!! June 30th @ 12pm Committee reports and the next budget will be presented for congregational approval. The nominating committee will present all new members of the Board of Trustees. We hope you’ll attend!
Homestead: Who’s Profiting from Detaining Kids? - Unitarian Universalist Service Committee https://www.uusc.org/homestead-whos-profiting-from-detaining-kids/ …
Pretty decent views on my commute to work today. #uuaga2019 #unitarianuniversalist pic.twitter.com/xcToZTCyZ3
The Ginger Hill Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Slippery Rock marked its 15th anniversary this week. The group has no minister and not one creed but many as it welcomes those of all religions and even humanists, agnostics and atheists. pic.twitter.com/w9MJ6rCxrh
UUCE 30th Yard Sale - June 14th & 15th 9am-2pm. Don’t miss this sale. Our building is filled up, well organized and ready for you! There’s something for everyone!pic.twitter.com/K0c94UOHHd
If there is a Unitarian Universalist Church or a Congregational Church nearby, they will help. Also a Jewish Synagogue.
Taught "Creative Self-Compassion" to 4 wonderful women after church at BUUC yesterday. #intentionalcreativity @ Brookfield Unitarian Universalist Church https://www.instagram.com/p/ByiqEW4B7iw/?igshid=fl2kdxqdlaag …
Did I miss something? He's volunteering with a Unitarian Universalist group. Does he identify as a Christian? And does he use that as part of his defense?
A Place of Wholeness. A Multigenerational Service. Members & friends of all ages will join in a walking meditation, a faith development activity, & a puzzle craft. June 2. 10:30 at 874 York St. All are welcome. #fredericton #UUTwitter #unitarianuniversalist pic.twitter.com/t1Xx1KQ6B0
Yard Sale set up begins after our Sunday Service tomorrow. Let’s all work together and make this a great sale! For more info: http://Uuerie.org
So grateful for the commitment to human rights and justice shown by the Unitarian Universalist clergy and all of the faith leaders who have shown support for Scott Warren at his trial in Tucson. We know that the future is love - never fear and hate. #HumanitarianAidisNeveraCrime https://twitter.com/NoMoreDeaths/status/1136338368294297600 …
This is our chance to hear detailed plans for 2020 construction. Bring your questions and join us on Tuesday evening (6/4) at 7pm at Champlain Valley Unitarian Universalist. https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2282122558491081&id=405284699508219 …
I kind of want to skip church to make resin art but the Unitarian Universalist guilt would gnaw at me.
I had no idea the Hills were UU - I was raised UU, my church was named after very prominent Unitarian Universalist minister Starr King, that's a wild name game! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Starr_King …
For all you jazz lovers...spread the word!!! http://uuerie.org pic.twitter.com/J8z2WdZf2C
UUCE’s 30th Annual Yard Sale! It’ll be huge! Don’t miss this one! June 14th & 15th 9am-2pm. https://uuerie.org/connection/garage-sale …
Sunday Service 5/19, 10:30am - “Flower Communion” Join us for this unique Unitarian celebration. Bring a flower from your life to share. We will thank our RE teachers. The choir and Jackson will fill our souls with music.pic.twitter.com/pqdXd7hdMT
Getting excited for my 6/9/19 class, sponsored by the Women's Alliance at Brookfield Unitarian Universalist Church in Brookfield, MA. Come on by if you are in the area - it's free! #IntentionalCreativity #ArtistInACubicle https://buff.ly/2Vy8G6r pic.twitter.com/EfQtZbbv3j
The one who made calls me Mommy 
#happymothersday
@ Kitsap Unitarian Universalist Fellowship https://www.instagram.com/p/BxX7adPFrde/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=1j6hdufoabgro …
Sunday Service: May 12, 10:30am Ritual, Pilgrimage and Enlightenment Rev Charlie - From spring cleaning to visiting a parent’s grave, we each have our rituals – daily, yearly or once in a life time. We will explore the relationship between bucket lists and spiritual formation.
That's one of the reasons I have liked having my kids in the Unitarian Universalist Religious Exploration classes. That's basically the first principle of the Unitarian Universalist faith tradition: "The inherent worth and dignity of every person."
I am so proud of my work and to support the work of so many amazing organizers working tirelessly to #FreeBlackMamas Check out the work of @BlackLivesUU #BabiesandBailouts campaign led by my SQUAD #TeamSankofa https://wearyourvoicemag.com/parenting/free-Black-mamas-national-bail-out?fbclid=IwAR14v00XBiPk82RHFzCYVmNpqHv3lzQ-un4kU0tKkHALOHetip8nCrMfhC8 …
The First Unitarian Universalist Church of Wpg, Dawson Building (NEW!), St. Boniface Cathedral & German Society of Wpg (NEW!) are all getting ready to welcome you for #DoorsOpenWinnipeg 2019! Visit http://doorsopenwinnipeg.ca/ ! #winnipeghistory #winnipeghistoricalbuildings #free #wpgpic.twitter.com/eYUSNlY53n
Love is love? No shit, Sherlock. Human beings can commit illegal acts and be in a state of criminality. What kind of Pollyanna crap is this?
Sunday Service 5/5, 10:30am-I Think; Therefore I Am!”-Regis Sabol Rene Descartes ignited an “Age of Enlightenment” that gave rise to modern science, the Industrial Revolution, modern democracy, and nurtured the liberal religious perspectives we call Unitarianism and Universalism.
"Nobody Leaves Here Unless They’re Deported": A Look at Disturbing New Immigrant Detention Centers - Unitarian Universalist Service Committee #DemForce2020 https://www.uusc.org/nobody-leaves-here-unless-theyre-deported-secret-immigration-detention-centers-bogus-asylum-courts-and-assembly-line-deportations/ …
Sunday Service April 28th 10:30 a.m. “Multigenerational Earth Day Service: Anticipating Earth Day’s 50th Anniversary in 2020” Susan Galle-Boyko and the students of the RE program teach us about the first Earth Day and probe the question: What can we do for the Earth?pic.twitter.com/aTaXXCNVxz
Major milestone for my work with @BlackLivesUU It's an honor to support the work of @NationalBailOut and @ignitekindred
Homestead: Who’s Profiting from Detaining Kids? - Unitarian Universalist Service Committee https://www.uusc.org/homestead-whos-profiting-from-detaining-kids/ …
We got married at a Unitarian Universalist church. It started as a church that didn't believe in the Holy Trinity but eventually became a fellowship of "none of the above" collection of non-theists and non-traditional deists. It was nice to have a venue that was almost free.
Theme for April: Spirituality Sunday Service April 21st, 10:30am. “And Then One Day...” Easter is about a world changing moment. Easter is about the end of assumptions. There is a spiritual message in this religious holiday. Come hear the choir, Kelly Armor and Jackson Froman.pic.twitter.com/3mahPa9Xsk
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