We are grateful for the presence of so many hundreds of people at the November 6 event, “Why We Cannot Turn Away: Resources for UU Leaders Engaging Palestine & Israel.” We apologize for the delay in release of these materials, although unfortunately the violence in the region continues and these conversations are very much still ongoing. We hope you will find these resources helpful for both your own learning and reflection and that of your congregations and communities. 

We are keenly aware that members of our Unitarian Universalist community do not all share an identical analysis of the history of the region or the realities of the current crisis, and yet what is clear is that we are all united by our shared heartbreak over the killing, kidnapping, displacement and violence impacting so many of our human siblings, regardless of their national identities. 

As you continue to engage in communal learning, action, and lament in your congregations and communities, please feel free to use these resources in whatever way is helpful to you. You can find the full recording here, as well as the presentation slides, which you may use freely in whole or in part. You can also find more information on many of the issues covered in the webinar in our “Why We Cannot Turn Away:” Expanded Resource Guide; please feel free to share this with whoever needs it. You are also invited to refer back to the October 17th UUA Statement on the Humanitarian Catastrophe in Gaza and Israel for both the UUA’s statement on the current crisis and a dive into the history of our collective UU engagement with issues related to Israel/Palestine over the past 40 years. 

We recognize that given the intensity of this moment, not all of us are in a space for deepening our learning, taking action, or consuming more perspectives, coverage, or information; many among us simply need spaces in which to grieve, rage, and be held. We are pleased to offer you this template for small-group conversation circles, intended for use in your congregations as a way to invite your people into a space of heart-centered listening and reflection. The template includes facilitator instructions, recommended group agreements, an opening prayer and ritual, and questions for reflection.

We are keenly aware that the current catastrophe is far from over, and the ripples will continue to touch the whole world for the foreseeable future. As Unitarian Universalists, we are committed to continuing to learn and heal together, struggling for justice and liberation for all, and working toward a global community in which all people are safe and free from violence in all its forms. 

In faith and solidarity, 

The Rev. Ashley Horan, UUA Organizing Strategy Director

The Rev. Summer Albayati, UUA Pacific Northwest Regional Staff

The Rev. Kelly Weisman Asprooth-Jackson, Senior Co-Minister, First Unitarian Society of Madison, WI

The Rev. Ranwa Hammamy, Side With Love Congregational Justice Organizer

The Rev. Leah Ongiri, Acting Director of Lifespan Faith Formation and Family Ministries, First Unitarian Church of Portland, OR

The Rev. Sana Saeed, UUA Central East Regional Staff

Beloveds,

In their recently-released draft of the new Article II of our UUA bylaws, the Article II Commission writes, “The purpose of the Unitarian Universalist Association is to actively engage its members in the transformation of the world through liberating Love.” I’ve heard many folks ask, “What do we mean by ‘liberating Love?’” The A2C writes:

Love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. We are accountable to one another for doing the work of living our shared values through the spiritual discipline of Love.

At its core, the work of Side With Love is to be a hub for connection, growth, nourishment and action that allows Unitarian Universalists and our partners to live out our values in the world. Together, we deepen our political analysis, sharpen our skills, articulate our theological grounding, and mobilize our communities to build a world in which all of us are free and thriving. 

And – we are so aware that the work of transforming the world through liberating love is something that started long before any of us was born, and that will carry on long after we have become the ancestors of memory. The work is shared, and it is unending – as the oft-quoted truism of Rabbi Tafron in the Jewish Mishnah text Pirkei Avot goes, “You are not required to finish the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.” 

We hope, then, that you have found some nourishment for the long-haul work of liberation during these 30 Days of Love. We have been so blessed by the weekly offerings from this diverse group of bold, loving, faithful religious leaders. We hope as you’ve taken moments to drink in these blessings and practices and prayers and stories, you have felt as wrapped in love and as buoyed by feeling the web of connections that exist among us as we have. Please feel free to keep coming back to these resources throughout the year ahead – use them to start your day in your own spiritual practice, to provide grounding to your group before the meeting or workshop, or as an offering in communal worship. 

This week, we offer you a few final gifts: a prayer from Rev. Sofía Betancourt, a body practice from Rev. Leela Sinha, and a grounding meditation from Rev. Lynn Gardner . May they bless and fortify you. 

Beloveds, we are so grateful to be in the work of love and liberation together with you. Thank you for all the faithful ways you show up throughout the year, struggling for justice and blessing the world with care, hope, and love. 

May we all be transformed by liberating Love. 

In faith and solidarity,

Rev. Ashley Horan

Side With Love Organizing Strategy Director

By Jeff Milchen

Reverend DC Fortune and Sara Phinney Kelley, Director of Religious Growth and Learning at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Susquehanna Valley in Pennsylvania, were looking for inspiration as they brainstormed developing a multigenerational, interactive service preceding Martin Luther King Day this year. They discussed incorporating New Year’s resolutions into the sermon but sought to find a way to make the discussion something that would involve UU justice priorities and stick with participants, rather than just spark momentary ideas.

The resulting project had an unlikely source of inspiration: a 1972 Playboy magazine interview with Buckminster Fuller, the architect, inventor, and philosopher (among other roles). Fuller compared the challenge of steering an ocean liner to bending the arc of history toward justice. Rudders on these ocean vessels extend several stories in height and weigh many tons, so moving them directly would require huge amounts of force and fuel.

But the invention of trim tabs—basically small plates attached to the rudder—solved this challenge. When the ship's captain turns a steering wheel, it slightly rotates these small plates, which disrupts the water pressure just enough to enable the giant rudder to move easily.

As individuals, Fuller explains, few of us have the power to move the rudder on societal injustices directly, but we can disrupt the status quo in small ways that facilitate much larger movements. Fuller believed in this concept so deeply that his gravestone and adjacent plaque were inscribed “Call Me Trimtab” upon his death in 1983.

In preparing the service for the Susquehanna Valley UU, Fortune and Kelley seized upon a Fuller invention, the geodesic dome. Fuller conceived the domes as a lightweight, inexpensive, and energy-efficient home design, though numerous drawbacks ultimately precluded mass adoption. Combining the geodesic model with the idea of trim tabs, Fortune and Kelley imagined building a complete geodesic sphere, not as a shelter, but as a physical expression of individuals' resolutions for ways in which they will positively impact issues they care deeply about. It would be a way to engage folks physically as well as intellectually.

After finding an online calculator to provide the needed number and dimensions of triangles for the five-foot diameter sphere, Fortune purchased light plywood and zip ties, cut the triangles, and drilled holes for connections. For the engineers and geometry fans out there, the dome required a combination of 60 isosceles and 20 equilateral triangles, as shown in the photo below, and used five sheets of plywood.

Fortune recalls, “we had the good sense to do a trial run” of their plan before the service and realized constructing the sphere would take much longer than the course of the service. Fortune, Kelley, and volunteers built the sphere prior to the service and rolled it into the sanctuary. Each congregant was asked to pick one of more than 100 triangular pieces of paper and write a particular justice issue, a hurt of the world that needed to be addressed but that just felt too big for them, and write it in the middle of the triangle. An array of choices for paper and marker colors added to the appeal. Though Fortune and Kelley had kids in mind, Fortune noted, “Omigod--adults fight over marker colors more than kids!” 

Participants then were asked to place in each corner of their triangle one small “trim tab” action they would take to help make a small difference on their priority issue. Everyone proceeded to stick their ideas and resolutions onto one of the triangles on the sphere, which will remain in place until after the conclusion of the annual 30 Days of Love campaign, another inspiration for the sermon and activity. Kelley says they also made it easy for remote participants, who simply typed their issue and trim tab ideas into the chat box for on-site volunteers to add.  

“We’ve been striving to make services more interactive,” said Kelley, but expressed concern about how the activity would be received. “Universally, people said this was fun and interesting,” said Kelley. Many senior congregants mentioned their enthusiasm for seeing kids involved in the service. All who missed the MLK weekend service are invited to add their ideas to the sphere through mid-February and subsequent sermons by Fortune and lay leaders reference the concerns and resolutions it contains.

Once it’s removed from the sanctuary, Kelley will inventory the ideas congregants placed and she believes the record will provide valuable guidance for decisions about which justice issues the congregation tackles collectively. Climate Justice is one oft-cited concern and Kelley mentioned they now are exploring UUA’s Green Sanctuary program. Kelley also mentioned how many young people cited capitalism and excessive wealth disparities as a concern. Many congregants’ resolutions included speaking out more and immersing themself in material presenting issues from the perspective of oppressed people.

Fortune shared an interesting observation from the dome construction process, noting, “the dome was totally unstable when it was almost done.” Not until the 80th and final piece was connected did the sphere have the structural integrity to cohere when moved.

You can watch or listen to Rev. Fortune’s MLK Day service on YouTube.