Sarah Weaver is on the board of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Lewis Center, Ohio (near Columbus), where she works as a cabinet finisher. She recently shared with a male co-worker that she was trans and was changing her name to Sarah. “Huh? Why?” He asked. “’Why?’ Good question. To be honest, that’s a mind-bender … Continue reading A UU Wanting to be Real (#139)
We live in a turbulent era. Some changes seem harmful to people who need support most. Many Unitarian Universalists feel deeply distressed and wonder about what to do. Here are five suggestions provided by UUs’ national organization: Do stay informed, but set boundaries. Keep up with reputable news sources, but limit doom-scrolling to protect your spiritual and mental well-being. Do focus on what you … Continue reading UU Advice for Tough Times (#138)
Congregants at the Sedona Unitarian Universalist Fellowship mourn the recent passing, at 97, of Martin E. Marty, who was an Evangelical Lutheran minister, religious historian, prolific author, and staunch champion of pluralism. He marched for civil rights, with Martin Luther King Jr., in Selma, Ala., attended the Second Vatican Council as a Protestant observer, and … Continue reading UUs Mourn Dr. Rev. Martin E. Marty (#137)
Faithful Fools is a community of people who live and work in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco (in a building at 425 Hyde St. that’s painted purple). It was co-founded in 1998 by Kay Jorgensen, a Unitarian Universalist minister, and is still going strong. Kay worked at the Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco, dedicating her … Continue reading Some UUs Are Faithful Fools (#136)
The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) recently joined more than two dozen Christian and Jewish religious denominations and associations in filing a lawsuit against the new federal policy that allows immigration raids and arrests at houses of worship. Throughout human history, houses of worship have been regarded as protected spaces for persons who entered them for … Continue reading UU Opposes Arrests At Houses Of Worship (#135)
Unitarian Universalism is well-known for affirming and promoting “the inherent worth and dignity of every person,” as well as “justice, equity and compassion in human relations.” These commitments tend to be enacted by UUs in doing substantive “good works” for people needing support. In addition, many Unitarians seek personal growth within themselves. They do this … Continue reading UU Mystics Connect (#134)
Unitarian Universalists’ view of love has much in common with ecology. Ecology is a study of interconnectedness in nature. Religion is a human practice that values and develops our relatedness with each other and with all that is larger than ourselves. Both ecology and religion affirm that nothing exists alone. All things exist in interdependence, interconnection. Therefore, … Continue reading Unitarians and Love in Relationship (#134)
Ideas propounded in the 19th century by Transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson and his student Henry David Thoreau are considered a major source of modern Unitarian Universalism. These ideas, however, first emerged in a small women’s conversation group that met in the 1840s at 13 West Street in Boston at Eizabeth Peabody’s Bookstore, according to Randall Fuller in his new book, Bright Circle: Five … Continue reading UU and the Women’s Rights Movement (#133)
The New York Times publishes a weekly advice column in which their Ethicist (Kwame Anthony Appiah, author, philosopher, and New York University Professor of Philosophy and Law) responds to moral dilemmas described in readers’ letters. The headline for his column this week reads, “Can I Go to Church When I Don’t Believe?” The query begins, “I grew up in … Continue reading UU Beliefs and Service Attendance (#132)
Unitarians are known for having open minds and open hearts. Members of the Sedona Unitarian Universalist Fellowship are welcome, for example, to hold whatever opinion they arrive at regarding the existence of a god and what they prefer to call that god. And they can change their opinion over time. They are encouraged to follow … Continue reading UUs Have No Taboo Opinions (#131)
