This week the Supreme Court will be hearing arguments in the Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Along with 1,300 other clergy, Rev. Linda signed on to an amicus brief supporting the Civil Rights Commission. We pause to consider religion’s role in the marketplace, the meaning of freedom and liberty.
In this season of harvest and Thanksgiving, the concept of abundance conjures up colorful images of cornucopia overflowing with bountiful plenty. While this image is compelling…does striving towards this ideal leave us any space to experience the unexpected joys and pains that are part and parcel of an actual life?
In her book *Braiding Sweetgrass*, indigenous author Robin Wall Kimmerer describes the morning practice of recognizing all that we have been given and offering thanks in return. Through her descriptions of the rituals of gratitude that she practices and knows, we’ll consider our own rituals of thanksgiving through the whole year.
Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy, spoke at the UUA’s General Assembly this year and outlined four ways that we can be part of building a different future. Over the year, we’ll spend time on each of his suggestions. The first is the invitation to get proximate — close to — people on the margins. After the service, there will be an opportunity to explore some ways to do that.
Our monthly theme for November is Abundance. We’ll begin with words by Denise Levertov to consider how abundance flows even when it seems to be a time of scarcity.
Our annual service of all souls offers an opportunity to remember our beloved dead. This all ages service will include stories and song, and a time to share the names and stories of people who have had an impact upon our lives. We celebrate the gift of life and offer thanks. Bring along a memento or photo to share.
Transcendentalism was essentially a religious movement that emerged from Unitarianism in the middle decades of the 19th century. Rev. Barry Andrews views the Transcendentalists—Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller among them—as living voices whose writing is addressed as much today as it was in their time to spiritual seekers such as ourselves. In Transcendentalism, he believes we will discover a uniquely and authentically Unitarian Universalist form of spirituality.
Last spring, Unitarian Universalist congregations across the country were invited to have conversations about white supremacy in response to a staff shake up at our headquarters in Boston. This Sunday we’ll continue that conversation. What awarenesses help us to stay awake to the impact of white supremacy? What can we do about it? We’ll gather in a brave space for worship.
In life, as in woodworking, you follow the existing pattern of whatever you’re working on to smooth out what already is. But if you truly want to create something new, at some point you have to find the courage go against the grain.
Parker Palmer’s book, Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit, was published in 2011, but speaks to the dreams and promise of our country. What grounding do we need to enact a vision of courageous and compassionate politics?
