Rev. Mara Dowdall, Senior Minister, First UU Society, Burlington, Vermont The poet Naomi Shihab Nye speaks of “the shared world,” in which we connect deeply with one another in and through our differences. As we navigate this time of peril and possibility, beauty and anguish, despair and resistance, how might a theology and practice of … Continue reading “The Shared World”
In a country that has yet to ‘come of age,’ it’s time for this congregation – whose birthday we celebrate in this service – to leave its adolescence behind. https://youtu.be/bC-PnjHbl8E
There’s a great deal to learn about “race” before we even approach the topic of “race-ism.” Our ideas about race are rooted in ancient European history, rise out of attitudes about language, culture, and geography, and have little or nothing to do with our genetic makeup.
Fear is a gift from the universe, an evolutionary benefit that works to keep us safe from actual danger. But it also can work against us when it keeps us in a state of unwarranted anxiety and makes us forget that we are loved. Click to view service: https://youtu.be/B5nZPnx2GHg
Richard Palmer, a long time member of UUCOV, has been asking people, with all that’s been going on, whether or not they are feeling optimistic. It’s an excellent question for all of us to consider. Click to view service: https://youtu.be/ObaNHFjNBNg
Our dictionaries often define racism in terms of individual prejudice, but this does little to explain how social hierarchies are reproduced and perpetuated. While those of us who are white may be against racism, we still benefit from the distribution of resources put in place and controlled by people like us. https://youtu.be/ks35pj4Fkrc
Regardless of what her Buddhist friends told her, she still believed that “you can’t think without thinking of something.” American poet Grace Paley died in 2007 at the age of eighty-four but before she left, she gave us the gift of her penetrating, playful, and profound words. https://youtu.be/TWB8AF_zLnQ
There is no better teacher in all of sports – and maybe in all of life – than failure. This week, as Major League Baseball prepares for its annual All Star game, a paean to the wisdom the universe makes available to losers of all varieties. https://youtu.be/W0FFIf5H1H0
Independence Day. If we’ve learned one thing during these past months of pandemic, it’s that we are going to have to learn to think communally if we want to survive as a free people. https://youtu.be/3666m7_kBUg
UUA President Rev. Dr. Susan Frederick Gray and the leaders of the First Universalist Church of Minneapolis offer homage to the many innovative approaches to worship created by congregations during the pandemic.
