Message by Guest Speaker Joe Pitts Moment of Perspective – The Courage of Working Together – Colleen Appel (Written by AJ Fox) The Opening Words are: Giving each other courage, by Rev. Gretchen Haley. Come in, all who long to knowhow to love this worldHow to keep eyes openhands unclenchedarms wideBreathing deeplyIn, and outThis is … Continue reading Social Courage: Addressing Climate Change

Message by Rev. Michelle Scott-Huffman Moment of Perspective – A Blessing of Courage – AJ Fox The opening Words are Courage Is by Rev. Dr. David Breeden We gather together here, now,summoning our courage to be.We gather, bringing ourweariness and our energy.We gather, bringing ourwariness and our visions.Like trees in rocky places,our roots clutch. Whatwe … Continue reading Many Paths of Courage

Message by Dr. Nina Barudzic The opening words are It is all very well…, by Rev. Rod Richards It is all very well to speak ofan interdependent web of all lifeand remind us that we are allConnected. We are.But there are times when the lonelinessStrikes so deeply that the onlyThing of which I amCertain is … Continue reading Belonging and the Bigger Picture

Message by AJ Fox with Guest Speaker Matt Baker This month we are exploring the theme of belonging. But belonging cannot exist in a vacuum. The sensation of belonging can only come from the sensation of not belonging. And belonging and not belonging are not binary experiences but instead depths and shallows we travel between … Continue reading Belonging and Not Belonging: Autumn Equinox and Other Places of In-Between-ness

Message by Rev. Michelle Scott-Huffman Moment of Perspective – Water Communion – AJ Fox The opening words are River Call by Manish K. Mishra-Marzetti Between rocking the boat and sitting down;between stirring things up, and peaceably going along,We find ourselves here,in community.Each calledfrom many different journeys,Many differentlife paths,onto this river road.Some are herebecause the rocking … Continue reading Rivers of Belonging: A Celebration of Water Communion

Message by Rev. Michelle Scott-Huffman Moment of Perspective – Belonging – AJ Fox The opening words are “A Place of Belonging and Caring,” by Kimberlee Anne Tomczak Carlson. It is not by chance that you arrived here today.You have been looking for something larger than yourself.Inside of you there is a yearning, a calling, a … Continue reading The Building Blocks of Belonging

Message by Dacia Reid Moment of Perspective – Covenant – AJ Fox The opening words are “The Task of the Religious Community,” by retired UU minister, Mark Morrison-Reed. It is drawn from Morrison-Reed’s book, Black Pioneers in a White Denomination. The central task of the religious community is to unveil the bonds that bind each … Continue reading We All Live Downstream: Exploring Covenant in Our Lives

Message by Colleen Appel Moment of Perspective – The 8th Principle – AJ Fox Our opening words have been called “The Unseen Skeleton” and come from Isabelle Wilkerson’s book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.  We in the developed world are like homeowners who inherited a house on a piece of land that is beautiful … Continue reading Me and the Eighth Principle: Going From White Oblivion to White Awareness

Moment of Perspective – Our Seventh Principle – AJ Fox The opening words are Praise the World in All its Pain and Blessing, by Maureen Killoran. We are called today, from the midst of pain and challenge, we are called to praise the world. From a world that appears broken, we are called to praise … Continue reading Respect for the Interdependent Web of All Existence of Which We Are a Part – Our Seventh Principle

Message by Emmie Seaman The opening words are by the Commission on Common Worship. From the fragmented world of our everyday livesWe gather together in search of wholenessBy many cares and preoccupationsBy diverse and selfish aimsAre we separated from one anotherAnd divided within ourselvesYet we knew that no branch is utterly severedFrom the Tree of … Continue reading The Goal of World Community With Peace, Liberty, and Justice For All – Our Sixth Principle