UUA

What does it mean to be an Ally?

CZ

Being an ally is more than being a friend. Being an ally means standing up. Being an ally means a lot of things to a lot of people.

In this article from the UUA, presenter Tim Wise talks about how to be an ally and the road map to racial equality.

This article from Everyday Feminism, Jamie Utt describes things that an ally can do along with the idea that being an ally isn’t a self-proclaimed identity.

#standingonthesideoflove #blacklivesmatter

~Namaste
Cricket

Meditation for a Beautiful Day

CZ

By Sara Campbell

Ah, how beautiful is this day. How crisp and clean the air. How clear the sky. How full of life the teeming earth. And we are alive! Yes, we feel the beat of our own hearts, the pulsing of life in our veins, the rhythm of our breathing. We come into the silence of this time with gratitude for this day.
We come also with our needs. Our gratitude stirs us to praise and sing our thanksgiving. Our loneliness draws us into the company of others. Our restlessness draws us into these moments of quiet. Our longing for the spirit brings us before the mystery of the holy. Our desire to heal our own wounds and the wounds of our world brings us here to renew our strength and hope.

And we come into this space because we have gifts to share: words of healing and encouragement for those who are burdened; songs of praise and hope; smiles of comfort and affection; deeds of love and kindness.

Each of us comes to dip into the well that nourishes our hungry spirits. Each of us comes with our own cup of goodness to pour into the well. We drink together. May we be strengthened in our bonds of love and peace.

Source: 1997 UUMA Worship Materials Collection

~Namaste
Cricket

Taking Care of our World

CZ

There is a difference between environmentalism and environmental justice. Check out this video from Alex Kapitan, the UUA’s Commit2Respond

What is Commit2Respond?

Commit2Respond is a coalition of Unitarian Universalists and other people of faith and conscience working for climate justice.

Unitarian Universalists and other people of faith and conscience have been on the frontlines of environmental justice for decades. United in collective action, connected through partnership, we will change the world.

We are diverse in spiritual belief, yet united in faith that a better world is possible and that our collective power can create change.

~Namaste

Cricket

Common Reads aren’t just for Colleges anymore

CZ

A Common Read invites participants to read and discuss the same book in a given period of time. A Common Read can build community in our congregations and our movement by giving diverse people a shared experience, shared language, and a basis for deep, meaningful conversations. The Unitarian Universalist Association has a special committee to help chose the common read for the year: This year’s book.

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I personally am looking forward to reading this book. What do you think?

~Namaste

Cricket

We Need One Another

CZ

Erik Walker Wikstrom

We come together this morning because within us there is something that knows we need more than we can find in our aloneness. We know—instinctively, in the depths of ourselves—that we need others for this journey of life even though we also guard our independence and individuality quite jealously.

And just as we come together as individuals to make this congregation, so our Unitarian Universalist congregations come together to form an Association—the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations—because we need more than we can find in our aloneness. We, too, guard our independence and our individuality, yet in our togetherness we are so much more than we can ever be on our own.

So on this Association Sunday, let us celebrate all that makes us unique yet also all that makes us one, and let us dream dreams of all that we can do… together.

Source: Association Sunday 2009

Found this today in my Illuminations App. We do all need each other. Hopefully we can recognize this and work together for a better world.

~Namaste
Cricket