Embodied, Connected Pleasure
Pleasure is one of the ways we know when we are free.
The Importance of Presence
Once, during my ministerial internship, a woman I’ll call Clara came up to me during the hustle and bustle before the Sunday service. I knew that Clara struggled with anxiety; now, in great distress, she told me how anxious she was and that she didn’t know what to do. She was frantic, and I...
Spiritual Practice as Coping Mechanism
People find hope in the faith that they're held by something larger than themselves.
Mental Illness as a Spiritual Problem
Mental illness is a spiritual problem as well as a psychiatric one.
"No-casserole Diseases"
Mental illnesses are sometimes called “no-casserole diseases.” People don’t bring casseroles to homes where someone is hospitalized for mental problems.
White Fear of Black Freedom
There’s never been a time in the United States history when black rebellions did not spark existential fear among white people.
Surviving through Reciprocity
In a world of scarcity, interconnection and mutual aid become critical for survival.
Cultures of Reciprocity
Cultures of gratitude must also be cultures of reciprocity.
A Map of Balance and Harmony
Respect one another, support one another, bring your gift to the world and receive the gifts of others, and there will be enough for all.
The Power to Choose
The power to choose is the power of life in the midst of brokenness.
The Origins of the Anti-Choice Movement
How white evangelicals became the most powerful voting bloc in the U.S. and the fuel of the American white supremacy engine.
The Unseen Skeleton
We in the developed world are like homeowners who inherited a house on a piece of land that is beautiful on the outside, but whose soil is unstable loam and rock, heaving and contracting over generations, cracks patched but the deeper ruptures waved away for decades, centuries even....
Take What You Need and Leave the Rest Behind
Taking what we need and leaving the rest behind isn’t only a one time thing. We can do it anytime.
Whiteness and "Power Over"
I learned the hard way that there is a deep difference between the Jesus that Black folks worship and the Jesus that white Christians worship.
Disability and American Ideals
When disability is understood as dependency, disability is posited in direct contrast to American ideals of independence and autonomy.
A Culture of Care
Safety is not tied to our capacity to watch our neighbors, but rather based on our capacity to truly look out for one another.
Only Together Can We Create Safety
We can’t run from ourselves. The answer to safety is always closer rather than farther away.
Winter As Crucible
The changes that take place in winter are a kind of alchemy, an enchantment performed by ordinary creatures to survive.
Deflection and Distortion
Slavery is made to sound as if it happened in a prehistoric age instead of only a few generations ago.
The Insidiousness of White Supremacy
White supremacy illuminates the exceptional instead of blaming the system.
Witness and Pride
Witness pairs grief and rage with remembrance. Pride pairs joy with a determination to be visible.
A Failure
This short, personal essay from Raziq Brown speaks to failure, loss and personal growth.
Wild Emancipation for All of Us
When I was small and just learning how to do life in my body, I didn’t hesitate, didn’t hold back, didn’t worry how it would look, didn’t look for cues or ask for a line. My imagination ruled... I was entirely free to be, driven by the innovation my body inspired. This is the wild...
Crushing Systems
Shame seems to be a bestselling product pumped out of all these crushing systems.
Dear Divine Spirit
I believe in your grace and protection and cannot imagine them slipping through the cracks.
The Prophecy of the Disabled Body
The following is an excerpt from the Theological Statement that opens the May 2018 Report of the UUMA Ableism Task Force. The members of that Task Force were Rev. Josh Pawelek and Rev. Barbara F. Meyers, co-chairs; Rev. Mark Belletini; Rev. Erika Hewitt; Rev. Evan Keely; and Rev. Theresa I. Soto.
Doing the Work That Needs to Be Done
The 8th Principle is about actively dismantling racism.
Do You Believe in Justice and Equality?
To see how we fight still after entire lifetimes of struggle—and then to tell us to be more polite is just plain cruel.
Bringing Conflict to the Table
Conflict resolution is in fact one of the greatest things that you can accomplish in your life and in your relationship. [W]hen I view people as not bringing conflict up, I think it’s being unfaithful to the relationship. I think it’s an abdication of your role in the relationship, and you are...
The Story of Norbert Čapek's Flower Ceremony
Čapek turned to the beauty of the countryside; to the beauty of flowers.
A Gospel of Living
At the core of American racism is the belief that the things we the Blacks desire, the fact that we the Blacks desire, are perversions.
What If Nobody Forgave?
In a land far away, a wise old man who knew a great deal about people because he traveled from place to place arrived at a strange village. In this town all the people were carrying what seemed to be great bundles on their backs....
How We Sell Our Soul for a Quarter
Why do we so readily hand over what's priceless for a meager sum of money—or a major sum, for that matter?
Decolonizing My Desire
Since I was a kid, I have had a penchant and passion for my touch on my body. This was sometimes shameful, sometimes wonderful, and deeply private from fairly early on, as I received messages from family and neighbors that it wasn’t “right.” It has only been as an adult, as i have witnessed...
The Promise and the Practice: "Words Matter" Reading
Diverse. Multicultural. Inclusive. Welcoming. If I made a list of every single Unitarian Universalist congregation I have served, visited or worshipped at, they would have a few things in common—including the use of these words. Perhaps on the front of the Order of Service?...
On Being Asked to Change "Black Lives Matter" to "All Lives Matter"
As a Unitarian Universalist minister, it is sometimes my role to answer correspondence that comes to our congregation from members of the community. Last night, I received this brief note in my inbox: Good Evening: I am very upset at the signage that is outside of your church stating that “Black...
Litany of Comfort for Blue Christmas
Please speak the response when you hear: "...this season brings forth many feelings" Response: We find comfort in naming these feelings; we find some peace in being together All around us are bright lights and merry messages Yet in our heart not all is joyful There is grief with the loss of...
Every Place Is a Battleground
I was born nine years after four little girls were killed in Birmingham, Alabama, and two other boys later the same day.