You can love something so much that your affection becomes dangerous and your desire to hold on to it ends up being a strangle hold. And I’m seeing it in Unitarian Universalist congregations right now.
Tag Archives | love
Tolerance is not Inclusion
Here on the blog last week, I talked about how the world still needs liberal religion; how many people still want all the community benefits and even the rituals and commemorations that come with religious practice. They want the good parts of religion without the dogma and the stifling traditions, and at its best, that […]
There is Still a Place for Liberal Religion in the World.
One can get a lot of hits to their website by talking about the death of religion. “People aren’t going to church!” “Paganism is on the rise!” People are writing all the time about how people have given up on religion, but they aren’t writing enough about how young adults are still just as spiritual […]
The World is Hungry for Liberal Religion
I’ve seen a lot of new posts here at the end/start of the year about religion in America. People aren’t going to church. “Paganism” is on the rise. I’ve seen the word “cafeteria” more than a few times already. It seems that we do this every year, but this year has a different feel. I’ve […]
Esther Day: The World Needs to Hear “I Love You”
Over the years, the I Am UU project has tried to push several new holidays as being very much in-line with Unitarian Universalism as we see it. Along with Loving Day and Labor Day, I want us to consider Esther Day. Have you heard of Esther day, yet? It’s tomorrow, August 3rd. Let me tell […]
Success Begins in Enthusiasm
Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote those words, and they still ring true today; being enthusiastic about what’s in front of you makes it easier to set your mind to doing it — to doing it well and thoroughly. It seems that the human mind wants to […]
Having Hope in Hope
Destruction and chaos are simpler, faster, than coordination and creation. It takes moments to tear something apart compared to what it takes to build it. One person can do a tremendous amount of damage. But, for every person intent on doing that kind of harm, there are hundreds preparing to mitigate it; to control the […]
Heaven, If We Can Build It
“Religious liberalism affirms the moral obligation to direct one’s effort toward the establishment of a just and loving community.” ~ James Luther Adams While many UUs believe that there might be, even must be, life after death, the heaven we all commit to is here on Earth. The name we’ve been calling that heaven for […]
Tolerance and the Quest for Justice
We must not forget that, even while we aspire to accept and encourage every person who enters a UU space, whether online or in person, we are a covenantal religion; covenant means that responsibility and respect must go both ways. While we affirm the worth and dignity of every person, we do not need to […]
Listening as a form of Love
I’ve spent years in customer service, and I’ve more recently started learning about pastoral care. I admit that I was scared to take on this new skill. I’ve since learned that there is a lot of overlap with my existing experience. One of the main parts of both is being present and listening to what […]
