Growing a Beloved Community

Growing a Beloved Community

“The place where we meet to seek the highest is holy ground.” – Felix Adler.   It’s tempting to people both outside and inside Unitarian Universalism to characterize our faith tradition “as every kind of psycho-social-political venture except a religious one,” wrote Tom Owen-Towle, who contends, instead, that healthy congregations are “primarily sites for seeking and spreading the holy.”  Here in new space, with our varied beliefs and perspectives, and with room to grow both inwardly and outwardly, how might we together grow a Beloved Community and realize that we occupy holy ground.

Moral Outrage: An Unexpected Bridge

Kurt Gray claims, in his book Outraged, that across the socio-political spectrum we share the same moral foundation – an ancient psychological need to protect the vulnerable from harm. It’s just that we have differing perceptions as to who is being harmed! Let’s examine our own moral outrage and surface our compassion at the same time, even as we learn to set fiercely compassionate boundaries to prevent the harm that we perceive. Rev. Kevin Tarsa with Randy McKean, Worship Associate

Abundance! Imagine.

This Sunday, beginning our month-long invitation to “pay attention,” we celebrate the nature and power of community and the rising, nay surging and converging waves of energy and possibility being generated these days.

Fierce Compassion

Kristin Neff advocates Fierce Compassion: balancing tender self-kindness (yin) with assertive strength (yang). We’ll draw on Neff’s insights to help us cultivate our resilience for the sake of our personal lives and the sake of the world we seek. Plus, the UUCM choir, under the direction of Ingrid Holman. Rev. Kevin Tarsa, with the UUCM Choir, Marlene Bottenfield, Worship Associate

Vive la Resistance: ? or !

The whole idea of “resistance” pushes people’s buttons. Sometimes our response comes from a discomfort with or rejection of the idea of resistance, and sometimes the button that’s pushed is a “Hell yes, let’s go!” button. Together, we’ll dive into the complexities of “resistance,” framing resistance not as rebellion for its own sake, but as an expression of faithfulness to our shared values.  Rev. Kevin Tarsa with Carol Nimick, Worship Associate