I Am UU

This is the Tumblr for the I Am UU project; and project intended to help share the positive and radically inclusive Principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Please visit us at http://IAmUU.net

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Our Answer is Love

Our Answer is Love Several years ago, now, the UUA formed a committee and tasked that committee with looking at our statement of principles and sources. The goal was to ensure that the mission statement of the UUA expressed what we, as the members and body of the UUA, understand to be our guiding principles and value After years of discussions and workshops, meetings and deliberations, meditation…

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Members(hip) Matters

Members(hip) Matters: In a post written before the events of late last week, Thomas intended to continue the discussion of membership in Unitarian Universalism...

Editor’s Note: Today’s post was written before the events of last week on our Facebook Page. I will write more about all of that, maybe as soon as this week, but for now, this was the follow-up we had planned, presented as intended when it was written. Last week, I wrote a post about the importance of choice in what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist. No one is born a UU. Even those raised…

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Monday Mediation: Free Faith, Assembly Required

Unitarian Universalism has a core. The five Smooth Stones of Liberal Religion outline a stable and lasting foundation on which we each build our own spiritual life. They are not specific to Unitarian Universalism, but they provide boundaries within which we roam. Along with the wide field of the 7 Principles our congregations have agreed to, there is a lot of room to build your personal…

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Can We Keep I Am UU On-line?

Will You Help Keep I Am UU On-line?

What is Social Media without artists and authors? Imagine having a radio with no stations to tune into. Or a bulletin board that was just cork and a nice border. Imagine Facebook, but without the creators, authors, and artists who actually make all the memes, art, and videos… Facebook is a platform for sharing content. It relies on people like our admin, Thomas and the I Am UU page to make things…

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Worth and Dignity: A Labor Day Meditation

Worth and Dignity: A Labor Day Meditation

Labor day is a secular holiday, but maybe it can hold a special place for Unitarian Universalists? As part of the ongoing development of our faith, Labor day feels fundamentally tied to our values and the Principles of the UUA. Last week was the 59th anniversary of the historic “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom“, the event at which Dr. King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. And we…

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You Can Love Something to Death

You Can Love Something to Death

Unitarian Universalism should be in a period of explosive growth. One reason we are not is just that people don’t know what we are about. There are thousands of people trying to build communities focused on support and growth and even ritual because they don’t understand what we’ve been doing for the last 50 years. The other thing holding us back is, frankly, Us. I am going to offer you all a…

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Tolerance is not Inclusion

Tolerance is not Inclusion: Welcoming people into a community that refuses to change to accommodate them is never going to be sustainable.

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 can be Unitarian Universalism. But, we are not always at our best. While our…

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There is Still a Place for Liberal Religion in the World.

There is Still a Place for Liberal Religion in the World. It isn't that the world is less spiritual or community minded, they just don't know how liberal religion is different. It's not for everyone, but there are people seeking what we offer.

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 and how they are just as interested in community as ever. I also know that sales of religious…

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Thomas' Birthday Pledge Drive!

Be part of Thomas' Birthday Pledge Drive! (Even just clicking the link helps a lot!)

Do you find my ministry moving? Inspiring? Encouraging? Do you want even more of that? There are 6 weeks until my Birthday and I am having a Patreon Member drive in celebration. Patreon allows you to sponsor my ministry directly and make it possible for me to continue to make art, write thoughtful commentary, and to do community outreach and care. In return for your support, you also get more…

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Religious Education is Worth Investing In.

Some questions to consider about your RE program as you ready the church budget for the Spring Congregational Meeting:

Some things to consider as many congregations start getting their budget ready for the spring congregational meetings: Who are the most vulnerable people in your church? Who are the people who are the most impressionable? Who are the people who need the most guidance in their search for truth and meaning? Which group of people traditionally gets the least attention from the Minister? Which group…

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No One is Born a Unitarian Universalist

Being a UU requires a willing commitment, and it is a commitment we have to make time and again as members of the congregation.

One thing that separates the Baptists from the Lutherans and Presbyterians (and there are a few) is that Baptists don’t believe you can be baptized until you are old enough to understand what the intent of the ceremony is; you cannot enter into the covenant unless you do so with informed consent. And, despite the fact that we both trace our polity back the the Cambridge Platform, this may…

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Facebook Fails Us, Again

Facebook Fails Us, Again: We are being throttled on the biggest Social Media network because their robot is stupid and they don't employ humans to check its work.

We have been made aware that our Facebook reach has been throttled. We are being seen by all of the people who asked Facebook to show them our posts, and there is no way to appeal this. So, you might be interested to know what we did wrong, and I am absolutely unashamed to tell you. We posted this image, 9 years ago: …which has been flagged for false information because Facebook confused it with…

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Why I am a Professional Unitarian Universalist Religious Educator.

Why I am a Professional Unitarian Universalist Religious Educator.

“The great end in religious instruction is not …to impose religion upon them in the form of arbitrary rules, but to awaken the conscience, the moral discernment.” ~ William Ellery Channing, from Singing the Living Tradition, reading 652 The 3rd Principle of the UUA affirms the importance of “encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations.” As such, Faith Development is a duty of the…

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To Be Good, Do Good

To Be Good, Do Good

We all have an image of ourselves in our heads. We also know that there are people in the world who do not see us the way we see ourselves; they have seen or heard or otherwise experienced something that has them thinking we’re not as good as we seek to be. And they are right. From their limited perspective, you were not. I know I am not my best self at all times, so I am not saying this to be…

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Holy Night, Every Night

For me, the meaning of Christmas is hope and dedication; hope that the world can be better than it is and dedication to know that it can only get there through human hands doing divine work...

We cannot celebrate every single day. While I am grateful to the Labor movement every day, I set aside Labor Day (and May Day) to observe that; just as I am grateful to our armed forces, we have Veterans’ Day and Memorial Day as special to them. As the great religious educator Sophia Lyon Fahs wrote, Each night a child is born is a holy night. A time for singing, a time for wondering, a time for…

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Reclaim Armistice Day

Armistice Day was meant to focus on the horrors of war, the beauty of peace, and the victory of democratic forces over authoritarianism. America has lost something by focusing, instead, on Veterans today.

When World War 1 officially ended at 11am on November 11, 1918, half of the the world dedicated that date as Armistice Day in memory of those who served in “the war to end all wars”. It was a day to celebrate peace and to remember that war is horrible. That war never reached the United States, though, nor has any war in over 100 years. We’ve lost perspective because of our good fortune. And so it…

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The World is Hungry for Liberal Religion

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 been added to 3 new Facebook groups to talk about theology, ministry, and community building, all led by…

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