The goal of gratitude is not to ignore what isn’t right; it is to take stock of our resources & talents in making things better.
Tag Archives | faith
A Meditation for Memorial Day
Memorial Day is set aside to honor those who cannot receive our thanks, having given all in the service of their nation. The highest thanks we can give is to ensure that no service member follows them except in the most dire of situations.
Following a Calling: The unexpected road to semi-professional Unitarian Universalism
Hi there. My name is Thomas Earthman and I run the I Am UU Facebook page, Twitter account, and this website. I make a small amount of money doing so, though a lot of what is raised goes into software fees, hosting costs, and other business expenses for the project. I never wanted to be […]
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 […]
Creed and Covenant: Believing and Belonging
I wanted to build on the topic I brought up last week: Who is a Unitarian Universalist. Here is an important distinction between a covenantal religion and a creedal one: Is Donald Trump a Christian? Well, if he can say the Creed and mean it, then yes. That’s the test, and all Christians have 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 […]
Curiosity and Awe as Spiritual Practice
One of the common reasons people find themselves in a Unitarian Universalist church is “curiosity”. It might be curiosity about what goes on there, or about different ways to worship. Ultimately, I think a lot of us stay because we are curious about one another and who we view the divine. A healthy curiosity is […]
Failure is Essential
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” It is an old saying. Put more simply, if we aren’t risking anything, we aren’t likely to see much in the way of results. You can’t be great at everything the first time you try; you have to be willing to risk failure. You learn from failure. You get better. A […]
Peace Cannot Come in Pieces
Today, you will hear a lot about the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was the setting for the most celebrated words of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., what has become know as the “I Have a Dream” speech. He was not the only speaker, nor were the speeches intended as […]
Liberal Religion: Free and Responsible Faith
Many Unitarian Universalist will gladly give you a litany of things they do not believe. If asked about “Belief” in a religious context, some of us have a hard time committing. It’s a shame, really, because our willingness to commit to our beliefs about the world is crucial to manifesting them in the world. Our […]
