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 | Missionalism
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 […]
Why I am a Professional Unitarian Universalist Religious Educator.
The goal of religious education in a Unitarian Universalist setting is, in short, to make better citizens of our members; to help them be people who work and fight for a more Just, Compassionate, and Equitable world.
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 […]
10 years of I Am UU–My Story of UU Transformation
Back in 2008, my life fell apart. I won’t go into the real details, but I was homeless, unemployed, recently divorced after a long separation, and had come to the realization that the friendships of my early 20s were not supporting me in my 30s. I moved away from those friends and my now ex-wife […]
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 […]
Justice must be Intentional and Institutional
The Principles of Unitarian Universalism dedicate us to building a world that is just, compassionate, and equitable. That will never come about by accident or even charity. People have fought their whole lives to see the world get better on any one of those points. They come together and build movements and organizations to do […]
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 […]
If We Want Justice, We Must Build It, Together
“Charity is commendable; everyone should be charitable. But justice aims to create a social order in which, if individuals choose not to be charitable, people still don’t go hungry, unschooled or sick without care. Charity depends on the vicissitudes of whim and personal wealth; justice depends on commitment instead of circumstance.” ~ Bill Moyers Unitarian […]
