Blue Boat of Youth and Young Adult MinistriesService and Community
KATHY by Kristen Psaki kristen.psaki@gmail.com @kristenpsaki Kathy Glatz First Unitarian Society of Denver “After being raised Catholic and having 30 something years of agnosticism, I was in a life-threatening car accident. And, I pondered, ‘why did I live?’ In my pondering my dear friend Jan Owen said, ‘Well, come to church with me.’ She was with First Unitarian at the time and it, uh, just felt right.” And so, in 1999 Kathy went to church. On #LivingUU Kathy Glatz is covered in buttons. From “End Israeli Apartheid” to “Migration is Natural” to an image of the word “Racism” underneath a big red prohibition sign that carves through the letters. Service. Kathy is clear and…
Little Separation Between UU Principles and Life
BRIAN by Kristen Psaki kristen.psaki@gmail.com @kristenpsaki Rev. Brian Ferguson Minister San Marcos UU Fellowship San Marcos, TX Rev. Brian Ferguson sauntered through GA wearing a pair of very cool shoes. Much to the chagrin of their daughter Isla, Brian and his partner Natalie actually picked up matching pairs of these hand-painted deluxe kicks at Austin’s annual “Armadillo Christmas Bazaar.” Reflecting on their bowling-shoe-like appearance Brian mused: “Why don’t people wear bowling shoes more often? They are just great shoes.” Agreed. On #Living UU “As a UU minister there seems to be very little separation between my UU principles and my life. But every so often it does fall-out. I always like what Martin…
It’s Just Sort of Inclusion Right Away
NANCY by Kristen Psaki kristen.psaki@gmail.com @kristenpsaki Nancy Stevens Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Oregon “I was invited to join the UU Fellowship in Frisco, CO in 1996 and my friend said, ‘This is a church for the non-religious’ and I said, ‘Oh that would be me!’ So I started that in ’96. And I’ve been part of three different fellowships since then.” Nancy Stevens’ heart grows bigger by the second as she shares how her UU communities have impacted her life. “A big thing for me – I get all teary here – um, that the LGBT community is welcome in this fellowship. It’s not very often that we’re accepted. It was so neat to…
My Own Little Blue Boat
BEAR by Beth Cortez-Neavel ecortez.neavel@gmail.com @ecortez_neavel Though below me, I feel no motion Standing on these mountains and plains Far away from the rolling ocean Still my dry land heart can say: Bear Amezcua-Waters is 32 years old. He lives in Austin, Texas with Gil, his husband. They both recently began attending the First UU Church of Austin. Bear shared his story with me and @KristenPsaki, on the first evening of General Assembly. For all three of us it was our first GA conference, and we were all happy to connect to friendly faces through Bear’s gracious telling. Bear grew up to a body-building mother, now passed, who taught him in the ways of the…
A Spiritual Awakening
WESLEY by Kristen Psaki kristen.psaki@gmail.com @kristenpsaki Wesley Botham Unitarian Church Lincoln, NE “Sometime in late high school and early college I was definitely sure I was no longer a Christian.” Wesley Botham grew up in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA Lutheran), which worked for him until it didn’t anymore. “I remember thinking: It would be nice if there were some place, this is a completely absurd thought, but it would be nice if there were some place where you could go and not be a Christian.” Wesley ended up dating someone who invited him to a UU church, but it didn’t stick just yet. A chapter or two down the road Wesley lived…
This is What I Was Freakin’ Looking For!
EM by Kristen Psaki kristen.psaki@gmail.com @kristenpsaki Em du Mond Church of the Larger Fellowship “A more accurate question than why am I UU is why am I still UU?” Em du Mond grew up UU. She was dedicated into the church, did RE and OWL, the whole gamut. “Then when I got into high school there was nothing, like at all.” Since there was no RE program for high school aged youth Em became a childcare worker for the church in order to at least stay connected. “I was working for them not really getting spiritual nourishment but still going to my community church where everyone knew me.” Luckily Em learned about Youth Cons her…
Radical Inclusion
LOYCE by Beth Cortez-Neavel ecortez.neavel@gmail.com @ecortez_neavel I was pretty grumpy Thursday by 4 p.m. and rushing out of the #LivingUU “office” to find an empty, quiet couch for a nap. “That outfit is fresh!” the words hit my ears but didn’t quite compute. I stopped. “What,” I asked. “Fresh. I said that outfit is fresh,” she said. Loyce Newton Edwards looked at me. She liked the parachute pants I was wearing. Her compliment completely made my day and broke me out of my afternoon fog like a cup of hot strong coffee. She was wearing a purple feather arrangement in her hair. She looked warm and had a kind, yet imposing demeanor. Loyce said her…
Finding Her Sanctuary
AMANDA by Kristen Psaki kristen.psaki@gmail.com @kristenpsaki Amanda Bancroft Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fayetteville, Arkansas Amanda Bancroft is a writer, an artist, and a lover of trees. In fact, the thick trees of the Ozarks lead Amanda to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fayetteville, Arkansas in 2007. The unexpected encounter with the UU fellowship of Fayetteville blossomed into a deep commitment to the seven Principles and to #LivingUU out loud. “It’s been an affirmation of who I am and also what I do.” “Unitarian Universalism was a place for me of finally coming home. A place where I feel affirmed and supported in community with people I can actually be friends with and where I can…
Everyone Has Worth and Dignity
THERESA by Kristen Psaki kristen.psaki@gmail.com @kristenpsaki Theresa Soto Intern Minister in Salem, OR Theresa Soto knows the exact year when she became a UU. “In 2005” she easily recalls. Although not her first visit to a UU community, in 2005 she was hooked by a social justice fair that blanketed the fellowship hall. “I dealt with the access issues because I’m a person in a scooter,” she shares. “But I was really interested in the range of social justice issues.” It wasn’t just the social justice fair that caught her attention, both the music and sermon during the service lifted her spirit. “I felt like there was artistic expression in the worship.” Theresa’s parents are…
Spirituality… In an Open-Minded Way
DICK by Kristen Psaki kristen.psaki@gmail.com @kristenpsaki Dick Burkhart Church of the Larger Fellowship “When you’re drawn toward something you don’t always quite know what it is,” says longtime UU Dick Burkhart. Looking back, there’s been a pattern in the spaces and relationships that make him feel most alive. For Dick, #LivingUU means life-long interfaith and multi-cultural learning. He remembers feeling the tug when studying world religions in Middle School and learning about whole new ways of living, gathering and believing. “We don’t have to be embedded in one little aspect of it. I built on that through my life.” In Seattle, Washington Dick was part of a UU fellowship that dissolved recently and he partly…
Recent Comments