Blue Boat of Youth and Young Adult MinistriesMulticultural Support Team Moves Toward Justice
In honor of the Standing on the Side of Love 30 Days of Love 2016 campaign, Steven Ballesteros speaks up about the important work of supporting Youth of Color. As a Unitarian Universalist young adult of color I have at times lacked a sense of belonging and of being in right relationship in this faith. I know I am not alone in this feeling. Luckily, there are places in which I can feel safe and ways in which I can apply myself. I currently live near Seattle, Washington, which places me in the Pacific North West District of the Unitarian Universalist Association. There I have helped create and serve on the PNWD Multicultural Support Team for…
Love set Ablaze
In honor of the Standing on the Side of Love 30 Days of Love 2016 campaign, Phebe Hawes speaks up about being a light of love in a time of hate. In order to love alike, we need not think alike ~Francis David. This quote got me thinking. I come from a suburban, mostly white, community. For the most part, we look alike. But we certainly do not think alike. And there’s not a whole lot of love either. So I turn to social media. Like many millennials, I spend most of my time online. I, however, spend a majority of that time defending my beliefs to people who don’t agree. I get the feeling…
Share the Love Sunday
Day 30: Raise our voice in worship and love I love the annual 30 Days of Love Campaign because it gives makes me reflect upon how powerful love is as an agent of change. Every year this campaign provides thirty opportunities to witness how love changes lives by bringing the experiences of others into our own. The 30 Days of Love Campaign is an invitation and a road-map to greater awareness of the what needs to be changed to end injustice, how to make change happen, and what we can do. What I love most about the 30 Days of Love Campaign is the daily reminder of how simple it is to be a better…
Love: The Simple Big Deal
Day 29: Reflect on reaching out with love I don’t know whether it’s a coincidence or not, but it seems that lately I’ve been seeing love in the most surprising places. No, I’m not talking about couples smooching in the park! I’m talking about the kind (and kinds) of love that we’ve been exploring for the past thirty days. Of course there are the usual day-to-day frustrations; tempers run short when you’re fighting wild weather, winter doldrums, and post-holiday letdown. But I have also seen little acts of kindness, or one stranger treating another with respect, or a very thoughtful post online that turns a spiraling conversation around. I have also thought more about love…
Reaching Out by Calling In
Day 28: Making the Middle Way Together I was a relatively new employee at the UUA when the Standing on the Side of Love campaign was launched. Over the last 5+ years, I’ve had the opportunity to see the it grow and change and reach out in ways I don’t think people could have imagined. When watching news coverage of rallies and events, I sometimes play “spot the yellow shirt.” Try it some time – it happens more often than you might think. On this fifth annual Standing on the Side of Love Day, I’ve been taking some time to reflect on what I’ve seen and today’s post over at the SSL blog brought something…
Dining on the Side of Love
Day 27: It’s a religious thing “What are you doing?” someone asked. He must have been curious to see a band of diverse people walking around Greenwich Village in Manhattan, carrying crosses and singing together on that cold and drizzly spring day in 2011. “We’re doing social justice themed stations of the cross. We’re visiting sites where we notice Christ-like suffering today.” “Huh?” “Today is Good Friday, the Friday before Easter. This is when Christians honor the death of Jesus. We tell the story of how he was crucified. We are honoring his ministry by calling out ways we continue to harm and kill the “least of these” among us.” The person who had asked…
Many Ways to Celebrate
Day 26: Celebrate everywhere to make change everywhere Faith as Fuel As people committed to working for social justice it might seem difficult to celebrate everywhere because as people committed to working for social justice we see, think about or feel the pain of injustice. It may seem inappropriate to spread our love, worship with joy or dance and sing when we witness injustice, even more sore when the injustice is felt. Yet, celebration transforms: when we celebrate we lift up a vision of justice and fairness in human relations, the injustices and inequities of today are seen in relief, the way forward becomes clear. When we celebrate we are reaching out to others,…
Show How You Stand
It wasn’t long after we were first married that my husband August and I went to visit my brother and his family. August was a bit nervous about my nieces and nephew liking him – they ranged in age from around 9 to 14, so he was probably sensible to be concerned. Despite having a lovely trip and enduring much good-natured teasing (a sure sign you’re “doing it right” with young folks), as we got in the car to return home he expressed how he still wasn’t sure he’d been a hit. As our car backed out of the driveway, it revealed that they had chalked the entire surface with drawings and sayings: “WE <3…
Take a Breath
Day 24: Employ the Sacred Pause Once upon a time I lived in New York City, and, stereotypically enough, I had a therapist and I was always running late for everything. “I’m SO sorry,” I said, coming into her cozy office on the upper west side. “The trains! They stopped the “2” for the longest time…” (Like any good New York City dweller I knew you could always blame your lateness on the subway.) My therapist was unimpressed. “So you only gave yourself enough time to get here if the trains were running perfectly?” (She was a real New Yorker, not a Midwestern transplant like me. She knew the trains never run perfectly.) “Well…yeah.” We…
Reach and Transform
Day 23: Do More than Stand on the Side of Love Love Reaches Out. That’s the theme for our General Assembly this year in Providence, Rhode Island. As a staff member who spends much of his time supporting the Youth Caucus Staff at each GA, I’m looking forward to what we will experience and learn from one another during our time together in June. I know that the Youth Caucus Deans have thought a lot about how to create an experience for youth attendees that will inspire and equip them to reach out in love in their home communities, long after GA has ended. From workshops leadership and anti-racism that provide us with skills to…
Recent Comments