Social Justice

Issues of Social Justice

  • Spiritual Practices for White Anxiety

    Tomorrow some right wing extremists are planning to hold a rally in the city I live in and I’m planning to march against white supremacy. Like many folks, I have a lot of questions rattling around in my brain. I have petty selfish questions, logistical questions, and deep questions. I’m wondering “How much violence will there be?” and “Should I wear a love shirt over my clergy shirt?” and “What if the cell phone towers jam and what if it rains?” and “What if things start to escalate, should I leave? Should I try and protect my friends of color? Will I have the courage to do that?” and “What if white people in our march…

  • Reflections after Thrive Young Adult

    Kaitlin Dey, Thrive Young Adult alumni 2016 and 2017, shared this reflection at her congregation last Sunday: I spent the last 10 days in New Orleans. I attended Thrive Young Adult. Thrive is part of Grow Racial Justice that is for UU young adults of color, we dove deep into complex questions about identity, power, spirituality and leadership. We got to explore our roles as young adults of color in our UU movement, build relationships with one another around intersecting identities, share practices  for healing and resistance, and support each other on the path toward liberation. While I was at Thrive, I began dialogues about the beauty and the flaws of our faith. As the week continued and General Assembly began,…

  • LGBTQ+ Youth Survival Guide: Trump Edition

    by Rev. Evin Carvill-Ziemer LGBTQ+ Youth Survival Guide: Trump Edition Dear beautiful, fabulous gender creative and sexually non-conforming youth and teens–all those who are queer, trans, non-binary, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and a hundred other wonderful self-proclaimed identities, My heart breaks for you. This is not the future I wanted for you. This is not the future I have been fighting for. But I also know you are strong and I want you to have the information you need to survive. Because I need you to survive! I haven’t seen a “this shit is real” missive to you yet, so here’s what I’ve got. I don’t think it’s helpful to sugar coat this. Yes, you and…

  • How Your Youth Group Can Support Standing Rock

    by Jaidyn Bryant and the 2017 General Assembly Youth Caucus Staff   So, Trump was elected president. Black, Latinx, Muslim, Native, LGBTQ communities are under continued attacks. What does that mean for Standing Rock? It means that the threat to Native sovereignty will continue. That degradation of our environment will escalate. Trump and many people in his cabinet will personally profit (because of their investments) if the Dakota Access Pipeline is successful. The Dakota Access Pipeline puts the already polluted Missouri River at a major risk for for even more pollution. In an effort to transport oil 1,200 miles east from North Dakota to central Illinois, the DAPL will disturb sacred lands and burial grounds,…

  • For Dealing With the Again and Again and Again

    again.  it happened again on Monday, news spreading on social media today. this time he was a therapist trying to help his autistic patient.  this time the “gun” was a toy truck.  this time he survived the shooting. again. beloveds it is all too much and has been too much.  it was too much when George Zimmerman was acquitted of Trayvon Martin’s murder and the #blacklivesmatter hashtag came into being. it’s been hundreds of years of again and again and too much. so if you need something today, something to deal with the again, here are a few offerings, gathered with love. for those who need to just stay with the pain for now, here is “a…

Issues of Social Justice

Spiritual Practices for White Anxiety

August 18th 2017, 2 comments

Tomorrow some right wing extremists are planning to hold a rally in the city I live in and I’m pla...

Reflections after Thrive Young Adult

July 11th 2017, no comments

Kaitlin Dey, Thrive Young Adult alumni 2016 and 2017, shared this reflection at her congregation las...

LGBTQ+ Youth Survival Guide: Trump Edition

November 21st 2016, 2 comments

by Rev. Evin Carvill-Ziemer LGBTQ+ Youth Survival Guide: Trump Edition Dear beautiful, fabulous gend...

How Your Youth Group Can Support Standing Rock

November 16th 2016, no comments

by Jaidyn Bryant and the 2017 General Assembly Youth Caucus Staff   So, Trump was elected presi...

For Dealing With the Again and Again and Again

July 21st 2016, no comments

again.  it happened again on Monday, news spreading on social media today. this time he was a thera...

Fiercely UU: Sitting in for Democracy

June 3rd 2016, no comments

Fiercely UU is a blog series where Unitarian Universalist (UU) young adults tell stories about what ...