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Join our hosts this week as they chat with Lena Gardner, Didi Delgado and Rev. Mykal Slack from BLUU. BLUU stands for Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism. Its mission is to provide information, resources and support for Black Unitarian Universalists and it works to expand the role & visibility of Black UUs within the UU faith. Read more →
They did not know, but we know now. And we cannot unknow.I thank the Council for their recent directive of the Township Administrator to explore changing the name of Van Wickle Road, so that it is no longer the inadvertent glorification of a profiteering slave trader that it has become. I offer my support in whatever ways might be of use to help make this a reality in the near future. I know that there are others in my congregation who would do the same. This past August the nation saw Charlottesville erupt with white supremacists bearing torches and hatred. Those events moved the country to revisit the longstanding national dialogue about Confederate monuments and the ways they glorify those who fought to maintain slavery. It is too easy to think of this as a Southern issue, or an issue of some other locale. But that is not true. East Brunswick has its own commemoration of a notorious act of white supremacy. It is time we change this. Thank you for your time. Reverend Karen G. Johnston
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191: White Supremacy Teach-in 2
Last year, two-thirds of UU congregations participated in the White Supremacy Teach-In. This year the VUU is back to discuss the second White Supremacy Teach-In with Aisha Ansano, Tracy Breneman, Josh Pawelek, Christina Rivera and Krista Taves. Through public witness, education, and introspection, our faith is coming to understand that fighting white supremacy means both resisting its most blatant forms “out there,” and disrupting its systemic manifestations within. Everyone has to start somewhere, but it takes a commitment to disrupt business as usual.
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Articles and websites mentioned on the show:
* “Ibram Kendi, One of the Nation’s Leading Scholars of Racism, Says Education and Love Are Not the Answer” by by Lonnae O’Neal:
https://theundefeated.com/features/ibram-kendi-leading-scholar-of-racism-says-education-and-love-are-not-the-answer/
*”Dear Jews: This year, we fight Nazis. Here’s how.” by Mimi Arbeit
*7 Principles of Black Lives:
http://www.blacklivesuu.com/7-principles/
*Spring 2017 Lectures: Historical and Future Trajectories of Black Lives Matter and Unitarian Universalism:
https://vimeopro.com/user9111141/spring2017minns
*What it means to be white – Robin DiAngelo – The VUU #144:
*DeReau Farrar Offers Testimony:
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The VUU is hosted by Meg Riley, Michael Tino, and Aisha Hauser, with production support provided by Jessica Star Rockers. The VUU streams live on Thursdays at 11 am ET.
Note: This audio has been slightly edited for a better listening experience. View the live original recording on YouTube.
The VUU is brought to you by the Church of the Larger Fellowship
Dear Reverend Meg,
It is with great honor and admiration that I now pen this missive. As it reaches your hands and my words now become your thoughts, I would hope that it finds you with the same peace of mind I now have as I sit here writing it.
First and foremost, I want to thank you for the powerful pieces that you write in Quest every month. I feel like you are speaking directly to me every time. I’ve been a member of the CLF since 2004. I haven’t been as active as I used to be when I was writing pieces and corresponding with Jean Rzepka, who was the minister back then. I have just had a really rough time the last few years. This piece that you wrote on resilience moved me to pick up my pen.
I’ve been incarcerated twenty years straight so it is a topic I know well! I’m forty-five years old and have spent twenty-five in prison. This is my second time. The first time I did five. But you know, Meg, as I look back, it is clear to me now that I am a conscious spiritual man that, even when I was outside the gates, I was in “prison” in one way or another: be it the prison of poverty, drug abuse, family dysfunction, sexual abuse, or hunger. These were all prisons to me. Many of these were worse than the actual prison I’m in now, but the one thing that got me through all that, before I even understood what it was, is resilience.
I never knew the extent of my capabilities until I was tested by my circumstances. I haven’t broken yet after all these years, though I’ve seen several people commit suicide that had even less time than me. This is why I so clearly identify with your piece in the Quest. You were right on point. I’ve had to wake up willing to face another day in a place where love is probably something I’ll never know, and where fear is something I’m forbidden to show. I’ve had to “will” myself not to become the “beast” that I’ve seen so many lost souls in here become. Being caged like an animal will cause someone with a weak mind to become an animal.
I came here a drug addicted mad man with a “death wish.” I’m now a down to earth man with a “life wish.” I can tell you that I account for this transformation by having been introduced to Unitarian Universalism.
I’ve sought to build on it by joining the CLF. In doing so, I found a home, somewhere I don’t have to worry about being judged or criticized because I believe different than someone. I found a place that gives me hope in the possibilities of life going forward, and a place where real love in its purest form exists. Thank you, Meg!
I’ll close for now, but I’ll be in touch. I’m writing a book called A Testament to Faith: Living the Seven Principles in Prison. I’ll let you know when it’s done. At any rate, enclosed you will find some writings from my cell mate. Could you please send him a New UU packet as well?
Your in Love and Solidarity,
Kenneth ___ ___
“The thing is, cops lie,” my friend says, looking at me sadly from across the table in the café. “They look you in the eye, and they lie to you, right to your face.” Read more →
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Join our host Aisha Hauser as she talks about Charlottesville with guest Christina Rivera. Christina is a religious educator and the Director of Administration and Finance at the UU congregation in Charlottesville, VA. With great humility and candor, Christina describes in detail the call to rise against hate in Charlottesville, how she and other activists prepared for the counter protest, and what exactly happened on the front lines that day. A powerful story that we are grateful Christina was willing to share.
Organizations mentioned on the show:
Deep Abiding Love http://www.deepabidinglove.com/
Congregate C’ville website: https://congregatecville.com/
The VUU is hosted by Meg Riley, Michael Tino, and Aisha Hauser, with production support provided by Jessica Star Rockers. The VUU streams live on Thursdays at 11 am ET.
Note: This audio has been slightly edited for a better listening experience. View the live original recording on YouTube.
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Hosts Meg Riley and Michael Tino discuss healthcare reform with Rev. Robin Tanner, Dr. Carol Paris, and activist Samson Hampton. They share some important information on the current fight for healthcare for all, what it means to write your own healthcare story, and how to get involved in making a single-payer option happen in the U.S. This is an episode you don’t want to miss. As Samson Hampton says, we are people, not statistics. And our senators need to fight for us and not the insurance companies.
Want to get involved? Organizations mentioned include:
Portlight.org
Healthoverprofit.org
Adapt.org
The VUU streams live on Thursdays at 11 am ET. We talk social justice, Unitarian Universalism, religion, spirituality, and whatever else is topical and interesting!
Hosts: Meg Riley, Michael Tino, and Aisha Hauser; production support provided by Jessica Star Rockers. The VUU is brought to you by the Church of the Larger Fellowship
Note: This audio has been slightly edited for a better listening experience. View the live original recording on YouTube.
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Ten adults face a layoff, a messy divorce, a big mistake, serious health problems, etc. You know, all the stuff of life that launches any of us into unwelcome, uncomfortable, inevitable change. Read more →
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One of the elements that creates resilience in our lives is knowing that we can count on a community that will both support us throughout our spiritual journey and call us toward a vision of who we can become. Read more →
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One thing I’ve learned about the word “resilience” is that it initially came from the field of metallurgy, describing how certain metals when heated will lose their shape, but when cooled can amazingly recover their original form, resiliently. Read more →
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Quest for Meaning is a program of the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF).
As a Unitarian Universalist congregation with no geographical boundary, the CLF creates global spiritual community, rooted in profound love, which cultivates wonder, imagination, and the courage to act.