Spiritual Reflections
Spiritual Themes
Love and Loss. Awe and wonder. Journeys and home. The events of our lives and our spiritual curiosity lead us to ponder topics close to our hearts. Through 12 themes, you will find a wide range of spiritual resources to expand your perspective and enrich your search for meaning.
Quest Monthly
Quest is our highly regarded monthly publication that goes deep into a particular spiritual theme. It includes sermons, poetry, reflections, prayers and meditations from Unitarian Universalists and others.
Prayers
A collection of prayers of comfort or celebration in times of grief or joy.
Rites of Passage
Throughout history humans have marked life’s important transitions with ritual. Whether you are welcoming a child, honoring the end of a life or marking the milestones in between, here are resources for creating those rites of passage.
Daily Compass
One-minute reflections posted each day to provide inspiration for your spiritual expedition.
Learning Center
163: Black Lives of UU
Podcast: Download (Duration: 55:27 — 50.8MB)
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Elandria Williams and the Rev. Carlton E. Smith with the Black Lives of UU organizing collective are back on The VUU! We talk about shifting organizing strategies to meet the reality of a non-petitionable government regime and the need to protect and defend (in literal ways) the most targeted while still keeping our intersectionality grounded in this moment.
Training/resources mentioned in this episode:
– The Highlander Center
– Catalyst Project
– CultureStrike
– The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond
– Beautiful Solutions
– Safety Pin Box
Black Lives of UU 2017 Convening
New Orleans – March 9-12, 2017
http://www.blacklivesuu.com/convening2017/
The VUU is hosted by Meg Riley, Joanna Fontaine Crawford, Aisha Hauser, Hank Peirce, Michael Tino and Alicia Forde, with production support provided by Terri Burnor. The VUU streams live on Thursdays at 11 am ET. This episode aired on December 15, 2016.
Note: The audio above has been slightly edited for a better listening experience. View the live original recording on YouTube.
162: Movement Building
Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:00:42 — 55.6MB)
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In this episode, Scot Nakagawa talks about how storytelling has been effectively used by conservatives and the religious right to move power. He goes deep into explaining why all politics is identity politics. He talks about the need to build both the popular front and the united front.
Scot is a senior partner with ChangeLab, a grassroots racial justice laboratory. He’s a long-time activist, community organizer and provocative thinker.
The VUU is hosted by Meg Riley, Joanna Fontaine Crawford, Aisha Hauser, Hank Peirce, and Alicia Forde, with production support provided by Terri Burnor. The VUU streams live on Thursdays at 11 am ET. This episode aired on December 8, 2016.
Note: The audio above has been slightly edited for a better listening experience. View the live original recording on YouTube.
161: Resistance and Resilience
Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:01:34 — 112.7MB)
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Our guests, the Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker and Donna Red Wing, talk about resistance and resilience in our personal lives, activist circles, and religious communities. This rich conversation explores both the outside and inside work that is needed, embodied intersectional living, and how spirituality enhances resiliency.
The VUU is hosted by Meg Riley, Joanna Fontaine Crawford, Aisha Hauser, Hank Peirce, and Alicia Forde, with production support provided by Terri Burnor. The VUU streams live on Thursdays at 11 am ET. This episode aired on December 1, 2016.
Note: The audio above has been slightly edited for a better listening experience. View the live original recording on YouTube.
160: Black Lives of UU
Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:01:46 — 56.6MB)
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Dr. Takiyah Amin and Kenny Wiley from the Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism organizing collective join us!
The VUU is hosted by Meg Riley, Joanna Fontaine Crawford, Aisha Hauser, Hank Peirce, and Alicia Forde, with production support provided by Lori Stone Sirtosky. The VUU airs Thursdays at 11 am ET. This episode aired on November 17, 2016.
Note: The audio above has been slightly edited for a better listening experience. View the live original recording on YouTube.
159: Update from Standing Rock #NoDAPL
Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:01:34 — 56.4MB)
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We talk with Peggy Clarke, who is one of many UU leaders standing with the water protectors at Standing Rock to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline from being built.
Links from today’s broadcast:
- Donate to Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
- Wish List of Supplies
- Resources for Allies Planning to Come to Camp
Tips from VUU hosts for moving through the aftermath of the Trump election (mentioned at end of broadcast):
- Move energy through creative acts of resistance. Dye your hair, make sidewalk chalk art love letters to your community.
- Find power and agency for all ages. “That’s not okay. Let’s walk this way.”
- Do what you can, where you are. If that means raking the yard, go do it.
- Alice Walker – Hard times require furious dancing. Connect to the center of your being.
- Remember you are not alone. Reach out to connect. Make sure others know they are not alone.
- Remember the power of love. Spread it. Tell someone, “I love you.”
The VUU is hosted by Meg Riley, Joanna Fontaine Crawford, Aisha Hauser, Hank Peirce, Alicia Forde, and Michael Tino with production support from Lori Stone Sirtosky. The VUU airs Thursdays at 11 am ET. This episode originally aired on November 10, 2016.
Note: The audio above has been slightly edited for a better listening experience. View the live original recording on YouTube.
158: Fellowship Movement (1948-67)
Podcast: Download (Duration: 49:43 — 91.0MB)
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The VUU talks with Bobbie Alicen, daughter of Munroe Husbands, who served as Director of Fellowships from 1948-1967 for the American Unitarian Association (AUA) and the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). We discussed how he worked, how he became Unitarian, his education and experiences that prepared him for the job, how he came to get the job, how he prepared for his trips to meet isolated religious liberals who would discover Uism/UUism for the first time, how CLF was important to his outreach, and how he supported the nascent fellowships.
The VUU is hosted by Meg Riley, Michael Tino, Joanna Fontaine Crawford, Aisha Hauser, Hank Peirce, and Alicia Forde, with production support by Lori Stone Sirtosky. The VUU airs Thursdays at 11 am ET. This episode originally aired November 3, 2016.
Note: The audio above has been slightly edited for a better listening experience. View the live original recording on YouTube.
157: Abelism with Theresa Ines Soto
Podcast: Download (Duration: 41:41 — 38.2MB)
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The Rev.Theresa Ines Soto talks with us about ableism, metaphors and other important things. The VUU is hosted by Michael Tino, Joanna Fontaine Crawford, Aisha Hauser, Hank Peirce, Alicia Forde, and Slim Moon. Meg Riley is on sabbatical. The VUU airs Thursdays at 11 am ET. This episode originally aired October 27, 2016.
Note: The audio above has been slightly edited for a better listening experience. View the live original recording on YouTube.
156: Black Lives of UU
Podcast: Download (Duration: 57:51 — 53.0MB)
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The Black Lives of UU regulars join the VUU. The VUU is hosted by Meg Riley, Joanna Fontaine Crawford, Aisha Hauser, Hank Peirce, Alicia Forde, and Slim Moon. The VUU airs Thursdays at 11 am ET. This episode first aired on October 20, 2016.
Note: The audio above has been slightly edited for a better listening experience. View the live original recording on YouTube.
155: Indigenous People’s Day and the Dakota Pipeline Protests
Podcast: Download (Duration: 56:40 — 51.9MB)
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Hear from UUs who went to North Dakota in solidarity with the Protectors to help stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. Scheduled guests are Carlo Voli, Florence Caplow, Alyzza May, Karen van Fossan.
The VUU is hosted by Michael Tino, Joanna Fontaine Crawford, Aisha Hauser, Hank Peirce, Alicia Forde, and Slim Moon. Meg Riley is on sabbatical. The VUU airs Thursdays at 11 am ET. This episode first aired on October 13, 2016.
Note: The audio above has been slightly edited for a better listening experience. View the live original recording on YouTube.
154: Clergy Misconduct in Unitarian Universalism
Podcast: Download (Duration: 53:28 — 49.0MB)
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The VUU speaks to Deborah Pope-Lance about clergy misconduct, which was the topic of her Berry Street Lecture in 2011. The VUU is hosted by Michael Tino, Joanna Fontaine Crawford, Aisha Hauser, Hank Peirce, Alicia Forde, and Slim Moon. Meg Riley is on sabbatical. The VUU airs Thursdays at 11 am ET. This episode first aired on September 29, 2016.
Note: The audio above has been slightly edited for a better listening experience. View the live original recording on YouTube.
