October 9, 2022 The Unitarian Society, East Brunswick, NJ One definition for what it means to “decolonize” is to reverse the harms created by Settler Colonialism. Before we go deeper into what it means to decolonize, let’s spend a little time on that last phrase: Settler Colonialism. As it relates specifically to the indigenous peoples …
(I didn’t actually give this sermon this morning. I had planned to do so, but time did not allow. Turns out it wasn’t necessary. The rest of the worship service connected with Spirit and fed the spirits of all in attendance – no need for a sermon! Here it is, anyway.) Back in 8th grade, …
Before Rosa (and after Claudette), Aurelia sat at the front of the bus. Before Rosa (and after Claudette), Aurelia was arrested for sitting in the whites-only section of the bus in Montgomery. It is Aurelia’s name that leads on the lawsuit filed that would eventually set the legal precedent to end segregation on public buses …
Better poets and theologians have made their offerings. Who am I to attempt to join them? Yet, because Universalism tells us we are all loved and since Universalism tells us we all have a role in collective liberation: who am I not to? So, I humbly offer this hoping it yet is enough. Near the …
Serving as a congregational minister, most of the time I must prepare a sermon weekly. For me, right now, that typically means writing a manuscript that is anywhere from 1300-2200 words long. That is just the sermon. There are other preparations involved in crafting worship, weaving the different elements into one whole cloth so that …
All over the plantation, there are artifacts and there is art. Artifacts include whole buildings, some from this particular plantation, some preserved and brought from other areas; smaller items used in daily life; HUGE metal kettles used for boiling the cane to make sugar. And there is art created by a number of modern artists, …
Leaving New Orleans this morning, I spent several hours today at the Whitney Plantation, on my way to Baton Rouge. The Whitney Plantation is the first former-plantation that has been turned in a museum that focuses solely on the experience of the enslaved. Founded in 2014 as a museum, it was only in the past …
My spirit got fed. O! Did my spirit get fed. It wasn’t one of the uncountable New Orleans restaurants. It wasn’t church (or temple or mosque or…). It was a walking tour sponsored by Hidden History Tours and led by the brilliant, thoughtful, decent Mr. Leon A. Waters. I don’t know how many posts I …
The pandemic has brought to me is learning how to edit videos and create worshipful art in this way. Here is one of them. The powerful, mind-blowing, heart-breaking, heart-making poem, V’ahavta, by the powerful, down-to-earth, radical Aurora Levins Morales. Support her powerful self through Patreon or as she describes on her web site.
November 1, 2020 The Unitarian Society, East Brunswick, NJ Reverend Karen G Johnston Choose democracy. That’s the title of this service. I want to be clear from the outset, I am not advocating a particular vote for a particular candidate. I cannot do that and will not do that. Despite a general assumption about this …