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 …
The Unitarian Society, East Brunswick, NJ December 5, 2021 Reverend Karen G. Johnston This video contains the spoken version of this sermon. Part I If you die before you die, then you won’t die when you die. This is an inscription over a door at a monastery on Mt. Athos in Greece. I’m asking you …
Opening to Joy: Psychedelics, Ancient Medicine & New Science (sermon) Read More »
As all kinds of folx move into re-opening space that was closed during the pandemic, it can help to bring intentionality, and even ritual, to this process. We have all been exposed to trauma in the form of a global pandemic. This trauma has different manifestations depending on one’s social location and context, but no …
I want to invite you into a healing practice I’m callig the “Oh, Honey” practice, inspired by the poem, “Self Compassion” by James Crews. I invite you, as I am speaking, to bring your attention to your body and its various sensations. If you feel a bit shy about doing this in front of all …
I say truly that the legacy of violence, shame, and silence in our lives is unbearable. This week there was the news of the outrageous and inadequate judicial response to Brock Turner’s conviction as a rapist. Also, this week there was news of the bad-ass impact statement made by the woman he raped. The world …
Seeing You Whole: Speaking Out Against Sexual Violence Read More »
At my children’s elementary school, there was an annual Solstice pageant. One of my favorite parts was when someone read an adaptation (by Monique Bourgeois) of Judy Bressler’s Servant Candle, which I offer here, in part: A candle alone is a small thing. But one candle can light another -and see how its own light …
Being Servant Candle: Strongest When We Help Each Other Read More »
Unitarian Society of Northampton & Florence August 9, 2015 (The Mary Oliver poem referenced in this sermon can be found here.) When I joined my first Unitarian Universalist congregation, this very one, nearly twenty ago, there was not much tolerance for the G-word (or the J-word) and there was a strong allergy to the p-word: …