From the Minister, Fri Sep 21

Kudos and much gratitude to Mary Cavallero, Jeff Tomlinson, and Pam Cucinell who, with me, constitute the SJCC -- Social Justice Coordinating Committee. (The name always reminds me of the historically significant SNCC -- the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee that did so much in the '60s to advance justice.)

Mary, in particular, has done yeoman's work in keeping the SJCC, our SJTs (Social Justice Teams) and, indeed, our congregation's social justice effort organized. The SJT Fair we had after the service last Sunday (Sun Sep 16) was wonderful, and I'm thankful to all SJTs for the heart and time they put into their displays. Way to go, teams!

If I had only seven words to say what Unitarian Universalism is all about, they would be these: Nurture your spirit; help heal our world. But I must take some additional words to emphasize that these are not two things, but one: nurture your spirit BY helping to heal our world -- and help heal our world BY nurturing your spirit, healing yourself, growing in wisdom and compassion. This was clearly on display at every table last Sunday at the SJT Fair!

Our Social Justice Teams are organized on a model of concentric circles: the center circle is the chair or two co-chairs of each team. The second circle is the 5-member "leadership core" of the team. The third circle is all the active members. Fourth is the "on-call" members. Fifth is the entire congregation, which may be called upon for certain specific big projects any SJT might initiate.

Love, my friends! And justice -- for justice is what love looks like in public,
Meredith

The Liberal Pulpit / New this week:

• The Infirmary and the Gym (Living Your Faith, part 1)
• At the Center of Joy and Peace (Living Your Faith, part 2)

Index of past sermons: HERE. Index of other reflections: HERE. Videos of sermons are on the Liberal Pulpit Youtube Channel: HERE

Practice of the Week: The Shower-Write Practice / Our minds can sometimes fall victim to thoughts/feelings that spin out of control, resulting in a feeling of high anxiety and overwhelm. This simple Shower-Write practice stops thoughts and emotions from spiraling out of control. This practice rescues us from mental "freak-out" and allows us to get our thoughts and emotions back under control. Begin with a warm shower, then...READ MORE.

Your Moment of Zen: Not Helping / After a talk by Raven about the precepts, Woodpecker said, "The cowbird lays her egg in the wren's nest, and the two wrens have to hustle to feed the cowbird's baby as well as their own. I don't see why the wrens stand for it, especially since the cowbird's baby is a lot bigger than theirs and has a huge appetite. Maybe the wrens are really bodhisattvas, selflessly devoted to helping others." Raven said...READ MORE
Zen at CUUC: Sat Sep 22