Over Christmas, I saw the new movie The Color Purple, which addresses themes about racial marginalization also included in another block-buster of a decade ago, Twelve Years a Slave. The earlier chronicles a free black man from up-state New York caught in slavery on southern plantations. Coincidentally, Twelve Years a Slave is also the title … Continue reading Twelve Years a Slave:’ Not Just a Movie

Much in our UU heritage promotes endless human advancement, onward and upward forever. This optimistic modernist view has recently been challenged by Rev. Nancy McDonald Ladd, who “calls religious progressives to greater authenticity and truth-telling rather than blind optimism.” How might greater truth-telling make religious liberals more resilient, open to new perspectives. How might UUs … Continue reading After the Good News: Is Liberal Faith at a Crossroads?

Unitarian Universalism’s greatest diversity challenge may be about class. While the values of this liberal faith promote equity, equality, and diversity, congregations tend to be populated by educated professionals. How does social class influence congregational life, here at UUFD and denominationally. What does class have to do with the theologies we promote, the ministries we … Continue reading Is This a Faith for the Few?