Black Lives UU: We’re Hiring! - Archived

Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism. BLUU. Illustration of raised fist attached to a lightning bolt arm.

March 2023

Are you a lay leader preparing for or entering seminary? Check out the              Rev. Chuck and Nancy Thomas Scholarship opportunity from the Unitarian Universalist Association!
Are you a lay leader in Unitarian Universalism who will be entering your first year of seminary in 2023, or are beginning undergraduate work to prepare for seminary?

Each year the Rev. Chuck and Nancy Thomas Scholarship supports a student in the first year of seminary or in preparatory academic work for seminary training.

To apply, applicants must email a completed application along with two letters of recommendation, a resume, and a two to three page essay that describes their path to seminary, highlighting their work as a lay leader in their congregation and in the larger community.

 

Apply for UU Scholarships
We're hiring.
We seek an experienced Development Officer, with specific experience fundraising within Unitarian Universalist communities, to create and help manage a fundraising plan.
Be our Next Development Officer
Sample BLUU Box content. Finding Healing on the Page.
Photo of Atena O. Danner, a Black woman wearing a pattered blazer, dangly earrings, and cat-eyed glasses.
Every month, subscribers to our virtual BLUU Box receive resources for spiritual grounding and reflection. We hope you enjoy this free excerpt of the BLUU Box, featuring part of an interview with BLUU community member Atena O. Danner.

***

Question: What advice would you give to people who want to make writing a spiritual practice?

Atena: I would say, do exactly that: practice. In my own life, I’ve spent a lot of time not writing because I was sure that I did not have time to write. AND I have written something almost every day for the past two years (and these have NOT been an easy couple of years). There are days where I didn’t get to it or days where I wrote two sentences, and that’s fine. Those low-quantity days kept me in the game. Committing to doing it and opening myself up to receive what the practice offers worked wonders for me. Practice tunes you in and reinforces the energy you put toward it.

Q: What Black writer or book by a Black author is inspiring you right now and why?

Atena: Right now, I am digging into Ross Gay’s “Inciting Joy,” and it is exactly what I need! The way he gets to joy by respecting sorrow is profound heart work. I also just finished Ashley C. Ford’s memoir, “Somebody’s Daughter,” and I’ve never read a memoir that resonated with me like that one did! Highly recommend it!

Subscribe to the BLUU Box
Coming Back to Wonder. Sunday, March 12, 2023. 4 p.m. Eastern, 1 p.m. Eastern
We enter this new season (from March through May) in the Sankofa cycle by reflecting on what it means to come back to wonder. What does it mean to be open to a visioning of our lives, our work, or communities that isn’t bound up in the rules and the one way, but is open to encountering the holy in the ordinary and otherwise unexpected places? Come, let us worship and be renewed in awe together!

BLUU’s online worship services are Black Sacred Space in their entirety – by and for Black people, with the words and voices of Black folks across the diaspora – and we hope that Black UUs and Black UU-adjacent folks (who share our values) from far and wide will join us!

For our non-Black siblings in faith, please DO share this invitation with Black folks in your life and community. Getting the word out about BLUU’s gatherings and other programming is one powerful way of lending your support, and we deeply appreciate it!

For all of our services, feel free to come into our BLUU Zoom Room as early as 15 minutes before the start of the service to get settled, say hello to the folks who are already gathering, and listen to the music softly playing as we all prepare for our time together.

Sign up for worship here: https://bit.ly/3wYfnjb.

 

Sign up for Worship
Text description: The 2023 Recipient of The Award for Distinguished Service to the Cause of Unitarian Universalism. the Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt. Image description: A photo of the Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt, a Black woman with short hair and bright glasses wearing a chalice necklace.
Congratulations to The Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt, the 2023 recipient of The Award for Distinguished Service to the Cause of Unitarian Universalism. According to the Unitarian Universalist Association Board of Trustees, “recipients of this award have strengthened the institutions of our denomination, clarified our message in extraordinary ways, and exemplified what Unitarian Universalism stands for.”
Text ID: You are not alone. BLUU Pastoral care. Image description: a drawing of a person's hands clasping another person's hand.
Pastoral care is a model of emotional and spiritual support that can be found in all cultures and traditions. People who provide pastoral care offer support to people in their joys, sorrows, and uncertainties associated with specific life events occurring while part of the community in which pastoral caregivers serve. Spiritual care is a multi-faceted model of support in individuals’ search for meaning, purpose, wholeness, and connection in day-to-day life.
BLUU is blessed with a community filled with pastoral and spiritual leadership. Please don’t forget that the BLUU Ministerial Network has a pastoral care line available for Black folks. You can text or call 984-219-8711 to schedule a time to speak with a BLUU chaplain.
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