BLUU: Welcome Home!

September 2026

September Worship: Homecoming

During the first worship service of September, as UU’s, we celebrate the beginning of a new “church year” known as Homecoming or Ingathering. It is a time to reconnect with our community of Beloveds. It is a time to reach out to those we have lost contact with, check on them, and extend invitations to return “home.” In September, we also focus on our connection to our ancestors. In many of our traditions, the fall is a time when the “veil” between our reality and the “unseen” world thins. This thinning of the “veil” allows us increased access to our ancestors.

Liturgically, September is also a period of transition where we acknowledge the realities of our death and rebirth in the African Diaspora through the horrors of colonialism and the Middle Passage. In September, we honor the element of water for its entangled significance to our story of faith, culture, wisdom, and thriving. We do this through our unique approach to water communion.

For our BLUU water communion, we invite all attendees to gather and bring materials to participate in our water communion ritual: two clean vessels; one of the vessels should have drinkable water in it and the other should be empty. The vessels should be good for pouring from one to the other.

Black Sacred Space:

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.

Join us for the launch of our new book club! During September and October, we’ll do a deep dive into “Incantations for Rest” Poems, Meditations, and Other Magic” by BLUU Beloved, Atena O. Danner.

This book club is especially for people who like to take their time reading a text. We’ll meet for an hour once a week for seven weeks to discuss themes related to our reading. You do not need to attend every session to join us for the next one. Come when you can!

All BLUU Beloveds will receive an email with a 30% discount code.

While New 2 BLUU is typically for our newly Beloved members or those interested in becoming a Beloved, we are asking everyone, new and seasoned, to join us for our first New 2 BLUU session of the year. Together, we will orient ourselves to new leadership, programming, and changes. New 2 BLUU will be interactive and an opportunity for you to present any questions, comments, or concerns you may have as we enter into a new year with BLUU.

Inspired by Audre Lorde’s essay “Uses of the Erotic,” Playground Chronicles is a two-part series of communal gatherings to explore the power of remembering and understanding play as a form of spiritual pleasure. Come ready to explore your child-like wonder, memories of play, and when, where, and how you create opportunities to say yes to play & creativity.

Special Note: Our Mighty Networks spaces are only open to BLUU Beloveds, Black UUs and Black UU-adjacent folks, with options coming for co-conspirators to join later this year. Stay tuned!

Donations from our UU community and aligned friends support programming, spiritual care, and advances social justice initiatives. BLUU provides spaces for Black folks to feel more connected, allowing us to collectively imagine more possibilities. BLUU Beloveds find strength to fight the systems of oppression and collectively work with our UU community to change them. We also work in solidarity with other marginalized groups across the world; we know none of us are free until we’re all free.

Will you support our efforts by donating today?

Become a BLUU Beloved today!