Feb. 7, 2024

“Sometimes the way we behave acts as an invitation for others to do the same. 
Let your actions be an invitation to others to be themselves in all of their glory.”

–Susie Wise, “Design for Belonging”

Friends,

The service we shared last Sunday introduced our theme for February, which is the twin-but-not-identical values of Justice and Equity. We engaged in an exercise which invited us to reflect on and share with each other some of our identities and to consider the impact of intersectionality on our experiences and shared life. Intersectionality as a concept acknowledges that each of us is different and may have very different experiences of oppression, discrimination, and privilege and varying needs, depending on the various identities (race, gender, sexuality, social, etc.) we are assigned, claim, or inhabit.

It was lovely to see how many different identities are represented in our small congregation, and indeed, within each one of us. Sunday’s service (created by Kristin Reveal, whose gifts in religious education and worship design we call on every month to introduce our Soul Matters themes, and to whom I am very grateful) was an invitation to each of us to be ourselves in all our glory. I left our gathering feeling grateful for the glory that is each of you and for the glory that we are together. 

Yours in the justice & equity that will bloom as we make space for all to be themselves,

Rev. Denise
RevDenise@gnuuc.org