At Church:

We learned that honoring black leaders is a valuable part of building a Beloved Community.  We believe Beloved Community happens when diverse peoples come together in  interdependent relationships of love, mutual respect, and care.  Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one such leader who helped us gain this understanding of Beloved Community, which is a key piece of our proposed 8th UU principle.

Morning Time:

Social Justice Body Prayer or Mindful Moments with Lea

Consider these words by Angela Davis~ 

“In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist..” 

Weekly Chalice Lighting:

“True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.” – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Stride Toward Freedom, 1958

Meal Time: 

Discuss: What is community?  What does it mean to be beloved?  So then what is a beloved community?  

Drive Time:

Listen to:  Lift Every Voice and Sing by Bebe Winans

Bed Time: 

Read: Whoever You Are by Mem Fox

Family Time: 

Widening the Conversation: 

Engaging the Thoughts of Others justice work involves righting wrongs and looking for equity and fairness, but ultimately justice begins in a heart place, one that has to do with not just tolerating other people’s differences but celebrating and appreciating those differences. 

In that spirit, we invite you to listen to and discuss this TED talk. 

Here’s the description and link to it: “In the late 1950’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr introduced the concept of a “Beloved Community”. The idea was that as humans we are incredibly alike…and different all at the same time; when we learn to embrace difference as both important and good we will truly understand “community”. We explore a better way to look at difference—and how we, together, build community.” 

-summary from YouTube 

Watch: The Beloved Community – Eran Thompson | TEDxBillings   (13 minutes)

Blessing of Beloved Community

May we grant one another dignity, even in disagreement, even in disappointment, even in disgrace, for dignity builds the beloved community.

May we be honest with ourselves and with one another, for hard truths, new truths, and shared truths build the beloved community.

May we relate to one another with respect for the stories, customs, wishes, rights, and feelings that make us who we are, for this regard builds the beloved community.

May we grow kindness in our hearts, even and especially when we feel mean or resentful, for loving compassion builds the beloved community.

May we practice humility, shedding ego and moving humbly in the Light of the Holy that inhabits all, for this quiet strength builds the beloved community.

In our diversity of thought, personality, approach, background, body, upbringing, experience, and every other expression of life-force among humanity, may we hold one another in our commitment to create the future we need and want together–the dream manifest, the beloved community.

-Teresa Honey Youngblood

Monthly Meditations

Social Justice Body Prayer

From Deep Fun https://www.uua.org/youth/library/deepfun/45594.shtml 

Centering: I invite you to move into our meditation position. Sit comfortably in your chair or stand on the floor. Put your hands on your lap or at your side. Focus your eyes in front of you. Find your breath moving in your body by taking in one breath through your nose and then slowly breathing it out through your mouth. 

Now: Reach down to get power from the grassroots (touch your toes) Reach up to the sky for inspiration (reach your arms up in the air) Stomp out injustice (stomp feet on the floor) Move in the winds of change (with arms out to your side twist your torso from left to right)” Repeat with a faster pace and repeat until you can’t go any faster

Mindful Moments with Lea BELOVED COMMUNITY

NOTE ABOUT THIS MONTH’S SONG: Lea’s first verse of Part of Me is “Father, Mother, Sister, Brother, All are Part of Me.” Use these words for the metric, and as a “zipper song” to create a song that is all inclusive. In other words, ask the children who is in their family and sing it, i.e. “Momma, Mother, Stuart, Autumn” or “Katie, Mark, Big Jade plant, Dogger” or “Grandma, Aunt Bell, Norah, Carol.” If there are only two people, add pets, plants, and other things they love!  It may be easier to recite names of family members rather than roles. 

• Remind the children about the importance of calming ourselves so we can better focus on each other and our time together.
• Tell them that a special friend named Lea has written a song for us to learn and it is a song that teaches us about the importance of this month’s theme: Stillness.
• Since you are using the 4-minute (longer version) video, tell the kids that we are going to sing along with Lea and her children and then listen to their conversation. Tell them that afterwards you will have your own conversation.
• Center the children before playing the video.
• After the video talk and listen with your child to discover all the things you heard together.