Reflect on WELCOME
- What’s one of the biggest changes you’ve welcomed into your life that few people know about? Who surprisingly tried to stand in the way of that change? Who surprisingly supported the change?
- Tell me about self-acceptance: What part of you is the hardest for you to welcome with open arms?
- Theologian Joan D. Chittister said, “Hospitality is simply love on the loose.” Does that ring true for you?
- If you were asked to name 2 ways you could help to make your church more welcoming, what would they be?
Quotes about WELCOME
- “I was beginning to learn that home is the space within us and between us where we feel safe—and brave. It is not a physical space as much as it is a field of being.” – Valarie Kaur
- “The Arabs used to say, when a stranger appears at your door, feed him for three days before asking who he is, where he’s come from, where he’s headed. That way, he’ll have strength enough to answer. Or, by then you’ll be such good friends you don’t care…” – Naomi Shihab Nye
- “Hospitality is the first step toward dismantling the barriers of the world. Hospitality is the way we turn a prejudiced world around one heart at a time.” – Joan D Chittister
- “It’s amazing really. As a human being all you have to do is enumerate exactly the way you don’t feel at home in the world, and the moment you’ve uttered the exact dimensionality of your exile, you are already on your way home.” – David Whyte
Books with a theme of Welcome These are great reads to complement our focus on WELCOME this month.
- In the Shelter: Finding a Home in the World by Padraig O Tuama
- Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
- Take What You Need: Life Lessons after Losing Everything by Jen Crow (UU Author)
- Radical Welcome: Embracing God, The Other, and the Spirit of Transformation Paperback by Stephanie Spellers
WELCOME-ing Movies!
- Marcel the Shell with Shoes On ● Antonia’s Line
- Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music ● Lost in Translation
Other Things about WELCOME on the Internet
- Welcome to the Brink of Everything, Parker J. Palmer https://onbeing.org/blog/parker-palmer-welcome-to-the-brink-of-everything/ On welcoming the gifts of age.
- On the Article II Study Commission’s Invitation to Welcome New Values Introduction and context: https://www.questformeaning.org/quest-article/embracing-the-living-tradition/ The proposal: https://www.uua.org/files/2023-06/Article%202%20Package.pdf
- What Makes You Feel “Welcomed Home”? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWt76WqRCVs
- Welcoming Stories http://www.firstpersonamerican.org/stories_welcoming.html A video series encouraging Americans to become more welcoming by inviting immigrants to share their story about someone who made a big difference in their lives when they first arrived.
On Spotify & YouTube
CALENDAR CONNECTIONS FOR SEPTEMBER
Interfaith:
- Rosh Hashanah – Jewish New Year – Evening of Fri, Sep 15, 2023 – Evening
of Sun, Sep 17, 2023
- Mabon/Autumn Equinox – Wicca – Sept. 21, 2023 (more here)
- Yom Kippur – Jewish Day of Atonement – Sept. 24-25, 2023
- Mawlid al-Nabi – the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad – begins Sept. 26,
2023
Unitarian Universalist:
- Ingathering/Water Communion Ritual – date varies by congregation
- The first meeting of the Transcendentalist Club – Sept. 19 (1836) more here
- Universalism Day: John Murray preaches 1st sermon in the US (1770) –
Sept. 30 (more here)
National & Cultural:
- Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15)
- Suicide Prevention Month, World Suicide Prevention Day, is Sept. 10
- Labor Day – Sept. 4, 2023 (*first Monday)
- International Literacy Day – Sept. 08
- 9-11 Remembrance – Sept. 11
- International Peace Day Sept. 21 (more here)
- World Gratitude Day – Sept. 21
- Bisexual Pride Day, CBD, Bisexual Pride, and Bi Visibility Day – Sept. 23
- Bisexual Awareness Week – Week of September 23 (more here)
For Fun and On the Fringe:
- Johnny Appleseed Day – Sept. 26
- Talk Like a Pirate Day – Sept. 19
- Hobbit Day – Sept. 22
- Banned Books Week – Oct.1-7, 2023 (more here)