JUSTICE
In January we explore justice: what it is, where it is to be found, where it is lacking, why it is a religious imperative, and what we each can do to contribute to its presence on this earth. Here's one way to think about it:
Unitarian Universalism recognizes each individual life as part of an intricate web of existence. The practice of contemplating how and why that web might have come to to be is considered secondary to our obligation to strengthen it.
Justice exists when each strand is equally rooted to those around it, imparting beauty and purpose to the whole.
Furthering this metaphor, justice work (activism) is a matter of tending simultaneously to the individual strands (local level) and the web itself (global level).
Our embeddedness within the web means that we are never alone in this work; that each person's efforts make a difference! The fact of our embeddedness is inextricably linked with out responsibility and empowerment to participate in healing that which is broken.
Recognizing and responding to this dynamic is at the heart of Unitarian Universalist spirituality and identity. It is also an essential component of many of the world's wisdom traditions, whose prophets draw attention to changes needed in order to be in alignment with God's will.
Religious communities have long been recognized as having an important role in justice making through: social service (charity), social education (consciousness raising), social witness (speaking truth to power), and social action (organized efforts on behalf of institutional/policy change).
While all are important, Unitarian Universalist activist Richard Gilbert calls social witness the "prophetic imperative" to which our religious communities are called and uniquely suited.
What do you think?
In January we explore justice: what it is, where it is to be found, where it is lacking, why it is a religious imperative, and what we each can do to contribute to its presence on this earth. Here's one way to think about it:
Unitarian Universalism recognizes each individual life as part of an intricate web of existence. The practice of contemplating how and why that web might have come to to be is considered secondary to our obligation to strengthen it.
Justice exists when each strand is equally rooted to those around it, imparting beauty and purpose to the whole.
Furthering this metaphor, justice work (activism) is a matter of tending simultaneously to the individual strands (local level) and the web itself (global level).
Our embeddedness within the web means that we are never alone in this work; that each person's efforts make a difference! The fact of our embeddedness is inextricably linked with out responsibility and empowerment to participate in healing that which is broken.
Recognizing and responding to this dynamic is at the heart of Unitarian Universalist spirituality and identity. It is also an essential component of many of the world's wisdom traditions, whose prophets draw attention to changes needed in order to be in alignment with God's will.
Religious communities have long been recognized as having an important role in justice making through: social service (charity), social education (consciousness raising), social witness (speaking truth to power), and social action (organized efforts on behalf of institutional/policy change).
While all are important, Unitarian Universalist activist Richard Gilbert calls social witness the "prophetic imperative" to which our religious communities are called and uniquely suited.
What do you think?