Each week we affirm a covenant to seek knowledge in freedom. Why is this commitment to knowledge and freedom so foundational for Unitarian Universalists and how are we understanding or misunderstanding religious freedom today?

Music plays such an integral role in the movements for freedom, both by inspiring people in the struggle, and by capturing the conditions of oppression in the poetry of lyrics. From hymns to hip-hop, we can be motivated and educated by the artists who provide powerful messages for us to listen, sing, dance and march to.

Many of us are aware of the serious challenges affecting our state, nation, and world. How did we get here? We'll look at the hopeful possibilities for the future, including what we as individuals and as a network of Unitarian Universalists can offer to our local communities and Arizona. How might we bring our UU values to the public discourse to provide a voice for justice, equality, and compassion, speaking for human dignity and environmental responsibility in Arizona?

While a covenant serves to bind a community together through time, it should not been seen as a static agreement. As society and environment change, innovate and adapt, our sense of covenant should also evolve to remain relevant and to help push us forward. We will explore how covenant can provide long-term stability, and also be a useful framework for social change.

A covenant is a promise we make to each other. Because we are human, we break our promises sometimes and so a critical part of covenant is learning how to forgive and repair our relationships when we fall short of our promises.

The Rev. Kathy Baughman is a Chaplain at the Mayo Clinic and UUCP's Affiliate Community Minister.

Living a balanced life is probably a myth. We can approximate balance, but it is never steady state. So perhaps we are better served by savoring the brief moments when balance is achieved, knowing imbalance will come again. We may treat ourselves and others more kindly if we think of balance as a process that we will have to continually engage because life is a series of breakdowns that require repair which leads to balance for a time but will shortly need to be redone.

In her poem, "Our Deepest Fear," Marianne Williamson writes, "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure!" There is a balancing act between what we hide and what we reveal and by embracing our power, we can unleash a force for greatness in the world.

The metaphors we use to understand our experiences actually shape our reality. It is exciting to see the ways that images of fatherhood are changing as that opens up new opportunities and appreciations for fatherhood in all its forms. There is even a place for imagination in creating strong bonds between dads and their children.

Francis Wiget, the auction winner, requested an exploration of the Christian Socialists of 17th century England, the Levelers and the work and theology of Dr. King. The religious imagination informs how we view an ideal world and there are similarities in the views of the Levelers and Dr. King, as well as in the Hebrew Prophets, Jesus and religious leaders today.

In honor of Mother's Day, we explore how love, not just as parents, but in the context of relationship and family, can lead to greater meaning in our lives.