UU Community Church of Washington County's Podcast

The word equity is in one of our principles, but conversations about equity can be fraught. Some of us have felt hurt by these conversations, while some of us have felt like we are walking on eggshells. I'll share my own opinion, to practice compassionate communication about a challenging topic.

October 11, 1988, was the day chosen for “National Coming Out Day” in the United States. What does that mean to the thousands of LGBTQ Adults in Custody (AICs) in Oregon's prisons? Rev. Sue Matranga-Watson will look at the history of LGBTQ rights and attitudes in the Department of Corrections (DOC) and what are the policies, guidelines, and attitudes toward LBGTQ incarcerated individuals now in 2022. You may be surprised.

One reason we come here is the deep personal connections. But relationship can be complicated, and once bitten, twice shy. What do you need, to open your heart to another soul? In interim ministry, we reconnect.

As religious liberals, we tend to love new experiences, new ideas, new ways of seeing the world. In this service, we explore how to nurture this feeling of openness that feeds our souls. In these times, how can we stay open, as individuals, as a church, as a society.

Navigating human relationships– family, friendship, community, business – can seem overwhelming and complicated. Here is one simple principle with surprising depth and power.

For this all-ages service, bring water from your home or from your summer. We will imagine that our water is full of our rest and renewal, our joy, our grief, and any changes that we've gone through this summer. We will combine our water, including water from the history of this church. We come together, and start a hero's adventure: another year together. If you are participating from home, have water ready too.

These days, a lot of people are looking for something grounding, nourishing, even sacred. Perhaps they are looking for this community. How do you describe what this community means to you? This Sunday, we'll explore ways to say what is in our hearts.

Art—great art—connects us to the people of past generations and to their truths. As human beings, each of us is an artist, in our own way. Each of us has the power to leave something behind to connect to generations yet to come.

Many Unitarian-Universalists have difficulty with the concept of forgiveness. It's one of those "loaded" words that for some of us carries a lot of baggage. Pamela will talk about the best definition of the word and what forgiveness truly is and what it is not.

Rev. Emily A. Champagne will speak about her nine months in Moscow and how this experience has affected her feelings about the Russian people and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.