As we work to grow our individual and congregational capacity for full inclusion of trans and gender nonbinary people, one of the stumbling blocks can be our strong desire to understand other people’s experience. We’ll explore avenues that open possibilities of deeper embrace of our differences and lead us to freedom, then on to liberation. 

If we’re lucky, at some point in our lives we have places where we feel deeply welcome, we feel like we belong. And likely we’ve experienced other places where our belonging feels. . . not quite there. How would a newcomer know they belong at First Parish Framingham? Or in Unitarian Universalism? Using the Buddhist concept of the near enemy, we explore what sneaky, hard-to-recognize obstacles can undermine not only an authentic sense of belonging in our congregations and faith tradition, but can undermine Unitarian Universalism itself.

This service invites us to reflect on our relationship with the stories of our lives: the old stories, the well-worn stories that we’ve told–and been told–for so long. What might be at stake if we’re willing to re-examine them? How might such a process help us to widen our welcome as Unitarian Universalists?

Pulpit guest and seminarian Li Kynvi, invites us to reflect on our relationship with our singing voices, on the ways we can intentionally engage with sons that cradle us where we are, and songs that invite us to move toward them; and on how singing can be a spiritual practice. We’ll touch on the ways music has been commodified and some of the unfortunate ripples of that. And of course, we’ll sing!