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Articles by Susan Frederick-Gray
Letting the Momentum Carry Us Forward
As I quickly approach the end of my time as Unitarian Universalist Association president, The Parable of the Trapeze by the late environmentalist Danaan Parry has been much on my mind: “Most of the time, I spend my life hanging on for dear life to my trapeze-bar-of-the-moment. It carries me along . . . and I have the feeling that I am in control of my life. But every once in a while . . . I see another trapeze bar swinging toward me . . . Each time it happens . . .
2022 UUA Holiday Greeting
This holiday season invites us to be present and attuned to the blessings and wonders of life around us - to family, friends, community, to sun and moon, to the trees and animals, to the rivers and the seas, to all of the beauty of this planet, and the goodness and compassion in the human heart. Let us all make time in this season to pause, to nurture love and care for each other. And to find joy in the many gifts we already have and the peaceful moments wherever we find them.
Our Faith Demands We Protect Democracy
In March 1965, a Boston-based Unitarian Universalist minister, Rev. James Reeb, joined Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, and other Black civil rights movement leaders in Selma, Alabama, to support their efforts to secure voting rights for Black people living in the South. Along with two other Unitarian ministers, Rev. Clark Olsen and Rev. Orloff Miller, Reeb was attacked by white supremacists. He died a few days later.
Could tax cap influence fight over millionaire tax?
The resurfacing of the long-dormant tax cap after 35 years was enough to kill the Legislature's $1 billion tax relief initiative. Now some are wondering whether the cap can also put a dent in the momentum behind a constitutional amendment appearing on the November ballot to create a millionaire tax. The tax cap limits how much tax revenue Massachusetts can collect and requires the state to return to taxpayers any amount collected above the cap.
Judge denies Mass GOP request for restraining order against state senator
A MIDDLESEX SUPERIOR COURT judge on Friday declined to issue a restraining order sought by Massachusetts Republican Party chairman Jim Lyons against state Sen. Jamie Eldridge. Lyons wanted to keep Eldridge away from volunteers who were collecting signatures for a referendum to overturn a law granting driver's licenses to immigrants without legal status.
Could tax cap influence fight over millionaire tax?
THE RESURFACING of the long-dormant tax cap after 35 years was enough to kill the Legislature's $1 billion tax relief initiative. Now some are wondering whether the cap can also put a dent in the momentum behind a constitutional amendment appearing on the November ballot to create a millionaire tax. The tax cap limits how much tax revenue Massachusetts can collect and requires the state to return to taxpayers any amount collected above the cap.
Progressive people of faith can be a powerful political force
UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS are very outspoken regarding our beliefs and we consider ourselves a vital, progressive spiritual and religious movement. As a faith that centers on covenant - our promises to each other and the world - we are compelled not only to be vocal, but to put actions behind our beliefs.
Harris calls Mass. a model on abortion rights
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MASSACHUSETTS STANDS as a "model" that other states should follow to protect access to abortions and other reproductive health care, Vice President Kamala Harris said during a visit to the Bay State on Thursday. Offering praise both for the Democrats who crafted a substantial reproductive care bill and for Republican Gov.
From the UUA President: UUs Remain Committed to Reproductive Justice
Boston, Mass. (June 24, 2022) – The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued its decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women Health Organization case, which overturns Roe v. Wade, upending nearly 50 years of access to abortion. Below is a statement from Rev.
Transphobic and Anti-Abortion Policies are a Direct Threat to My Religious Freedom
The Public Religion Research Institute recently highlighted an important statistic: nearly all Unitarian Universalists (97 percent) support nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQIA+ people. It’s a similar story for reproductive rights—according to the Pew Research Center, 90 percent of Unitarian Universalists (UUs) support keeping abortion legal in all or most cases.
Our Fundamental Interdependence
A beautiful quilt hangs on the wall in my home office where I now do so many of my sermons and recordings and meetings. It was made by Jennifer Centric, then a member of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Youngstown, Ohio, where I served as minister. I hung it up early in the pandemic when I realized this office would soon become the place where I would do most all my work. I love this quilt.
Embracing an Ethic of Love
Being raised a Unitarian Universalist and like many little kids, I had lots of questions about life and death, God and existence. One night, I asked my mom, “Do you believe in God?” She told me she didn’t, but that if she did, she’d believe that God is Love. That message shaped my early theological development. It also taught me I wasn’t asking the right question.
Our Faith Calls Us to Antiracist Work
However, if the Beloved Community is so foundational, why do we struggle to live into its liberating and inclusive practices within our own communities? One obstacle is the very real theological tension within Unitarian Universalism between individualism and interdependence.
Practicing Gratitude This Holiday Season - A Message from UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray
Gratitude is a concrete practice that unlocks a generosity of spirit and a generosity of love, experiencing our interconnectedness, experiencing the ways that we are not isolated beings, but deeply connected and held by gifts beyond our own making. This inspires us to nurture more attention and care into those connections.
An Ingathering Greeting from UUA President Susan Frederick-Gray
Dear friends, We have all worked extremely hard during the pandemic to keep our families, congregations and communities safe, while longing for the time when the pandemic is behind us. Unfortunately, vaccine hesitancy, breakthrough cases in vaccinated individuals and the alarming contagiousness of the COVID-19 Delta variant (even among the vaccinated) call for re-evaluation of many of our plans. The way forward will be different across communities.
UUA President’s Report, General Assembly 2021
UU World Magazine , published by the Unitarian Universalist Association Who could have imagined what this past year would bring? The ground has continued to shift beneath us all. It has been a traumatic year. It has also shown us the powerful truth of our interdependence. As we reflect on this past year, may we remember not just the grief, but the ways we have shown up for each other, for our communities, and for our values.
Spring 2021
Part 1: Showing Up for Justice ‘Our Community Has Power’ UU the Vote reached millions of voters. by Andrea Dulanto UUs Who Made a Difference Unitarians and Universalists have a long history of advocating for justice. Here are just a few who left their mark on the world. Q&A: Sam Ames Civil rights attorney on strengthening trans rights.
A Prayer for Inauguration Day
Today we recognize the significance of this Inauguration Day for our country—this is a threshold moment worthy of special attention and prayer. We mark this day in the midst of one of the most precarious times in our country’s history. We are in a moment of transition, following a deeply corrupt and cruel administration that fostered dangerous disinformation in an attempt to hold on to power and attack the very foundations of our democracy.
From The UUA President: In This Holiday Season, May We Simply Be
Dear colleagues and friends, As we embark on this season of holidays and holy days, I hold you and our faith community in deep care. This season will be different than any we can remember. We cannot gather in our sanctuaries and sacred spaces, bedecked with greenery and poinsettias. We cannot gather close together in candlelight and song. Our dearly held traditions that bring so much joy to this season of magic and beautiful darkness will be pared down, virtual, even canceled altogether.
Denial of Meade clemency emboldens voting-rights fight | Commentary
Desmond Meade, president of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, has led the fight for ex-felons' right to vote in Florida. On Sept. 23, Gov. Ron DeSantis denied Desmond Meade a pardon for his crimes. (Carline Jean / South Florida Sun Sentinel) On Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced plans for a bill that would criminalize protest and make some forms of civil disobedience felonies.
A Message From The UUA President: Holding One Another In Compassion and Prayer
Dear Leaders, I am thinking of you and holding you in my heart. As we continue to learn more about what is happening in Kenosha, Wisconsin, it is all so infuriating, heartbreaking, and traumatizing. The violence inflicted on Black lives and Black communities needs our attention and response across this country. I also want to make sure that each of us is doing what we need to do to take care of ourselves and respond to the needs of our hearts and souls.
Message from the UUA President: Taking Shifts for the Ministry We Need Now
Message from the UUA President: Taking Shifts for the Ministry We Need Now Dear Leaders, This is the most heartbreaking, difficult, and important time I have experienced in ministry. The layers of trauma, anger, grief, power, and hope—they are all present in our bodies and souls. As religious leaders, we tend to these in ourselves and we give them voice and space in story, music, reflection, ritual, action, and protest. This is vital, essential ministry and it is exhausting.
A message to white Unitarian Universalists about policing from UUA President Susan Frederick-Gray
These stories I share of witnessing and experiencing police violence are minor compared to the lived experience of many Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color in the United States. Even the violence I experienced in the Maricopa County jail was minor compared to that of the young Latino man arrested with me who was beaten unconscious by sheriff’s deputies.
Message from the UUA President: Updated Guidance for Gathering
Dear Leaders, As states around the country begin to loosen guidelines and take actions to reopen, even as COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to climb, we have received many questions from congregations about returning to in-person gatherings. Over the past several weeks, the UUA has consulted with multiple public health officials in order to update the guidance we provided on March 12 recommending congregations stop gathering in person.
An Update On General Assembly 2020
Dear Leaders, I hope you are making time to care for your well-being. I learned a long time ago that in order to provide care for others, one also must care for oneself. A dry well offers no water. Taking care of yourself matters. Your life and well-being are valuable and needed. Rest and renewal are an integral part of ministry. And now to the update about General Assembly (GA).
Practicing Community Care in Our Congregations
Dear Congregation Leaders, I am so grateful for your ministry. Each day brings more difficult news of the impacts of coronavirus on our communities, our health systems, our economy, and our congregations. I am heartbroken to share with you that a few Unitarian Universalists have died from COVID-19 and a number of congregations are experiencing multiple cases of the virus among their members. We at the UUA also have staff members in quarantine.
Pastoral Care in a Time of Physical Distancing
Dear Leaders, As we navigate these incredibly difficult times for our country and the global community, I continue to hold you and our wider UU community in my heart. I am so grateful for the ministry and care you offer and the example we, as Unitarian Universalists, are setting in putting community care and compassion at the forefront of our efforts and decisions. We continue to recommend our congregations follow all directives from public health officials and suspend in-person gatherings.
Updated Recommendations for Your Congregation's Response to COVID-19
I know that this is a time of uncertainty and concern for all of us and I wanted to be in touch with you to share some of the ways that the UUA is deepening its response to COVID-19. We are monitoring the situation closely and doing our best to implement public health and CDC recommendations. In Boston, the cases of COVID-19 have been doubling most days.
Spring 2020
FEATURES ‘UU the Vote’ mobilizes for a decisive election UU the Vote organizers say the 2020 elections are ‘all-hands-on-deck’ for Unitarian Universalists, whose values are on the line.
Let’s ‘UU the Vote’
We are less than twelve months away from the most critical elections in our lifetimes. We must not be on the sidelines. Core Unitarian Universalist values—values of interdependence, democracy, human worth and dignity, the richness of pluralism and diversity, and the inborn right of all peoples to self-determination and agency—are on the line.
Winter 2019
Indigenous Americans: A time to reclaim Four-page insert adapted from Tapestry of Faith lifespan faith development programs. by the UUA Faith Development Office in Families Weave a Tapestry of Faith LIFE Living in limbo For those in sanctuary, life is a waiting game. by Arthur Hirsch UU values on display in three recent films Unsettled, American Heretics, and Beacon.
The cup is what holds the light
UU World Magazine Fall 2019 , published by the Unitarian Universalist Association As many congregations celebrate ingathering and the start of a new year, I am reflecting on the ways that we experience cracks or breaks within covenantal community. As painful as they are, we need not despair. As songwriter Leonard Cohen writes, “There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” The metaphor of light is important in Unitarian Universalism. The act of lighting the chalice is a ritual.
Fall 2019
UUA President Susan Frederick-Gray addresses the General Assembly on June 20. (© 2019 Nancy Pierce/UUA)* The power of we Questions probing the heart of our faith.
Love is an essential spiritual and moral value
UU World Magazine Summer 2019 , published by the Unitarian Universalist Association When my son was just 2 years old, I found him bringing all his stuffed animals into the shower. When I asked what he was up to, he answered, “It’s shower church.” I smiled and asked, “Oh yeah, what’s happening at shower church?” He told me he would be preaching. When I asked what he was preaching about he answered simply, “Love, mommy.
Summer 2019
We’re right here Members of TRUUsT, an organization of transgender and nonbinary UU religious professionals, share their stories. by Sean Parker Dennison, Alex Kapitan, Sam Allen, Jami A. Yandle, Theresa I. Soto, Gwendolyn Howard, and Sarah Weaver DEPARTMENTS What we can be ‘At its best our Unitarian Universalist World will be a tangible reflection of what we are and will provide impetus toward what we can be.’ by Christopher L.
The power of we moves us from individualism to a shared belonging
Read a UU World excerpt from Fredric Muir’s essay “From iChurch to Beloved Community,” from the Winter 2012 issue. Within Unitarian Universalism, individualism has been a central unresolved tension in our theology and culture. In his essay “From iChurch to Beloved Community,” the Rev. Fred Muir writes of the “trinity of errors” that have come to define Unitarian Universalism. They are individualism, exceptionalism, and our allergy to authority. For now, let’s consider individualism.
Message of Solidarity after Terrorist Attacks at New Zealand Mosques
Message of Solidarity after Terrorist Attacks at New Zealand Mosques March 15, 2019 I grieve for the dozens of people who were killed and the many more who were injured during the horrific terrorist attack at Al Noor mosque and the Lindwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand. I am praying with and for the Muslim community in Christchurch, New Zealand. The Unitarian Universalist Association mourns with you, prays for you, and sends our love and compassion to you.
Love the hell out of this world
Over this past year, I have named that this is no time for a casual faith and no time to go it alone. In the coming year, I will be focused on mission, because mission is where these two things meet. The opposite of a casual faith is a deep sense of purpose that recognizes how much our faith matters. And when we are called by a bold mission, we realize we can’t do it alone. Could there be a powerful and simple anchor for Unitarian Universalists, a clear articulation of our calling in this time?
UUA President responds to shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue
Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, released the following statement in response to the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh: We grieve with those who are mourning the horrific mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. We grieve the lives lost to senseless violence at the hands of domestic terrorism. We grieve for those who were injured in body and spirit during this shooting.
Unitarian Universalism Holds that No Person’s Identity is Dictated by Laws and Legislation
Unitarian Universalism Holds that No Person’s Identity is Dictated by Laws and Legislation On Sunday, the New York Times reported that the Trump Administration is considering "narrowly defining gender as a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth” in an effort to undermine federal civil rights protection for transgender people. Our Unitarian Universalist faith affirms that no person’s identity is dictated by laws and legislation.
Cold anger is a gift when used in the service of liberation
Cold anger is a gift when used in the service of liberation Today, as the Senate confirmed Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court in spite of women’s testimony about his abusive behavior, the image most clear in my spirit is the burning bush. The burning bush was the form God took to speak to Moses, to tell him that God had heard the suffering cries of the people and asked Moses to lead the people to freedom. The image at the heart of this story is a bush on fire, yet not consumed.
This is no time for a casual faith
Being in Charlottesville was terrifying and traumatic. All who were there still hold the trauma of that day. A number of Unitarian Universalists were injured on the streets. Heather Heyer was killed. We’re coming up on the one-year anniversary of Charlottesville. The news cycle every day moves on—the latest shock or tragedy or atrocity—but it matters that we not forget what happened in Charlottesville in August 2017.
From the president: Becoming the religious people we want to be
From the president: Becoming the religious people we want to be Becoming the religious people we want to be As the 2018 General Assembly in Kansas City, Missouri, approaches, I am reflecting on the charge that the Rev. William G. Sinkford delivered to me during my installation at GA 2017. He said, “Call us to become the religious people we want to be.
From the president: The touchstone of community
Dictionary.com’s word of the year for 2017 was complicit. The perpetuation of systemic racism, sexism, militarism, and the exploitation of people and the planet for profit is a long-embedded system that all Americans and Unitarian Universalists have been a part of, consciously and unconsciously. Neither the benefits nor the harm and costs have been equally distributed. This is why direct conversations about the systems and culture of white supremacy and patriarchy continue to be so critical.
The practice of our faith
As Unitarian Universalists, we are being called to deepen our practice and commitment to the beloved community. This is no time for a casual faith. In September, major protests erupted in my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. The protests were a response to the acquittal of a white former St. Louis police officer who fatally shot a black driver, Anthony Lamar Smith. As I write, the demonstrations have continued for more than twenty days.
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