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Spiritually Grounded, Transformational Social Justice
Everything is Connected. Everything is at Stake. Everything we do Matters.
Spiritually grounded, transformational social justice work is foundational to my Unitarian Universalist ministry. The fact of our interdependence makes justice work an imperative, and the fact of our interdependence leads me to see social justice work as a spiritual practice grounded in love. This is where I live and breathe. How we live is the work.
I am committed to creating a just transition in this time of uncertainty in our world, to do whatever it takes to stem the warming and degradation of the earth – because everything is connected and everything is at stake and everything we do matters.
Social justice work in our congregations can take many forms because each congregation is unique, and we each have unique gifts and are called to different areas of concern. There is enough need in the world to warrant all of our efforts, and it is helpful for congregations to have direction and vision. I value and encourage dialogue within our congregations as we make those determinations. Listening campaigns are good way to get at that, as are town hall meetings - any way that we can allow the deepest longings and concerns of the people to emerge, and then to provide avenues for the living out of those longings.
Our congregations sometimes struggle to be truly prophetic, to recognize and wrestle with interlocking systems of domination and oppression – white supremacy, racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, gender oppression, ableism, speciesism. We struggle at times to name and interrogate our own location - as individuals, congregations, and denomination - within the systems in which we participate, including the ways in which we are complicit. And, yet, we are doing it. When we do so we are challenged, yes, and we are changed by what we find. This is the inner and the outer work of spiritually grounded, transformational social justice work.
Interfaith work is an integral part of my ministry. I have served and held leadership roles in a variety of capacities. Our interfaith partnerships and collaborations allow our justice work to have greater impact.
I am committed to creating a just transition in this time of uncertainty in our world, to do whatever it takes to stem the warming and degradation of the earth – because everything is connected and everything is at stake and everything we do matters.
Social justice work in our congregations can take many forms because each congregation is unique, and we each have unique gifts and are called to different areas of concern. There is enough need in the world to warrant all of our efforts, and it is helpful for congregations to have direction and vision. I value and encourage dialogue within our congregations as we make those determinations. Listening campaigns are good way to get at that, as are town hall meetings - any way that we can allow the deepest longings and concerns of the people to emerge, and then to provide avenues for the living out of those longings.
Our congregations sometimes struggle to be truly prophetic, to recognize and wrestle with interlocking systems of domination and oppression – white supremacy, racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, gender oppression, ableism, speciesism. We struggle at times to name and interrogate our own location - as individuals, congregations, and denomination - within the systems in which we participate, including the ways in which we are complicit. And, yet, we are doing it. When we do so we are challenged, yes, and we are changed by what we find. This is the inner and the outer work of spiritually grounded, transformational social justice work.
Interfaith work is an integral part of my ministry. I have served and held leadership roles in a variety of capacities. Our interfaith partnerships and collaborations allow our justice work to have greater impact.
This is the Work that Reconnects
So, all of this is very serious business, and it requires that we see this work as spiritual practice grounded in joy. I am often asked how I can be joyful even as I grasp the dire nature of the circumstances we are now in. I found my way to this through the work of ecophilosopher Joanna Macy. I've been informed by her work for many years and did a 10-day intensive with her in 2007. In February 2014 at the Institute for Excellence in Ministry I spent a week with Joanna and 30 other ministers deepening in this transformative work.
Joanna teaches us that our pain for the world can be understood as evidence of our interconnectedness. This interconnectedness is then a source of joy. I’m lucky. I live from that sense of interconnectedness most of the time…in a mystical sense as well as a practical sense. It fuels me for the work. It saves me. As part of my public ministry I offer workshops in the Work that Reconnects called Nurturing the Activist Spirit, and weekend retreats.
Beauty, compassion and joy are essential elements in living out our social justice impulses
So, all of this is very serious business, and it requires that we see this work as spiritual practice grounded in joy. I am often asked how I can be joyful even as I grasp the dire nature of the circumstances we are now in. I found my way to this through the work of ecophilosopher Joanna Macy. I've been informed by her work for many years and did a 10-day intensive with her in 2007. In February 2014 at the Institute for Excellence in Ministry I spent a week with Joanna and 30 other ministers deepening in this transformative work.
Joanna teaches us that our pain for the world can be understood as evidence of our interconnectedness. This interconnectedness is then a source of joy. I’m lucky. I live from that sense of interconnectedness most of the time…in a mystical sense as well as a practical sense. It fuels me for the work. It saves me. As part of my public ministry I offer workshops in the Work that Reconnects called Nurturing the Activist Spirit, and weekend retreats.
Beauty, compassion and joy are essential elements in living out our social justice impulses
Embody Radical Love, Fierce Compassion, and Eyes Wide Open Hope
Other places I serve
- Poor Peoples Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, 2017- present, California Coordinating Committee and state coordinator Nonviolent Moral Fusion Direct Action, including training for nonviolent civil disobedience. www.facebook.com/DCMoralRevival/videos/355158631640709/
- UURISE – Unitarian Universalist Refugee and Immigrant Services and Education, Board member 2011- present
- Interfaith Justice Coalition of Alliance San Diego, Steering Committee 2017- present
- San Diego Faith Leaders for Reproductive Justice, Steering Committee, founding member, 2017 - present
- Interfaith Coalition for Earth Justice, Convener, 2017 - present
- Interfaith Center for Worker Justice, Board member, 2009-2017, president 2014-2017
- Faith Leaders for Peace, founding member 2006 - 2014
- Frequent speaker and organizer for climate actions with 350.org, trainer for nonviolent civil disobedience, San Diego County 2006-present
March in support of immigrants, September 2016
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Poor Peoples Campaign June 2018, Leading Capitol Action
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Interfaith Center for Worker Justice Board
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Collaborations make for effective and joyful work - Poor Peoples Campaign, NAACP, SEIU - townhall meeting
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