Values are an important part of an individual’s spirituality. They guide our actions and give meaning to our lives. The same is true for our communal spirituality. The values we share as a religious community help us answer such important questions as: “Who are we?” “Who are our neighbors?” and “What are we called to do?” This morning we’ll explore how resources like the traditional Seven Principles and the more recent Share Values can help deepen our individual and communal spirituality.

Phillip Lund has over twenty years’ experience serving congregations in the areas of faith formation and spiritual growth; first as a religious educator in Bloomington, Indiana, New York City, and Chicago, Illinois, and most recently as a congregational life consultant working for the Mid-America Region of the Unitarian Universalist Association. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago and a certificate in InterSpiritual Counseling from One Spirit Learning Alliance in New York. Phil is based in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

This refrain from a poem by Alice Walker illustrates the way that she, as a Black woman in America, has had to rise and rise again, over and over and over... in the face of so much oppression.

In the face of the Trump Administration’s cruelty and chaos, how do we rise? As we acknowledge Easter, what might Jesus’ Resurrection remind us that we can and must do? I have been collecting stories of those who are, in fact, Rising Up and showing us how to do so. On Easter Sunday, let’s gather, surrounded in love and beauty and prepare to Rise. Those who study Authoritarian Movements say that the magic number to turn back such a movement requires 3.5% of the population to rise against the tide. Let’s prepare.