What does it feel like in your body when you believe you’ve found a spiritual home? It’s a feeling that can nourish growth and transformation. It keeps us coming back and we often want to share it with others. How can we, in turn, use those feelings in our own bodies to become more welcoming in our communities? Join guest preacher, Christin Green, to explore embodiment practices that build beloved community.
Summary:
This sermon of a spiritual address explores the concept of embodiment within the context of faith communities and the Unitarian Universalist “Welcoming Congregation” program. The speaker emphasizes that true inclusion and hospitality are not merely administrative labels, but physical practices felt within the body. By examining the metaphorical language we use—such as shifting from a “culture of blame” to one of “gratitude”—the sermon illustrates how words physically alter our energy and relationships. Using the “dental hygiene model” of social justice, the sermon argues that unlearning prejudice requires consistent, daily effort rather than a one-time correction. Ultimately, the sermon uses the symbol of a woven basket to represent how individuals are interconnected vessels who must balance their own imperfections while holding space for others. The speaker concludes that authentic welcome is an ongoing, bodily commitment to staying in right relationship with the diverse “body of the world.”