Courageous, Messy, & Holy

May 2025

Beloveds,

We are invited once again to reflect deeply on what it means to love, to live into equity, and to honor the full humanity of those too often overlooked or marginalized.

This month, our spiritual theme is Love as Equity. Love is so much more than sentiment—it is a call to action, a reordering of our lives and communities toward justice. It is, as Rev Dr Cornel West reminds us, “what justice looks like in public.”

As part of our collective reflection, we’re proud to uplift our social media series, “31 Days of Celebrating Asian & Pacific Islanders in American Culture”. Each day, we will share stories, art, voices, and wisdom that center the brilliance, resilience, and vital contributions of Asian and Pacific Islander communities—voices that have long enriched our nation, our congregations, and our shared spiritual journey.

In this sacred honoring, I invite you to sit with a powerful question: Where in your life is love asking you to give something up so that someone else might fully flourish?

This question is not meant to shame or guilt, but to open the heart. True equity often asks us to loosen our grip—on power, on comfort, on narratives we have held close—and to offer space, resources, and attention to others. It is in these tender surrenders that beloved community begins to bloom.

For some of us, this might look like listening more deeply to AAPI voices in our workplaces, congregations, or families. For others, it might mean stepping back so others can lead, or learning histories we were never taught. Love asks different things of each of us—but always in service of a wider freedom.

And as we do this work—courageous, messy, holy—please know this: you are not alone. Wherever you find yourself on this path of racial justice and spiritual growth, you are held in a community of care.

Join us in May:

• 5/14 5pm and 7pm MT: Covenanting Conversations on ZOOM
• 5/18 6pm MT: Sunday Community Celebration on ZOOM and in person Los Angeles, CA & Denver, CO
• 5/28 1pm MT: Anti Racist Leadership for Religious Professionals on Google Meet
• 5/28 6pm MT: Race & Congregational Life on ZOOM

This May, may we listen to the wisdom of AAPI communities with reverence. May we hold the truth that love—real love—makes room. And may we dare to believe that another world is possible, because we are willing to build it together.

With deep love,

Pastor AJ
Pastor AJ Blackwood
Community Minister
UUs for Racial Justice

Office:  720-336-0923
Office:  714-699-3313 (direct/text)

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