{"id":141860,"date":"2026-10-06T15:53:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T21:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/?p=141860"},"modified":"2026-10-06T15:53:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T21:53:12","slug":"uusc-bridges-of-belonging-and-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/uusc-bridges-of-belonging-and-freedom\/","title":{"rendered":"UUSC: Bridges of Belonging and Freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_7215\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-141860-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/www.austinuuav.org\/audio\/2026-10-04_Bridges_of_Belonging.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.austinuuav.org\/audio\/2026-10-04_Bridges_of_Belonging.mp3\">http:\/\/www.austinuuav.org\/audio\/2026-10-04_Bridges_of_Belonging.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.austinuuav.org\/audio\/2026-10-04_Bridges_of_Belonging.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/?powerpress_pinw=141860-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/www.austinuuav.org\/audio\/2026-10-04_Bridges_of_Belonging.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"2026-10-04_Bridges_of_Belonging.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button above.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Rev. Mary Katherine Morn, President of UUSC<br \/>October 4, 2026<br \/>First UU Church of Austin<br \/>4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756<br \/>www.austinuu.org<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Join us in welcoming Rev. Mary Katherine Morn, president of UUSC, who will share stories of the remarkable justice work UUSC partners are engaging in around the world through solidarity and community care. Poet Gina Valdez writes: &#8220;There are so many borders that divide people, but for every border there is also a bridge.&#8221; As metaphorical and literal borders multiply to separate us, UUSC grassroots partners, with the support of Unitarian Universalists, are nurturing community and showing the world what it means to belong to one another.<\/p>\n<hr align=\"center\" noshade=\"noshade\" size=\"4\" width=\"300\" \/>\n<p align=\"left\"><b>Welcome<\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">Prelude: &#8220;Album for the Young, Op. 39: Waltz&#8221; (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky) &#8211; Valeria Diaz, piano<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\"><b>Chalice Lighting<\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">This is the flame we hold in our hearts as we strive for justice for everyone. This is the light we shine upon systems of oppression until they are no more. This is the warmth we share with one another as our struggle becomes our salvation.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\"><b>Call to Worship<\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote>Come into this sacred place. <br \/>Come onto this hallowed ground.<br \/>Come into the spiritual community of fierce love. <br \/>Come as we join together to do justice and build the beloved community.<br \/>Come, let us worship together.<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\"><b>Affirming Our Mission <\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">Together we nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice to build the Beloved Community.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\"><b>Anthem<\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">Anthem: &#8220;People Everywhere Got to Be Free&#8221; (The Rascals) &#8211; The First UU Band and Adult Vocal Ensemble; Greg Beets, lead vocal; Jill Csekitz, drums; Efrain Davila, bass guitar; Ricardo Leon, percussion; Brent Baldwin, guitar<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><b>Reading<\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">COMMON GROUND<br \/>Kathleen McTigue<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">We breathe the common wind of the earth<br \/>no matter where we live, who we love,<br \/>what language we speak. <br \/>We drink the common water of the earth<br \/>no matter what our race, how long we live, <br \/>the coverings we drape on our forms.<br \/>We walk the common paths of the earth<br \/>no matter our beliefs, how far we move from home, <br \/>the gold that we carry, or its lack.<br \/>May we live from these truths: our hearts<br \/>open to the holiness all around us, <br \/>and our hands turned always toward the common good.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><b>Centering<\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">Music for Meditation: &#8220;Blue Bird&#8221; (Alexis Ffrench) &#8211; Valeria Diaz, piano<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\"><b>Sermon<\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote>UUSC: BRIDGES OF BELONGING AND FREEDOM<br \/>Rev. Mary Katherine Morn<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">About eight years ago, I joined a multi-faith coalition in southern California, to protest our government&#8217;s response to humans crossing the border. The gathering, organized by the American Friends Service Committee, and co-sponsored by UUSC, among others, took place on International Human Rights Day.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">We started our procession at Border Field State Park. We walked the trail through the park with reverence. This made the sound of the drones surveilling us more striking. We interspersed our movement with protest songs, so that the humming was overcome by the melodies of our resistance.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">When we were about halfway to the border fence, the organizers stopped us, calling us into silence. It was warm, even on that December day, with few clouds. As the drones hummed, leaders spaced out along our long procession called out the names of some of those killed in migration, whether in detention, in the desert, or on the streets by agents or by the weaponized conditions created to deter people from migrating.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">With every name called, we responded honoring each person, &#8220;Presente.&#8221; Not numbers, not abstractions. Felipe. Jacklin. Today we add, Lorenzo. And so many others. Between the reading of the names, we paused, hearing only the sounds of birds, and the wind, and the humming sound of relentless surveillance.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">After this sacred honoring, we made our way to the border and when the fence appeared in the distance, it was surreal. So tall. Cutting through the earth like a scar. And running some distance into the ocean. Maybe you&#8217;ve seen it.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">I&#8217;ve seen other border walls. But the ocean&#8217;s refusal to comply with this wall&#8217;s arbitrary division almost made me laugh. Then I saw the birds sitting high on the fence watching us. As we walked toward the heavily armed border patrol, the birds flew playfully up and around. Down the length of the fence above the water. Around the end of the fence and back. It grounded me to watch them as I joined the chants and songs.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Poet Gina Valdez reminds us, There are so many borders that divide people, but for every border there is also a bridge.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">For every border there is also a bridge. We humans do not have wings to transcend the fences and borders that are built to divide us&#8230;so we build bridges. For every fearful policy that dehumanizes some, there is a vision that points to the worth of every person and towards our collective liberation.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">UUSC partners are carrying that vision, building collective liberation, every day. With support from people like you, we provide grants, technical support, research, communication support, advocacy, and solidarity that advances human rights around the world. (GAYT) Each year with Guest at your Table, we invite congregations to meet some of our partners, so you can learn about what collective liberation means to them, what they&#8217;re doing to create it, and how we together can be part of building a better world for all of us.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">You can learn a great deal more about each of this year&#8217;s partners on our UUSC website. This morning, I want to introduce two of them.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Widlore M\u00e9rancourt was a reserved teenager, he fell in love with reading, writing, and journalism. He frequented the library, pouring over newspapers. At 15, he started working at the local radio station. Whether in the papers or on the radio, however, M\u00e9rancourt never got news about his neighborhood. He grew up in the city of J\u00e9r\u00e9mie of the Grand&#8217;Anse department in Haiti. All the news stories were about Haiti&#8217;s capital, Port-au- Prince miles and miles away.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">M\u00e9rancourt wanted to be a journalist, but, he was determined to produce accountability journalism: elevating local, frontline voices, exposing human rights abuses, and capturing stories left untold.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">In 2019, M\u00e9rancourt realized his dreams when he became the Editor in Chief of AyiboPost. This independent news organization was founded in 2014 with a mission to become the primary online media reference for investigation and explanatory content in Haiti. Under M\u00e9rancourt&#8217;s leadership, AyiboPost became a UUSC partner.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">AyiboPost&#8217;s reporting helps people respond to ongoing crises in Haiti. Just recently, articles by the news outlet have resulted in the successful liberation of women who had been victims of human trafficking.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">AyiboPost also facilitated the recovery of children who had been trafficked.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Of course there is deeper history here &#8211; one we shouldn&#8217;t ignore. Perhaps you know it. Most do not. In 1804, enslaved Africans in Haiti won their freedom, the first people to do so from the terror of the Colonial Slave trade. But just twenty years later France demanded 90 million francs, due them they said because of lost income from slavery.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Let&#8217;s sit with that for one minute.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">The new nation had no choice, with the violent alternative bearing down on them in the form of warships off their coast. According to a 2022 The New York Times analysis, because of loans taken to pay off this double debt, the final payment to debtors was actually made in 1947.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">When you add up the total cost, an estimated $21 billion dollars was taken from Haiti from 1825 to 1947.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">When you next hear about the failure of Haiti, I hope you will remember the work M\u00e9rancourt and his colleagues are doing at AyiboPost, to tell the fuller story, to lift up the resilience of people in Haiti. To remind us all that the roots of crisis lie in colonization &#8211; not in Haitian failure. M\u00e9rancourt believes that<\/p>\n<blockquote>&#8220;to make Haiti whole, to capture the true humanity of this country, we need a more complete story. We need to talk about not just the struggles, but also the resistance; not just the issues, but also how people are responding with local resources to those very issues.&#8221;<\/blockquote>\n<p>It is a privilege for UUSC to partner with Merancourt and Aiybo Post. We are learning from their creative and courageous resistance and truth-telling.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Just as AyiboPost refuses deficit narratives, UUSC refuses charity models. Last year, UUSC hosted the inaugural Haiti Rising wellness retreat-four days of community care and renewal for grassroots partners. We fund their campaigns. We amplify their voices. We stand alongside, not above.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">I&#8217;d also like to introduce Yulia Kondur. Yulia founded Chiricli to provide education to Ukrainians about Roma culture and history and to support Roma people facing discrimination and violence.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Roma people have been socially isolated and discriminated against for hundreds of years, facing enslavement, cultural erasure, and genocide. This prejudice and violence is largely rooted in xenophobia and racism. Roma culture is distinctive, and Roma people have resisted assimilation. Public institutions often refuse to meaningfully recognize Roma history and identity.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Yulla has focused on supporting women impacted by violence. In addition to a mediation program and advocacy, Chirici has programs to help Roma people access medical treatment, employment, education, and social mobility.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Chirici has worked with the Ombudsman Secretariat, training judges, police officers, and other public officials. Their educational efforts help non- Roma authority figures and civilians to identify and root out discrimination. Chiricli directly confronts unjust power structures and social bias, strengthening communities and connecting neighbors.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Support for Roma communities and advocacy for Roma human rights have been an important pillar of US&#8217;s response to the crisis in Ukraine. I&#8217;ve had the privilege of visiting some of our partners there, including attending a portion of an annual Roma youth gathering in Krakow, Poland.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Two hundred Roma youth came together from twenty different European countries. I was frankly embarrassed by how little I knew about Roma identity and Roma diversity. This important annual gathering helps Roma youth make connections across this diversity holding the precious thread of Roma identity.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">And as we journeyed together to Auschwitz, we also joined together in refusing to ignore the history of genocide against the Romany. The work of preserving history, culture, identity, and belonging is the work of justice too.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Chircli means bird in the Romany language, Yulia named their organization for the spirit of the birds who are free and fly where they will.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Can you imagine? Imagine, communities gathering across borders as family, Muslims and Christians and traditional families and non-traditional, most speaking the language of their geography, but starting to learn and preserve their traditional language as well.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Imagine, people not defined by the political and economic contrivance of borders, but by history, by story, by kinship.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Imagine, knowing we belong: next door, across borders, and around the globe.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">This is the knowing that emerges in movements for liberation, in congregations dedicated to justice. This is the practice of our deepest values. And when we join together to build bridges and join hands, we are building the beloved community.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">UUSC partners are not waiting for rescue. They are building power. Chirici&#8217;s mediators protecting Roma families. AyiboPost&#8217;s journalists recovering women from trafficking, liberating children from abusive custody. And so many more.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">They are doing more than imagining. They are building belonging and freedom. Advancing human rights and justice. And we have the privilege of joining in solidarity.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Imagine. And remember.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><b>Extinguishing the Chalice<\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment. These we hold in our hearts until we are together again.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\"><b>Benediction <\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">DECISIONS <br \/>by Boris Novak <br \/>(translated from Slovene by Mia Dintinjana)<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Between two words<br \/>choose the quieter one. <br \/>Between word and silence<br \/>choose listening. <br \/>Between two books<br \/>choose the dustier one.<br \/>Between the earth and the sky <br \/>choose a bird. <br \/>Between two animals<br \/>choose the one who needs you more. <br \/>Between two children<br \/>choose both.<br \/>Between the lesser and the bigger evil <br \/>choose neither.<br \/>Between hope and despair <br \/>choose hope:<br \/>it will be harder to bear.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<hr align=\"center\" noshade=\"noshade\" size=\"4\" width=\"300\" \/>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/category\/sermons\/indexes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>SERMON INDEX<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Most sermons during the past 26 years are available online through this website. Click on the index link above to find tables of all sermons for each year listed by date (newest to oldest) with topic and speaker. Click on a topic to go to that sermon.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/podcast\/first-unitarian-universalist\/id372427776\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>PODCASTS<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Podcasts of this and other sermons are also available for free on iTunes. You can find them by clicking on the podcast link above or copying and pasting this link. https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/podcast\/first-unitarian-universalist\/id372427776<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button above. Rev. Mary Katherine Morn, President of UUSCOctober 4, 2026First UU Church of Austin4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756www.austinuu.org Join us in welcoming Rev. Mary Katherine Morn, president of UUSC, who will share stories of the remarkable justice work UUSC partners are engaging in around the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[19,18,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio-available","category-guest-speakers","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141860"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":141861,"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141860\/revisions\/141861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}