• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Calendar
  • Latest News
  • OUUC Connect/Realm
  • Contact Us

OUUC

Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation

  • Newcomers
    • Plan Your Visit
    • Visitor Card
    • Sign up for Mailing List
    • FAQ
    • How to Become a Member
  • About
    • Who We Are
      • How We Are Organized
    • Our Staff Team
    • Board of Trustees
    • A Brief OUUC History
    • About Unitarian Universalism
    • Bylaws and Policies
    • Contact Us
  • Worship + Music
    • Worship
    • Music Ministry
    • Recent Services
  • Religious Education
    • Children’s Programs
    • Youth Ministry
    • Adult Faith Development Programs
    • Our Whole Lives Sexuality Education Classes
  • Justice – Faith in Action
    • Justice Overview
    • Share the Plate
  • Communications
    • OUUC Weekly Update E-Blast
    • The Spark! Messages of Inspiration from OUUC
    • “After Church” Talk Show
  • Getting Connected
    • Making Connections
    • Getting and Giving Help in a Time of Need
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Social Groups
    • OUUC Connect/Realm Tutorials
    • How-Tos / Tutorials
    • Forms
    • Contact Us
  • Giving
    • Stewardship Drive
    • Fundraising Events
    • Capital Campaign
    • Ways to Give
      • Online Donations
    • Endowment
    • eSale Giving
      • OUUC eSale Giving Fundraiser Donation Form
    • Shopping
You are here: Home / Minister / Healthy

Dec 02 2021

Healthy

Transformation doesn’t happen in a linear way. It happens in cycles, convergences, explosions. If we release the framework of failure, we can realize that we are in iterative cycles, and we can keep asking ourselves—how do I learn from this?  

From Emergent Strategy by adrienne marie brown

This month we explore the third word in the new OUUC vision of a loving, just and healthy world. What does it mean to be healthy? For people, for a community, for a nation or the world?  

Perhaps it’s not surprising that “healthy” would be part of a vision developed and adopted in the middle of a global pandemic. Health has been on our collective minds a lot these past 21 months: our health and that of our loved ones, the health of our society, of our democracy, the health of our economy and our natural world. Each of these had been challenged significantly and continues to be. 

What does it mean to be healthy? In the November 14 service, I offered the definition of health from the World Health Organization: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities.” 

For individuals, a healthful lifestyle provides the means to lead a full life with meaning and purpose. For a community, society or the world, health also means physical well-being, meaning that the environment is healthy. It means social well-being, meaning that society is just, compassionate, and equitable. It means creating safe neighborhoods and affordable housing, broadening job opportunities and reducing income inequality, designing walkable towns and fostering community cohesion. It means that everyone’s basic needs are met and that there is a way to involve everyone in decision-making.  

This Sunday I will speak about what it means to be a healthy congregation and why it is important. A congregation is a collective of individuals and so much more than that; as a system, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. As we envision a world that is healthy and work to make it so, we can start with creating a congregation that is healthy. This is work we do as we learn and grow together. 

Blessings on your week.   

Rev. Mary  

Minister@ouuc.org 

Written by Jo Sahlin · Categorized: Minister

Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation

2315 Division St NW
Olympia, WA 98502

Phone: (360) 634-2005

  • Calendar
  • Latest News
  • Bylaws and Policies
  • Resources for Leaders

Copyright © 2023 · Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation · Log in