UUMUAC (You Me Act): The Unitarian Universalist Multiracial Unity Action Council

About UUMUAC (You Me Act): The Unitarian Universalist Multiracial Unity Action Council

UUMUAC stands for Unitarian Universalist Multiracial Unity Action Council (https://uumuac.org), but you don't need to be a Unitarian or a Universalist to understand our message: We need to work together to build the world that Martin Luther King dreamed of, a world where people are judged by who they are and what they do - not the color of their skin. UUMUAC hosts a monthly vespers service via Zoom and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI_LLePt59InvDs47ylqVSw), featuring speakers who are both articulate and passionate about both multiracial unity and liberal religion. This podcast will extract sermons from those services and other UUMUAC-sponsored online events. Note: If you would like to attend Vespers by Zoom, so you can participate in the conversation, please use our CONTACT FORM (https://www.uumuac.org/) at the bottom of our webpage. In future episodes, we will be sharing sermons delivered by one of our co-founders, the late Rev. Dr. Finley Campbell, who left an impressive legacy of his writings and speeches, including a large collection of taped sermons that have not yet been digitized. Here's a little more about who we are and what we believe: The UUMUAC Vision & Mission Preamble Racism and related forms of prejudice are revealed when someone treats another person differently due to their perceived race or ethnicity. These prejudices affect people around the world. Such disrespectful conduct is especially harmful in religious communities because of their commitment to strong ethical and moral standards. Vision Statement We envision our congregations, associations, and communities as being not color blind but color appreciative; as judging and treating people by the content of their character, not the color of their skin, their cultural heritage, or other identity; and as treasuring all forms of diversity in the context of Martin Luther King’s Jr’s “Beloved Community.” We call this vision Multiracial Unity. Mission Statement It is the mission of the Unitarian Universalist Multiracial Unity Action Council to foster activities for multiracial unity and to counter racism and neo-racism through worship, education, bearing witness, and other actions, and to find and engage like-minded individuals and groups. We affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person, and strive to defend freedom, reason and tolerance as articulated in the Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism adopted in 1985. This includes promoting their use in individual congregations, through congregational autonomy, and in our own actions. We looking forward to hearing from you!

Publisher

Barbara Jean Walsh

Category

religion & spirituality · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

1 Nov 2025

Latest episode

22 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

23 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   22 Sept 2026

   "I may not get there with you": Last Words (Campbell, Dec 2022)

   This archival episode from 2022 features UUMUAC founder Rev. Dr. Finley C. Campbell, introduced warmly by Rev. Richard Trudeau. Trudeau begins by situating Campbell within the long Universalist tradition of honoring senior clergy, noting that Campbell—scholar, minister, activist, and teacher—has become a beloved figure in that lineage. Campbell’s academic path, from Morehouse to Atlanta University to his 1969 University of Chicago PhD, is highlighted alongside his decades of teaching literature, composition, and Black studies. Listeners will hear Campbell sing several hymns with new lyrics he wrote specifically for this service, including “Oh, Freedom’s One Foundation Is Multiracial Unity.” The text shows him explaining that he rewrote traditional Christian hymns to better reflect a broad-based, multiracial UU faith. One example captures his approach when he sings, “Oh, freedom’s one foundation / Is multiracial unity / It is the power of struggle / For bright equality.” The heart of the episode is Campbell’s farewell homily as a racial‑justice activist, delivered on the winter solstice. He describes his theological stance—“Marxist‑Leninist historical theism”—and uses the symbolism of the darkest night of the year to reflect on global suffering, hope, and the ongoing struggle for justice. He weaves biblical narrative, political critique, and social analysis into a meditation on light persisting through darkness. Campbell then offers a sweeping autobiographical sermon recounting his five decades of activism, beginning with the night of Dr. King’s assassination in 1968. He describes organizing biracial responses in Atlanta, building Black student unions and John Brown Societies in Indiana, confronting academic racism in the 1970s, and later challenging what he saw as neo‑racist trends within Unitarian Universalism. His narrative emphasizes a lifelong commitment to building organizations rather than momentary movements. The episode closes with Campbell’s reflection on UUMUAC itself—its endurance, its mission, and its potential. He celebrates the organization’s growth, its journal The MAC Arrow, its new leadership, and its role in sustaining multiracial UU values. In his final words as an activist, he passes the torch to future organizers, urging them to “build nuclei” and continue the work he began.

2. 

   22 Sept 2026

   Cat Got the String (Belcher, Sept 2026)

   Rev. Denise Tracy opens the episode by introducing Rev. EmmyLou Belcher, reflecting on their decades‑long friendship and EmmyLou’s remarkable record of revitalizing congregations in Detroit, Traverse City, and Naperville. After lighting a chalice, EmmyLou begins with an evocative reading from Simple Morning Light, using the myth of the “miraculous pitcher” to explore the idea that spiritual resources—unlike material ones—are never truly depleted. As she reads, she quotes lines such as, “No matter how often they pour from the pitcher, it is always full,” and “In the realm of the Spirit, there is no such thing as a non‑renewable resource.” These passages set the stage for her central message: that fear, scarcity, and exhaustion often cloud our perception, but generosity and courage replenish the spirit. From there, EmmyLou shifts to the present moment, describing the feeling that “the cat has gotten the yarn that used to be my world,” a metaphor for political turmoil and social fragmentation. She recalls earlier decades in liberal religious life—debates about humanism and theism, expanding equality, speaking truth to power—and contrasts them with today’s climate of control, division, and shrinking public voice. Yet she insists that despair is not the answer. Instead, she urges listeners to “show up,” drawing inspiration from a trans speaker in her Traverse City congregation who emphasized that presence—not just words—is the most powerful form of solidarity. EmmyLou deepens this theme by sharing stories of people who embodied courage and moral clarity: civil rights workers in the 1950s, Paul McCartney’s “Blackbird” as a symbol of resilience, and Jewish writer Peter Beinart’s call for equality as the only path to lasting safety. She also recounts a moving documentary about Japanese American internment, where families survived through mutual aid—sharing clothing, planting gardens, caring for the sick, and building community despite scarcity. “They tended to the needs of everyone, regardless of what their social status… had been before the camps,” she notes, highlighting how communal care becomes a lifeline in times of crisis. The sermon turns toward practical action as EmmyLou describes congregations that model hands‑on justice, such as Third Unitarian Church of Chicago, which created raised‑bed gardens to combat food deserts and share fresh produce with neighbors. She imagines taking the “shredded yarn” of our current world and spinning it anew—knitting a garment “for the whole of the earth.” Her vision is radically inclusive: “If you’re a human, you are welcome… to sing together, to spend together, to water what we must have, and be humans together.” She calls for a faith practice rooted not in separation or superiority, but in shared humanity and mutual nourishment. Rev. Tracy closes the episode by affirming EmmyLou’s message, offering her own story about kindness transforming a life, and reminding listeners that small acts—smiling at teens, greeting strangers, building welcoming ministries—can ripple outward in powerful ways. The conversation ends warmly, with gratitude, gentle humor about knitting and cats, and an invitation for congregations and individuals alike to cultivate ministries that welcome, empower, and connect.

3. 

   23 Aug 2026

   Beyond Words: Seeing Beyond Our Assumptions and Learning to See to the Heart of Life

   The sermon, delivered by the Reverend Denise Tracy for UUMUAC’s August Vespers service, centers on the theme “Beyond Words: Seeing Beyond Our Assumptions and Learning to See to the Heart of Life.” Tracy begins by situating her own life story: growing up in an all‑white town, entering ministry as one of the earliest women in UU leadership, and learning—through adoption, community work, and personal relationships—to see human complexity beyond surface differences. As she says, “My church taught me to see beyond color. Adopting brown children opened my heart, mind, and life and faith to understand a unity and complexity beyond words.” Her biography frames the sermon’s central message: that genuine human connection is a spiritual practice. She illustrates this message through vivid stories about her father, a man whose curiosity and openness allowed him to connect with anyone. Tracy recounts a moment on a tourist bus when her father sat beside a young African American woman and asked about her cornrows. His sincere interest led to a warm conversation that crossed racial and generational lines. She also describes how he welcomed Mormon missionaries, housed international visitors, and befriended people others overlooked—including a minister with no arms who ate at their dinner table using utensils held between his toes. These stories demonstrate how small acts of curiosity and respect can dissolve barriers and create trust. Tracy then reflects on her own childhood experiences of diversity, despite living in a racially homogeneous town. Her Native American grandmother taught her traditional plant knowledge, and a church camp experience introduced her to Black peers whose lives were shaped by segregation just five miles away. These early encounters taught her to “go sit with people who are the most unlike you,” to ask questions, and to “see with the heart.” She connects these lessons to her later ministry, where welcoming diverse families and community groups helped her first congregation flourish. A major portion of the sermon recounts the adoption of her daughters from Thailand, including the painful history of DDT exposure that left thousands of Thai children disabled. Tracy describes the prejudice these children faced and the courage of her daughter, adopted at age fourteen, who rebuilt her life in the United States. Decades later, Tracy brought her daughter and grandchildren back to Thailand, where the orphanage staff—still working after 36 years—received her daughter as a “living goddess,” a testament to their work and to the power of human connection across cultures, disabilities, and histories of harm. In closing, Tracy affirms that overcoming racism and building unity require openness, listening, and a willingness to cross boundaries. She praises UUMUAC for fostering community through relationship‑building and trust. The sermon ends with a ritual invitation to imagine holding a chalice flame and to carry that flame inward as a symbol of ongoing commitment to justice, love, and human connection. As she concludes, “Sometimes the smallest action, the smallest kindness can save the world, one person or one situation at a time.”

Contact UUMUAC (You Me Act): The Unitarian Universalist Multiracial Unity Action Council

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