Sunday Worship: Your Body Is Welcome Here

Amy Brunell, preaching
Johnny Canales, Worship Associate

We have been led to believe that only certain bodies are healthy and therefore valuable. We have been inundated with what “health” looks like. If we do not match the ideal, then we are called lazy, considered uneducated, and lacking self-care strategies. In addition, many of our Liberal folks still struggle with the unconscious bias of tattoos and piercings! Now our Trans folks, including children, are being attacked and denied medical care and acceptance. Let’s gently consider some of the bias of bodies we may encounter or we ourselves have.

Amy R. Brunell was raised in a multi-religious household, joining this congregation in the 1970s. She happily attended Camp de Benneville Pines, attending multiple youth and family events. She headed to UC Irvine to pursue a degree in Musical Theater. In 2005, at a camp reunion of former teens, she reconnected with Unitarian Universalism and re-joined UUSM. She has volunteered as a camp Dean for well over a dozen events at de Benneville. Amy is passionate about deepening conversations regarding our UU Principles, Sources, and now our evolving Article II Values. She currently facilitates workshops for adults on developing strategies to deepen emotional intelligence — and has just completed her first year at Starr King School for the Ministry. She hopes to be an ordained UU minister in a few years, and dreams of facilitating discussions in large audiences to help bring peace to a wider world. Since music is foundational for bringing people together, Amy also dreams of contemporary music being a large part of these discussions.