Touchstones Project
a theme-based ministry program
for Unitarian Universalist congregations
For Your Consideration
An Intriguing Way
of Doing Church
A Unitarian Universalist congregation can transform the people it serves, inspiring them to help transform the world. This requires an intentional, sustained, integrated, holistic process of deepening that informs, nurtures, and challenges.
Developed over eleven years, this theme-based ministry project has been dramatically expanded to make a meaningful difference in people's lives within your congregation.
We invite you:
1. To browse our website to learn how
what we offer can transform
your programming.
2. To request our materials for the
theme of beauty to facilitate a
comprehensive review by your staff and key volunteers.
3. To schedule a call with us so that we
can answer any questions that you
may have.
4. To order a trial-subscription for
three months to implement and
evaluate our program.
5. To extend your subscription for the
balance of the program year, which
ends in August of each year.
Click here for information about subscriptions.
March Theme
Trust
Trust has been called the “coin of the realm,” which means it is highly valuable. Trust can take time and effort to build and a moment to destroy. While we may think that assessing others’ trustworthiness is a crucial step, judging and strengthening our own trustworthiness should come first. The “truth” is that people lie for all kinds of reasons, and there are many kinds and even colors of lies. Given this, we should be cautious with our trust, but that cuts across our desire to simply trust, which is easier. Compare the ease of simply trusting with the heartbreak of betrayal, which can make it much harder to trust again. Still, our trust in another is a profound gift, as is their trust in us. A gift that should be valued and protected, not sullied for any reason.
Video
The Anatomy of Trust
Brené Brown (22:49)
“An overview of the 7 elements of trust: Boundaries, Reliability, Accountability, Vault, Integrity, Nonjudgement, and Generosity. The acronym BRAVING serves as a helpful checklist when rumbling with trust issues with the people in our lives. Breaking down the attributes of trust into specific behaviors allows us to more clearly identify and address breaches of trust. I love the BRAVING checklist because it reminds me that trusting myself or other people is a vulnerable and courageous process.”
Video Link: https://brenebrown.com/videos/anatomy-trust-video/
Monthly Themes
for 2022-2023
Our theme-year begins in
September 2022. Please click on
the pdf icon to access the monthly
themes for 2022-2023.
Annual theme for 2022-2023
Regeneration
Themes for 2023-2024 are now being selected. Email us. We would love to see your suggestions!
Brené Brown
on What it Really Means to Trust
Ava Whitney-Coulter
…To talk about trust, Brown uses …BRAVING [as follows].
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Boundaries: To trust someone, Brown says, it’s essential that we are clear about our boundaries so they can …respect our limits. It’s also important that we understand the boundaries of others…. …
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Reliability: Reliability is when someone does what they say they’re going to do over and over again. …Brown says, reliability builds gradually. …
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Accountability: We trust people who own up to their mistakes, apologize, and make amends, she says. But others can only do that if we allow them. …
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The Vault: We cannot trust someone if they share our personal information with others without our permission. It needs to be as though that information is in a vault…. …We [also] need to hold the secrets, stories, and information of other people in confidence…. …
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Integrity: “Integrity,” Brown says, “is choosing courage over comfort. It’s choosing what’s right over what’s fun, fast, or easy.” Integrity, she says, is more than just naming our values. It’s living according to our values. …
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Non-judgment: Non-judgment is …being vulnerable with someone without being judged by them, while they [are] …not be judged by us. …
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Generosity: Brown says, “our relationship is only a trusting relationship if you can assume the most generous thing about my words, intentions and behaviors, and then check in with me.” …If we make a mistake, others will be up front about it, but assume we had good intentions. …
Source: https://www.mindful.org/brene-brown-on-what-it-really-means-to-trust/#:~:text=To%20talk%20about%20trust%2C%20Brown,t%20trust%20others%2C%20or%20ourselves.