Are Values Sacred in a Pandemic Age?
With the launch of our new “Are Values Sacred in a Pandemic Age?” resource, we are thrilled to announce Religica’s new, monthly gift to you. Expect each resource to be rich with blogs, podcasts, discussion questions and activities, and other forms of relevant content as we honor our commitment to bringing you free and accessible resources for a better world.
Religica resources reside in the public domain and are built for use in classrooms, local communities, and society at large. We invite you to take a look at “Are Values Sacred in a Pandemic Age?” now!
Thinking Aloud – Identifying our Values
Click on the links to the right to explore more.
Our values are connected to what we see as meaningful and sacred. We tend to hold our values close to our hearts. They influence and inform our behaviors, our outlooks, and our actions. In times of crisis, our values are oftentimes what speak to us most clearly. They remind us of what matters – relationship, connection, purpose, and more. They guide us in acting selflessly in ways that we otherwise might not. Our values comprise the very foundation for our capacities to care for one another. They stem from what we believe is true. And those truths are often shared and assumed alongside others, regarding what we love. Those truths are at the core of the entire experience of life and daily living.
Moving Together – Speaking on the Sacred
June 13, 2020 | Cindy Brightbill
Cindy Brightbill is a grateful first year student of Divinity and Theology at Seattle University in Seattle. Cindy is working towards her lifelong goal of becoming an interfaith Chaplain in a hospital and hospice setting. She lives in Issaquah with her husband and two amazing children. Currently, she works with senior citizens in social work and recreation. She lives and studies the principles of Religious Science spirituality. Her church home is currently Unity Church of Bellevue. Namaste and blessings to all!
Thinking and Acting on the Sacred
After spending time with the blog, podcast, and links we’ve offered, we now invite you to contribute your own thoughts, links, and ideas. Consider the following prompts as a place to begin the conversation in the Discussion Forum.
Reflect:
Take a moment to reflect on your core values. To what extent do you find your values shaping your behaviors? Your feelings toward others? Your feelings toward other living things?
How have acts of injustice appealed to your values and prompted you to act?
Engage:
In Cindy Brightbill’s blog, Brightbill writes “In many ways, the world is governed by fear. We act in certain ways, fearing what will happen if we don’t.”
Take a few minutes to respond: How might the world be a different place if we valued love over fear?
Links to Consider
Examining the ways in which we value interpersonal care during a pandemic.
Examining the where the public health crises of systemic racism and COVID-19 intersect.
A call to value and protect the lives of our elders during a pandemic.
Exploring the many ways to love your neighbor during a pandemic.
Insight into how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced what we know about our changing climate.