In this thought-provoking episode, our guest, Takiyah Nur Amin, shares about growing up with Muslim and Christian family members, finding Unitarian Universalism as a place of acceptance, and what her daily spiritual practices look like.

Highlights:

• How Takiyah found her tradition over lunch in the high school cafeteria
• What it means to be a part of a covenantal religious tradition
• Why living together with love and empathy trumps doctrinal differences
• Why she won’t choose between her Blackness and her faith tradition

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Care for the World: Reflections on Community Ministry: https://amzn.to/3WqVVb2
• BLUU Notes: An Anthology of Love, Justice and Liberation: https://amzn.to/3Cm6SUD
• Unitarian Universalist Association: https://www.uua.org/
• BLUU: https://blacklivesuu.org/
• OWL curriculum: https://www.uua.org/re/owl
• John Shelby Spong: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong
• Chautauqua Institution: https://www.chq.org/about/

Guest Information:

Takiyah Nur Amin is a dance scholar, educator, academic success strategist. Dr. Amin serves Unitarian Universalism as a member of the Ministerial Fellowship Committee and UU Studies Network, and a former member of the Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) Organizing Collective Board. Her writing has been featured in UU World Magazine, and in two edited volumes, Care for the World: Reflections on Community Ministry and BLUU Notes: An Anthology of Love, Justice and Liberation (co-edited with the Rev. Mykal Slack.) You can reach Dr. Amin at TakiyahNurAmin.com

Join the Conversation:

Have thoughts about this episode? We’d love to hear from you! Send us your comments or questions at www.DiverseDevotions.com

In this thought-provoking episode, our guest, Tawnicia Rowan, shares her personal experiences of Black Christianity, finding the Universal Truth Center and how she accidentally became a minister there.

Highlights:

• How loving a Buddhist posed big questions to her faith
• Why her Christian mother pointed her to a new place of worship
• Five universal principles that are the most meaningful for Tawnicia
• Her experience at a historically Black and Christian seminary
• How to create a world that is meaningful and compassionate for all

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Universal Truth Center in Miami: https://utruthcenter.org/
• Universal Foundation for Better Living: https://ufbl.org/
• Rev. Dr. Mary Tumpkin: https://ufbl.org/rev-mary/

Guest Information:

Tawnicia Rowan is an ordained minister in the Universal Foundation for Better Living, an international association of New Thought Christian. Currently, Rev. Tawnicia serves as a staff minister at the Universal Truth Center in Miami Gardens, FL and as a faculty member at the Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary and the Unity Urban Ministerial School. You can reach Rev. Rowan via email and hear her talks on YouTube.

Email: tawniciar@utruthcenter.org

Tawnicia’s talks: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsQL9T7IxkcA8bf1j6nJsOpTNeYbpprWz&si=8YODGNFIm6x3Yljp

Join the Conversation:

Have thoughts about this episode? We’d love to hear from you! Send us your comments or questions at www.DiverseDevotions.com

In this thought-provoking episode, our guest, Darnise Martin, tells us how her childhood questions about religion led her to a New Thought metaphysics and an embrace of her ancestral traditions of hoodoo.

Highlights:

• The mystery man who gave Dr. Darnise a pamphlet that changed her life
• The connection among spirituality, magic and nature
• Darnise’s spirituality in the grocery store
• The role of hoodoo in justice-making

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Michael Beckwith’s podcast: https://www.michaelbeckwith.com/podcast
• Michael Beckwith + Ellen DeGeneres interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONdSvQCPjeQ
• Will Coleman: https://www.facebook.com/will.coleman.56/
• Martinism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martinism#
• David Alexander’s Freedom from Discord: The Promise of New Thought Liberation Theology: https://amzn.to/42ubumh

Guest Information:

Dr. Darnise C. Martin is an Adjunct Professor at Loyola Marymount University. Dr. Darnise is the author of two books, including the 2005 volume, Beyond Christianity: African Americans in a New Thought Church and co-edited the volume Women In New and Africana Religions and numerous articles and essays. As a media consultant, Dr. Danise has been featured on Tavis Smiley’s radio program, KJLH Radio in Los Angeles, numerous of podcasts and internet radio programs. She was the research consultant on the documentaries Dark Girls and Light Girls for the Oprah Winfrey Network. She conducts research on the diversities of African-American religions particularly the Gullah Geechee and hoodoo cultures in the South Carolina and Georgia low country regions of the U.S.

You can reach Dr. Darnise at DrDarnise.com

• Darnise’s House of Religion, Magic and History: https://www.youtube.com/drdarnise
• Beyond Christianity: African Americans in a New Thought Church: https://amzn.to/4hfJs2E
• “Is This a Dance Floor or a Revival Meeting” in Ain’t I a Womanist: Third Wave Womanist Religious Thought: https://amzn.to/4jq0SuR
• All Books Dr. Darnise has written can be found here: https://amzn.to/4ayuKku

Join the Conversation:

Have thoughts about this episode? We’d love to hear from you! Send us your comments or questions at www.DiverseDevotions.com