Complete Available Writings

Here you'll find freely available essays, sermons, articles, book chapters, liturgical pieces, etc. Browse writings via the subcategories or find a comprehensive alphabetical list of downloadable texts below.  

Ethics

Progressive Christianity

Other Spiritual Writing

Inequality

Unitarian Universalism

Liturgy

Other Sermons

All Documents

All PDFs of Amanda's freely available writings are below in alphabetical order.

A Blessing for Civil Disobedience 72.7 KB
A Holy Discomfort: The Spiritual Work of Singing Welcome 173 KB
A Holy Week Litany for White People Working against Racism 83.9 KB
About those Shepherds 127 KB
Abundant Life (St. Albans Presentation) 189 KB
Abundant Life (Whosoever Essay) 262 KB
All the Livelong Day 143 KB
Asking the Right Question about Academic Freedom 124 KB
Beyond No, Beyond Not: Beyond Don't: Affirmative Ethics for This Moment in Time 158 KB
Blessings and Demands: Reflections on Progressive Christianity 125 KB
Changing Strategies to Change Minds 732 KB
Class Matters: A Sermon on Class Inequality 162 KB
Closer to Home: Bisexual Feminism and the Transformation of Hetero/Sexism 7.35 MB
Coming Out as a Process of Spiritual Growth 119 KB
Coming to Believe that the Divine is Love 100 KB
Community, Slavery, and Liberation 123 KB
Confession of a Class-Bound Church 125 KB
Cultivating Joy in Our Lives 128 KB
Deeper: A Responsive Reading 74.2 KB
Each Candle a Miracle: A Responsive Reading 95.4 KB
Ethics for the Beloved Community 220 KB
Evil is Real and Love is Possible 1.41 MB
Fear or Love 137 KB
Fearless: Universalism's Invitation for Us Today 142 KB
Feeding Sheep: What Peter (and Jesus) Can Teach Us about Getting Past White Guilt, Resentment, Defensiveness, and Immobilization 159 KB
Forgiveness: A Responsive Reading 75.7 KB
From Justice to Grace and Back Again 144 KB
Gathered in Masks, Gathered in Love: A Responsive Reading 73.5 KB
Gender and Sexuality as Systems of Power 163 KB
Get Resurrected! 118 KB
Getting Honest about Social Inequality and What It Has to Do with Us 136 KB
Good Company: Using Community to Build Ethical Power 158 KB
Good Faith, Bad Faith, Racism, and the Criminal Justice System 246 KB
Good Things: An Appreciation of the Work of the Jesus Seminar 1.32 MB
Gratitude, Hope, Love: Reframing Faith, Renewing Faith 163 KB
Grief on the Path to Change (version 2) 127 KB
Hell: Fiction and Reality 151 KB
A History of Ferguson 136 KB
Holy Darkness, Hold Us: A Responsive Reading 77.7 KB
Holy Week and Holy Work: A Lenten Exercise for White People Working against Racism 112 KB
Homophobia and the Healing of Society 3.55 MB
Human Flourishing, Abundance, and Social Justice 158 KB
Human Flourishing and Social Inequality 159 KB
Imagining Interdependence 154 KB
In the Beginning: An Ordination Sermon 127 KB
Inspired to Act: Drawing Ethical Strength from Our Sources 155 KB
Interdependence Day 138 KB
Interdependence: Three Reflections 399 KB
Jesus and Billy Joel 128 KB
Jesus Then and Now 124 KB
Justice Prayer 72.9 KB
The Kin-Dom of God is Queer (a Pride Sunday mini-sermon) 120 KB
Laughing at Our Egos: A Gratitude Practice 127 KB
Litany for Strength and Guidance in Justice Work 109 KB
Love and Justice: How Beloved Community Helps Us Work against White Supremacy 163 KB
Loving Ourselves: A Responsive Reading 74.7 KB
Mask-Wearing as a Spiritual Practice 133 KB
Meaning and Demeaning, Values and Devaluation: Thinking Sociologically about Christian Sexism and Heterosexism 220 KB
Mystery and Miracle: A Responsive Reading 75.1 KB
Necessary but Not Sufficient: Good Intentions and Healing the World 133 KB
Not God, Not the Devil: A Humble Humanism 159 KB
On Being "Pro-Lives" 96.9 KB
One Cheer for Privilege Language 149 KB
Our Labor: A Responsive Reading for Labor Day 78.1 KB
Pascal's Wager in Reverse 99.1 KB
Pausing before We Act; A Form of Prayer 156 KB
Paying Attention as an Act of Love and Compassion 163 KB
Practicing Interdependence 121 KB
Present and Accounted For: Creating and Engaging in Rituals to Strengthen Our Values 137 KB
Proud: A Responsive Reading 79.1 KB
Queer Creativity 136 KB
Queer Inclusion in the United Methodist Church: Book Introduction 5.82 MB
Racism and the Benefit of the Doubt: A Presentation 116 KB
Racism and the Benefit of the Doubt: Exercises 149 KB
Racism and White Discomfort: A Presentation 10.7 MB
Racism and White Discomfort: Grounding Exercises 176 KB
Racism, Flourishing, and Suffering: Ethics for White People Working against Racism 236 KB
Reflecting on Solzhenitsyn's Line between Good and Evil 118 KB
Revolutionary Love for Building Beloved Community 154 KB
Room at the Inn: On Religious "Freedom" to Discriminate against LGBT People 144 KB
Same-Sex Marriage: It's a Spiritual Thing 114 KB
Serenity, Courage, Wisdom: A Gift from 12-Step Programs to People Who Don't Need Them 107 KB
Seven Ways of Looking at the United Methodist Church LGBT Inclusion Struggle 169 KB
Singing Welcome as an Antiracist Practice (materials packet) 236 KB
Social Action as a Spiritual Discipline 154 KB
Some Other Resurrections: A Responsive Reading 94.1 KB
Sources of Pride: A Queer Appreciation of the Six UU Sources 149 KB
Spiritual Formation and Human Flourishing (an essay for Whosoever) 166 KB
A Spiritual Social Justice Alphabet Inspired by Dr. King 100 KB
Striving for Imperfection: Toward a Spirituality of Messiness 122 KB
The Benefit of the Doubt: A Way of Thinking about Systematic Inequality 195 KB
The Good News of Unitarian Universalism 182 KB
The Hands of the Holy: Re-Envisioning LGBT Welcome in Faith Communities 138 KB
The Jesus Prayer: An Interpretation 95.3 KB
The Kingdom of God is Queer: A Pride Sermon 227 KB
The Market as God, Part 1: Evidence 161 KB
The Market as God, Part 2: Considering Capitalism 118 KB
The Moment before Us: Practicing One Ethical Act at a Time 143 KB
The Paradox of Inequality and the Paradox of Welcome 168 KB
The Promise of Black Lives Mattering 182 KB
Tidings of Discomfort and Joy (the bad (good) news of Jesus) 146 KB
Time to Rejoice: Celebrating Our Ethical Successes 127 KB
Toward a Progressive Christian Theology of Creativity 156 KB
Two Cheers for Amy Grant: Good News and Great News for LGBTQ+ People 126 KB
Two New Definitions of PC: Continuing Dr. King's Work 179 KB
Two Wars on Christmas 136 KB
Waiting: A Longest Night Service Reading 124 KB
We Are Called to Pay Attention: A Responsive Reading 79.3 KB
We Need to Be Resurrected: A Responsive Reading 78.1 KB
What's Love Got to Do with It? From Feeling to Action 128 KB
When All is Burned Away: An Ash Wednesday Reading 75.4 KB
When It Seems that We Wait Alone 118 KB
Where We Start: Inspirations for White People Working against White Supremacy 193 KB
Who Are You Becoming? 133 KB
Who We Are and What We Need: A Trait-Based Ethic of Flourishing 130 KB
Whole-Hearted Gratitude 87.1 KB
Why Ethics? Introducing a Sermon Series on Ethical Living 156 KB
Words with Baggage: Unpacking "Faith" 159 KB
Words with Baggage: Unpacking "Hell" 131 KB
Words with Baggage: Unpacking "Holy" and "Sacred" 176 KB
Words with Baggage: Unpacking "Judgment" 149 KB
Words with Baggage: Unpacking "Obedience" 128 KB
Words with Baggage: Unpacking "Prayer" 183 KB
Words with Baggage: Unpacking "Religion" 158 KB
Words with Baggage: Unpacking "Salvation" 155 KB
Words with Baggage: Unpacking "Sin" 161 KB
Words with Baggage: Unpacking "Worship" 130 KB
Words with Baggage: Unpacking "Worthy" 137 KB
Yes, It's a Choice: A Pride Sermon 142 KB