by Katie Pruett
If you’ve attended a BLUU worship service, then you’ve experienced the love and intention that goes into planning a service uniquely centered around spiritual care for Black people. But you might not be aware that these sacred services, which have always been a cornerstone for engaging the BLUU community, now have a team of dedicated volunteers supporting them—the Worship Associates.
“We tried to bring in volunteers in 2018, but I hadn’t quite figured out all the pieces of online worship, and as a community we were still figuring ourselves out, so it didn’t work as well. Now, people know who we are and they know how they want to serve,” shared Rev. Mykal Slack.
The Worship Associates are a group of 10 volunteers who recently answered the call to help organize BLUU worship. Their planning includes brainstorming themes, arranging music, and offering additional as-needed support to Rev. Slack for each worship service. In December, they hosted their first event independent of Rev. Slack’s leadership, a Winter Solstice Celebration.
“We’ve always talked about holding a winter solstice service, but we hadn’t gotten around to it. It was the Worship Associates’ idea to go for it this year. I mentioned that I could not be at service at all in December, so they jumped on board with making it happen. I saw the script and the music ahead of time and everything looked amazing,” Rev. Slack said. “They are just a great bunch of people.”
The Worship Associates team was assembled last summer and held their first meeting in August 2024. Rev. Slack summed up that having a passionate group of individuals—some with long histories in UU congregations—show up to serve in this capacity, is the sort of addition BLUU is always eager to welcome.
Looking to volunteer with BLUU? Email [email protected].
About the Author:
Katie Pruett is a storyteller, writer, editor, and publisher whose work is driven by her passion for liberation. In the more recent years of her 10-year career as a writer and editor, she’s been focused on cultural sustainability, and ethical and non-ethical labor practices in fashion . Apart from her work, she spends most of her time enjoying nature, arts & crafts with her 8-year-old, listening to music, dancing, cooking, and laughing with the people she’s grateful to have in her life.
