Sunday, February 15, 2026
Five sermons about the “Good Trouble” the Thrift Shop, Food Pantry, Green Sanctuary/Climate Justice, and Music committees do.
“Good Trouble” refers to collective disruption that challenges injustice and promotes social change. The term was popularized by John Lewis, who encouraged people to advocate for equality and justice, even if it meant being labeled a troublemaker. Good trouble embodies the spirit of non-violent civil disobedience aimed at creating positive social transformation.
Diane Jones for the Thrift Shop
The Murray Church Thrift Shop opened its doors six years ago as an ongoing fundraiser to replace lost rental revenue. We’ve been incredibly fortunate that the thrift shop continues to exceed our income goals, thanks to the amazing commitment of all our volunteers and the generosity of our donors. But equally transformative was the realization of how running our thrift shop allows us to practice our UU values in a meaningful way.
One of our UU values is Equity, which means we work for a peaceful and fair world. Every person is inherently worthy and has the right to flourish with dignity, love, and compassion. For the Thrift Shop, this means we intentionally keep our prices as low as possible so that people of all income levels can afford our clean, gently used merchandise. And our prices are low enough that small business owners, such as online resellers, consigners, or antique dealers, can support our shop and then resell the items at a profit for their own small businesses. They are some of our best customers, and we’re proud to support small local business owners!
Another UU value is Interdependence, which means that we are all connected: people, creatures and our planet. Murray is an accredited Green Sanctuary congregation, with a commitment to examining our current environmental impacts and moving toward more sustainable practices. We honor this mission in the Thrift Shop by vowing to reuse, recycle, and repurpose. Donated items don’t just end up in the shop; some are shared within the church, such as toiletries to the Food Pantry, or office supplies to the church office or Religious Ed, and many of our items are saved for the Holiday Fair and other church fundraisers. Donated items we cannot use here at the church are responsibly recycled along to other nonprofits, such as MAE Organization, which cares for the homeless in Rhode Island, Baystate Textiles, which provides textile recycling services, Vincentian Re-Entry Program, which helps formerly incarcerated neighbors and their families, Brockton Emergency Resource Program, and the Blessings Barn in Mendon. We donate surplus books to both a local prison ministry and to More Than Words, which provides job training and support for vulnerable youth. Broken electronics are recycled through IndieCycle, whose mission is to repair, reuse, or recycle broken electronics rather than them ending up in landfills.
Many of our customers prefer to thrift shop as a sustainable choice to put less waste into the environment while also practicing ethical consumerism.
Most importantly, love is at the center of our UU values, and volunteering is a powerful expression of love, compassion, and service to others. Volunteering fosters a sense of community and connection, and at the Thrift Shop, we always welcome new volunteers who can help in numerous ways, such as working in the shop, sorting donations, merchandising, or delivering items to our nonprofit partners. There is no set time commitment: we use the SignUp Genius app so volunteers can just choose the hours they are available in a given month. Come check us out! We are passionate about what we do, we have a lot of fun, and volunteers get first dibs on our great merchandise!
Bertha Young for the Food Pantry
Good morning, everybody. My name is Bertha Young, and I’m a volunteer at the Mary Church Food Pantry. As you know from our marquee and some of you from experience, we are open twice a week from 930 to 1130 on Mondays and Thursdays. We see about 25 to 50 shoppers who come to the food pantry each day.
And so that means that we serve between 75 and 150 people. The average family size is about three, although we have some large families and plenty of single people. We have 20 volunteers who work for the food pantry and work very hard. Ron and Dan are responsible for ordering our food and taking stock, and we get two and a half tons of food twice a week that we deliver over the course of any week.
The stereotypes. Stereotypes are often pervasive, false societal beliefs. For people who are living in poverty, stereotypes. And I’m sure you know this, if you’ve thought about this, is that people are lazy, unmotivated, unintelligent, irresponsible, maybe dishonest, even criminal.
We don’t treat people like that when they come to the food pantry.
We don’t simply make food available for people. In the UU tradition. We offer hospitality, respect, and recognition, and ensure we treat people as valued members of society. We are they and they are us. And that’s radically different than what people experience on a day-to-day basis in society. We are using you. And so we may not realize how radical that is.
Sometimes, achieving what is normal for us is a radical act for other people, especially for people who are living in poverty. We act on social justice every time someone comes through our doors. It is good trouble. It’s a loving place. We hug people. They come in. They tell us their stories. They hear our stories. And it is just a wonderful and loving place to be.
We hope you’ll join us sometime.
Colleen DeGroot for Social Concerns
Hi, my name is Colleen DeGroot, and I’m a member of the Social Concerns team. What does Good Trouble mean to you? Good trouble is when people take peaceful, nonviolent action to challenge injustice and create meaningful change. We are doing this at the Murray Social Concerns team. We work to create meaningful change driven by our principles through the lens of social justice.
At Murray, we hung our Black Lives Matter flag. We hung our progressive flag. We sent postcards and signed petitions. Held concerts, participated in no King’s marches. And we were collaborating with Four Women Health Services, promoting reproductive freedom. Yes, Murray believes in good trouble through all this; injustice continues.
During our meetings, we debate on what is the best way to deal with injustice and inequities. There are so many things going on. Which tragedy should we pick for our dedicated offering? Our check ins many times, and with discussions about how we as individuals and users are dealing with the barrage of bad news. How do we deal with these onslaughts of problems? We do not have to handle this on our own. We have each other.
And a few years ago, we approved the eighth principle, which states we would accountably dismantle racism and oppression in ourselves and our institution. And that is good trouble.
We hung a Black Lives Matter sign years ago as our commitment to eradicate white supremacy. This means more now than ever before. Black and brown people are being killed and disappeared.
This year, already eight deaths related to ice, not to mention numerous beatings, tear gassing, and destruction of personal property. In 2025, 32 deaths occurred in detention centers, and those are what we are aware of. We are planning many dinner and movie opportunities over the next few months, with discussions about wrongdoing and speaking truth to the power we have. We hope to have several pre-written letters to our elected officials for people to sign letters about due process.
Reproductive freedom, freedom of speech, and the basic right to clean air and clean water. Our next movie is on February 28th. It is about white supremacy, and we would love to see you all there. I’m not sure how many of you know that this Murray Social Concerns team voted unanimously to recommend Murray to become a local warming center. It allows homeless people a place to sleep when it’s cold, and the shelters are full. We are working with the Attleboro Area Interfaith Collaborative. We have done it twice. It worked great. We will have further information and hopefully some volunteer opportunities.
The Social Concerns team has held many protests out in front of Murray. We started back in 2020 and we are planning on another big stand-out outside of Murray in April. There will be two contrasting vigils at the same time. The theme on the Murray side will be this is what democracy looks like. We want as many people of all ages with music, bubble machines, noisemakers, and signs to showcase the joys of democracy. On the other side, another vigil will be happening. It will be dark and solemn. And that’s what fascism looks like. Two differences. Two stark differences. Which one will you fight for? We have a lot more planning to do, and we will keep you updated. We would love for all of you to participate.
We are truly at a scary point in our lives. This administration is using Orwellian tactics to control public perception. We can make change happen: It has happened before through peaceful protest. Peaceful protest has a long history of enabling change; it helped bring about desegregation and passed the civil rights act, through continuous marches, staying vigilant and not giving up, the women’s suffrage movement successfully legalized women’s right to vote, and continues to work tirelessly on reproductive rights, Pride marches and vigils for LGBTQ+ brought about same sex marriage. Through speaking truth with love in large passionate groups, we can help make change happen.
Come join us at the social concerns group and make good trouble. Thank you.
David Laferriere for Green Sanctuary, Climate Justice, and Reproductive Rights
Good morning, I’m David Laferriere.
As Unitarian Universalists, we often talk about being interconnected. Here we are, on Earth, in the United States, in Massachusetts, in Attleboro, at Murray UU Church; it’s a physical reality. We stand on the former hunting grounds of the Pokanoket people, surrounded by the Ten Mile River and Bungay River that flow into Narragansett Bay and into the Atlantic Ocean. That’s quite a connection.
Since June of 2020, Murray has been a Green Sanctuary—which is just our way of saying that caring for this Earth is a moral requirement, not just a hobby.
But we must be honest: the ‘threads’ of our environment are fraying, and they aren’t fraying equally. The heaviest burden of climate change falls on those who have the least.
That’s why our climate work can’t be separate from our work in the Thrift Shop, the Food Pantry, or when we open as a Warming Center. Poverty and environmental justice are two sides of the same coin.
So, let’s get our hands dirty. Whether we’re volunteering here at Murray, or as Site Stewards for a Land Trust, or supporting a climate cause, or being a vegetarian. Our goal is a ‘just transition.’ That means making sure a healthy environment isn’t a luxury for the few, but a right for everyone in our community.
Nationally, this past Thursday, the Trump administration revoked a scientific finding that has long been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. This is the most aggressive move by the president to roll back climate regulations.
This is exhausting. As exhausting as this can be, we need to get other people together to act and, possibly, make it less exhausting.
I have a couple of minutes left, so I’m playing the Good Trouble Card.
I’m going to talk about the battle here in Massachusetts over reproductive rights and the regulation of Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs)—often referred to as Anti-Abortion Centers or Fake Clinics.
While Massachusetts is a leader in protecting abortion access, it also has one of the highest concentrations of CPCs in New England.
According to state data and reproductive rights organizations:
- CPCs outnumber abortion providers by more than 2 to 1 statewide (and as much as 3 to 1 in certain regions like here in Southeastern MA).
- There are approximately 28 CPCs operating across the Commonwealth, designed to look like medical clinics and often next to one of the 18 reproductive health clinics, like here in Attleboro, where the CPC Abundant Hope is next to the Four Women Health Services, and there are other CPCs in Taunton, Fall River, and New Bedford. (That’s the 3 to 1)
State leaders, including the Governor and the Attorney General, have labeled these CPCs as “fake clinics.” Their primary criticisms are:
- Many CPCs use Search Engine Optimization tactics, so they appear first in online searches for “abortion clinic” or “pregnancy test,” though they do not provide or refer for abortions.
- Most CPCs in MA are not licensed medical facilities. Staff may wear white coats or scrubs but are often volunteers without medical credentials.
- CPCs use “delay tactics”—like requiring multiple appointments for a pregnancy test—to push patients past the legal 24-week limit for abortion in Massachusetts.
- CPCs do not provide comprehensive care, and are not bound by HIPAA privacy laws if they are unlicensed.
- In 2024, the Department of Public Health (DPH) initiated reviews to ensure that any center performing ultrasounds is adhering to medical scope-of-practice laws.
- Cities like Somerville, Framingham, Easthampton, and Northampton have considered or passed local ordinances aimed at “limited services pregnancy centers” to prevent deceptive advertising. This is something Attleboro should do.
A group of us, some connected to Murray, are escorts at the clinic here in Attleboro, and/or regularly protest against the fake clinic and the anti-abortion religious groups that show up here in Attleboro and shout at and harass women seeking healthcare, as well as those who work there.
Any of you are welcome to join the protest on Saturday mornings, 7-9, and during the anti-abortion 40-days of prayer, starting this Wednesday from 6-8, every day except Sunday through March 28.
My time is up.
Please. Stand up for other people, for the planet.
Do it locally, statewide, or countrywide. Do whatever you can. Make it less exhausting.
Patty Cavanaugh for the Music Committee
At Murray UU Church, the work of the Music Committee is grounded in our Unitarian Universalist Values and our shared commitment to justice with a simple but powerful intention: We seek to nurture the mind and spirit of our community through music, because music has the power not only to comfort us, but to move us, to challenge us, and sometimes to disrupt us in necessary ways.
The Music Committee works closely with Rev. Vern and with Carol Konvalinka-Connolly (and now Greg Moses- our new Music Director) to ensure that the music in our services supports and deepens our themes, messages, and moments. At Murray, music is not background or decoration—it is a part of shared ministry. It shapes our shared experience and helps us lean more fully into our covenant with one another.
Sometimes, our music engages good trouble in obvious ways. Songs of protest and resistance invite us to name injustice out loud and to stand in solidarity with those calling for change. When we curated a service around Modern Protest Music last year, the intention was clear: to challenge systems of oppression and to remind us that our UU faith calls us to action beyond these walls.
Other times, good trouble is quieter, but no less powerful. It can happen when we take a song associated with defiance or anger and deconstruct it, stripping it down to a single voice and a piano. We did this with “We’re not gonna take it” last fall. That vulnerability disrupts our expectations. It asks us to listen more closely, to sit with discomfort, and to allow empathy to do its work. That, too, is good trouble.
When we sing “Be the Change” from the Justice Choir songbook, we begin with a heartbeat. That collective rhythm connects us to our bodies and to one another. It reminds us that social change begins with human connection and drives our desire to be the change we want to see in the world.
One of our ongoing challenges is building a truly diverse repertoire. What moves one person to stand up, sing along, and feel activated by music may not move another in the same way. And that’s okay. Our job is to ignite and inspire all of us, across generations, identities, and experiences.
For me, “The Sound of Silence” has always stirred that spirit. The line “people writing songs that voices never shared” remains one of the most haunting expressions of injustice I know. I cannot sing it without feeling sadness, anger, and a renewed commitment to raising up silenced voices.
Through music, we practice good trouble together. We disrupt complacency. We deepen compassion. We strengthen our resolve to live our values outside of our sanctuary.
What songs and music speak to you? What songs inspire you to engage in good trouble? …let us know!!
