Beloveds,
February is Love DRUUMM month.
It is a season of remembering—of naming why DRUUMM exists, why BIPOC spiritual community matters, and, in this political moment, why how we choose to be together is itself a moral and theological act.
Being part of a BIPOC collective is beautiful—and it is not easy. We do not arrive as blank slates. We arrive carrying our ancestors, their songs and ceremonies, their unfinished dreams, and also the accumulated pain of generations shaped by colonization, enslavement, displacement, migration, and survival. A community like DRUUMM asks something of us. It asks for patience, humility, accountability, tenderness, and courage.
DRUUMM is not a place where difficulty disappears. It is a place where difficulty is met—together.
The labor of being in DRUUMM is the labor of mutual support: showing up for one another across difference; tending relationships across generations; learning how to stay in the room when things are complex; practicing repair; and choosing collective care over isolation. This is sacred work. It is the slow, faithful work of building the spiritual home so many of us were denied—or only partially offered—elsewhere.
Throughout February, you’ll receive weekly Love DRUUMM Notes from community members sharing what DRUUMM means to them, why they love this collective, and how belonging here shapes how they move through the world—as people of faith, as organizers, as elders and caregivers, as seekers and leaders. Watch your inbox and our social spaces for these reflections, and follow along as we affirm the living ministry that DRUUMM is.
We are living in a time of profound political and moral pressure. Many of us are holding grief, anger, exhaustion, and resolve all at once. DRUUMM exists because BIPOC Unitarian Universalists—and those connected to UU-adjacent faith traditions—need a space that centers our wisdom and our wholeness. A space where we are not asked to fragment ourselves. A space where our cultures, theologies, and lived experiences help shape the future of Unitarian Universalism itself.
Membership in DRUUMM is not just about receiving—it is about contributing to something larger than ourselves. It is a commitment to building the Unitarian Universalism that we need, and that the wider world urgently needs: a faith grounded in relationship, justice, interdependence, and collective liberation.
If you are already a DRUUMM member, thank you. Your membership sustains intergenerational community, chaplaincy and spiritual care, caucusing and leadership development, public worship, and the connective tissue that allows us to find one another across geography and difference.
If you are not currently an active member, we warmly invite you to join or renew during Love DRUUMM month. Membership is one of the clearest ways to say: this community matters, and I am invested in its future.
A few details:
• Why membership matters—especially now:
Membership sustains BIPOC-led spiritual infrastructure at a time when collective grounding, moral clarity, and mutual care are essential for resilience and resistance.
• Membership benefits:
Access to member gatherings and caucuses, chaplaincy and spiritual care, leadership formation, priority registration and discounts, and belonging to a national BIPOC UU collective rooted in accountability and care.
• Who can join:
BIPOC Unitarian Universalists and BIPOC folks connected to UU and UU-adjacent faith communities.
• How to join or renew:
Select the membership level that works best for you at druumm.org/membership.
• Questions or need support?
Contact Noemi de Guzman at noemi@druumm.org.
We also invite you to our Love DRUUMM Open House on February 18—a welcoming space to connect, ask questions, and learn more about this community and its ministries.
Thank you for being part of the broader DRUUMM community. May this month remind us that love—practiced collectively, imperfectly, and with intention—is one of our most powerful spiritual tools.
With gratitude and faith in what we are building together,
Rev. Joseph Santos-Lyons
Community Minister, DRUUMM
