• Who We Are
    • Who We Are
    • Mission
    • History
    • General Synod
    • Leadership and Ministry
    • Staff
    • United Church of Christ Board
  • What We Believe
    • What We Believe
    • Worship Ways
    • Daily Devotional
  • What We Do
    • What We Do
    • Office of the General Minister & President
    • Justice & Local Church Ministries
    • Wider Church Ministries
  • News
  • Church Finder
  • Donate Now
  • Search
UCC Logo United Church of Christ
  • Church Finder
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Store
  • Frontline Faith Portal
  • Donate Now
  • Search
  • Who We Are
    • Column
      • About
        • Mission
        • Constitution and Bylaws
        • History
          • UCC Archives
        • UCC Brand Guidelines
        • General Synod
          • Synod 33 Worship Videos
          • Past General Synods
        • Abuse Prevention
    • Column
      • Structure
        • Conferences
        • Affiliated Ministries
          • The Pension Boards
          • Cornerstone Fund
          • Insurance Board
          • The Council for Health and Human Services Ministries
          • Church Building & Loan Fund
          • Convergence
    • Column
      • Team
        • Elected Officers
        • Staff
        • United Church of Christ Board
          • Board Minutes
        • Office of General Counsel
        • UCCOSSN
    • Column
      • Career Opportunities
      • Annual Reports
  • What We Believe
    • Column
      • Worship
        • Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ – La Declaración de Fe de la Iglesia Unida de Cristo
        • Worship Ways
        • Daily Devotional
        • Sermon Seeds
  • How We Serve
    • Column
      • Office of the General Minister & President
        • Welcome to Human Resources
          • Employee Relations Resources
        • Center for Analytics, Research & Development and Data (CARDD)
          • General CARDD FAQs
          • About The Center for Analytics, Research & Development, and Data (CARDD)
          • Authorized Minister Opt Out
          • Access UCC
          • Archived Reports
          • Assessment Resources
          • Information Policies and Requests
          • Faith Communities Today (FACT) Survey
          • MissionInsite
          • Statistics and Reports
          • Vital Signs and Statistics Blog
          • Data Hub FAQs
          • Data Hub
          • Yearbook and Directory
    • Column
      • Justice & Local Church Ministries
        • Justice
          • Faithful Action Ministries
            • Environmental Justice Ministries
            • Economic Justice
            • Racial Justice
          • Office of Public Policy & Advocacy in Washington D.C.
            • Justice and Peace Action Network
            • Our Faith Our Vote
            • Justice Training Resources
            • Action Center
          • Health and Wholeness Advocacy
            • Disabilities and Mental Health Justice
            • Encuentros Latinx
            • UCC HIV & AIDS Network-UCAN
            • LGBTQ Ministries
            • Our Whole Lives
            • Overdose and Drug Use Ministries
            • Scouting
            • Wellness Ministries
          • The Pilgrim Press & Stillspeaking Publications
    • Column
      • Justice & Local Church Ministries
        • Local Church
          • The Faith Education, Innovation and Formation (Faith INFO)Team
            • Weekly Seeds
            • Youth & Young Adults
          • Worship Resources
            • Worship Ways
            • Sermon Seeds
            • Synod 33 Worship Videos
            • Music and Liturgical Arts
          • Stewardship & Generosity Resources
          • Ministerial Excellence, Support & Authorization (MESA)
            • History, Polity, and Theology
            • Search and Call
            • Ministerial Profiles
            • Ministry Opportunities
            • Manual on Ministry
    • Column
      • Wider Church Ministries
        • Global Ministries
        • Global H.O.P.E.
          • Volunteer Ministries
          • Refugee and Migration Ministries
          • Disaster Ministries
          • Recovering Hope
        • Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations
  • Resources
  • News
    • Column
      • News
        • United Church of Christ News
    • Column
      • Columns
        • Witness for Justice
        • Into the Mystic
        • Getting to the Root of It
        • The Pollinator: UCC Environmental Justice Blog
        • UCC Roots
        • Encounters at the Well
        • Reflexiones
    • Column
      • Upcoming Events
        • Webinars
      • Subscriptions at the United Church of Christ
      • Changes & Deaths
  • Giving
    • Column
      • Donate Now
      • Ways to Give
        • Giving Tuesday
        • General Synod 2021 Thursday in Black Offering
        • General Synod 2021 Racial Justice Offering
        • Disaster Ministries: How to Give
        • Our Church’s Wider Mission
          • Our Church’s Wider Mission Basic Support
          • Strengthen the Church
          • One Great Hour of Sharing
          • Neighbors in Need
          • Christmas Fund
          • 5 for 5
    • Column
      • Ways We Give
        • Scholarships & Grants

  • Home
  • News
  • Column
  • Into the Mystic
  • Kindland

Kindland

by John Dorhauer | published on Feb 3, 2023

Listen to the podcast

Read the transcript

It was a few years ago that I met Stuart Muzinski. The guy has a passion for kindness. He has made it his life’s mission to teach the world to be kind.

After listening to him talk about that mission, and the birthing of what he came to call Kindland, I joined him in the effort and became a National Co-Chair for this vision to infuse the world with compassion.

Over the years, I have been invited into his sukkot to share to share a meal and deeper conversation. We have held award banquets where we honor those whose random acts of kindness made a difference in their community. He has taken his anti-bullying programs into schools and raised their graduation rates while lowering their incidences of violence and rates of suspension. Kindland is now recognized and supported by the NFL, has PSA spots that run on television stations throughout Northeast Ohio, and is working to become a national movement for kindness. Stuart and Kindland are doing their level best to track kindness, to teach businesses and schools to reward their populations for practicing kindness, and to instill this as a core value in every community in the country.

He is a walking billboard for the “do unto others” way of life.

There is something truly transformative about a random act of kindness to a stranger. It is an easy thing to do – and it can mean so much to someone without you ever knowing at all about what you did to change their outlook.

It’s the smile you give as you look someone in the eye as they pass you on the street.

It’s the wave at the intersection allowing the other driver to go on ahead before you.

It’s the offer to have the person in line behind you at the grocery store go before you because your cart is full and they only have a few items.

It’s paying for the car behind you at the drive-thru fast food restaurant.

It’s the time you saw an unhoused stranger sitting at the street corner and asked them their name and told them to have a good day before dropping a couple dollars in their cup.

It’s the greeter at the department store who smiles every time you walk in and asks you if there is anything they can help you find.

It’s the child quietly stops on their walk to the bus stop to pick up a piece of trash and throw it away.

It’s the high school basketball team that lets the teammate with a disability suit up and play.

It’s the crowd rising to their feet to cheer on the long-distance runner who finished alone two laps behind the pack and all alone in last place.

The beauty of kindness is it creates joy in the heart of both the giver and the receiver. It is also contagious – an act of kindness gladly received by one person encourages them to share that feeling with another.

What would happen if the world became more kind?

I’d like to find out.

As we approach lent, I think I will make it my practice every day during Lent to intentionally practice kindness. I will commit to a random act of kindness to a stranger every day during Lent.

I’d love it if you’d join me. Become a part of a movement to transform our communities into a sort of Kindland. And let there be peace on Earth on this, our journey Into the Mystic.


Content on ucc.org is copyrighted by the National Setting of the United Church of Christ and may be only shared according to the guidelines outlined here.

Categories: Column Into the Mystic

Sign Up For Our Newsletter








Privacy Policy






Related News

Talitha Koum
Talitha Koum - The UCC Women's Newsletter

Welcome to Talitha Koum: The UCC Newsletter for Women, Girls and Their Allies

Welcome! I am so grateful that you have decided to connect with UCC women and allies through...

Read More
Witness for Justice
Witness for Justice

Closing the Global Gender Digital Divide

The 67th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was held in New York City...

Read More
Column

Planning for Earth Month: Resources for Congregations

April is Earth Month, and for congregations, it can be a great time to further discern how...

Read More
  • Column
    • Local Church and Conference Resource Directory
    • Mission
    • Justice & Local Church Ministries
    • Wider Church Ministries
    • General Synod Resolutions
  • Column
    • Contact
    • News
    • Store

Content on ucc.org is copyrighted by the National Setting of the United Church of Christ and may be only shared according to the guidelines outlined here.

1300 E. 9th Street, Suite 1100
Cleveland, Ohio 44114

  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Subscribe on YouTube

Donate Now

© United Church of Christ 2023. Privacy Policy.
Crafted by Cornershop Creative