Last Saturday, 17 OUUC congregants gathered with Sara Lewis and I to talk about the proposed Unitarian Universalist 8th principle, which focuses on racial justice and building Beloved Community. It was a lively discussion among passionate people bringing dedication to the work of justice. (Check out Sara’s article below for more information about the proposed 8th principle.)
As we got to know each other and shared what draws us to the 8th principle and anti-racism work, we talked through the purpose of the group and how we might proceed. This is the purpose statement that the organizing group developed and discussed:
Building an anti-racist, anti-oppressive, accountable Beloved Community. (Also known as “making good trouble.”)
We elected to create four groups, each with a specific focus for our community. They are:
- Education: to help us learn about racism and develop a shared language.
- BIPOC Relationships and Action: to help us connect to local people and organizations.
- Anti-racism Audit of OUUC: to help us assess our community and identify places where we can grow.
- Next Steps/Overview: to help us stay connected, stay in focus and keep moving forward.
We know that there is much work to do to dismantle racism in ourselves and in our institutions. Some of us are ready to engage with this work, some of us are not so sure, some of us aren’t sure what this work is. No matter where you are, you’re welcome to join the conversation. It will take all of us.
If you’d like to be involved, please reach out to me at minister@ouuc.org
I look forward to hearing from you!
Blessings on your week.
Rev Mary
P.S. Thank you to all who thought about and engaged with Sunday’s service about becoming who we are. You can find the service here. And, the UU World published an article about trans rights that you might find interesting. You can find it here.