step by step

It is hard to believe it’s been almost three weeks since our Ft. Worth General Assembly ended.  Since then, I’ve been the Best Man at my best friend’s wedding, packed my kids for a month at camp, dealt with several emergency pastoral concerns and attended a weekend gathering in the Uintah mountains with members of my congregation. Today feels like my first real day of rest since I flew to Ft. Worth. That said, I hope other members of the committee will fill in anything I might forget to mention.

The committee began by attending and presenting our work to the Stakeholder’s Gathering on Thursday.  We heard clearly that we need to continue to improve our communication with stakeholders, as they were unaware of much of the work we’d done this year, especially the review of the Ministerial Credentialing paperwork and our meeting with Meadville Lombard Theological School.  Our emphasis on building relationships with stakeholders has begun, but been less successful than we’d hoped. It was clear that stakeholders at the gathering did not feel "in the loop" about the work of the committee.

We also talked briefly with the stakeholders about our hope that we can ground anti-racism, anti-oppression and multiculturalism in our congregations, working at the grassroots and helping this work become a part of our identity as Unitarian Universalists. We discussed engaging our communities in creating a theology of wholeness that is specifically rooted in our Unitarian Universalist heritage and values and that will inspire our congregations to transform themselves into communities that truly welcome and work for equity, justice, and compassion in ALL human relations and institutions.  We hope our theological schools will become leaders in this work.

We also let the stakeholders know of some upcoming changes in our committee. Our Chair, Rev. Sofia Craethnenn, will be joining the staff of the UUA as the Program Coordinator for Racial and Ethnic Concerns and therefore will no longer be able to serve on the committee. The Committee on Committees has selected yours truly, Rev. Sean Parker Dennison, to serve as the next chair of the committee. An additional committee member will also be chosen in the near future.

On Friday at GA, we met as a committee, and then met with members of the Accessibilities Committee to learn of their work and how we can better support and partner with them to provide advocacy for people with disabilities in our association. This was the first such meeting with the Accessibilities committee and began the very process of building relationships and communication that we so hope to see happen with all of our stakeholders.

On Saturday at GA, we presented a report of our work to the Plenary and then attended the gathering of Congregational Presidents at the invitation of UUA President Bill Sinkford and Moderator Gini Courter.  We were glad to be able to observe and reflect upon the dreams, desires, needs, and frustrations of the Congregational Presidents in approaching or continuing anti-racism, anti-oppression, and multiculturalism work in their congregations. We were also pleased to invite twenty-five congregational presidents to attend a special focus group with us on Sunday morning.

On Sunday, over 30 congregational presidents joined us for breakfast and a further discussion of how we might increase congregational involvement in doing the work of anti-racism, anti-oppression, and multiculturalism.  We had a wonderful discussion that addressed fears and resistance to the work, resources available to congregations, and a vision of what our association might look like if we truly embodied wholeness and justice, from our smallest congregations to the whole of our association.

On Sunday evening we also had committee members present at the Committee on Committees workshop. This allowed us to inform people about the work we do and invite them to consider supporting and even joining the committee. Throughout GA we also had a booth in the exhibition hall which we each spent some time in, meeting people and handing out materials about the committee and our contact information, including this blog. A special hello to any who have recently taken the time to find us here! 

While there was a lot to do at GA, it still feels to me like a small beginning. Our committee’s charge is vast and we are accountable to many.  Building relationships, improving communication, envisioning ways to engage others in this important work in new ways…there is a lot ahead.  Still, we are committed to each step of this journey, knowing wholeness is worth every effort.