Tidbits, 09/2004
UUA TRUSTEE TIDBITS
Joan Lund, September 2004
It?s September?where did the summer go? Actually many Florida students were back in school in early August. I remember the days growing up in the Midwest when we did not start the fall term until after Labor Day. Enough nostalgic digression, I?ll move on. All Unitarian Universalists are aware of, and concerned about our work as a denomination in the area of anti-racism/anti-oppression. This month I will write briefly about the UUA Anti-oppression Consultancy Program.
The UUA institutional commitment to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive multicultural faith community has never been stronger. The AOCP honors and supports the work congregations are already doing, and offers more than one route in this work. Flexible and accessible resources that reach out to our ministers, religious educators and other leaders are being created. Anti-oppression consulting is being added to what is already available, so reaching out to congregations can involve working with them to identify their next steps, and to support them in expanding their capacity to engage the work of justice rooted in Unitarian Universalist identity, theology, and values. The UUA will continue to offer the Jubilee Path and the Social Justice Empowerment Program resources to congregations. The Anti-Racist Multicultural Welcoming Congregation will replicate components of the Welcoming Congregation program while addressing the specific concerns related to race and ethnicity. In addition, with the mandate of the UUA Board of Trustees, elected and appointed leaders of committees are receiving training, education, and consultation to enable them to bring an anti-racist, anti-oppressive multicultural lens to their roles and responsibilities.
The AOCP is creating new resources that are tailored to fit and are able to meet congregations where they are. These resources will encompass a broader range of voices and experiences. Engagement in this work will require that we as Unitarian Universalists, to paraphrase ?Soul Work; Anti-Racist Theologies in Dialogue?, deepen our discourse, and reconsider how we live out our UU principles. The AOCP is committed re-invigorating congregational justice work, strengthening congregational involvement in the community, deepening personal and institutional faith, and engaging more congregations as partners with the UUA on the path to anti-racist, anti-oppressive, multicultural welcoming faith community.
Hopefully all our Florida congregations are actively involved in anti-racist, anti-oppression, multicultural work in their church communities and in the wider world. If I can be of assistance please don?t hesitate to email me at jlund@uua.org or telephone me at 813-931-9727. I continue to thank you for the many congregation newsletters I receive, and look forward to hearing from you.
Joan Lund, September 2004
It?s September?where did the summer go? Actually many Florida students were back in school in early August. I remember the days growing up in the Midwest when we did not start the fall term until after Labor Day. Enough nostalgic digression, I?ll move on. All Unitarian Universalists are aware of, and concerned about our work as a denomination in the area of anti-racism/anti-oppression. This month I will write briefly about the UUA Anti-oppression Consultancy Program.
The UUA institutional commitment to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive multicultural faith community has never been stronger. The AOCP honors and supports the work congregations are already doing, and offers more than one route in this work. Flexible and accessible resources that reach out to our ministers, religious educators and other leaders are being created. Anti-oppression consulting is being added to what is already available, so reaching out to congregations can involve working with them to identify their next steps, and to support them in expanding their capacity to engage the work of justice rooted in Unitarian Universalist identity, theology, and values. The UUA will continue to offer the Jubilee Path and the Social Justice Empowerment Program resources to congregations. The Anti-Racist Multicultural Welcoming Congregation will replicate components of the Welcoming Congregation program while addressing the specific concerns related to race and ethnicity. In addition, with the mandate of the UUA Board of Trustees, elected and appointed leaders of committees are receiving training, education, and consultation to enable them to bring an anti-racist, anti-oppressive multicultural lens to their roles and responsibilities.
The AOCP is creating new resources that are tailored to fit and are able to meet congregations where they are. These resources will encompass a broader range of voices and experiences. Engagement in this work will require that we as Unitarian Universalists, to paraphrase ?Soul Work; Anti-Racist Theologies in Dialogue?, deepen our discourse, and reconsider how we live out our UU principles. The AOCP is committed re-invigorating congregational justice work, strengthening congregational involvement in the community, deepening personal and institutional faith, and engaging more congregations as partners with the UUA on the path to anti-racist, anti-oppressive, multicultural welcoming faith community.
Hopefully all our Florida congregations are actively involved in anti-racist, anti-oppression, multicultural work in their church communities and in the wider world. If I can be of assistance please don?t hesitate to email me at jlund@uua.org or telephone me at 813-931-9727. I continue to thank you for the many congregation newsletters I receive, and look forward to hearing from you.
