Rev. Shelly Thompson
My Beloveds,
Please join us tonight at 8:00 pm for the UUA #WeCan'tBreathe Virtual Vigil (click here for more details). It is important that we support one another and have sacred places to lament and be angry together. You are not alone!
In the ongoing aftermath of the recent deaths of our black siblings at the hands and knees of law enforcement, many are outraged, many are protesting, and many, for whom this is yet the latest example of a centuries-long pattern, are once again asking: When is enough, enough? What does it take to make lasting change in the systems and structures that perpetuate the racism and racial violence? As expected, when UU's are confronted with such horrible injustice, we want to do something about it. We can and we are. This is a time when we can fully appreciate that "within among and beyond" are all mixed up together in our faith journeys. Take some time and review the information and links I have gathered here. Feel free to reach out if you need to talk, and please take good care of yourselves. We are here for you if you need us.
With much Love,
Rev. Shelly
RIGHT NOW and in the days and weeks to come...
There are many ways to participate in the response: protest, advocacy, activism, and action to make our voices heard in the public arena. Stay in touch with David Vita, with our Facebook page, church emails, and SOUNDINGS to hear the latest on local and congregational responses, like tonight's UUA vigil. As well see the links below for more information and some suggestions about how you can get involved.
BE THE CHANGE
My dear ones, the sad truth is that our liberal religious traditions, Unitarianism, Universalism, and Unitarian Universalism, have a very spotty and often disastrous history with race relations within our own faith communities. If this history is unknown to you, I strongly encourage you to learn about our past and the very recent present events that have catalyzed a renewed UUA-wide commitment to challenging the White Supremacy Culture that permeates our faith tradition. This is the impetus behind our proposed 8th Principle. I have shared with you a letter from my friend, Anita Lee, advocating for the adopting of this principle by each congregation as the UUA as a whole continues to examine the question of adopting it.
Here, at TUCW, many of our teams and leaders are beginning to examine our own systems policies, and practices, looking for ways to better align our intentions for justice equity and compassion with our impact in our relationships and the ways that we welcome engage and include all people across differences. The Gender Equity Team, the Intercultural Competency Team, The Eliminating Racism Team have all been working on the transformations needed within ourselves and among our congregation to live into our principles and values more fully. I believe that this work is a core component of the covenant process that we share as the center of our faith.
Next Saturday, June 6th, 9:00 AM-12:00 PM you are welcome to join me for a conversation about covenanting in a workshop that will explore how we can (and must) change the ways that we choose to relate to one another in order to transform ourselves and our congregation into a more compassionate and justice-and-equity-building community. See Soundings for details or email me. Rev Shelly