“We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”
The Unitarian Coastal Fellowship is moving towards voting on adoption of the above UU 8th Principle at our Annual Meeting in June of 2023. The Racial Justice Group met on Aug 18 and decided on a timeline for our actions in the next year. This group is open to suggestions from the entire congregation, and anyone is welcome to attend our next meeting which will be in person at the church on October 27 at 4PM. This will be a conversation about race vs. culture and what it means to be “white” plus a check-in on the Get Out the Vote work we will be doing prior to the November 8th election.
Twenty people have signed up for the six sessions of the “Trans Inclusion in Congregations” class currently offered on Wednesday evenings until October 12. This class includes much more than just looking at gender and focuses on creating a “Beloved Community” in our congregation.
The adoption of the 8th Principle will be discussed at the annual retreat for the UCF BoT and Leadership Council in late September. Both governing bodies have already approved moving forward with anti-racism education and advocacy in the following year. Starting in January there will be a regular column in the Coastline about what it means to make the 8th principle an integral part of the fabric of our congregation.
The books we have read during the Anti-Racism Reading Group (ARRG) will be available in the UCF Library for all to read at your leisure. Sally Davis has compiled a list of the most highly recommended books that ARRG has read and published that list in last month’s Coastline and HERE on the UCF website. The next ARRG meeting will be on November 17. All are welcome to participate in our discussion of The Fire This Time. Sally Davis can provide you with more information.
In February, which is “Black History Month”, we will show three videos over three weeks in the Fellowship Hall which will be open to the public. At the last video there will be a panel discussion about Racial Justice and how it fits into our church, our local community, and our world. If you would like to help in planning these video events, please contact Susan Roberts or Penny Hooper. We will also help with the MLK Celebration at the Civic Center again in 2023 as we have been doing for more than 20 years. Look for opportunities to “stretch” yourself with this topic, as we post them on the bulletin board and as Barb Thomas sends out the weekly bulletin from the UU Justice Ministry of NC.
Forward Together!