tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29876336982716702862024-03-05T16:54:47.682-08:00UUA View from BerkeleyNews about issues under consideration by the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations Board of Trustees, from the trustee from the Pacific Central District. Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the UUA Board.Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.comBlogger155125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-80932143808668258652013-07-09T14:48:00.001-07:002013-09-02T17:26:37.650-07:00Goodnight, and Good Luck<i>Last in a series of posts about the Unitarian Universalist Association Board Meetings</i><br />
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"Goodnight, and good luck" was Edward Murrow's signature sign-off throughout his 1950s television program, and the title of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Night,_and_Good_Luck">2005 movie about Murrow's run-in with Joseph McCarthy. </a> According to Wikipedia, "It focuses on the theme of media responsibility, and also addresses what
occurs when the media offer a voice of dissent from government policy".<br />
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That is a little of what my blog tried to do. Rather than just report out what happened, I tried to give some insight into the thinking, process, and background of the board's actions, whether or not I agreed with our outcomes. Most of the time I did agree, and when I did not, I was mindful of the "one voice" policy: I wasn't muzzled, but I did have a responsibility to share the logic behind the decision. Some posts got a handful of views -- others quite a bit more. Here were some of the most popular:<br />
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The decision on <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2007/10/independent-affiliate-revisited.html">Independent Affiliates</a> was made before I joined the board, but I probably got more feedback on that than any other topic. <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2009/02/independent-affiliates-revisited-again.html">This post</a>, with guest Gini Courter, gives the lo-o-o-ng background behind the decision. <br />
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Few people seem to recall any information on the Bay Area marketing campaign in 2007 -- you would have found it <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2009/02/bay-area-marketing-campaign-data.html">here. </a><br />
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I have no idea why <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2009/04/april-2009-board-overview.html">this one</a> about my "elevator speech" went "viral" or this one about the <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2009/04/april-board-meeting-agenda.html">April 2009 board packet.</a> More understandable is the one about <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2012/10/its-october-do-you-know-where-your.html">wearing yellow shirts.</a><br />
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Governance was a hot topic -- including the post that asked <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2009/05/do-uuas-ends-violate-congregational.html">"Do the UUA's ends violate congregational polity?"</a>, <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2011/04/smaller-board-vs-greater-democracy.html">reducing the size of the board</a>, <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2012/10/beginning-with-ends-in-mind.html">writing ends</a>, or this one about<a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2009/06/hiring-and-firing-president.html"> hiring and firing the President. </a>I am convinced that <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2009/08/alligators-and-congregation-board.html">this one</a> about the role of the congregational president got a thousand hits because it included the word "alligator". And how about <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2010/01/revoking-fifth-principle.html">revoking the Fifth Principle?</a><br />
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Some posts reported out on work I led or partnered in, such as the <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2010/04/healthy-relationships.html">Healthy Relationships</a> conversations with congregations, <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2013/04/hearing-voices.html">Hearing Voices</a>, or <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2010/10/appreciative-inquiry.html">Gathered Here</a>, led by <a href="https://positivechange.org/who-we-are_/amanda-trosten-bloom/">Amanda Trosten-Bloom.</a><br />
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My favorite? <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2011/06/singing-hymns.html">Singing hymns</a>, about the 2011 virtual delegate trial, probably because I was instrumental in making it happen.<br />
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Signing off after six years... goodnight, and good luck. <br />
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<br />Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-36951663891306825312013-05-11T10:09:00.000-07:002013-05-11T10:10:16.654-07:00Coming to Louisville?<i>Fourth in a series of posts about the April UUA Board meeting</i><br />
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Saturday afternoon of the Board meeting found several of us standing awkwardly in front of a camera, extolling the virtues of GA 2013 in Louisville. I appear with Elizabeth Greene, trustee from the Pacific Northwest, and Tom Loughrey, Pacific Southwest in a somewhat <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYRlgR-VR4c">lighthearted two minutes</a> that only took two takes. Those of you who know me will get the joke. Some of the others include the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqXunhUjFqg">Youth and Young Adults</a> on the board, the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVHKOvJxIzE">two moderator candidates</a>, and Gini being... <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk7ur_gewh0">Gini.</a><br />
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Why should you come? Louisville was chosen because of the central location in terms of population -- it is accessible by car for a significant share of Unitarian Universalists, albeit a bit far from California (2300 miles and 34 hours according to Mapquest). The focus on covenant is more than a theme for the assembly -- we will be having important discussions about who we are as a faith, and whether or not the only way to be counted as a Unitarian Universalist is to join a congregation. We will also be electing a new moderator -- someone who clearly impacts the tone of many General Assemblies to come. <br />
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The next best thing to being there is to be an<a href="http://www.uua.org/ga/virtual/175228.shtml"> offsite delegate</a> -- you can represent your congregation from anywhere in the world, with a telephone line and a high speed internet connection. Offsite registration is open until June 7. Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-44577582533055267012013-05-05T17:05:00.002-07:002013-05-05T17:06:00.585-07:00The $100,000 Question<i>Third in a series of posts about the April UUA Board Meeting</i><br />
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The virtual UU skies have lately been focused on <a href="http://www.uuworld.org/news/articles/285331.shtml">a decision coming out of Sunday's UUA board meeting: </a> hiring a consultant to help us (staff and board) create a system to measure whether or not the roughly $20 million we spend each year is working. By "working", I mean whether or not what we do moves us towards the results we have said we want. <br />
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Described by one blogger as "marriage counseling", the solution is born out of the frustration of both Board and Staff around our current inability to provide tangible measurements for the effectiveness of the budgeted dollars. The board insists that such measurement is doable, and cites examples from other industries; the Administration has made multiple attempts, none of which have satisfied the Board's need for accountability. This is not about "marriage counseling" or "a consultant to work out their relationship"; it is about a nuanced and complex set of skills needed to "measure the unmeasurable".<br />
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An old adage says "you measure what you think is important". This
applies to the non-profit world as well. Rather than financial return, the investor is putting in money to help achieve the organization's mission. The founder of <a href="http://www.dir-help.org/">Developing Indigenous Resources</a>, for example, is a former public health doctor (and member of my congregation) who is fanatical about measuring outcomes. Do I invest so that his home health workers average 4.2 home visits/month, or rather that infant mortality in a slum of 16,000 people dropped to one fifth of its previous rate in six short years? <br />
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How willing are you to continue to invest
in an organization whose mission has lofty goals, but can't tell you if we are making progress towards them?<br />
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I do not think this is easy, nor do I think it is impossible. The Board has identified $100,000 (one half of one percent of the annual budget) to hire a consultant to help create these measurements. I understand why this amount is disconcerting, especially in light of recent UUA layoffs, but given what is at stake, worth doing.<br />
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I believe we have a highly dedicated and competent staff who are doing good work -- what I don't know if whether or not this work is moving the needle. Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-85481777850969702472013-04-27T10:34:00.001-07:002013-04-27T10:34:08.379-07:00Hearing Voices<i>Second in a series of posts about the April UUA board meeting</i><br />
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Last January the Board drafted a set of outcomes for the
Association – what results do we want to produce, and for whose benefit?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In partnership with the District Presidents
Association, we have received feedback from more than 1000 Unitarian
Universalists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can see the draft
<a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2013/02/why-uua-exists.html">here</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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More than 150 of these voices were called and elected
leadership of congregations chosen by the district boards because they were
superb examples of the values of Unitarian Universalism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These were rich interviews conducted by our
district partners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over 100 called
and elected congregation leaders responded by survey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About 200 were drawn from our Current and
Future Generations – Youth, Young Adults, Children (through proxy with Liberal
Religious Educators), and people who identify and Unitarian Universalist but
are not currently members. These were done through both focus groups and
survey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interviews and surveys were also
done with a little over 200 people from those <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>representing our Vision of Beloved
Community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A number of historians and
the writings of key historical figures were consulted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition to the roughly 600 people who
represented our Sources of Authority and Accountability, we had nearly 400
individual UUs who responded via survey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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What did we hear?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A quote that typifies the overall
reaction to the draft came from one of our selected congregations in response
to the question “To what degree does this reflect the values of your
congregation?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though 94% of them said it
“strongly” or “mostly”, one congregation also said:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“As a matter of substance, yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a matter of style, not so much.”</div>
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Some of the feedback was more about language than concept,
but a significant number also addressed the latter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, a description of congregations
as “intentionally inclusive, multi-generational and multi-cultural in powerful
mission to, and with, under-served and un-served communities” was taken to task
for the patriarchal tone of “servicing” communities rather than being in
partnership with them, as well as raising polity concerns about the UUA
describing the mission of a congregation. The concept of “covenanted
communities” raised both plaudits and concerns (described as “bubble-speak” by
one), and while many liked the clear specificity of language around net
increases of congregations, people served, and inspired leadership, others
groaned “it is SOOO not about growth. Growth is an unavoidable outcome of doing
covenanted community well.”</div>
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In response to this feedback, trustees have started
rewriting some of these statements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
DPA/UUA Joint Task Force on Linkage, which has been collecting and analyzing
the feedback, will be making suggestions to the board in an iterative process
over the next month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The intent is still
to have a final draft for the board to approve in its pre-General Assembly
meeting in June.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This then becomes the
guidance for the Administration, which has been a key part of creating and
revising these statements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-26288035051075125032013-04-22T09:24:00.000-07:002013-04-23T08:45:00.529-07:00Surreal<i>First in a series of posts about the April 2013 UUA Board Meeting</i><br />
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Last Monday’s twin blasts at the finish line of the Boston
Marathon were just the beginning of a surreal UUA Board meeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of us arrived Wednesday evening, as the
police were still combing through photos with no one claiming credit for the
violence. I took the subway, less crowded than usual, but with lots of MBTA
officials standing at every subway door, national guard and police readily
apparent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I hauled my suitcase across
the Common to Beacon Hill, a young man’s voice right behind me offered to carry
the suitcase up the stairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the
first offer of help in carrying luggage since I started coming to board
meetings (and using the subway) six years ago. </div>
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Meetings continued on Thursday, but several people were
unable to get into them because the transit system was shut down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The events that started Thursday evening and
essentially led to Boston and the surrounding suburbs on “lock down” most of
Friday were even more surreal. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Financial
Advisor Dan Brody, unable to leave his home in Newton, described the eerie
quiet of his neighborhood as “an invisible snow storm”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had made it down to Starbucks early that morning– there was an unusual comraderie in the half full
coffee shop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was shut down by the
police right after I left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Most of us trooped quickly the half block from Pickett and
Elliot, the UUA’s inn located <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>behind the
headquarters, into 25 Beacon – and stayed there all day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It appeared no one was actually being
prohibited from being outside – but everything was closed, and we saw mostly
police and heard mostly sirens and helicopters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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When the “shelter in place” was lifted, Kathy Burek
(District Presidents Association President) and I walked down as close
as we
could get to the blast site (2 blocks away from it) where I took the this
photo of the impromptu memorial – sacred space so close to tragedy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cross for the Chinese national (was she
Christian?) was tastefully draped with a Chinese flag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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That night the Common was filled with people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People were lining up to shake hands and get
their photos taken with the police officers there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What you perceived was a product of your
experiences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was it a group of mostly
young men celebrating deliverance by chanting sports slogans?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or was it a drunken mob that could have
easily exploded in violence, targeting someone with the “wrong” head gear or
facial features?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">B</span>eing with a group of Unitarian Universalist lay leaders and
ministers was not a bad place to be this week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We shared a lot of tears, poetry and prayer – including <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBgZKEy1vwI">this beautiful one </a>from Sue Phillips, District Executive for Massachusetts Bay District, at a
vigil last Tuesday night, created as a video by Jessica Ferguson.
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Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-59006860866521945622013-03-07T09:50:00.000-08:002013-03-07T09:51:18.724-08:00Listening to our Sources<i>Fifth in a series of posts about the January UUA Board meeting</i><br />
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The <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2013/02/why-uua-exists.html">new draft of the UUA "ends"</a> took into account a lot of feedback from various groups we are accountable to (think <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2011/04/shared-shared-vision.html">"Gathered Here"</a> and <i> </i>the <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2013/02/why-uua-exists.html">World Cafe with Youth</a> as two of them) - and we want more.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/dpa/index.shtml">District Presidents Association</a> (DPA), our partners in linking with member congregations, is currently in the process of contacting nearly 100 congregations across the US to get their feedback on these new outcomes. We have surveys going out to Young Adults and unaffiliated UUs (those who identify as UU but are not currently a member of a congregation), focus groups with Youth and<a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2011/04/shared-shared-vision.html"> Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA) </a>members; interviews with members of various affinity groups, historians, and theologians, as well as an opportunity for anyone who wants to, to weigh in (see below). Much of the work on the "non-congregational Sources" has been with Unity Consulting, who are creating a set of methodologies for a smaller post-June board to be able to continue this kind of dialogue.<br />
<br />
Will the UUA Board actually use this feedback? Yes. A group of 5 UUA trustees and 3 DPA presidents will spend several weeks in early April making "meaning" of the feedback, i.e.: looking for common themes. This will be provided to the Board at the April meeting, and the same group will spend most of May identifying recommendations for potential changes to these draft ends. <br />
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Let your voice be heard! You can click<a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5CLRDWH"> </a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2987633698271670286">here</a> to provide your own feedback on why the UUA exists. Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-11854526598342017252013-02-09T10:49:00.000-08:002013-03-04T10:33:07.911-08:00Why the UUA exists<i>Fourth in a series of posts about the January UUA Board Meeting</i><br />
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--><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A healthy network of covenanted Unitarian Universalist
congregations and covenanted communities, in accountable relationships and
alive with transforming power, moving our local communities and the world
towards more love, justice, and peace at a justifiable cost <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">that does not undermine long term
sustainability. </span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span></span></i><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">A significant</span></span><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span></span></i><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">shift in the Board's thinking about the Association's outcomes ("ends") was in focusing on the value added by the Association, not the differences made by its member congregations. Rather than thinking about the above as the UUA mission or vision statement, think of it as the Board's instructions to the Administration. Note the terms "networks", "covenanted communities" and "covenanted UU congregations". We defined "covenanted communities" as:</span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Covenanted
Communities: The basis of a Unitarian Universalist congregation is not creed,
but covenant. The term “covenanted communities” includes congregations,
and also includes other Unitarian Universalist communities--external to, or
overlapping with, congregations--who have a covenant, but are not currently
defined as formal congregational status, under UUA bylaws.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">The remaining statements provide more detail about this overall outcome:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">1.1 Congregations have and use UUA resources necessary to enhance the spiritual and religious exploration by people in their communities and to enhance the ministry of their members.<br />1.2 Congregations are better able to achieve their missions and to spread awareness of UU ideals and principles through their participation in covenanted networks of UU congregations and covenanted communities<br />1.3 Congregations are intentionally inclusive, multi-generational and multi-cultural in powerful mission to, and with, under-served and un-served communities.<br />1.4 Net increase in the number of people served by our congregations and covenanted communities.<br />1.5 Net increase in the number of mutually covenanted congregations.<br />1.6 Net increase in inspired religious leaders equipped to effectively start and sustain new covenanted communities.<br />1.7 UU institutions are healthy, vital, collaborative partners invested in the future of UUism, its principles and theologies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">The next few months will be spent getting feedback on these outcomes -- I will explain how we are doing it in the next post. Your feedback is always welcome, either as a comment to this one, or to llaskowski@uua.org. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div>
Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-60932581214258268312013-01-28T19:47:00.002-08:002013-01-28T19:47:28.753-08:00<i>Third in a series of posts about the January UUA Board meeting</i><br />
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This was the fourth -- and last -- report from the President on the "ends" adopted by the UUA Board in 2009. This report did what the Board has asked for: establish a "reasonable" standard for compliance and then measure to that standard. Mostly using a standard that at least 50% of the respondents to two nation-wide surveys (one of which included Youth, Young Adults, and People of Color) would rate their perception of whether or not that outcome was actually happening, the result was that half of the outcomes showed "non-compliance".<br />
<br />
Surveys have their own set of issues, but it's a start. Interestingly, most of the non-compliance by this definition was not about what was happening within congregations, but rather in the intersection between congregations and the outside world, UU or not. Non-compliant areas included whether or not our congregations were perceived as multicultural and "struggling with issues of oppression and privilege", active participants in ministerial preparation and development, growing in membership, and "living their mission in their communities", as well as all of the outcomes that are part of living "in covenant with other congregations in our Association". Also included as non-compliant was the outcome of congregations involved in "national or international efforts", and working in interfaith partnerships or alliances. So far is anyone surprised?<br />
<br />
What was not included in the report was a plan to address the non-compliance, which the board has asked for in the next few months. This as an excellent opportunity to have meaningful discussions about serious issues within the Association, and what the Administration has been doing to address those issues.<br />
<br />
The Board has been resistant to doing that in the past because it was not linked to data-driven standards. In the not so distant past, board meetings would be filled with presentations from staff around programs being developed and implemented. The board has pushed back, refocusing on the differences we want to make as an Association. How do we know that these are the right programs, and that we are spending our resources in a way that will move us closer to the kind of outcomes board and staff agree on? It's a little like having a house with structural problems that you want remediated, and the contractor brings you a list of projects that could be done on the house without any connection to whether or not this will enhance the structural integrity of the house.<br />
<br />
For example, the Administration has been doing excellent work with a
number of organizations around a strategic review of ministry. What part of moving to our shared vision does this address? How can we determine if what we are putting in place is moving us toward "living in covenant with other congregations in the Association", or "working in interfaith partnerships or alliances"? We understand these are long term goals, but being accountable to our member congregations and other Sources means achieving some indication that the programs are working -- or when we will know if they are. Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-2331701330803477322013-01-27T18:24:00.000-08:002013-01-27T18:24:04.005-08:00How we gather<i>Second in a series of posts about the January UUA Board meeting</i><br />
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In 2009 the Fifth Principle Task Force presented their report with the refrain "the status quo is not an option". Task Force chair Denny Davidoff even <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2010/01/revoking-fifth-principle.html">threatened to propose revoking</a> the UU fifth principle if something was not done to how we governed ourselves at General Assemblies. <br />
<i> </i><br />
General Assembly governance is still mostly "status quo", Justice GA notwithstanding. Faced with a two year change process for the by-laws that govern GA plenaries, the board delayed action until after last summer's assembly.<br />
<br />
It appears most of the recommendations will not be taken up any time soon. We will still have delegates that are mostly self-funded, excluding those without the time or resources to get there, and often chosen because they were going, with little or no guidance from, or attempt to represent, their congregations.<br />
<br />
Though an excellent piece of work, the recommendations were, as the Board requested, about governance. What has become clear is that separating how we govern from how we gather is not only a leap for most of our GA attendees, but the two are synergistic. Exciting workshops and opportunities for affinity groups to meet create a "buzz" that adds to the experience even for those addicted to by-laws. Large annual gatherings of some sort create opportunities for critical mass for some of our smallest minority groups -- creating connections to each other that strengthen our faith. <br />
<br />
This theme was emphasized multiple times by the various groups invited to speak to the board on Friday: Young Adults, members of <a href="http://druumm.onefireplace.org/">DRUUMM</a>, the <a href="http://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/dpa/index.shtml">District Presidents Association</a>, and the UU Ministers Association. <br />
<br />
There is still agreement that there needs to be change in terms of how we choose delegates and hold them accountable. I expect significant discussion at General Assembly in June -- but don't expect any votes around Fifth Principle recommendations. Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-32322254913104647342013-01-16T19:49:00.001-08:002013-01-16T19:49:46.006-08:00The Last January<i>First in a series of blogs about the January 2013 UUA Board meeting</i><br />
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For me that is – this will be the sixth January UUA Board
meeting before I leave the board in June as part of our downsizing to a more
manageable (and effective) number of trustees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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This board meeting includes finalizing a large number of
proposals for by-laws changes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are bold ones (the
combination of three “Mid-America” districts into one region, assuming passage
by their member congregations) and others that we think reflect what delegates
have already approved (electronic voting).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> We will not be submitting by-laws changes around General Assembly, but rather continuing what is a fairly complex conversation. </span></div>
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The meeting also kicks off the start of intensive dialogues
on the impacts of the Association (the “Ends”) with the Board’s <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2009/02/owners-and-sources-of-authority.html">Sources of Authority and Accountability</a> (what John Carver calls “moral owners”), with our
DPA partners and through the work done with Unity Consulting around the voices
of our other 4 “sources”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can expect
to see a variety of ways to comment on these desired outcomes over the next few months, with the final "Ends" adopted at the June board meeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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It seems appropriate that my first January meeting in 2008 included <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2008/02/policy-governance-as-holy-work.html">"Policy Governance as Holy Work"</a>, which resulted in the first set of outcomes (Ends) for the Association. Check back over the next few weeks -- the entire packet can be downloaded<a href="http://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/board/packets/281823.shtml"> here.</a> </div>
Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-87630514509119686002012-11-05T12:13:00.000-08:002012-11-13T10:00:05.518-08:00Coming Alive<i>Sixth in a series of posts about the October UUA Board meeting</i><br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A 14 year old girl
lives her values by refusing to exclude someone who is considered “undesirable”
in the culture of the country she is visiting.</i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A demonstrator refuses
to ignore the humanity of the policeman who is there to keep the laws that will
likely be broken during the demonstration.</i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A couple just “can’t
not” help someone who is physically and emotionally exhausted.</i></div>
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These are just a few of the over 160 stories that were
collected over the past year and a half in <a href="http://www.uua.org/vision/gathered/index.shtml">Gathered Here</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many more came from 70 community events
whose outputs were fed back via the UUA website – in total, nearly 1200 documented
conversations, with many more that were not documented.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Led by nationally known Appreciative Inquiry
consultant <a href="https://positivechange.org/who-we-are_/amanda-trosten-bloom/">Amanda Trosten-Bloom</a>, these stories went through a process of
“meaning making” that identified attributes of our “positive core”:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>when we are at our best as Unitarian
Universalists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: JA;">We are at our best when we:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Grow into our best selves and honor the divine
in each person</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Practice “spiritual justice”:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>justice-making in faith and worship</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Embrace fellow travelers within and beyond our
faith, building community together</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Proactively invite people to share themselves
and their gifts</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Have
such a strong sense of our religious purpose and identity that we <b>must</b>
act on it</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Covenant
together to create sustained relationship across all ages and cultures</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Transcend
geographic, national, and language barriers</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span>Experience
spiritual depth, individually and collectively </li>
</ul>
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Each statement about the “positive core” is explained and
illustrated more fully in the <a href="http://www.uua.org/vision/gathered/index.shtml">Gathered Here Summary Report</a>. </div>
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The October board conversation about the added value of the
Association started with Gathered Here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We are deeply appreciative of all those who participated in the Gathered
Here conversations, and our partners and sponsors. </div>
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Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-60638379391602946082012-11-01T14:52:00.002-07:002012-11-01T18:27:43.642-07:00You want to talk to WHO?<i>Fourth in a series of posts about the October UUA Board meeting</i><br />
<br />
Forgive the grammar. We want to talk to our vision of Beloved Community. And the heritage, tradition, and ideals of Unitarian Universalism. And current and future generations of Unitarian Universalists, as well as the Spirit of life, love, and the holy.<br />
<br />
<i> </i><br />
When the UUA Board first identified four groups we were accountable to in addition to our member congregations, reactions from outside the Board varied from thinking only member congregations counted, to appreciating the poetry, to averring that we should be accountable only to our mission. We called the five groups "sources of authority and accountability" (Sources), avoiding the Carver term "moral owners" because of its historical connotation with slavery. I suspect almost no one expected us to actually be in some sort of dialogue with these Sources.<br />
<br />
With significant guidance from <a href="http://www.unityconsulting.org/">Unity Consulting</a>, a small team from the Board has been identifying methodologies to do just that. The Board approved working definitions of these Sources (what are their voices? how do they speak?) at this past meeting. We anticipate using these working definitions to get valuable feedback from all of our Sources on the draft ends from next January's meeting.<br />
<br />
For example, what might the heritage, traditions, and ideals of Unitarian Universalism think about the definition of a congregation? The Source operating definition identifies a number of places we might look, including the writings of historical figures, UU historians, minutes and actions of the UUA Board, Administration, and General Assembly, our hymnals, and our by-laws (note this is not a comprehensive list). While we acknowledge times have changed (would our forbears have envisioned a virtual congregation?), there are underlying values that are important, such as the role of covenant.<br />
<br />
I might find less guidance from this Source if I am looking for values around an End on a global faith (I made this up -- the Ends are in the process of being written and this may or may not be on the list). We already know from<a href="http://www.uua.org/vision/gathered/index.shtml"> Gathered Here</a> that Current and Future Generations have something to say about it. Envisioning a future faith that did not have geographic boundaries was mentioned far more by Youth and Young Adults in Gathered Here conversations.<br />
<br />
What might the Spirit of life, love, and the holy say about "a religious faith-based perspective to public discourse and a deepening theology for justice and community-building movements", another early draft of an End?<br />
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I think I will meditate on that. <br />
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<i>Next post: what makes us come alive</i>Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-53201366088524804152012-10-31T13:17:00.001-07:002012-10-31T13:17:54.355-07:00Creating New "Ends"<i>Third in a series of posts about the October 2012 UUA Board meeting</i><br />
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<i> </i>I walked into this board meeting with a different set of expectations around crafting "Ends". This was confirmed by the training with Susan Radwan, who stated flatly "ends are not about your theology, philosophy, or vision -- they are instructions to your President", echoing <a href="http://www.carvergovernance.com/">John Carver</a>.<br />
<br />
What is the net added value of the Association? What impact does it have that a single individual congregation could not do alone?<br />
<br />
I would maintain that a single congregation could do an excellent job of helping its members "develop a personal spiritual practice, participate in meaningful worship, learn and practice empowered leadership and generosity", and "find their ministry in the world" (Policy 1.0.1.1) without the UUA. I have no doubt they exist already. What they likely could not do is develop a library of resources for their professional and lay leaders to weather the inevitable changes and storms that are part of congregational life. So perhaps the End is about "congregations with the resources they need to live their missions" (one of the preliminary draft ends written at the meeting). <br />
<br />
Likewise, an individual congregation could also be "embracing and struggling with issues of oppression and privilege" (Policy 1.0.1.2c) with the UUA, but it would be more difficult for an entire system of congregations to do so, or to be "congregations engaged and effective in focused, sustainable social justice work done collaboratively....with UU components, inter-faith and other partners" (another initial draft policy). For example, would UU congregations be so widely supportive of the BGLTQ community without such programs as becoming a <a href="http://www.uua.org/lgbtq/welcoming/program/">Welcoming Congregation</a>? <br />
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Teams of UUA board and staff are in the process of writing draft Ends in four teams based on the purpose statement of the Association: 1) serving the needs of its member congregations, 2) organizing new congregations, 3) extending and strengthening Unitarian institutions, and 4) implementing its principles. A smaller team will craft these into a more cohesive framework for the Board to adopt in January. The Ends will then be taken to our Sources of Authority and Accountability for feedback. A final version is expected to be adopted in June.<br />
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<br />
Part of me still wants the poetry (and that may still be possible). I hold the poetry partly responsible for the difficulty board and staff have had in evaluating our progress towards Ends that are not only difficult to measure, but probably not within the Association's direct <a href="https://www.stephencovey.com/7habits/7habits-habit1.php">"circle of influence"</a>. <br />
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<i>Next post: You want to talk to WHO? Operating definitions for non-congregational Sources</i>Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-14342621525654945732012-10-28T11:48:00.000-07:002012-10-28T11:48:30.709-07:00"This is why I joined the Board"<i>Second in a series of posts about the October 2012 UUA Board meeting</i><br />
<br />
The above quote from one of our newer board members summed up the general sense of the UUA board. For many of us, it felt like our focus was on the right things. <br />
<i> </i><br />
One of those "right things" for me was the full day spent on multicultural training, with <a href="http://crossroadsantiracism.org/">Crossroads Antiracism Organizing and Training.</a> I have been in multiple trainings of this type, and found this the most useful of any I have experienced since I joined the board. It gave me a framework (my strong N on the <a href="http://www.myersbriggs.org/">Meyers-Briggs</a>) for navigating the complexities of really being a multicultural faith. Crossroads compared the institutional values underlying cultural dominance with those of one with what they called "critical cultural competencies":<br />
<ul>
<li>From "either/or" to "both/and"</li>
<li>From a scarcity mentality to an abundant worldview</li>
<li>From competitive individualism to collaboration and cooperation that nurtures individual creativity</li>
<li>From secrecy to transparent communication and decision-making, while safe-guarding person integrity</li>
<li>From Institutions of cultural dominance that are focused on self preservation with a bias towards efficiency, to institutions with cultural competencies that are focused on their mission with a bias towards effectiveness. </li>
</ul>
Though we all know that being multicultural is not as simple as doing a service that incorporates Dia de los Muertos, including readings by African Americans, or including Jewish High Holy Days, there is real utility to me in thinking of our congregations as having a dominant culture (which most of us can easily identify), and then thinking about who is inside of that "box", who is outside of it, and how we might blur the separation. I am not suggesting we try to be all things to all people, but rather that we choose who we want to be and who feels included on the basis of our values, not our style of worship or music.<br />
<br />
<i>Next post: creating new Ends</i> Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-34766782536219229452012-10-15T11:53:00.000-07:002012-10-15T11:53:01.910-07:00Beginning with the Ends in mind<i>First in a series of posts about the October 2012 UUA Board Meeting</i><br />
<br />
Weighing in at nearly 190 pages, the <a href="http://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/board/packets/index.shtml">October board packet</a> has a number of reports that will impact the decisions made by the UUA Board. With two full days reserved for ends review (and potential revision), the packet includes the summary of <a href="https://www.uua.org/vision/gathered/index.shtml">Gathered Here</a>, which along with the 2010 <a href="http://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/board/185392.shtml">Healthy Relationships Summary</a>, feedback on the original "Ends" from 2009, and three World Cafes with Youth Caucus, will be used as input into that potential revision.<br />
<br />
It is no secret that the UUA board and staff have struggled with how to interpret and hold ourselves accountable for our current Ends, so it is appropriate that we are also going back to the basics. The Governance Working Group sent copies of the Carver Guide "Ends and the Ownership" a month or so ago, and governance consultant Susan Radwan will start us with a training session.<br />
<br />
A careful reading of the Carver booklet raised several points for me (my comments are in <span style="color: blue;">blue<span style="color: black;">)</span></span>:<br />
<br />
"If a slogan is needed for public relations purposes, it can best be established by the CEO..." (page 13) <span style="color: blue;">One of the early criticisms of the "ends" is that they did not "sing" with inspiring and religious language, though we did try to incorporate reverential language. In hindsight, I wonder if we traded off clarity for poetry. Can policies be inspiring, reverent, AND clear?</span><br />
<br />
"Ends policies must describe what it is the CEO's job to accomplish, not the board's philosophies, theology, or world view." (page 13) <span style="color: blue;">I wonder about this one in the same context as I describe above. </span><br />
<br />
"If the organization is the subject of the sentence and the verb "belongs" to it, you can be sure you have written about means." (page 14) <span style="color: blue;">Interesting test....</span> <span style="color: blue;">does that suggest "the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association will inspire people to lead lives of humility and purpose..." is a means for member congregations?</span><br />
<br />
"Policies requiring advocacy, support, and quality services are about means." (page 15)<br />
<br />
"Trade associations do not produce the ends that their members produce... Associations produce something else. What?" (page 16) <span style="color: blue;">This one really gives me pause about the first part of the Ends, Policy 1.0.1, which describes what congregations do. This was also an early criticism of the Ends -- how can the UUA Board hold the UUA staff accountable for what congregations do (or don't)? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Also covered in the meeting will be by-laws change recommendations for GA 2013 (including the recommendations from the Fifth Principle Task Force about general assemblies), an adoption of our operational definitions of the non-congregational Sources of Authority and Accountability, plans for GA 2013, and a full day of multi-cultural training. Check back here next week for detail on these and more. </span> </span>Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-78852211264792569802012-10-08T10:56:00.000-07:002012-10-08T18:59:28.990-07:00It's October -- do you know where your yellow shirt is?There is poetic justice that Standing on the Side of Love shirts look best on people with darker skin. I look anemic in mine, and wear it anyway. Last Saturday once again gave me the reason why.<br />
<br />
We are at the monthly interfaith immigration vigil at the West County Detention Center, where an estimated 150 immigrants are housed on any given day for immigration violations. The opening prayer by a group of Aztec dancers is moving, powerful, and their drums beat into my soul. About 15 of us are wearing yellow "Standing on the Side of Love" shirts, which is noticed by our second speaker, who thanks the people in "las camisas" (the shirts) for being there.<br />
<br />
She is an organizer for domestic workers' rights, and as part of this had taken an "undocubus" from Arizona to North Carolina, stopping along the way to publicize what is happening in our immigration system. At each stop, she says, they were welcomed into the hearts and homes of people wearing these yellow shirts. <br />
<br />
This is the third time I have heard explicitly about the power of the yellow shirts from someone outside of Unitarian Universalism. I observed it directly at General Assembly this summer. Our Arizona interfaith partners talked about how discouraged they were after the passage of SB 1070, and then how the people in the yellow shirts "came with us, walked with us, went to jail with us", inspiring them to go on. The yellow shirts provided a kind of continuity, a visible fulfillment of a promise that we would be there with them. <br />
<br />
It does something powerful for the wearer, too. When I put on that yellow shirt, I join a river of yellow shirts that stretches from California to Maine, from Arizona to Florida. <br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "ArialMT","sans-serif";">A dozen make a
demonstration.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "ArialMT","sans-serif";">A hundred fill a hall.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "ArialMT","sans-serif";">A thousand have
solidarity and your own newsletter;</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "ArialMT","sans-serif";">ten thousand, power and
your own paper;</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "ArialMT","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-bidi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;">How much more difference do we make when we are not just individuals showing up for a rally, but rather part of a larger movement that is showing up everywhere? There were members of other UU congregations at that rally on Saturday that I had never met -- and I knew them instantly. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "ArialMT","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: ArialMT; mso-bidi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you have a SSL shirt, wear it. If you don't, get one. And add your measure to this river of gold that is moving towards justice. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "ArialMT","sans-serif";">it starts when you say We</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "ArialMT","sans-serif";">day you mean one more.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "ArialMT","sans-serif";">Lines quoted from "The Low Road" by Marge Pearcy </span><i><span style="font-family: "ArialMT","sans-serif";"> </span></i></span></div>
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Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-49425066799650790442012-08-09T11:41:00.000-07:002012-08-09T11:46:11.148-07:00Sacred groundI am biking along Colleville Beach -- it is a beautiful day and families are spread out for miles along the beach, playing in the water, picnicking, sitting in the sun, doing all the things that families do on a beautiful white sandy beach.<br />
<br />
And inside I am screaming:<br />
<br />
<i>Don't they know this is sacred ground!?!</i><br />
<br />
This part of France is better known to most Americans as part of Omaha Beach, where on June 6, 1944, the American Allies landed on D-Day on the coast of Normandy. The remnants of what was the largest armada ever assembled are on the bluffs above the beaches -- bomb craters, fortified gun positions, and rows and rows of white crosses (with an occasional Star of David) marking the graves of the some of the near half million American, British, Canadian, German, and other countries' casualties of the Battle of Normandy.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKjbsW_LkTo1yPt2RvWOyNGm8zFV7e-fwAZ1WPTHQgRFE3lSBi8PyOB2SD4Ei760fiIZ6w1JWORLdmZhPdVdZ1JsVmdfNEVQn4d7Sqd9sNvzL1a3TjrXYTxhhkmgCL0m1fnPUtBQfxL9Q/s1600/Point+d%27hoc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKjbsW_LkTo1yPt2RvWOyNGm8zFV7e-fwAZ1WPTHQgRFE3lSBi8PyOB2SD4Ei760fiIZ6w1JWORLdmZhPdVdZ1JsVmdfNEVQn4d7Sqd9sNvzL1a3TjrXYTxhhkmgCL0m1fnPUtBQfxL9Q/s320/Point+d%27hoc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Pointe du Hoc, where rangers scaled 100 foot cliffs to reach Nazi guns</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I am mesmerized by this battle -- the stunning losses on this beach, the confusion and chaos of this part of the landing gone terribly wrong. The bombers that were supposed to take out the German guns dropped most of them harmlessly behind the lines because of a ground fog. Men so seasick that when they landed, going forward into a hail of bullets seemed a better choice... infantrymen trained to razor precision to work together separated from the rest of their troops, including their leaders... the loss of most of the radios (let alone those who were supposed to use them) so that the big guns 15 kilometers off shore that were supposed to take out the heavy artillery that rained down death on the beach could not do so for lack of coordinates, and could only watch from afar... the extraordinary courage of ordinary men -<a href="http://www.firstdivisionmuseum.org/museum/online/george_a_taylor/biography/diary/entry2.aspx"> "if we're going to die, let's die up there!</a>" The smaller destroyers, guns blazing to try to eliminate some of the German gun positions, risking grounding or hitting a mine, attempting to do what was not in the plan to save the men on the beach...and the future of the free world.<br />
<br />
What is behind my fascination with D-Day? How does it reconcile with my faith? Delegates at the 2010 General Assembly pointed out that some of us believe "<a href="http://www.uua.org/statements/statements/13394.shtml">force is sometimes necessary as a last resort".</a> Chamberlain tried appeasement in 1938 in an attempt to avoid war, sacrificing Czechoslovakia in the process. Petain tried to keep France out of fighting -- and was complicit in sending 75,000 Jews and other "undesirables" to death. <br />
<br />
I reach my destination on the beach -- a restaurant where my small group joins M. Heintz, who was part of the Battle of Normandy as a French Resistance fighter. Now 94, he leads us over the bluffs, walking briskly and purposefully to each spot, and tells its story. At some point, I ask him the question I also asked M. Vico, the Resistance fighter we met with the day before. <br />
<br />
The Battle of Normandy included "carpet-bombing" vast swathes of the Norman countryside, leveling and killing everything. Cities that had stood for centuries: Caen, Rouen, were essentially leveled, killing more than 20,000 civilians. I had assumed these were Nazi bombs -- they were Allied. <br />
<br />
How did he, M. Heintz, feel about the decision to level his Normandy? <br />
<br />
He pauses.. thinks for a few moments, and says "it had to be done. Sometimes we must look to greater purposes."<br />
<br />
<i>Don't they know this is sacred ground? </i>Of course they do. Many of the families I rode past lost members of their own families in WW II -- not to mention WW I. But sacred ground means something different when it is fought on your own home soil.<br />
<br />
Every year the veterans of D-Day return to this part of France on June 6 -- fewer every year. They relive those moments when they somehow survived and changed the course of history. And below them, on the white sandy beaches, families continue to live. Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-5731227618865649732012-07-15T20:53:00.000-07:002012-07-16T11:28:05.568-07:00UUFutures: Calling all Youth and Young Adults<b><i>If you know a UU Youth or Young Adult, please send them this post.</i></b><br />
<br />
In the early 1990s, a group of people from across the country of South Africa came to together in an extraordinary series of workshops that created what came to be known as <a href="http://www.montfleur.co.za/about/scenarios.html">The Mont Fleur Scenarios</a>. Just coming out of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid_in_South_Africa"><i>apartheid</i></a>, the insights provided by these scenarios, or alternative views of the future, changed the course of South Africa's history. The participants, who were from the <a href="http://www.anc.org.za/">African National Congress</a>, which had just won the election; the white minority government, labor unions, and many other key leaders, had enough insight into the future to understand they must "rise slowly together like flamingos". <br />
<br />
The UUA Board is using the same planning idea to create alternative futures for Unitarian Univeralism -- what will the world be like in the year 2050? Scenario planning uses a process that creates four different basic story results that are then expanded by teams of UUA board and staff members as headlines by decade. Once the headlines are established, a writer on each team will create a story based on those headlines. In October the Board will use those four different stories of the future to answer questions* like:<br />
<ul>
<li>How would the purpose, form, or function of the UUA change in this future?</li>
<li>What are the most important steps the UUA can take to make a desired scenario happen or head off or moderate the impact of an undesirable one? </li>
<li>What are the new opportunities that this future presents? </li>
<li>What are the key dangers or problems this future presents, and what could the UUA do to minimize them? </li>
</ul>
We have just finished the headlines, and that is where you (if you are a Youth or Young Adult) come in. We would like <a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/M2HNQRJ">your feedback</a> on which headlines you like, and try your hand at writing some of your own. We will ask you two short questions that will sort you into one of the four scenarios -- let us know what you think will happen! <br />
<br />
Please click<a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/M2HNQRJ"> here</a> to respond by August 1.<br />
<br />
*from "Future-Focused Agendas" by Jannice Moore, part of the RealBoard Tool Kit series consistent with Policy Governance® principles.Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-31174631481903449422012-07-07T10:25:00.000-07:002012-07-07T10:29:15.182-07:00Criteria for Continuing UUA Trustees<i>Sixth in a series of posts about Justice GA and the June GA Board Meeting</i><br />
<br />
This is the first (and only) year that the Board is selecting 4 of its own replacements for a smaller board that starts in 2013. The good news is that there are a lot more than 4 board members interested in continuing on the board. Depending on which term length interests them, they can be appointed by the Board or nominated by the Nominating Committee. <br />
<br />
So on what basis does the Board select its continuity? There will be a call later this month to continue the discussion that started at the Board meeting -- since I will be somewhere in Normandy on a bicycle, and am not eligible for continuing (for reasons other than the bicycle), here are my criteria:<br />
<br />
What is the unique contribution of continuing trustees? While what I call the "laundry list" of identities is very important for the Nominating Committee, it is less so for the Board (in terms of the 4 we appoint) because we are appointing only 4. It is impossible to get the full spectrum of representation with 4 -- though what we do appoint clearly impacts the work of the Nominating Committee to insure that the final board does. The good news here is that the current Board is more diverse than the ones I served on previously -- for example, it would actually be impossible to have 4 white women "of a certain age" (just like me) appointed, or 4 straight white men. <br />
<br />
In my opinion, the most important criteria for continuing trustees is a) their knowledge of and b) accountability around our chosen form of governance. According to <a href="http://www.carvergovernance.com/">the man himself</a>, the principle reasons for the failure of Policy Governance® are 1) the board not holding itself accountable to its own policies, and 2) turnover in board members without adequate training. We are getting better at the first, but not there yet, and adding the second could easily allow a ten year investment to go down the drain. This is not "sunk investment syndrome" on my part, but rather my belief that this form of governance really does provide a structure for "normal" people to serve effectively on boards and be accountable to those they serve.<br />
<br />
Accountability means the continuing trustee faithfully fills out
those never-ending monitoring surveys, and makes linkage a distinct
priority in their activities. We have the information on who does (or
does not) do that, but it's not public -- I vacillate between reminding
myself that we are all volunteers, and wanting the kind of scrutiny that
legislators get when they are tracked on how many votes they were
present for, and how accessible they are to their constituents. <br />
<br />
In terms of new trustees, not all Policy Governance® skills are created equal. Two questions I would like to see the Nominating Committee ask of prospective trustees who say they have Policy Governance® skills are<br />
<ol>
<li>Could you tell me what an operating definition is?</li>
<li>Could I see an example of a monitoring report that you have evaluated? </li>
</ol>
I am also looking for trustees who are willing to invest in the board/staff relationship, understanding that we have different roles but can collaborate on this journey together.<br />
<br />Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-66553459777607605952012-07-05T10:04:00.003-07:002012-07-05T11:50:09.228-07:00World Cafe with Youth<i>Fifth in a series of posts about Justice GA and the June UUA Board Meeting</i><br />
<br />
Energetic, noisy, slightly chaotic -- the third annual "<a href="http://www.theworldcafe.com/">World Cafe</a>" with Youth Caucus and the UUA Board did not run out of pizza. <br />
<br />
A cross between small group discussions and speed dating, World Cafes are a great way to get a lot of meaningful discussion in a short amount of time. The discussion questions this year were focused on social justice - here is a sampling of some of the responses from about 75 Youth who participated:<br />
<br />
<i>Tell us about social justice activities back in your congregation</i> <br />
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<b><i></i></b><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Often it is projects “for the kids and youth” and not for
whole congregation.</span> </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"> They are youth-led or very small, not cohesive</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"> Most consistently, they involve only the youth and children</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> We learned about other religions before anything significant was taught about
UU. </span></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>What's happening for you here?</i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"> Am making adult connections, as opposed to youth cons that
are wonderful but all youth</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"> Seeing other ministers and types of worship</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"> Workshops and learning is fueling our flames and equipping us by learning about
resources and how to use them</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"> Deepened spiritually</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"> Can do things that affect more than my own congregation</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"> For Bridgers, to know there are other congregations broadens
their perspectives, but also gives them hope that wherever they go there might
be another UU congregation </span></i></div>
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</style><i><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> My church hasn’t spent any time teaching about national
decision making, so I felt a little confused.
</span> </b></span></i></div>
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</style><i><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> I've heard UUs talk about love and acceptance, and this is
the first time I've felt any action. </span></b></span></i>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>How can we, the UUA Board, stay in conversation with our Youth to accomplish and understand the deeper purpose of this GA?</i><b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i> Come to cons! Come
where they are.</i>
</div>
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<i> <span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Make learning available and accessible to them, encourage
congregations to watch and participate in GA streaming</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i> Youth are separate from their congregations during services so
not sure how to connect with adults</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i> Was not a priority in
system at any level to get them funded to GA. (Most of these fund
raised for a year to be able to attend in PHX)</i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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This year had a twist -- the last 5 minutes of each of three "rounds" turned the tables, and had Youth asking trustees any question they wanted to ask:</div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<i>How did I get to serve on the board?</i></div>
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<i>How can they get involved beyond their own congregations?</i></div>
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<i>What opportunities do we have for them?</i></div>
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<i>What service projects like UUSC trips?</i></div>
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<i>How did you get to be a UU? If you had to choose between being Unitarian or Universalist, which would you choose?</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">And these are from just a few of the groups (there were about 25 in two sessions)!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">A personal note: this is the first year I did not lead the World Cafe, but instead turned both sessions over to Caleb Raible-Clark, Youth Trustee, and Abhimanyu Janamanchi, Youth Observer. They did not do it exactly as I would have -- they did it better. </span></div>
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<br /></div>Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-54777936745700475472012-07-01T15:40:00.003-07:002012-07-01T15:40:44.568-07:00Congregation on fire<i>Fourth in a series of posts about Justice GA and the June UUA Board meeting</i><br />
<br />
"Is this GA a success?"<i> </i>It's Saturday afternoon, at a GA feedback workshop for the UUA Board to hear from those attending in Phoenix. <br />
<br />
"We don't know yet." <br />
<br />
Success is not measured by this General Assembly -- it is measured by what happens when delegates and other attendees go home. <br />
<br />
If my congregation, the UU Church of Berkeley, is any indication, the chances are high that the answer will be "yes!". Today's service included stories and powerful word pictures of General Assembly from our co-ministers, a chalice lighting by the 30 people who attended (a river of bright gold), and a follow up "summer forum" put on by the attendees. <br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"This was my first GA, and I have been changed forever."<br />
<br />
"This is my 16th GA, and I have never felt this way. I am transformed."<br />
<br />
"I am outraged at what is being done in the name of my country."<br />
<br />
"I cannot unknow what I know. I cannot turn my back. This has changed my life." </blockquote>
So it went around the circle of attendees. This congregation of 450 members has 30 people who came back changed. Who are already organizing, contacting local partners, and inviting in others. Who are seeing clearly the connection between justice work and their faith. Who are deepening that faith. <br />
<br />
Who are hopeful that this time, we can focus and make a difference. And I believe this scenario was going on in hundreds of congregations this morning.<br />
<br />
We are not turning back. <br />
<br />
<i>Sin volver atrås,</i><br />
<i>Sin volver atrås.</i><br />
<br />Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-66658664566677223972012-06-30T11:15:00.000-07:002012-06-30T11:16:03.824-07:00Talking Points<i>Third in a series of posts about GA2012 and the June UUA Board Meeting</i><br />
<br />
Settling into my seat to fly home, I was filled with spirit and the warmth of sharing so many experiences with thousands of UUs. I overflowed with the passion of injustice done to so many vulnerable families. <br />
<br />
My seatmate was not a UU. He was dubious about "where to put all the criminals" if you shut down Tent City, and "we can't just throw open our borders" and "we pay for all their kids' education because they don't pay property taxes" and "our emergency rooms are flooded because they don't have health care."<br />
<br />
I wish I had paid more attention to those talking points. <br />
<br />
So, for when you are in the same situation (and if you never are, you are talking too much to the choir), here are the talking points passed out at the Tent City vigil:<br />
<ul>
<li>Our immigration system separates children from their parents. Any system that breaks of families is itself broken.</li>
<li>The inhospitality and cruelty shown to immigrants today weakens our nation's soul. </li>
<li>From January-June 2011, ICE removed 46,486 undocumented parents who claimed to have at least one child who is an American citizen.</li>
<li>The U.S. detains 280,000+ people/year, at an annual cost of $1.2 billion to taxpayers. Much of the money goes to private contractors. </li>
<li>We must end human rights abuses perpetrated against migrants; stop laws that spur racial profiling and collectively punish foreign-born individuals living in this country.</li>
<li>It's time for the federal government to implement policies and laws that keep families together and citizenship for undocumented individuals in this country.</li>
<li>No human being is illegal! </li>
</ul>
The last plenary session featured a list of resources provided by the UUA staff for congregations to "take it home". You can find it <a href="http://www.uua.org/ga/2012/business/200225.shtml">here, right after UUSC President Bill Schulz</a> speaks. Either watch the video or scroll down about 6 page lengths.<br />
<br />
And one of the best discussions of what "comprehensive immigration reform" could look like, and how to talk about it, was presented in a Thursday workshop by Angela Maria Kelly, with <a href="http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/domestic/immigration/">Center for American Progress</a>. Not yet on the UUA website, I will post when it is.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-11404659658979246862012-06-28T11:36:00.001-07:002012-06-28T11:37:10.964-07:00Building a Web of Relationship: Two Stories of Repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery<i>Second in a series of posts about "Justice GA" and the June UUA Board meeting. </i><br />
<br />
<i>This post is from the Rev. Dr. Michael Tino, UUA Board member from Metro New York, about some of the connections and aftermath of the Doctrine of Discovery. You can read more about the Doctrine and why the UUA Board asked the delegates to approve it on my <a href="http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2012/01/doctrine-of-discovery.html">January 27th post.</a> </i><br />
<br />
If I had ever been tempted to view the Doctrine of Discovery as an idea that lives only in our past, my experience working as a UUA Board member on our resolution repudiating that doctrine would have quickly disabused me of that notion. Indeed, the relationships that began with our agreement to take up that resolution make it very clear that the Doctrine of Discovery infects our present with its outdated and oppressive ideology.<br />
<br />
Two stories illustrate my experience in this process more than any others.<br />
<br />
The first begins in the weeks leading up to General Assembly, when I was contacted by a UU living in Hawai’i and working with Native Hawai’ian people seeking to secure their rights to religious freedom and self-determination and the return of their sacred religious sites. Dr. George M. Williams has long been a proponent of religious freedom, working with groups like the International Association for Religious Freedom, and now he is working with leaders of the Hawai’ian Kingdom (the Native Hawai’ian term for their people).<br />
<br />
I learned through Dr. Williams that leaders of the Hawai’ian Kingdom had learned about our resolution, and expressed some concern over its language. Native Hawai’ians, you see, are neither American Indians nor even indigenous North Americans (they are a Polynesian people). They asked how we could make our resolution explicitly apply to their daily struggles to practice their religions and own their sacred sites (the Doctrine of Discovery gives title to these sites, as it does to all of the traditional lands of indigenous peoples and the Hawai’ian Kingdom to the U.S. Government). Their hope is that this explicit inclusion can help the UUA and our Hawai’i congregations to advocate better for the return of these sacred sites. It was an easy change to make, and an honor to make it.<br />
<br />
The second story takes place in the minutes following the overwhelming passage of the resolution by the General Assembly, when Tupac Enrique Acosta, leader of the UUA’s partner Tonatierra, pulled me aside. He wanted to introduce me to a delegation of indigenous people who had accompanied him to GA to witness our vote. All of them were deeply appreciative of our partnership, and quite moved by our religious rejection of this oppressive doctrine. All of them expressed to me what it meant to them to have their lives and struggles taken seriously by an entire denomination. <br />
<br />
Next, Mr. Acosta invited me to participate in a religious ritual of his people, in which I offered a copy of the just-passed resolution to a leader of his nation, passing it four times over a sacred incense bowl. After the fourth pass, my colleague accepted the resolution, and two members of our circle sounded shell horns to mark the sacred occasion. Later, in a conversation with Mr. Acosta, we discussed how our resolution is one step in the journey of building right relationship with our indigenous siblings as well as with our common mother, the Earth.<br />
<br />
It has been an honor and a privilege to work with the Board and the General Assembly to pass this historic resolution. It will be more of an honor to take the next steps, side by side, with our new partners and those still to be identified—in Hawai’i, in Arizona, and here in New York as well. Will you take up the call to partnership in your home? If you do, I trust that you will find that our resolution was not just about the injustices of history, but about ongoing injustice affecting all of humanity.Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-69264114440975805452012-06-26T11:55:00.000-07:002012-06-26T11:55:17.358-07:00Dancing in 100 Degrees<i>First of many posts about the General Assembly in Phoenix and the UUA Board meetings before and after</i><br />
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As our bus pulls up to the vigil site, we see hundreds of marchers slowly walking from the buses that left before ours, carrying (LED) candles. <i> </i>We can't hear the counter demonstrators because everyone on our bus is singing<br />
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<i>when I breath in... I breath in peace.</i></div>
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<i>when I breath out... I breath out love. </i></div>
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We wait what seems like a long time before the buses in front of us clear. There are what appear to be dozens of dark-uniformed police officers, and khaki clad sheriff's deputies, standing apart. We are dazzled by the hundreds of candle lights, glowing orange in the night, moving with the crowd. </div>
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<i>when I breath in... I breath in peace.</i></div>
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<i>when I breath out... I breath out love. </i></div>
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Our bus pulls in and we step out, taking our own candles. Our route is lined with blue-shirted Witness Team members, making a gentle container for us as we walk to the vigil site. There are dozens of them too. I do not see or hear the counter-protesters, though I know they are there. I see only us. And then I start to see more of us, the families of our partners, by the side of the route, holding signs: "Shut down Tent City" say the signs, "thank you, gracias, thank you for coming" say the people. "Gracias a ustedes", we answer, "thank you to you". </div>
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We are packed together, chanting in Spanish, singing in English and Spanish, cheering the partners who have clearly spoken at many other rallies. The voices of our own President, Peter Morales and that of Geoffrey Black, head of the United Church of Christ, mingle in the heat and energy. A Baptist minister steps to the microphone and brings us even higher, calling us to what we are witnessing. Behind us, more buses come, more lights extending back as far as we can see. </div>
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And on the right, Tent City. They cannot see us, but they can hear us. <i>¡Estamos aqui!</i> <i> </i>we shout. <i>¡Libertad! Shut it down!</i> <i> Shut it down!</i> Orange candles sway back and forth. <i>We who believe in freedom cannot rest,</i> we sing. Cold bottles of water are passed among the crowd. <i>Make way on the left for the scooters!,</i> someone cries. <i>Stay away from the barbed wire on the left!. </i>More singing, chanting, speaking, the voices hoarse from trying to be loud enough to be heard by those in back. We are dancing, holding arms, swaying.. <i>we are dancing in the light of God...</i> some say love, some say God, is there a difference? </div>
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The crowd begins to thin. </div>
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<i>We are a gentle angry people</i></div>
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<i>and we are singing, singing for our lives...</i></div>
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I check the time: 11:01. I check the temperature: 100. We make our way slowly back to the buses. The young woman with me thanks the Phoenix police as we walk by. And still there, lining the walk, are the families of our partners, saying <i>"thank you. Gracias. Thank you for coming." </i></div>
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<i>We're gonna keep on movin' forward...</i></div>
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<i>keep on movin' forward...</i></div>
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<i>keep on movin' forward...</i></div>
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<i>Never turning back,</i></div>
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<i>Sin volver atrås. </i></div>
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<br /></div>Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2987633698271670286.post-9783881851756952142012-04-29T10:58:00.001-07:002012-04-29T17:08:19.993-07:00"We have so much of what people are moving to"<i>Fourth in a series of posts about the April UUA Board meeting</i><br />
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Saying that the Chinese symbol for crisis means both threat and opportunity is somewhat trite (and according to Sinologist Victor Mair, <a href="http://www.pinyin.info/chinese/crisis.html">wholly inaccurate</a>) -- but it really is a good summary of Peter Morales' President's Ends Monitoring Report: the certified adult membership of the Association has been in decline since 2008, as has religious education enrollment. Put within the context of mainline Protestant religions, we are hanging on.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS0A9-FAXaDvPLSGNgYcXeFo_LnqujFY_MYKlb5VuAGtMyTb1l2Ve0VLwzQeu2j4uGWNRkgpTeDWjNePSsJofm6ujFqr3XeQs9xik7-hbg66XyNEzNpKavqCzssgQeMNnBLrdoHadSBUY/s1600/Mainline+church+growth.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS0A9-FAXaDvPLSGNgYcXeFo_LnqujFY_MYKlb5VuAGtMyTb1l2Ve0VLwzQeu2j4uGWNRkgpTeDWjNePSsJofm6ujFqr3XeQs9xik7-hbg66XyNEzNpKavqCzssgQeMNnBLrdoHadSBUY/s400/Mainline+church+growth.tiff" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chart from The President's Monitoring Report, March 10, 2012</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The difference, points out Peter, is that "we have so much of what people are moving to". A rejection of a God that seems at odds with Love. A spiritual home for those with a non-traditional view of God or no God at all. A place to center social justice with moral values. A way to incorporate truths from many faith and secular traditions.<br />
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This was the basis for much of the marketing work in the past ten years (including in the Bay Area) -- if only people knew about us, they would come. <br />
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There is some truth in this. There was clearly an impact in the Bay Area (contact me if you want to see the results) but not anything close to a silver bullet. So Peter has taken the Administration in a different direction, made famous in his pre-President days as "repel fewer visitors". <br />
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I used to do a workshop at every General Assembly called <a href="http://www.uua.org/growth/membership/evaluating/index.shtml">"Congregations Count"</a> that provided a lot of data about visitors and membership. I still remember the first time I calculated the number of visitors who came back at least once within a 6 months period for my church. It was 40%. I was horrified -- in Peter's words, we were "repelling" 60% of our visitors. <br />
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It turns out that was actually pretty good -- I have been collecting data for about ten years from UU as well as Christian mainline churches and "normal" percentages that do not come back is closer to 70-80%. We are "too Christian", or "not Christian enough", or "the building is too dark". If we do a good job with our websites (almost 100% of our visitors check us out there ahead of time), our theology should not surprise anyone -- they are looking for fit. And for many, our welcome and ritual do not.<br />
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The UUA has shifted its emphasis from bringing more visitors to working with congregations to help transform us from "a religion that is tied to origins in another time" to one that "reframe[s] our past as a story of a people who saw new possibilities in every age and who embraced those possibilities." Peter goes on to say<br />
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<i>If we are to thrive we need a new culture of collaboration within our congregations and across our movement. We need religious leaders who can lead the change we need. We need to find new ways of being moral beacons in our communities—standing on the side of love when others would marginalize and dehumanize.</i></div>
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The full monitoring report can be downloaded <a href="http://www.uua.org/documents/boardtrustees/governancewg/monitoringreports/1003_1-1_pres_report.pdf">here</a>.</div>Linda Laskowskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430830718856244947noreply@blogger.com0