Thursday, May 5, 2022

Why am I running?

 

Why I am running for election? 

I cherish Unitarian Universalism. I love my home congregation, our Seven Principles, and the sense of freedom and belonging I feel as a member of the denomination.

But our liberal church has taken a dogmatic and authoritarian turn. Every time I open the pages of the UU World or receive an email from the UUA, I am being told how I should think and what I must do. 

As an everyday UU, I feel abandoned by the UUA. It is supposed to be an organization that supports member congregations, but increasingly it seems to be trying to turn itself into our only source of moral authority.

I am running because I believe I have something to offer to all UUs and to the UUA in its proper role. I have experience with the democratic process as an elected official and public servant. Someone has to stand up for what is right, and I am willing and able to be that person!

4 comments:

  1. This statement is helpful. Thank you.

    You mention feeling a sense of freedom and belonging in our religious movement. Not all, and particularly members of marginalized groups, have had that experience win their congregations at large or the wider denomination. This is something many have been working hard for years to address and improve.

    In my own learning, it’s so important to listen to the concerns of younger UUs, UUs of color, disabled UUs, transgender and non binary UUs, working class UUs, and others. Can you share some of your sense of what so many UUs have expressed concerns about? How have you listened to and built relationship with those groups? How would you as trustee do so?

    Thank you. I am learning a lot from these candidate pages, including all of your reflections.

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    1. Pardon me, I forgot to include this thought: you wrote that you feel abandoned by our UUA. An “A Ha!” Moment for me over decades as a UU has been that many marginalized groups, particularly UUs who identify people of color, have felt abandoned. And felt undersupported, isolated, expected to assimilate, and more. What is your take on this? What can be done about the struggles marginalized groups have experience in UU spaces / communities? Thank you Ms Mattis.

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    2. Hello Karen, Rebecca here. Thank you for your questions. My own sense of belonging within UU has everything to do with my sense of belonging within my congregation. That's something that a person feels, or not, depending upon so many things! For example, some people do not feel they belong in a large church, and some feel the opposite. Some people want more deism in church, and some people want less. Some people want more joyful noises, and some people want more meditation. It is possible to give a warm welcome to all, but it is not possible to be all things to all people. My own congregation encourages creativity with our services, and tells all visitors to visit a few times because services can vary so much every week. But what it comes down to for me is that it is up to the congregation to form relationships with every person who comes in the door, and to cherish those relationships dearly.

      As to my sense of what other UUs have expressed concerns about, it has varied hugely by individual. I will tell you that of all the people I know who have left my congregation, the vast majority have done so because they've moved away (or died). Sometimes people left because they just weren't getting what they wanted out of services, they felt more at home in a different denomination, or they had a conflict with the minister or other church leaders. Everyone's concerns should be listened to. In my experience, the concerns haven't coalesced around any identity group.

      As a trustee I would concentrate on administering the affairs of the UUA in accordance with the Bylaws, with particular attention to supporting the congregations of the Association. I would do everything I could to promote inter-congregational cooperation, support, and sharing.

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    3. Thank you. But can you say more not just about UU’s in general but specifically marginalized group like UU people of color. Thank you Ms Mattis

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