8th Principle
At the All Peoples congregational meeting October 2022, the congregation will vote on whether to adopt the 8th principal for our church. Here is background information and current planned activities.
The UU 8th Principle:
“We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”
Why UUs, and Why Now?
In the January 2021 Tapestry, we introduced the 8th Principle and discussed its origins. At the January 6, 2021 KUUJAN All Network Gathering, we were privileged to learn from the developer of the 8th Principle, Paula Cole Jones, and from the UU Church of Lexington on its 8th Principle adoption process.
In 1997, the UU General Assembly voted to commit to intentionally becoming an anti-racist, anti-oppression, multicultural (ARAOMC) institution. In the few years after this vote, there was some good progress, including programs such as the Journey Toward Wholeness, the Jubilee Anti-Racism Training workshops, the inclusion of process evaluation at meetings, and multicultural consulting services. But actions had stalled until 2016, when we came face to face with how white supremacy culture manifests in our own UU institutions with conflicted hiring processes. Combine this with growing awareness of the New Jim Crow, anti-voting legislation, and the state of policing in our communities, and it has become clear that we, Unitarian Universalists, need to be more intentional about addressing racism within ourselves and within our institutions, as well as within our communities.
The 8th principle is one way of being more intentional about this work. UU congregations covenant together to affirm and promote seven principles already, but none of them specifically address racism. The 8th principle changes that and “came from a feeling that we need something to renew our commitment to this work, to hold ourselves accountable, and to fulfill the potential of our existing principles.” You can read the wordings and the background at the 8th principle website.
Fourteen of our congregants are currently participating in the “Beloved Conversations Virtual- Within” online curriculum that addresses racism within ourselves. There are 3 segments to the curriculum rolling out over the next several years- Within, Among, and Beyond and all are meant for Caucasians and people of color.
- Within (the individual, personal work we each need to do);
- Among (the institutional, systemic change needed in our congregations); and
- Beyond (the work outside our congregations, with our local communities)
You can go to https://bcvirtual.meadville.edu/p/home or just google “Beloved Conversations” to learn more.
A team of our All Peoples members has been working to provide 8th principle activities to church members. Be on or lookout in the All Peoples weekly email for opportunities to participate in these activities from now through October. In the fall, the team will conduct a series of discussions to help members decide how they will vote. If you would like to join the team please contact the co-chairs- Jean Koehler- jkoehler61@gmail.com or Lisa Austin-lpaustin@bellsouth.net.