Joseph Priestley District - JPD Leadership Notes

Joseph Priestley District

of the UUA

JPD Leadership Notes

Topic: Growing Multiculturalism in UU Congregations

March 2010

In This Issue

Racial Prejudice

Multicultural Ministry and Leadership

Scales of Justice

Why Do You Want to Grow?

Reflections on Diversity in Our Congregations

References

Letter from JPD Board President - Mike Harris

Letter from Chuck Wooldridge - UUA Trustee

JPD Ends Policy

Sometimes we confuse racial ideas about a group with their culture. Cultures, however, have very little to do with race. Cultures are a result of where a person was raised, the type of ideas he or she picked up from that place, and their socialization. It deals more with what a person decides to identify with in a society and claim as their own, not the race from which they come. We, therefore, can find ourselves in a multi-cultural setting thinking that we have learned all about this person's culture because of their race or nationality, while we are still communicating on the level of stereotypes and projections.

Om Prakash - Director of Racial and Social Justice

The more I study the process of racial prejudice, which is a major factor in personal and institutional racism that is often not explored deeply, the more complicated I find the idea of multi-culturalism; mainly because our ideas about race usually hinder authentic multi-culturalism. Keep reading...

Rev. Dr. Richard Speck - District Executive

Did you know that the UUA has over 50 people of color in theological schools who are hoping to serve our faith? And did you know that the current length of service for a minister of color is about half that of a white colleague? Also did you know that there are very few ministers of color serving mostly white congregations in the UUA as the senior minister? Do you ask yourself why that is? Keep reading...

Pat Infante - Director for Lifespan Faith Development

When my children were younger, their sense of morality was pretty uncomplicated. Something was right. Or it was wrong. End of story. And if the scales of justice didn't seem perfectly balanced, well then, life just wasn't "fair". I thought the first time they dealt with ambiguity or a moral dilemma, or experienced a sense of injustice, it would be a shock to their over-developed definition of fairness. But when this sad truth was exposed to them, their clearly delineated world didn't come crashing down, it just kind of...shifted. Keep reading...

Mark Bernstein - Director for Growth

Often, when I ask the musical question of congregations "Why do you want to grow?" one of the answers I get is "We want to be more diverse." I find this a curious response because the synonym for "diverse" is "different". So, to take people literally, they are saying that growth in numbers will allow the congregation to increase the differences among members. But this isn't what they mean, of course. Keep reading...

Meredith Higgins - Adjunct Staff Coordinator

How is it that some congregations look and feel so different from others? Each Sunday, we all sing from the same hymnal (or supplement), we light a chalice, hear about the joys and sorrows in the lives of our people, and sit pretty quietly to hear a sermon. Yet, in one area, we hear expressions of concern by many of us. We wish our congregations were more diverse, particularly racially and ethnically diverse. Keep reading...

References

Click here for a list of useful links to resources and information.

Board Column - Mike Harris, JPD Board President

Last month I reported that several congregation presidents want to see their congregations become more diverse. So I thought it could be helpful to share some of what I've heard on the subject with the understanding that I'm far from having any real expertise. Let's acknowledge that it's a whole lot easier to say than do. Keep reading...

Chuck Wooldridge - UUA Trustee

The UUA passed the following motion on Governance Transformation at an extraordinary meeting held electronically on February 4. We passed this motion to initiate a series of steps to improve governance throughout our Association. It was gratifying to have so many observers participate in this online meeting. Keep reading...

Joseph Priestley District

Ends Policy

7/26/09

I. Global Ends Policy

The Joseph Priestley District (JPD) exists in the Mid Atlantic region to inspire:

Member Congregations that are healthy, growing and ever more diverse;
The creation of an environment where Unitarian Universalism is expanding;
Our congregations to help make Unitarian Universalism understood and Unitarian Universalism values lived out;
At a cost within the resources available to the JPD.

View the complete Ends Policy.