What’s Happening in Unitarian Universalism
New Purposes and Principles Drafted!
The Article II Study Commission has completed its two year study, and created a new draft of our Purposes and Principles! The Report to the UUA Board of Trustees from the Article II Study Commission (PDF) summarizes the revision process and contains the Study Commission’s recommended revisions to Article II. Read here to see what happens next!
What’s next?
Article II Forums will be held, so people can learn more and talk about the proposal. Congregations are encouraged to have conversations to gather input from their members to
inform their General Assembly (GA) delegates. There will be opportunities for delegates to recommend amendments to the proposal including at a mini-assembly at the 2023 GA. The Board will also be able to recommend amendments.
Amendments to the proposal from delegates and the Board of Trustees will be prioritized and placed on the 2023 GA agenda for consideration. The final version of Article II, as amended by the Board of Trustees and/or the 2023 GA, must receive a simple majority vote to move forward for a final vote at the 2024 GA. It will take a 2/3rd majority vote at the 2024 GA to be adopted as the new Article II of the UUA bylaws. If either vote fails, a similar proposal cannot be considered for two years.
General Assembly 2023 is in Pittsburgh!
General Assembly is the annual gathering of Unitarian Universalists, where we conduct business of the Association, explore the theological underpinnings of our faith, and lean fully into our mission and principles. Please join us Wednesday, June 21 through Sunday, June 25, 2023 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and/or online for this 5-day immersive experience where we participate in inspirational worship services and informative workshops, reconvene with friends and colleagues, and explore our bustling exhibit hall. GA is an unforgettable experience for the thousands of UUs who attend. Meet us online or in Pittsburgh and you’ll leave with renewed energy and innovative ideas to share with your congregation and community-at-large!
Registration and housing reservations are open!
New Nominee for President of UUA – Dr. Sofía Betancourt
12/7/22 – The UUA Board is delighted to announce that the Presidential Search Committee has nominated the Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt as a candidate for President of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).
The Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt currently serves as Resident Scholar and Special Advisor on Justice and Equity at the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC). She previously served as interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Womanist Theology and Ethics at Drew University Theological School in 2021-22. From 2016-2021, she was on the core faculty of Starr King School for the Ministry, and served as its Acting President for a term. She was the UUA’s Director of Racial and Ethnic Concerns from 2005-2009. In 2017, she was appointed as one of the three-part team of UUA Interim Co-Presidents. She has been a member of the UUA Appointments Committee since 2016, and previously was a member of the UUA Nominating Committee.
Rev. Dr. Betancourt’s ministry centers on work that is empowering and counter-oppressive. Her academic work focuses on the environmental ethics of liberation through a womanist and Latina feminist frame. She previously served as the Senior Minister at the First UU Church of Stockton, CA, as Consulting Minister of the UU Fellowship of Storrs, CT, and as Interim Minister at the UU Church of Fresno, CA.
She holds a Ph.D. in religious ethics and African American Studies from Yale University, graduate degrees from Yale University in Religious Ethics and African American Studies, and an undergraduate degree from Cornell University with a concentration in ethnobotany. She is an ordained UU minister, with a Master of Divinity from Starr King School for the Ministry. Her book, Ecowomanism at the Panamá Canal: Black Women, Labor, and Environmental Ethics is available from Lexington Books (published February, 2022).
Read the full UUA Board announcement here
Read about the nomination process here
Read about the election process here
8th Principle
Proposed new 8th principle of Unitarian Universalism:
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.
See Rev. Karen’s comments about JRUUC’s involvement here – 9/21/22 “Minister’s Musings”
Revision of Principles and Purposes
Would you like to learn about the Article II Study Commission’s work to review the Principles and Purposes section of the UUA Bylaws? And the connection between that work and the 8th Principle? Go here for more information.
See our current principles here.
UU the Vote
Climate justice, reproductive rights, honoring treaties, resisting racism and other oppressions, all involve public policy, which involves voting. You may not be into politics, but it’s surely all up in your face this year. Early voting by mail begins this week. WUUSAN invites every Wisconsin UU to engage voters within and beyond our own communities, in collaboration with community partners. Regardless of your time constraints, mobility, or tech skills, you are valuable and needed to help reach every potential voter. Check us out & subscribe to updates .
Side With Love
Side with Love is a public advocacy campaign that seeks to harness love’s power to stop oppression. It is sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Association and all are welcome to join. Subscribe to get updates and learn more here.
UUA Website News
2022 UUA Actions of Immediate Witness
At this year’s General Assembly, our congregations reaffirmed a commitment to working toward justice. The delegates overwhelmingly adopted new Actions of Immediate Witness (AIW):
We Do Not Consent: Rejecting Legal Challenges to Abortion