Submission 183 Virginia Nixon OUUF, QUUF, SUUF, all Unitarians
What is your suggestion or idea?
Thanks for continuing to listen and revise as we out here let you know how we want to be led and represented.
The 7 Principles are, to me, a precise guide and inspiration for my religious life…as are the inspired Sources.
If you believe that new information is needed to express who we are and where we are headed, simply ADD it BESIDE what already expresses us and is. Held sacred by the great numbers of us out here.
The 7 are bullet pointed rather than loose so their meaning is clear without further explanation.
UUA is repeatedly forcing change in a confusing world when we need to be able to trust what has stability and hard earned wisdom as well.
Give us your new perspective BESIDE our beloved Principles and my trust in UUA will improve.
Of course LOVE matters…Undefinable, and unable to be held accountable without risking unwelcome control.
Be careful.
What is the reason for your amendment idea?
I LOVE the invitation that the 7 Principles offers us to uphold the very best that UU has meant in our lives.
Along with the Sources, it offers folks like me seeking a safe and inspired haven from creedal belief systems where they can grow in a worthy direction without control.
Radical change destroys what we have built. Adding love words is enough. Following of universal love is being swallowed up inside tight political UU governmental structure.
It will not grow our denomination! What grows us is offering a safe haven from autocratic top down religions. It is all that has ever grown UUism. UUA has gone off track seeking positive change for good causes in ways that destroy our core of wide open doors.
Nationwide, newcomers who DO come do so for what we have already built and lived out in acceptance of differences and support of marginalized peoples.
Celebrate that, UUA! Open back the doors of discussion, of sharing the differences that challenge and grow us. Lead wisely and UUism will grow again for seekers that joyfully join us in loving wide open democratic dialogue!
Have you discussed this idea with your congregation or other UUs?
As a Board member of our Beloved congregation I speak these words to all.
As Paula Jones taught us, we need to be and protect that we are a “Community of Communities under our one big Tent”
Dear Mona Lee (#23), Eric Burch (#29), Kenneth Button (#30), Ronald Schaeffer (#42), Diane Conrad (#132), Jerald Ross (#156), and Virginia Nixon (#183):
Your suggestions are all very similar. You all appear to want to add the 7 principles back into Article II. You are encouraged to work together, combine your suggestions into one proposed amendment, and decide who will be the delegate to sponsor it.
This makes sense to me. If folks think that there’s something wrong with the seven principles so that they need to be downgraded, I’d like to hear what that “something wrong” is.
I agree that our Principles are important and must be retained. I believe they articulate the meaning of our denomination and are very attractive to people seeking a religious affiliation that isn’t freighted with a history of sectarian intolerance and blind faith.
The vague “love” idea concerns me too, especially without any definition or accountability. Seven, now 8 principles is okay for now, until a grass-roots growing of UU want to revise it. But this process hasn’t been clearly enough explain, just seemingly pushed through.
We would love to be able to work with all of those who want to amend the current Article II proposal to add the 7 principles and sources, but there does not appear to be an means to do that.
@BobBeekman At GA in 2019, the chair of the commission on institutional change said that the middle five principles needed to be downgraded because UUs are terrible at social justice issues.
I’m @eburch and the author of submission #29. Charles DuMond recommended we consolidate our similar ideas to one thread. During the May 18th Zoom call, the breakout room I was in discussed my idea for adding the current seven Principles verbatim as Section C-2.1-and-a-half (then renumbering the sections). I will propose that as an amendment. There was discussion about adding an 8th Principle or reworking the current principles but that will not be the scope of my amendment. My amendment can serve as a base for additional changes; we can do this a step at a time until we get through the pre-GA discussion, mini-assemblies, then final plenary vote. If we want to collect some of the other discussions into the submission #29 thread that is OK, just keep in mind my submission is a simple first step.
Virginia Nixon: I too want to insert the 7 Principles into the Revised text ( # 30). Question: How do we combine all of the proposals to do the same thing into 1 effort with strong backing? My email is kennethbutton@aol.com. What is yours? There are some people who support my proposal which is very straight forward in inserting the 7 principles (without the “sources”) after the “values” section. It is as follows: "I move the approval of an amendment to the Proposed Revision of Article II to insert after line 43 the text of the current 7 Principles of the existing “Section C-2.1 Principles, " excluding the “sources” test. The text of the insertion is as follows: “Section C-2.3. Principles” We, …” (list of the 7 principles. Please let me know how we can cooperate. Thank you.
We say we’re NOT creedal nor dogmatic yet we must, we need to hold onto the same 7 principles that have been used to beat us into submission. Your free speech trumps my need for safety. Your use of democratic process is to take over our congregation so we stay the same. Your need for dominance is to encourage funds be withheld from our congregation so that its torn assunder. All for the name of control and dominance shielded by guise of keeping our principles. I’m a member of the same fellowship Virignia is in. I too was a member of the Board and cherry picking principles to assert control is WRONG. Hiding behind the principles to keep status quo is wrong. Our faith is suppose to be a living tradition meaning we adjust to conditions in our world that call for justice that need repair and healing. We do nothing by keeping our principles.
-Cecilia Flickinger
I agree with the thrust of these suggestions. Because there are so many similar suggestions, and because I will be attending GA remotely (for health reasons), I will not move forward with an amendment of my own. I will support any amendment retaining the 7 principles.
Jerry Ross, First Parish in Bedford, MA.