Submission 374
Ostara Hollyoak
Channing Memorial Church, UU (Ellicott City, MD) 4040
What is your suggestion or idea?
From Section C-2.2. Purposes (2nd paragraph):
At the end of this sentence:
“The purpose of the Unitarian Universalist Association is to actively engage its members in the transformation of the world through liberating Love.” Change “Love” to “love” (i.e., change the capital “L” to lowercase). Also make this change for all following instances of “Love” in the text.
What is the reason for your amendment idea?
The unusual initial capitalization of the word “love” (“Love”) is suggestive of jargon. It seems to suggest that the reader must know what we mean by “love,” and that our understanding of this term is not the common understanding. I don’t think we should be using something that comes across as “insider-speak.”
The same could be said of the initial capitals of “Beloved Community,” but the capital letters here can be seen as an homage to the fact that the phrase we’re embracing was popularized by Martin Luther King, Jr., as part of his vision, so I feel there’s a more compelling reason for it.
Have you discussed this idea with your congregation or other UUs?
I raised this in a discussion session we held at our church around the proposed revision of Article II. There were eight of us present. I’m not sure whether everyone agreed with it 100%, but it seemed to make sense to those present, and no one expressed an opposing viewpoint.