#462 | Adam Balsley | Not an unprincipled UU

2023 Article II Amendment Idea Submissions Amendment Ideas
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Submission 462
Adam Balsley
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Peninsula (Newport News, VA) 8114

What is your suggestion or idea?

Added:

1st Principle: The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
2nd Principle: Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
3rd Principle: Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
4th Principle: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
5th Principle: The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
6th Principle: The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
7th Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

What is the reason for your amendment idea?

I do not feel comfortable calling myself UU if we are unprincipled. I appreciate the good work that has been done on the values, etc. in the rework. However, principles are not equivalent to values. Values grow from principles.

Have you discussed this idea with your congregation or other UUs?

Leadership in my congregation largely did not engage with me. They essentially told me that things change and I need to get with the program to move into the future. Nice and authoritarian.

I have discussed this with a variety of people in other UU congregations who were unaware of the principles being dropped and were appalled when they learned of the change.

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Adam, goodness, I’m quite surprised. I guess I would call myself “leadership” of your congregation, as I’m President. I have been trying to foster dialogue and discussion about this for over a year now. Of course I am aware that a whole range of folks oppose changing the principles. It is true that I have offered an affirming service on the revisions. But I have truly sought to foster any and all folk engaging – this may or may not pass at General Assembly.

I’m really appalled that you feel “leadership in the congregation largely did not engage with you,” and actually baffled. I am AVAILABLE and INTERESTED! My email is president@uufp.org

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I love your amendment idea, Adam. Keep the masterpiece, that defines the essence of UU dom, and ditch an inferior watered-down rambling replacement. How many UU members want to eliminate the current version for a major re-write? Who knows, no survey has been taken. I do know that if the revision passes, I will be withdrawing my membership, because what the re-write describes is someone else’s fuzzily-described religion, and not mine.