#87 | Mac Goekler | Creating Peace

2023 Article II Amendment Idea Submissions Amendment Ideas
1

Submission 87
Mac Goekler
UUs of Southern Delaware (Lewes, DE) 2820

What is your suggestion or idea?

Original

“Generosity. We cultivate a spirit of gratitude and hope. We
covenant to freely and compassionately share our faith, presence, and
resources. Our generosity connects us to one another in relationships of
interdependence and mutuality.”

Therefore, we propose changing this Value/Covenant to:

“Generosity. We are
called to cultivate a spirit of gratitude, hope. and to create peace. We
covenant to freely and compassionately share our faith, presence, and
resources. Our generosity connects us to one another in relationships of
interdependence and mutuality.”

What is the reason for your amendment idea?

Our UUA 2010 Statement of Conscience, Creating Peace” very pointily says: “Our faith calls us to create peace”. We feel that Creating Peace is a UU value worthy of being included in this update Art. II. We are making this suggestion – though we would consider including ““Peace”” somewhere else.

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

The UU Peace Ministry has unanimously agreed that Peace should be included in the proposed update of Art.II.

2 Likes
2

We don’t hear about “peace” that much these days. I like this idea.

3

I would not support this, because some congregations interpret “Creating Peace” to mean “Avoiding Conflict and Hard Truth”. Sometimes marginalized people are silenced in UU spaces because they are “disrupting the peace”/comfort of privileged people, and I don’t think that’s what you meant here, but I do think it would be used that way by congregations who don’t understand structures of power.

4

Creating Peace is well defined in the 2010 UUA Statement of Conscience titled Creating Peace. This SOC included a theologicial perspective on peace.

5

I feel strongly about adding in “peace,” but would prefer that Peace be added as an additional value. See Howard Tolley’s suggestion at #151.

7

I agree that peace should be uplifted, but here it sounds like an add on to generosity and gets lost inthe verbosity, I agree with Corky that it should be a separate value, possibly using #151 to replace generosity, or else repalce Transformation

8

I like gratitude being included with Generosity…and that address someone’s call to list Gratitude and a value. Peace seems to be an add on and could stand alone (especially considering UU active call for Peace.)