Amendment 18 to Article II - Proposed by David Jackoway

Bold underlining indicate insertion ; [brackets indicate deletion.]

Rationale: The proposed Values and Covenant section
combines two discrete ideas in one section, as its name demonstrates. This
proposed amendment would move the Covenant statements into their own section.
This would allow the Values section to better achieve the UUA Board’s charge for
a framing that is “brief and poetic.” It would also make the one-sentence Values
statements easier to remember and less wordy than the current seven Principles.

10 Section C-2.2.
Values[ and Covenant].

23 Interdependence. We honor the
interdependent web of all existence.

24 [We covenant to cherish Earth and all beings
by creating and nurturing relationships of care

25 and respect. With humility and reverence, we
acknowledge our place in the great web of life,

26 and we work to repair harm and damaged
relationships.]

28 Pluralism. We celebrate that we are
all sacred beings diverse in culture, experience, and

29 theology.

29 [We covenant to learn from one another in our
free and responsible search for truth and

30 meaning. We embrace our differences and
commonalities with Love, curiosity, and respect.]

31 Justice. We work to be diverse
multicultural Beloved Communities where all thrive.

32 [We covenant to dismantle racism and all
forms of systemic oppression. We support the use of

33 inclusive democratic processes to make
decisions.]

34 Transformation. We adapt to the
changing world.

35 [We covenant to collectively transform and
grow spiritually and ethically. Openness to change

36 is fundamental to our Unitarian and
Universalist heritages, never complete and never perfect.]

37 Generosity. We cultivate a spirit of
gratitude and hope.

38 [We covenant to freely and compassionately
share our faith, presence, and resources. Our

39 generosity connects us to one another in
relationships of interdependence and mutuality.]

40 Equity. We declare that every person
has the right to flourish with inherent dignity and

41 worthiness.

42 [We covenant to use our time, wisdom,
attention, and money to build and sustain fully

43 accessible and inclusive communities.]

Section C-2.3. Covenant.

Interdependence.
We covenant to cherish Earth and all beings by creating and nurturing
relationships of care and respect. With humility and reverence, we acknowledge our place in the great web of life, and we work to repair harm and damaged relationships.

Pluralism.
We covenant to learn from one another in our free and responsible search for
truth and meaning. We embrace our differences and commonalities with Love, curiosity, and respect.

Justice.
We covenant to dismantle racism and all forms of systemic oppression. We
support the use of inclusive democratic processes to make decisions.

Transformation.
We covenant to collectively transform and grow spiritually and ethically. Openness to change is fundamental to our Unitarian and Universalist heritages, never complete and never perfect.

Generosity.
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.

Equity.
We covenant to use our time, wisdom, attention, and money to build and sustain
fully accessible and inclusive communities.

44 Section C-2.[3]4. Inspirations.

50 Section C-2.[4]5. Inclusion.

57 Section C-2.[5]6. Freedom of belief.

1 Like

I see Amendment #4 also makes this separation of Values and Covenant.

I agree that each idea can be taken discretely - and probably will be and should be for purposes of religious education, etc.

But I think it would be a mistake to make the separation in the Bylaws document itself. I think for each Value, the Covenant flows from it. Separating them into completely different Sections could make it more difficult for the reader to make the connection.

If we want to increase a sense of brevity and “separation,” maybe we could do it visually, with spacing, indentation, etc.?

2 Likes

amendement 4 and 18. would need to consider how to assemble support as the amendments change the placement of all 6 values. 18 also changes the name and the langage values convenants and statements. Perhaps you could anticipate defering to langage of amendments for Inspirations, Equity, Justice, Pluralism, and Purposes (with no fewer than 6 pending amendments each); and ask the amendors if they would agree that seperating the value tatement from value covenant, as you have asked here, is something they agree with.

If it is essential to have the structure, as explained in your amendment, then I think you would benefit from the focused language work that other delegates have put in to craft amendments for individual sections and values. Just a suggestion.

Note to any authors/proponents of any amendments that did not pass or were not prioritized. I have heard that this site will be locked on Tuesday. Our public Facebook group, Blue Boat Passengers, created for discussing Article II and GA, will remain open for commenting a couple weeks longer (and still be visible for viewing as a public record afterwards).
Blue Boat Passengers: Info & Constructive Discussion re Article II, etc. | Announcement: This group will soon be suspended | Facebook

Anyone who wishes to use the Blue Boat Passengers group for finding each other and coordinating to do the 15-congregation amendment process may do so while the group remains open (must follow group rules).

Here are some comments about the 15-congregation amendment process, from Donald Wilson, who used to be on the GA Planning Committee:

"“Unlike how the amendment process was run for this GA (ie at the discretion of the moderators and board), the process you’ve mentioned is bylaw and subject to little to no interpretation. I wouldn’t wait however. You need to get the petition from the UUA Board Secretary in the next couple weeks, and you have to have it turned Into the Board before February 1st.”

“If one congregation has a thought, send an email to 50 others and say “we are discussing X. What do you think?”
That is also the kind of thing that we have District and Regional assemblies for, both in person and virtual.
That is also the type of thing your religious professionals should be talking about at their regular meetings with their colleagues like minister Association chapter meetings.
It is the responsibility of your board president and other trustees to be deeply aware of the affairs of your closest congregations.
You discover by being in relationship and talking to one another.
You coordinate by email and phone call, same as we have for the last quarter century.”

“You don’t even have to have a congregational vote. You just have to get their board to sign off.” ETA: You must check this–rules vary by congregation. Also, look for the UU Governance Lab group on Facebook to connect with Donald Wilson directly.

Also, a comment from another member who was participating on Discuss:
“Some of us are connecting on Slack, mainly to remain in contact with others interested in specific amendments or the amendment process in general at GA 2024.”

https://join.slack.com/…/zt-1y0pvelub-YVxUFoPpTrZ…