In this section, you’ll find submitted amendments which still need support to move forward in the process. Please contact the person who submitted the amendment via the email address provided.
**7 Principles as Preamble - Hyde
Contact to support: article2@uuridgewood.org
13 Section C-2.2. Values and Covenant.
14 As Unitarian Universalists, we covenant, congregation-to-congregation and through our
15 Association, to support and assist one another in our ministries. [DELETE: We] [INSERT: As UU congregations, we] draw from our heritages of
16 freedom, reason, hope, and courage, building on the foundation of love [INSERT: and principles that continue to nourish us, including:
The inherent worthiness and dignity of every person;
Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all;
Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part].
Clean version:
13 Section C-2.2. Values and Covenant.
14 As Unitarian Universalists, we covenant, congregation-to-congregation and through our
15 Association, to support and assist one another in our ministries. As UU congregations, we draw from our heritages of
16 freedom, reason, hope, and courage, building on the foundation of love and principles that continue to nourish us, including:
The inherent worthiness and dignity of every person;
Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all;
Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
Rationale:
Unitarian Society of Ridgewood’s “7 Principles as Preamble” amendment offers a meeting ground for continued dialogue among us, whether our philosophies do or do not resonate with the wording of the Commission’s Final Proposed Revision.
Our amendment is a compromise. We believe that it keeps to the spirit and intent of the Commission’s work, and has the potential as well to appeal broadly to UUs around the country who share many points of philosophy but also have their own diverse perspectives and philosophies.
The changes that are proposed in our amendment are limited to changes in the introductory lines 15-16. No changes are proposed to the balance of Section C-2.2.
The reference in line 15 to “UU congregations” underscores that it is congregations that are nourished by love and the principles and the Values set out in this Section.
By adding the 7 Principles to these introductory lines of Section C-2.2, USR’s amendment preserves in the wording of these Bylaws a narrative of our UU history, and responds to the UUA Board’s Charge that the Commission’s work “honor the historic roots of our liberal, progressive faith.”
The amendment likewise responds to the request in the Charge that the proposed revision be “inspirational, memorable, and poetic.” Our amendment describes the 7 Principles poetically as “continu[ing] to nourish us.” The 7 Principles indeed have their own poetry, perhaps somewhat stark and austere, but complementing the more expansive language of the Commission’s proposal.
The Commission has done beautiful work in weaving the 8th Principle into their proposal, especially the Values of Justice and Equity, and our amendment leaves that work unchanged. In acting as Primary Sponsor for the amendment, we honor the history of the 8th Principle’s adoption by individual congregations around the country, ours included.
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