By Carol Taylor
WUUC Racial Justice Task Force
The national UUA has conducted extensive research into the long-term cultural and institutional changes that would make our faith more inclusive to all. The result was this in depth WCC report which we encourage members of our congregation to read and reflect upon.
Your Racial Justice Task Force will be facilitating a pilot session on Widening the Circle of Concern: Report of the UUA Commission on Institutional Change starting in February with a small group selected to represent different areas of ministry at WUUC. We will share our learnings and reflections along the way and plan to host sessions for the broader church community in the fall.
Our country and our UU faith have been awakening to the disparities faced by people of color (see UU World Fall 2021). Many companies and organizations are now embracing new diversity and inclusion practices that include examining how their systems and culture can unintentionally and negatively impact people outside the dominant culture. And the UUA and some UU congregations have recently adopted the Eighth Principle as part of their practice as a response to this new understanding.
Our WUUC community has an opportunity to learn from the voices of our own UU members of color carefully captured in the recent report, and from other UU communities that are actively doing this work. We believe this is important for the long-term viability of WUUC and the UU faith and offers a timely opportunity for us to grow into a more welcoming culture.
If you have questions, feel free to contact ctaylor@wuuc.org.
In Community,
Carol A. Taylor
On behalf of RJTF