Our faith is a Living Tradition, which has evolved over the years to meet the needs of our changing world and it’s been almost 40 years since the last significant revision to Article II. After careful consideration, the WUUC Racial Justice Task Force is endorsing the draft proposed changes to Article II with confidence for the following reasons:
- The updates reflect WUUC’s mission to support racial justice efforts, as clearly stated in the statement from the board on the WUUC website. “WUUC reaffirms our commitment to eradicating racial injustice.”
- The revised Article II also explicitly calls out Justice and Equity as core values, which is essential for promoting a fair and just society.
- We believe that these changes are timely, given the ongoing systemic injustice and violence that disproportionately affects marginalized communities.
- We also recognize that underrepresented UU groups have expressed concerns and called for changes to make our faith communities more welcoming. By incorporating the spirit of the 8th principle and revisiting our practices of diversity and inclusion, we are taking concrete steps towards dismantling racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions, including our faith communities.
- We acknowledge that language is never perfect. The UUA has solicited feedback from many UUs to refine the proposed changes. We believe that modernizing the language will speak more clearly to a younger, broader audience, including the specific values (interdependence, pluralism, justice, transformation, generosity, and equity.)
- Change can be challenging, at the same time we firmly believe that social justice requires us to evolve and adapt to new ways of thinking and speaking. We are confident that these changes will help us create a more just and inclusive community.
Your WUUC Racial Justice Task Force rjtf@wuuc.org.