BUF Black Lives Matter Ministry Action Team Application

BUF’s Mission Statement reads, “Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship is a welcoming and diverse community of individuals and families. Through fellowship, worship, and service, we nurture the personal, spiritual and intellectual development of our growing congregation and promote respect and compassionate action for all people and our interdependent world.”

As a liberal religious community which values the diversity of individuals and affirms the Unitarian Universalist (UU) principles, the BUF Black Lives Matter Ministry Action Team seeks to nurture the social, spiritual and personal development of congregation members in the exploration of how racism and privilege impact our congregation, our community, and our nation. In particular, we acknowledge the targeted violence which impacts black people disproportionately.

What is your team's theological foundation?

Every person has value as a member of the human family. The suffering caused by racism must be ended if we want to create fair and loving communities. We will work to end racial discrimination and injustice, starting within ourselves and moving out into the world around us. We support multiracial, multiethnic congregations and advocate for stopping racist policies like mass imprisonment and attacks on voting rights. Our multicultural ministries will continue until there is peace, liberty, and justice for all.

“Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.” ― Cornel West

We draw from these specific Principles of Unitarian Universalism:

·         1st Principle: The inherent worth and dignity of every person – that all lives matter and each person has gifts to offer the world regardless of race or ethnicity;

·         2nd Principle: Justice, equity and compassion in human relations – our history of human relations and its current trajectory are in need of significant change; and as abolitionists we recognize the history of the United States which was founded on notions of White Supremacy, and built upon the Trans-Atlantic, Chattel Slavery which enslaved millions of African people;

·         6th Principle: The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;

·         7th Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. The interconnected web of all existence includes our connection to each other as members of the human family as well as our connection to the Earth.

We draw from Standing on the Side of Love:

“Standing on the Side of Love is committed to harnessing the power of love to dismantle racism and white supremacy across our communities and to creating spaces inclusive of people of all races, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds. We work with many partners in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movements which have brought a renewed and needed urgency to the movement for racial justice.”

Source: http://www.standingonthesideoflove.org/faith-race-justice

We draw from the 2015 UUA Action of Immediate Witness:

“WHEREAS, Unitarian Universalists strive for justice, equity and compassion in human relations;

WHEREAS, Unitarian Universalists have a goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;

WHEREAS, allowing injustice to go unchallenged violates our principles;

WHEREAS, the Black Lives Matter movement has gained powerful traction in conjunction with recent tragic events involving, in particular, police brutality and institutionalized racism that target the black community;

WHEREAS, Tanisha Anderson, Rekia Boyd, Michael Brown, Miriam Carey, Michelle Cusseaux, Shelly Frey, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Trayvon Martin, Kayla Moore, Tamir Rice, and Tony Robinson are just a few names of people who were recently killed by the racism that exists in the United States today;

WHEREAS, people of all ages and races are killed by law enforcement, yet black people ages 20-24 are seven times more likely to be killed by law enforcement;

WHEREAS, mass incarceration fueled by for-profit prisons and racially biased police practices drive the disproportionate imprisonment of black and brown Americans;

WHEREAS, the school-to-prison pipeline is an urgent concern because 40% of students expelled from U.S. public schools are black and one out of three black men is incarcerated during his lifetime; and[1]

WHEREAS, we must continue to support the Black Lives Matter movement and Black-led racial justice organizations;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the 2015 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association calls member congregations to action, to become closer to a just world community, and to prevent future incidents of this nature;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the 2015 General Assembly urges member congregations to engage in intentional learning spaces to organize for racial justice with recognition of the interconnected nature of racism coupled with systems of oppression that impact people based on class, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability and language;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the 2015 General Assembly encourages member congregations and all Unitarian Universalists to work toward police reform and prison abolition (which seeks to replace the current prison system with a system that is more just and equitable); and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the 2015 General Assembly recognizes that the fight for civil rights and equality is as real today as it was decades ago and urges member congregations to take initiative in collaboration with local and national organizations fighting for racial justice against the harsh racist practices to which many black people are exposed.

No matter who you are, black lives matter, and a system of fair, transformative, and restorative justice that is accountable to communities is something to which each of us has a right. Unitarian Universalists and our greater society have the power to make this happen. Let’s do it!”

Source: http://www.uua.org/statements/support-black-lives-matter-movement

  We draw from the 2016 UUA Responsive Resolution

“WHEREAS, Unitarian Universalist congregations and individuals covenant in our first and sixth principles to affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person as well as work toward a world community with peace, liberty and justice for all;

WHEREAS, the Unitarian Universalist Association lists as part of its primary purpose “to . . . extend and strengthen Unitarian Universalist institutions and implement its principles”;

WHEREAS, in our UUA Bylaws and Statement of Inclusion, we pledge to “replace widening barriers with ever-widening circles of solidarity and mutual respect as well as striving to be an association of congregations that truly welcomes all persons and are committed to structuring congregational and associational life in ways that empower and enhance everyone’s participation”;

WHEREAS, the Action of Immediate Witness, “Support the Black Lives Matter Movement,” was passed by the General Assembly in 2015;

WHEREAS, the Black Lives Matter AIW has been frequently referenced as satisfactory proof of our progress towards racial justice;

WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of the Unitarian Universalist Association, in their 2016 report to the Assembly, called upon the Association to “find the will and the way to do a better job” in the fight for racial justice;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we hold ourselves accountable to less witness and more action;

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Board of Trustees shall issue a multi-year report on the board, staff, congregational, and denominational responses to Black Lives Matter, and particularly examine the year-to-year growth in these responses, at General Assembly 2017, 2018, and 2019.”

Source: https://www.uua.org/statements/reaffirmation-commitment-racial-justice

We draw from the UUA.ORG statement on Multiculturalism:

“Multiculturalism means nurturing a religious community where people of all races, ethnicities, and cultures see their cultural identities reflected and affirmed in every aspect of congregational life—worship, fellowship, leadership, governance, religious education, social justice, etc. Multiculturalism means that we create religious homes where encounters between people of different cultural identities intersect with Unitarian Universalism to create a fully inclusive community where, in the words of a vision statement adopted by the Unitarian Universalist Association's (UUA) Leadership Council, “all people are welcomed as blessings and the human family lives whole and reconciled.”

Multiculturalism means that one cultural identity does not dominate all other identities; that people are able to participate in their faith community without denying or hiding their cultural identities, that the role of cultural identity is part of pastoral and prophetic ministry; and that leaders have the competency to understand how their multiple identities and socialization influence their values, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and interactions with others.

Multiculturalism means:

·      We welcome each other into shared community just as we are;

·      We welcome the many ways that people define, express, and experience the Holy and respect what is considered sacred in our diverse cultures;

·      We understand public witness and all social justice work as ministry in partnership with communities to make the world more compassionate, equitable and just—a place that is safe, nurturing, supportive, and fair for all people;

·      We support communities and individuals in their search for truth and meaning—and a sense of aliveness—in their quest to make a positive difference in the world;

·      We offer mutual aid and comfort through life’s challenges in ways that meet everyone’s cultural, as well as personal, needs;

·      We recognize that there are many cultural languages (words, symbols, acts) that manifest in worship, fellowship, pastoral care, etc.

Given these meanings for multiculturalism, several questions emerge in our examination of the kind of ministry the multicultural world requires, particularly in developing strategies for preparing religious professionals to cross borders of race, class, culture, and generational differences.

1.    What does a vital, healthy Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregation look like through the lens of multiculturalism and full inclusion? What does it feel like?

2.    How do we equip congregational leadership to foster multicultural growth in a multicultural age?

3.    What knowledge, skills, and new behaviors do leaders need to embrace in order to move into this age?

4.    What is the role of the UUA and UU partners in building congregational capacity to grow vital, healthy multicultural congregations that are fully inclusive all people who yearn for a liberal religious home?”

Source: http://www.uua.org/multiculturalism/introduction
 

We draw from UUA.org ‘The New Jim Crow’ on Multiculturalism:

“The racial profiling, police brutality, voting restrictions, and mass imprisonment of African Americans and other people of color in the United States (dubbed the “New Jim Crow” by civil rights advocate and scholar Dr. Michelle Alexander) is a moral outrage.

As Unitarian Universalists (UUs), our dedication to global justice, equity, and dignity leads us to join hands across lines of race, class, age, and geography and work for an end to the injustices faced by black people in our communities, so that every person is treated equally under the law and has a fair chance at life.”

Source: http://www.uua.org/multiculturalism/new-jim-crow

We draw from the Movement for Black Lives:

“We are the Movement for Black Lives.  Guided by love, we continue to stand together for justice, human dignity and our shared goal of ending all forms of state violence against Black people. We organize, occupy, demonstrate, march and chant for a new future: A future we can be proud of. We stand on the shoulders of our ancestors, who fought for their freedom and ours. Like them, we want a world where black lives matter.
We want an end to the war being waged on Black people, in all its forms. Some people fear change, and that's ok. Many will attempt to halt our progress. That is not ok. Some will continue their attempts to undermine us, but we will remain undeterred.
For far too long, black unjust deaths have meant business as usual in this country. No more.
Our work remains undone until our lives are free of violence. That is the future we imagine.
Until that day comes:
We pledge togetherness--- we will not allow ourselves to be divided.
We pledge to allow our thinking and actions to be guided by love.
We pledge to bring courage and power into our communities, and stop their flow out.
We pledge not to be controlled by fear, but instead by our dreams.”

Source: http://action.movementforblacklives.org/ 

How are you going to reach out to engage the rest of the congregation?

Using ideas from uua.org to educate and inspire our congregation through sermons, workshops, surveys, forums, retreats, banners, posters, partnering with adult and children's Religious Education programs, congregational resolutions and others we haven't thought of yet. Therefore, we celebrate using ritual, music, art, literature and humor; and we endeavor to teach, to learn and to serve both our community and the world.

We draw from Campaign Zero strategies:

We can live in a world where the police don't kill people by limiting police interventions, improving community interactions, and ensuring accountability.

Source: http://www.joincampaignzero.org/#vision

What is your timeline and how will you measure success?

How long do you intend your team to exist? What will you accomplish? How will you determine your success?

Our team will exist as long as injustice of black lives exists.  “Success” is subjective and it means different things to different people.  Our hoped for BUF Black Lives Matter Action Team will need to build consensus about what success will look like for us. 

Some ways we could measure success at BUF for this aspiring new ministry are as follows:

·      We begin to have open-hearted and open-minded personal and public conversations regarding the construct of race and the impact of racism in the U.S.

·      We work together personally and publically to dismantle White Supremacy once we understand what White Supremacy means, what white privilege is, and how to recognize it in ourselves.

·      We build coalition with other local groups (secular and religious) that support Black Lives Matter ministries.

·      We stay connected with the larger UUA Black Lives Matter movement via email, stories submitted to UU World, etc. so that BUF’s story and work on this important justice issue is well-known, respected, and used as a model to help other UU congregations start their own BLM ministries (similar to how our work with First Nations Peoples is a shining example throughout the UU denomination.)

·      We will learn through conversations and interactions within and beyond the walls of BUF just how much healing and repentance is taking place in our own hearts and souls.  Personal healing is one of our ultimate measures of success because we are convinced that until we do our own deep soul work regarding racism, we cannot effect the change and healing we want to see on a national scale.

·      We stay in the struggle within our spiritual community to be in right relations with one another, even when this work is deeply painful and causes us to want to flee.  We make a commitment to finding a new way to stay in healthy relationships that build up one another rather than tear down one another.

·      We notice that our team members are respected and that members of the congregation want to engage in dialogue.

·      We realize that our team is known not only for our passion and activism but also our great compassion and patience.  Our team will understand that no one willingly gives up power and the only way to see the change we want to see is to be the change we want to see which means we will need to be compassionate and patient in our aspirations.  It takes a long time (sometimes decades and generations) to undo harm and damage.  We will realize that we cannot force people to do this work that we believe is so important but that we can encourage, inspire, lovingly challenge and show our community how to do this work, one step at a time, one heart at a time. 

·      We will not shame or blame or engender divisiveness.  In humility we will work together for the common good.