BELLINGHAM UNITARIAN FELLOWHIP
BLACK LIVES MATTER MINISTRY ACTION TEAM
MINUTES FOR THE ZOOM MEETING ON 3/21/2022 7-9PM
IN ATTENDANCE
Michael BetzNaomi GaryStephanie SarverRupert Ayton
Lauralee CarboneHenry OhanaCat McIntyreDavid Curley
Judy Kaspar
We had invited City Council member Kristina Martens to speak but she had an unexpected death in the family and asked to reschedule to next month.
Stephanie Sarver offered to help lead a discussion reviewing our Objectives for Engaging the Congregation 2021-2022. See diagram below.
Our overarching feeling is that “BLM” and The Covenant of Beloved Community is finally “rippling through” the BUF community at large. There is still much work to be done. The sense of accountability is what sets this year’s actions apart from previous attempts. Lauralee mentioned that even Book Groups and Chalice Circles are now taking actions towards building a more beloved community.
Action/goal | What’s been done since July 2021 |
1. Meet twice a month to (a) review and plan activities, and (b) present an educational program. | Continues. Meetings increased to four times per month while reading books. Plan to continue to meet three times per month starting in April, with one business meeting and two program meetings. Reassess frequency as needed. |
2. Engage the congregation in consciousness-raising through Anti-racism Minutes, Sunday forums, sermons, informational handouts, and more. | Continues. ANTI-RACISM MINUTES OFFERED ALMOST EVERY SUNDAY, AT LEAST TWO SERMONS ADDRESSED RACISM, BUF BLM BOOKMARKS CREATED MID FEBRUARY. |
3. Meet with BUF staff twice a year to discuss how we can help each other move toward structural change at BUF, transforming the congregation to an anti-racist, multicultural organization. | BUF BLM HAS NOT MET WITH STAFF FORMALLY…BUT INDIVIDUALS HAVE MET WITH INDIVIDUAL STAFF. WE DECIDED TO WAIT FOR PAUL’S RETURN TO REQUEST A MEETING. |
4. Partner with community groups such as the Racial Justice Coalition, Whatcom Human Rights Task Force, Juneteenth organizers, and others. | BLM IS WORKING ON A GEORGE FLOYDMEMORIAL WEEKEND EVENT AND WILL BE “PARTNERED” WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS |
5. Work with BUF children's and adults' Religious Education teams to develop and teach anti-racist programs; e.g. Widening the Circle, book club selections, films, and discussion topics for communities within BUF. | Genia has engaged on the BLM focus. White Christ/Black Jesus course was attended by 12 people, two from the BLM team. |
6. Provide members and leadership for the ministry action team formed to implement the Beloved Community Steering Committee. | ACCOUNATABILY TEAM INITIATED THE PROCESS, BLM WAS ONE OF THE FIRST TO COMPLETE. THERE ARE 26 TEAMS AT BUF AND AT LEAST 9 PARTICIPATED IN THE FIRST ACCOUNTABILITY LAUNCH! NEXT EVENT IN MAY 2022 DAVID, CAT AND NAOMI REGULARLY ATTEND THE MONTHLY BELOVED COMMUNITY FORUM. EVERYONE IS WELCOME! |
7. Create posters, banners, tri-fold brochures, etc. to publicize anti-racist activities, programs, and ideals. | Bookmarks distributed throughout BUF, in particular the sanctuary. LAURALEE SUGGESTED ASKING FOR ARTISTIC HELP FROM BUF MEMBER AND GRAPHIC ARTIST JEANNE BRUSSARD |
8. Conduct a survey of congregation, beginning with the BLM mailing list and the Rapid Response phone tree members to invite people personally to meetings. | Completed for the BLM mailing list. WE NEED TO COMPLETE THE REST…WE NEED TO REMEMBER TO INVITE PEOPLE TO BLM! |
9. Create occasional spaces (virtual or physical) for ritual, music, art, literature, and humor that help build a Beloved Community and dismantle racism. | The group agreed that more attention should be given to this goal, perhaps beginning with a re-start of the Coffee House after Covid restrictions are lifted. |
10. Communicate to the congregation via BUF News, BUF MidWeek Update, BUF Black Lives Matter Facebook group, BUF Breeze mailing group, and our blog http://bufblacklivesmatter.blogspot.com | This is ongoing with postings in the BUF News and the MidWeek Update. It was agreed that some maintenance is needed for the blog and Facebook pages. |
Measurements of Success
Action | What’s been done since July 2021 |
Report quarterly to SEJC, describing nature and number of meetings and events held. | The Program meeting of 3/21/22 began the process of completing the next quarterly report. WE REPORT QUARTERLY TO SEJC AND THE CHARTER WAS UPDATED IN OCT 2021 AS REQUIRED EVERY THREE YEARS. WE USED THIS UPDATED CHARTER FOR OUR ACCOUNTABILTY PROCESS. |
Complete annual audit using Beloved Covenant audit process. • Incorporate feedback from BIPOC communities on our effectiveness in reaching goals | The audit was completed in December 2021. An area for development and exploration relates to gathering feedback from the BIPOC communities. NAOMI TO CONTACT CITY COUNCIL MEMBER KRISTINA MARTENS TO RESCHEDULE HER BLM PROGRAM AND WORK ON GEORGE FLOYD MEMORIAL EVENT
DAVID TO CONTACT DEBRA LEKANOFF, WA STATE LEGISLATOR, AND INVITE HER TO A BLM PROGRAM MEETING |
