UUA Board of Trustees

In the interest of communicating important Board work with our member congregations in a timely and effective manner, the UUA Board of Trustees has adopted a policy which directs us to send a letter summarizing critical information to our congregational leaders after each in-person meeting. This letter does not take the place of the official Board minutes, but rather attempts to bridge the gap between the end of any meeting and the time the minutes are approved and posted. Thanks to UUA Trustees Rev. Jake Morrill, Rev. Jeanne Pupke, Linda Laskowski, Joan Lund, Donna Harrison and Rev. Erik David Carlson for the content of this letter.

More information about the work of your UUA Board of Trustees can be found online at http://uua.org/board and http://board.blogs.uua.org.

ACCOUNTABILITY AND MONITORING

Our Association faces many challenges. We are in a sea of change. Our congregations are all more or less engaged in the question about how our congregations and other U.U. communities can make a real difference in the world today. It is the Board’s role to make sure the question is being engaged not just in our congregations and local groups but in our Association as well. It is the Administration’s role to define what action best helps us all in this mission. It is both of our roles (Board and Administration) to see this is done well, sustainable and in a manner that is accountable to our member congregations and other sources of authority and accountability.

At the April meeting, the Board had a spirited discussion about how we can best be accountable to our congregations and other sources of authority and accountability: Can we provide assurance that the roughly $22 million in operating funds that we spend each year is being spent in ways that effectively and sustainably serve our mission and our values? This is arguably the single most important question that the Board is charged to answer. This is not a new conversation for this Board. And in many ways the urgency of answering it has been put under a spotlight as a result of the Board’s transition to Policy Governance.

To put the current situation succinctly: the Administration believes it is engaging in actions that effectively further our mission and our values. The Board, however, cannot say it knows this to be true. For the fourth year in a row, many of the Trustees did not feel the Administration’s monitoring reports were linking outcomes with expenditures. Several Trustees stated they could not in good conscience vote for the proposed budget without being able to know that the budget is being spent in ways that effectively and sustainably work towards the Ends of the Association. The Administration however has reported at various times that they cannot provide that information the Board asks for or that they are unclear in what the Board requires. Both parties have tried in good conscience over several years to figure out how to proceed more effectively but without a satisfactory result.

During the discussion of Ends monitoring reports at the April meeting, President Morales and members of the executive team again said that they cannot provide the reports that the Board needs. When we arrive at this point where the same problem recurs and the organization is stymied as a result, we cannot responsibly keep doing the same thing. The Board proposed – and the Administration immediately agreed — that we need more expertise than we have among us.

Your Board recognizes that $100,000 is a lot of money. Yet this is less than ½ of 1 percent of the annual operating budget for the UUA. And it is our focus on being accountable for the results achieved with the $22 million that drove the actions taken by the Board at the April meeting. Your Board has identified the need to secure the services of talented, neutral experts who know about such things as systems, structures, accountability, metrics and communications. We think it is important to solve a 51 year old challenge and to do it well. We don’t know if the cost will be less or more, but we are willing to spend up to this amount to maturely learn what it is that we all need to do in order that our Association be vital and accountable to all its member congregations. The board will authorize $100,000 from reserves to hire a consultant to do this.

The Board and the Administration will be working together to select the consultant, and we expect work to begin over the summer. Our plan is that by this time next year when the next budget is reviewed the Board and the Administration will be able to speak with clarity and authority about how the money that is donated to our Association is being used to fund programs in support of a strategic plan that is clearly in support of the Ends of the Association. We also expect able to talk about how we will assess whether the plan is achieving those goals. This will be the foundation for what we hope will be sustained and meaningful work by our Association over many years to come.

RESPONSE TO NEW ORLEANS CONGREGATIONS & GA OFFERING

In January 2012, the UUA Board decided to meet in New Orleans, LA to engage the leadership of the local congregations in conversation about the post-Katrina response of the UUA and UUSC. After nearly seven years, there were still hurt feelings and unanswered questions about how the monies raised by the UUA/UUSC joint campaign were distributed and accounted for. The Board listened deeply, asked difficult questions, and left New Orleans with a commitment to address the issue.

In addition to speaking with the congregational leaders in New Orleans, the Board entered into conversations with a number of UUA staff and volunteers who spent time in the Gulf Coast area after the storms. As a result of this process, at our April 2013 meeting in Boston, the UUA Board approved and sent a letter to the three Greater New Orleans UU churches, acknowledging the pain caused by the lack of clarity in the initial UUA/UUSC fundraising campaign and the well-meaning yet at times unhelpful assistance the UUA provided.

In addition to the letter, the UUA Board voted to designate funds raised from the GA plenary collection to go to the Greater New Orleans Unitarian Universalists to use and distribute as they saw fit. The UUA Board would like to thank the New Orleans area congregations and everyone who helped out in these difficult years since the storms and flooding of 2005.

FIFTH PRINCIPLE TASK FORCE REPORT AND DISCUSSION

The Fifth Principle Task Force has been charged with re-envisioning General Assembly to make it more representative, more affordable, and more consistent with our value of the democratic process in our congregations and society at large. In the last few years, the UUA Board has reformed itself to be a more representative and accountable body. The Board has initiated conversation toward clearer relationships with Districts, so we don’t have 20 separate governing bodies, all heading in different directions–and supervising staff toward different goals! Mindful of economic accessibility, we have utilized new technology to accommodate off-site delegates to GA. We’ve held formal linkage conversations that seek the direct input of stakeholders. We’ve turned a spaghetti-like organizational chart into relationships where authority and accountability are at least a little clearer–which hopefully results in people being freer in their roles. The goal in all of this: stronger democracy. This summer in Louisville, the UUA Board will seek to engage delegates in the question of reforming General Assembly toward greater participatory democracy.

In conversations with the Administration and the GA Planning Committee last fall, and then widening out to include a range of stakeholders this past January, the Board has explored how to strengthen the democratic process of GA while maintaining GA’s vital non-governance pieces–building identity, community, and leadership capacity. This summer, in small groups, the delegates will be asked for input about values and priorities: What about economic accessibility? What about the relationship of GA to regional, district, and cluster gatherings? What about the relationship between governance and non-governance items? We look forward to your participation this summer in Louisville.

LINKAGE DISCUSSION ABOUT GLOBAL ENDS FEEDBACK

Last January the Board drafted a set of outcomes, called the “Global Ends” of the Association. These global ends attempt to answer the question: what results do we want the UUA to produce, and for whose benefit? In partnership with the District Presidents Association, we have received feedback from over one thousand Unitarian Universalists.

More than 150 of these voices were called and elected leadership of congregations chosen by the district boards because they were superb examples of the values of Unitarian Universalism. These were rich interviews conducted by our district partners. Over 100 called and elected congregation leaders responded by survey. About 200 were drawn from our Current and Future Generations – Youth, Young Adults, Children (through proxy with Liberal Religious Educators), and people who identify as Unitarian Universalist but are not currently members. These were done through both focus groups and survey. Interviews and surveys were also done with a little over 200 people from those representing our Vision of Beloved Community. A number of historians and the writings of key historical figures were consulted. In addition to the roughly 600 people who represented our Sources of Authority and Accountability, we had nearly 400 individual UUs who responded via survey.

What did we hear? A lot. A quote that typifies the overall reaction to the draft came from one of our selected congregations in response to the question “To what degree does this reflect the values of your congregation?” Though 94% of them said it “strongly” or “mostly”, one congregation also said: “As a matter of substance, yes. As a matter of style, not so much.”

Some of the feedback was more about language than concept, but a significant number also addressed the latter. For example, a description of congregations as “intentionally inclusive, multi-generational and multi-cultural in powerful mission to, and with, under-served and un-served communities” was taken to task for the patriarchal tone of “servicing” communities rather than being in partnership with them, as well as raising polity concerns about the UUA describing the mission of a congregation. The concept of “covenanted communities” raised both plaudits and concerns (described as “bubble-speak” by one), and while many liked the clear specificity of language around net increases of congregations, people served, and inspired leadership, others groaned “it is SOOO not about growth. Growth is an unavoidable outcome of doing covenanted community well.”

In response to this feedback, trustees have started rewriting some of these statements. The DPA/UUA Joint Task Force on Linkage, which has been collecting and analyzing the feedback, will be making suggestions to the board in an iterative process over the next month. The intent is still to have a final draft for the board to approve in its pre-General Assembly meeting in June. This then becomes the guidance for the Administration, which has been a key part of creating and revising these statements.

REGIONALIZATION DISCUSSION AND MOTIONS

The UUA Board entertained motions to present changes to the UUA Bylaws and Rules at General Assembly 2013 Louisville that would change the designation of UUA Districts to include regional entities. As the Heartland, Prairie Star and Central Midwest Districts have all voted to consolidate into a single, regional entity starting July 1 of this year, these proposed changes are an important legal consideration for the delegates at GA. The affected language appears in the UUA Bylaws C-3.6, C-13.1, C-13.2, C-13.4 and rule G-13.2.1 sections A and B, and will be on the agenda for GA 2013 Louisville.

The UUA Board also approved an additional motion that would allow the Prairie Star District to transfer their liquid assets to the newly formed MidAmerica Region and to transfer the physical assets of Camp Unistar to the new Camp Unistar Foundation as soon as possible.

GAPC REPORT & PROMOTIONAL VIDEOS

The General Assembly Planning Committee reported that the current registration for GA 2013 Louisville is less than expected and is estimated to be somewhere in the 3,000 – 3,500 range when GA starts. The GAPC liaison confirmed this is beyond the break-even point but that we had hoped for a better response, especially considering the convenient geographic location of Louisville and the stellar turnout last year for Justice GA 2012 Phoenix.

In an effort to support promotion and outreach for GA 2013, individual UUA Board members recorded video invitations to GA which will be available soon on the UUA’s YouTube channel.

Signed,
Tom Loughrey, Secretary
UUA Board of Trustees

Tom Loughery

Greetings from the Board of the UUA!  We’ve just wrapped up our quarterly meeting in Philadelphia, where we enjoyed spending time with Young Adult UU’s.  Meeting in places outside Boston is one way the Board has sought to reach out in recent years to broaden the conversation and deepen connections. Sending this letter to you is another.
The UUA uses Policy Governance to conduct the work of the board, including oversight of the Administration. An indispensable part of the board’s work under this form of governance is setting the Ends of the Association. An “End” is an outcome an organization intends to achieve. Everything the Administration of the Association does is aimed at achieving the Ends. It’s the board’s job not only to set those Ends, but also to monitor progress toward them.
After living with the current Ends for the last three years, we have decided to consider changing them to more accurately reflect our understanding of the Association’s members’ desires. After considering the basic purpose of the Association, found in the bylaws: “To serve the needs of its member congregations; organize new congregations; extend and strengthen Unitarian Universalist institutions and implement its principles,” we began by reviewing the dialogues we have had with you over the past few years about your values and the differences you want to make in the world — things like the Healthy Relationships conversations with 75 congregations, the thousands of Gathered Here conversations, and the World Cafes with Youth Caucus over the past 4 General Assemblies. The changes we are proposing won’t go into effect until June and are subject to change, but we wanted you to see what we have done and we would appreciate hearing your thoughts on them.
These were developed as one Global End statement followed by seven lower-level Ends statements:
1.0 Global End: The UUA is a healthy network of covenanted Unitarian Universalist congregations and communities, in accountable relationships and alive with transforming power, moving our local communities and the world towards more love, justice, and peace at a justifiable cost that does not undermine long term sustainability.
1.1 Congregations have and use UUA resources necessary to enhance the spiritual and religious exploration by people in their communities and to enhance the ministry of their members.
1.2 Congregations are better able to achieve their missions and to spread awareness of UU ideals and principles through their participation in covenanted networks of UU communities.
1.3 Congregations are intentionally inclusive, multi-generational and multi-cultural in powerful mission to, and with, under-served and unserved communities.
1.4 We see a net increase in the number of people served by our congregations and covenanted communities.
1.5 We see a net increase in the number of mutually covenanted congregations.
1.6 We see a net increase in inspired religious leaders equipped to effectively start and sustain new covenanted communities.
1.7 UU institutions are healthy, vital, collaborative partners invested in the future of UUism, its principles and theologies.
In the coming months, in partnership with the Districts Presidents Association, we’ll be engaging in many conversations with Unitarian Universalists, testing these Ends, seeing if these are, in fact, the ways in which you want the Association to make an impact in the world.
Adopting new Ends is merely the latest step in a governance reform process that has been underway for four years. Having changed the composition of our board and having worked with districts toward governance change at the district level, we are now initiating conversations about how to strengthen the democratic process at General Assembly.
In Philadelphia, we were honored to have the chance to listen deeply to the interests and values of leaders from Diverse Revolutionary UU Ministries (DRUUM), UU Ministers Association, General Assembly Planning Committee, and from UU Young Adult groups. Of course, GA is not only about “how we govern.” It’s also about “how we gather” in vital ways that sustain identity and community, and equip leaders for the faith. So, in partnership with the Administration, we look forward to bringing questions for further creative dialogue to this summer’s GA in Louisville, Kentucky.
After considering, at the meeting just concluded, the Administration’s report about its achievement of our current Ends, the Board asked for “remediation reports” setting out the strategies the Administration plans to use to correct areas where it reported that the Association was falling short of its standards. We’ll receive those reports in time for our April meeting, before we vote on the budget.
We also addressed a number of bylaw amendments to bring to GA in June. These include proposals to allow electronic voting beginning in 2014, changes to Article II that would modify language around discrimination, changes to some committees based on a smaller board size next year, reconciliation of some discrepancies in bylaws concerning which committees the President is or is not an ex officio member of, standardization of when elected and appointed committee positions commence, recognition of regions, and establishment of run-off procedures in the event of a tie vote for elected offices when more than two persons are running. You can read all these changes in the preliminary GA agenda, which will be available in the next few weeks.
We appointed Ms. Carol Montgomery to be the chair of the Appointments Committee. We appointed the Rev. Dr. Susan Ritchie to be Secretary of the Association and Ms. Donna Harrison to be Vice-Moderator, beginning after GA. Ms. Katherine Allen was appointed to replace Mr. Charlie King as an at-large trustee and a process was developed to replace Katherine with a new youth observer.
The board voted at the meeting just concluded to provide this direct communication of board activity and decisions following each face-to-face meeting. More detailed information can be seen online at http://uua.org. We hope you find this information useful in the life of your congregation.
Finally, we very much appreciate the hospitality afforded to us by the local congregations in the Philadelphia area as well as the staff of the Joseph Priestly District and our own fellow trustee, Ms. Natalia Averett from the JPD for all the work done to make this another successful meeting outside of Boston. We will be making some decisions in the next few weeks about where our January 2014 meeting will be held.
In faith and trust and on behalf of the UUA Board of Trustees,
Tom Loughrey,
Secretary

Graham Kreicker

Graham Kreicker, UUA Trustee

The way three regions are forming shows distinctly different and unique approaches. For example, next April a regional conference in San Jose, California, will bring together UUs from 12 western states to get acquainted, attend workshops, and worship together.  The Pacific Western Region comprises more than a third of the territory of the Continental U.S. and about 20% of our UU members. The four included four districts are, Mountain Desert, Pacific Northwest, Pacific Central and Pacific Southwest.

In these early stages of regionalization, the Southwestern UU Conference, Mid-South, Southeast, and Florida Districts are uniting with the UUA’s Stewardship and Development staff to experiment with a single annual funding program, beginning in Fiscal Year 2014. This “unified ask” combines the requested district and Annual Program Fund contributions into one, using a percentage of each congregation’s reported annual operating budget. This new model will help to streamline and simplify the congregations’ funding of their wider UU community, opening new possibilities for all UU congregations if the Southern Regional experiment proves successful.
The approach for this joint funding program will emphasize the covenantal nature of Unitarian Universalism and the interconnectedness of the relationships among congregations and within their wider association.

The districts of the Southern Region have already engaged in covenantal conversations that led to the districts’ commitment to the “Orlando Compact” established in 2010. The next steps in this collaborative process will be to design quality program materials for congregation leaders, identify and train a special team of volunteers to assist with the implementation, and work with regional and UUA leaders to engage and deepen the covenantal conversations to fully implement the program beginning July 1, 2013.

For over 40 years the Heartland, Central Midwest and Prairie Star Districts have jointly operated the very successful Midwest Leadership School every summer, including a Youth Leadership Program the last three years. This history of collaboration greatly facilitated the move to regionalization. Recently the three districts jointly employed a single, full time Director of Youth and Young Adult Services, and a single IT specialist. Last fall, the boards of each district voted unanimously to recommend to district delegates that the three districts be dissolved in favor of a single regional organization. A transition team is working on new by-laws, budget and financial processes, and providing information about the regionalization proposal to member congregations.

At their April, 2013 conferences, delegates in each district will vote on the proposal for creating a regional entity, and elect members of the new region’s Board. If the recommendation is approved, the MidAmerica Region will be a reality on July first. Early results indicate that regionalization will greatly reduce administration time and permit professional staff members to provide an increased level of services to congregations. We can look forward to more innovative ideas as Districts that will form the other two regions, tentatively named Northern New England and Central East Regional Group, continue on their own paths toward regionalization.

Linda Laskowski

Linda Laskowski, UUA Trustee

You want to talk to WHO?

Forgive the grammar. We want to talk to our vision of Beloved Community. And the heritage, tradition, and ideals of Unitarian Universalism. And current and future generations of Unitarian Universalists, as well as the Spirit of life, love, and the holy.

When the UUA Board first identified four groups we were accountable to in addition to our member congregations, reactions from outside the Board varied from thinking only member congregations counted, to appreciating the poetry, to averring that we should be accountable only to our mission. We called the five groups “sources of authority and accountability” (Sources), avoiding the Carver term “moral owners” because of its historical connotation with slavery. I suspect almost no one expected us to actually be in some sort of dialogue with these Sources.

With significant guidance from Unity Consulting, a small team from the Board has been identifying methodologies to do just that. The Board approved working definitions of these Sources (what are their voices? how do they speak?) at this past meeting. We anticipate using these working definitions to get valuable feedback from all of our Sources on the draft ends from next January’s meeting.

For example, what might the heritage, traditions, and ideals of Unitarian Universalism think about the definition of a congregation? The Source operating definition identifies a number of places we might look, including the writings of historical figures, UU historians, minutes and actions of the UUA Board, Administration, and General Assembly, our hymnals, and our by-laws (note this is not a comprehensive list). While we acknowledge times have changed (would our forbears have envisioned a virtual congregation?), there are underlying values that are important, such as the role of covenant.

I might find less guidance from this Source if I am looking for values around an End on a global faith (I made this up — the Ends are in the process of being written and this may or may not be on the list). We already know from Gathered Here that Current and Future Generations have something to say about it. Envisioning a future faith that did not have geographic boundaries was mentioned far more by Youth and Young Adults in Gathered Here conversations.

What might the Spirit of life, love, and the holy say about “a religious faith-based perspective to public discourse and a deepening theology for justice and community-building movements”, another early draft of an End?

I think I will meditate on that.

You can find the working draft here.

Dear Members of the Executive Committee, World Sikh Council – America Region;

We write to you as brothers, sisters, and siblings in faith, with a common vision of a world joined in peace. In light of that vision, we reach out with deep sorrow for the tragic loss of life and trauma your faith community suffered this past weekend in the violence in the Gurudwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

As you may know, in July, 2008, a Unitarian Universalist Congregation in East Tennessee sustained a similar violent attack, resulting in loss of life, injuries, and widespread trauma. Of course, those in the church at the time were most directly affected. But, because the attack was motivated by hate for our religion—for who we were, and how we are in the world—the pain and fear of being targeted spread throughout our whole movement. At that time, as shock slowly turned into grief and then the first stirrings of resilience and healing, it was important to us to hear reminders that we were not alone, that we were surrounded by loving neighbors willing to stand up for tolerance, to reject violence, and to pledge solidarity throughout our recovery.

Nothing we say can take away the pain in your hearts. But in this time of sorrow, we are moved to see the outpouring of love and support throughout the country from people of all faiths, through vigils and affirmations of solidarity. Many Unitarian Universalist Congregations, we know, are reaching out to their neighboring Gurudwaras in this spirit. And we, the Board of Trustees of the Unitarian Universalist Association, are honored to add our voices to that rising chorus, to let you know that we as a people are with you–with trust that one day, all people the world over will know the reconciling spirit of peace, and will walk together in love.

If there was any way at all our people could be of help or support to yours at this time, or at any time, please let us know. We stand ready to serve.

Humbly yours,

The Members of the Unitarian Universalist Association Board of Trustees

Rev. Dr. Michael Tino

Rev. Dr. Michael Tino, UUA Trustee

If I had ever been tempted to view the Doctrine of Discovery as an idea that lives only in our past, my experience working as a UUA Board member on our resolution repudiating that doctrine would have quickly disabused me of that notion. Indeed, the relationships that began with our agreement to take up that resolution make it very clear that the Doctrine of Discovery infects our present with its outdated and oppressive ideology.

Two stories illustrate my experience in this process more than any others.

The first begins in the weeks leading up to General Assembly, when I was contacted by a UU living in Hawai’i and working with Native Hawai’ian people seeking to secure their rights to religious freedom and self-determination and the return of their sacred religious sites. Dr. George M. Williams has long been a proponent of religious freedom, working with groups like the International Association for Religious Freedom, and now he is working with leaders of the Hawai’ian Kingdom (the Native Hawai’ian term for their people).

I learned through Dr. Williams that leaders of the Hawai’ian Kingdom had learned about our resolution, and expressed some concern over its language. Native Hawai’ians, you see, are neither American Indians nor even indigenous North Americans (they are a Polynesian people). They asked how we could make our resolution explicitly apply to their daily struggles to practice their religions and own their sacred sites (the Doctrine of Discovery has been used by the U.S. since to claim title to these sites, along with the traditional lands of the indigenous peoples of the other 49 states). Their hope is that this explicit inclusion can help the UUA and our Hawai’i congregations to advocate better for the return of these sacred sites. It was an easy change to make, and an honor to make it.

The second story takes place in the minutes following the overwhelming passage of the resolution by the General Assembly, when Tupac Enrique Acosta, leader of the UUA’s partner Tonatierra, pulled me aside. He wanted to introduce me to a delegation of indigenous people who had accompanied him to GA to witness our vote. All of them were deeply appreciative of our partnership, and quite moved by our religious rejection of this oppressive doctrine. All of them expressed to me what it meant to them to have their lives and struggles taken seriously by an entire denomination.

Next, Mr. Acosta invited me to participate in a religious ritual of his people, in which I offered a copy of the just-passed resolution to a leader of his nation, passing it four times over a sacred incense bowl. After the fourth pass, my colleague accepted the resolution, and two members of our circle sounded shell horns to mark the sacred occasion. Later, in a conversation with Mr. Acosta, we discussed how our resolution is one step in the journey of building right relationship with our indigenous siblings as well as with our common mother, the Earth.

It has been an honor and a privilege to work with the Board and the General Assembly to pass this historic resolution. It will be more of an honor to take the next steps, side by side, with our new partners and those still to be identified—in Hawai’i, in Arizona, and in the rest of the country. I’ve already been reaching out to form partnerships in New York. Will you take up the call to partnership in your home? If you do, I trust that you will find that our resolution was not just about the injustices of history, but about ongoing injustice affecting all of humanity.

Rev. Erik David Carlson

Rev. Erik David Carlson, UUA Trustee

Amidst the sounds of New Orleans jazz wafting through the board conferencing system, UUA Trustees broke into small groups to focus on the story of Katrina and the Federal floods of 2005, the story of our UU sisters and brothers on the ground, and the story of the UUA/UUSC response to our UU churches there. Having visited with the New Orleans area congregations at our meeting in January, the people and their stories were fresh in our minds and hearts.

Through a guided process of reflection, conversation and reporting, the Trustees agreed that there was much work to do to rebuild the ties between the UUA and our New Orleans area congregations. There was also a strong sense that the complexity of the issues involved in this process demands more time, and the Trustees have committed to continue this important work as it pertains to our congregations in New Orleans and our future response to congregations in need.

Tom Loughery

Tom Loughrey, UUA Trustee

For well over a year the Board has been asked to consider locating our administrative offices to a different location. The current motivation originated with a possibility of a purchase of Hebrew College in nearby Newton over a year ago. While the prospects were interesting the Board wanted to see how all this might ultimately fit in a facilities strategic plan that is aligned with our Ends. Possibilities included another Boston area location, an altogether new location elsewhere in the country, leased space and more.

After much discussion and hearing information from staff on costs to move, staff disruption, revenue potential from a sale and more the Board voiced support for plans of the staff to look for adequate space in Boston near public transportation. We did not feel a need to vote on this as current policy gives the president the ability to explore these possibilities now. A Board decision would come with any motion to buy and/or sell property. Nonetheless, support is important in the process. Our policies call for a rationale and metrics that are consistent with the policies. These will guide the work of the staff as they engage in a process to seek both suitable space and a qualified buyer of our Beacon Hill property. They will also guide the Board in any ultimate decisions to approve a sale and a purchase or lease.

Board member, Linda Laskowski, writes in her blog, UUA View from Berkeley, about her thoughts and captures for many Board members their thoughts on the possibility of a move at http://pcdtrustee.blogspot.com/2012/04/leaving-beacon-hill.html.

Michelle Bates Deacon, writing for the UU World, reports on the Board and staff discussion on the possibility of a move along with other Board activity at our recent meeting at http://www.uuworld.org/news/articles/199456.shtml?utm_source=n.

None of this is easy. We have a long tradition in Boston and in “25” but we also know that it is the work that remains that must be supported. Balancing our tradition, efficiency, accessibility, employment relations, fiduciary responsibilities and more are easier when we have clear policy and a strategic plan aligned with the policy. The process is working!

Tom Loughrey
Trustee from the PSWD

Rev. Sarah Stewart

Rev. Sarah Stewart, UUA Trustee

Little kids and youth in bright t-shirts stood in a circle in the open, inviting parish hall in Roxbury. They were invited to share their favorite thing they had done during the day camp offered during school vacation week. The children answered: games, making friends, playing football. As one girl spoke in a quiet voice, she pulled the arm of her teen counselor around her shoulder. The youth smiled at her and encouraged her to speak more loudly, to share her voice with the group.

This school vacation camp is just one program offered by the Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry (UUUM), housed at the First Church in Roxbury. Members of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Board of Trustees visited UUUM before our April board meeting to learn more about their programs.

The vacation week camp is part of UUUM’s Roxbury Youth Programs, offering an after-school program for middle- and high-school youth, weekend activities for elementary-school children, and summer employment and camp opportunities for children and youth. UUUM also offers Renewal House, a domestic violence shelter and resource program for women and men; and United Souls, a support group and network for urban men, including those transitioning home from prison.

In all these programs, UUUM relies on volunteers, many of whom are members in Boston-area Unitarian Universalist congregations. The Ministry is rigorous in screening and integrating volunteers. UU volunteers provide weeknight dinners for the Roxbury Youth Program. The counselors in the vacation week camp were drawn half from UU congregations and half from students in the Roxbury Youth Program.

UUUM is facing some new frontiers in their work. The Ministry is reaching out to Roxbury’s growing Somali and Dominican immigrant communities. Renewal House is seeing stays in its shelter increase as the struggles of domestic violence victims are compounded by immigration challenges. Through all these challenges and new opportunities, the Ministry is capably and faithfully led by the Rev. Catherine Senghas and her staff.

The Board of Trustees looks for opportunities to connect with sources of our faith both within and beyond congregations. Although housed in an historic UU church building, UUUM is a true community ministry, inspiring us to expand our understanding of what a church can be in the world. The UUUM is supported by Unitarian Universalists, their congregations, and charitable foundations. To learn more about the work of UUUM and to support its mission, visit www.uuum.org.

Rev. Dr. Michael Tino

Rev. Dr. Michael Tino, UUA Trustee

In 2010, the General Assembly directed the UUA Board to create a different kind of General Assembly for 2012.  This “Justice GA” was to be planned in accountable relationship with partner organizations who had invited us to Arizona as part of their ongoing struggle for human rights and equality.

When our Association’s Arizona Immigration Ministry met with our partners, we received one clear request for an agenda item at GA2012.  Our partners said that the single most important piece of business we could do at GA2012 was to study and repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery and support the full implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.  Further, they asked us to have our congregations study this issue and how it is related to the ongoing oppression of indigenous peoples whose lands straddle the US-Mexico border.

Given that the charge from our congregations was accountability, the UUA Board felt it imperative that we honor their request and take up this piece of business at GA2012.  Given that we are prohibited from making justice statements through Business Resolutions and that Actions of Immediate Witness are not on the GA2012 agenda, our only option was to craft a Responsive Resolution to our own report.

What makes this an even more unusual Responsive Resolution is that the Board submitted it to the congregations six months prior to General Assembly, rather than at the Assembly itself.  This is because of the request from our partners that our congregations study and discuss the issue.

Items submitted for consideration at the General Assembly itself (including Actions of Immediate Witness as well as typical Responsive Resolutions) do not get the consideration that congregations can give resolutions sent to them in advance.  For this reason, they carry less weight as statements and are less useful in advancing any cause of justice than statements our congregations discuss, deliberate and amend.

The UUA Board decided that the resolution repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery needed congregational deliberation and input, and for this reason we took the unusual step of submitting it in advance.  We hope our congregations take this matter seriously and that together we follow through on our pledge to be accountable to our partners in Arizona.

For more information on the Doctrine of Discovery, including the Board’s report and resolution and a wonderful set of congregational workshops, visit http://www.uua.org/ga/2012/189502.shtml.