About Us
Next Service
Roots Hold Me Close
Sunday, April 28, 2024 10:00 a.m.
Service Leaders:
Rev. Amanda Weatherspoon, Settled Minister Candidate
Mic Elvenstar and Dave Warren, Lay Service Leaders
John Herrick, Director of Music
Community Compass
SOUUL Summit Conference in Atlanta
Moving Forward in Challenging Times – With Joy and a Focus on Your Mission!
by Kathleen Carpenter
To change your church/community culture will require you to be uncomfortable even as our culture encourages comfort.
Sometimes you have to get out of the way because this place does not belong to {just} you.
There are lots of people who don’t feel comfortable in our congregations even if we do. If we want to grow and attract younger, more diverse groups of people who would love Unitarian Universalism, we must first get them through the doors.
We can create a place of love where everyone has a chance to feel more whole and seen.
Stay focused on your mission. Consider those not already members who need us. Think of where we are going not where we’ve been.
Kindness eases change.
Know your personal boundaries. Just because you are triggered doesn’t mean you are wrong.
As a leader, your goal is to stay in relationship not to win an argument.
These are among the dozens of quotes I wrote down after hearing speakers share them at the SOUUL Summit conference I attended in Atlanta in mid-March, along with five others from our congregation. The conference’s stated goal was Cultivating Missional UU Leadership and Resilience.
I have attended some mighty powerful conferences, workshops, and trainings for Unitarian Universalists in my time, both as a UUCC staff person and as a UU volunteer. I know inspiring/motivating/spiritually powerful/edifying when I experience it. And I know what’s … not. The SOUUL Summit conference was all of these things.
The six of us who attended included four volunteers (Kurt Merkle, Michael Amy Rodriguez Cira, Ken Smalley, and me), our Lifespan RE Director, Paula Gribble, and Interim Minister, Lisa Bovee-Kemper. It was a great representation from one of our denomination’s largest congregations. Yes – despite the membership losses resulting from the pandemic, staff retirements, ministerial resignations, and the stress of the search for a new minister – the UU Community of Charlotte is still a power player in our denomination. Or can be. Our UU community is on the edge of great things and this conference reminded us why our success matters. The world needs Unitarian Universalism and its messages of love and acceptance and commitment to (spiritual, social, and environmental) transformation. This conference also reminded us that it takes work to get there but that it can be joyful, mission-centered work. I learned a lot and hope to apply those lessons in my role as one of your Board members.
I asked the other UUCC attendees to add any takeaways they had from the Summit. Here is Kurt’s response: “The most meaningful thing for me was just creating relationships with leaders and members of other congregations; learning similarities and differences of challenges facing other congregations. {I} also {enjoyed} experiencing services (music, preaching, lessons) different than UUCC, and spending more informal time with our UUCC folks.”
I’ll end with two quotes that Ken says “stuck with him.”
It is difficult, but we need to stay in the struggle – there is still a lot of work to be done (in a conversation about systemic racism).
We have to do a better job of finding ways to remain in community with our emerging adults after the Bridging ceremony. It probably won’t be the Sunday service; but there are lots of opportunities to maintain contact.
Report on SOUUL SUMMIT 2024
by Ken Smalley
Six people from UUCC – Rev. Lisa, Paula Gribble, Kurt Merkle, Michael Amy Cira, Kathleen Carpenter and myself, spent two and one half days at the UU Congregation of Atlanta for an event called Souul Summit, a conference for enhancing leadership skills in UU congregations. We participated, with over 100 others, in workshops, worship, small group discussions and one on one conversations with UU’s from all over the southeast US.
Some of my take away notes:
Worship: UUCA has a high energy, theatrical style of worship. A large media screen, theatrical lighting, a small band, high energy music and preaching – all presented with professional level stagecraft are a part of most Sunday morning services. They have recently added a second service (at 9:30AM) that is described as “ more traditional “.
The transition from a more traditional service (similar to our own) has taken place mostly over the last four years. Atlanta leadership believes this updated worship format has been a major factor in their successful emergence from some very difficult times for their congregation. The service is designed to appeal to a more contemporary attendee.
Emerging Adult ministry: Emerging adults (18-25yr) were the subject of one workshop. It was noted that the bridging ceremony held in many UU congregations is called the “cliffing ceremony “ by many young people and those who work with them. Cliffing – in that the young people walk off a cliff – never to be seen again. A number of ideas and possibilities were presented to try to stay in community with this cohort.
Direct engagement with other UU’s: There were a couple times each day for intentional small group engagement. We met with the same seven or eight individuals for reflection and discussion. These times were the most impactful for me. All UU’s – but from very different backgrounds.
The Physical Plant of UUCA: The completely renovated campus offers a number of interesting ideas.
- An all gender bathroom setup that actually works – makes good use of space and moves people through – even at higher demand times.
- Motion controlled lighting in most spaces. Environmental/ Energy use considerations were part of the design process from the early stages.
- The public space (hallway) on the first level houses a curated art exhibit. The collection features local artists, is rotated every ninety days, and all pieces are available for purchase.
- The sanctuary has no fixed pews. The space can be configured to accommodate up to 300, but still feels intimate with 100 or so people. There is no designated choir area. The space feels similar to a “theater in the round “ setting – with about 180 degrees of seating around the chancel. Hymnals are only available in an anteroom; words are displayed on a large media screen (a bit larger than ours). The screen is used for all information purposes ie; no bulletins and no announcements during the service.
- There is a “fidget room” immediately adjacent to the main gathering space.
- The chancel incorporates an integral ramp in addition to several sets of stairs (with hand rails).
Summary: The entire weekend provided inspiring speakers, differing viewpoints, and opportunities for personal growth and development. We need to “live in” to what we want our community to be and become.
Life RE-examined: Another Look at Article II
This month, we had another great discussion session on the UUA Bylaws changes to Article II. We looked at the layout of the proposed values and two new values that have been put forward as amendments.
Among the changes in the piece with the values (where the Principles currently are), are the statements of covenant. In the current language, before the Principles are listed there’s the line, “We covenant to affirm and promote.” Then after the Principles there’s a longer statement of covenant that says, “As free congregations we enter into this covenant, promising to one another our mutual trust and support.”
In the proposed language, each value is listed with a defining statement and then there’s a covenantal statement with each value. While both the old version and the new version have statements of covenant, it’s a change to have this covenantal statement with each value. This change reflects the Commission’s work to make these values action-oriented and grounded in our aspirations to live out our values. You can see how each are laid out in this document. People in the discussion found this layout helpful.
In addition to the six proposed values, amendments have come forward to add two values to this section of Article II. These two amendments would add two new values, Peace and Reason. These amendments will be put forward at General Assembly in June to be voted on before the larger vote for the full proposed version of Article II.
Here’s the language of each of these:
Reason
We search for truth and meaning, informed by reason, evidence, and the results of science, motivated by wonder, curiosity, and compassion.
We covenant to listen to and respect the views of others, and to remain open to new ideas.
Peace
We dedicate ourselves to peaceful conflict resolution at all levels.
We covenant to promote a peaceful world community with liberty and human rights for all. Whenever and wherever possible we will support nonviolent means to achieve peace.
We will continue our discussion in May! In the meantime, we hope you will look at the information and come back and look again as we prepare to vote on the changes. Engaging in this work is important to our faith and faith identity.
In Faith,
Paula Gribble, DLRE
Introducing your Right Relations Team
In November, we announced the adoption of the UUCC Covenant of Right Relations Policy. You may recall that with the new policy comes the need to establish a Right Relations Team (RRT).
We are pleased to announce the four inaugural members of UUCC’s Right Relations Team: Susan Cox, Ann Doss Helms, Peter Huxtable, and Naomi Irvine. These four people were chosen both for their individual skills and for the ways their different areas of expertise combine to create a cohesive and well-balanced team. They are a combination of long-time and newer members of the community, and we are grateful to all four of them for saying “yes” when asked to serve at this time.
In the next few months, Rev. Lisa will be working directly with the team to orient them and provide some initial training and resources, and they will begin to communicate with the community directly. We look forward to all working together to live into our relationships and nurture this community as we learn new ways of being together.
The full text of the UUCC Covenant of Right Relations Policy can be found here: UUCC Covenant of Right Relations Policy. The RRT will perform duties as outlined in the policy. A key component of the policy is that the RRT will be a standing team that not only handles conflicts that escalate to requiring mediation or other support, but also educates the congregation and provides spiritual development and skill-building around covenant, having difficult conversations, and working through lower-level conflicts.
A Letter from Unitarian Universalism to UUs
FROM: Unitarian Universalism
TO: My dearest UUs
I am writing to you all today full of emotions, both worry and hope. So many things in the world have changed over the past few years, and so have I. We look at the weary world and wonder, what good can we still do? We see the pain and systemic hate perpetuated on our planet – sometimes against our planet – and feel disheartened. What can we do?
But I am Unitarian Universalism, and I say to you that we have done good, that we can do good…and in some cases we might be the only people who can. But in order for you all to use my larger light, we must gather our individual lights together and let go of hiding them under our own personal bushel.
I know I am changing, and that is scary. I know I am using different words and sentences to say who I am, and that is scary. But we are the people of change, of looking to the future of our world and what new work we must do. We were at the forefront of civil rights, of women’s rights, of environmental rights. I know it is hard to see some of those things being tamped down after the work we did before.
But just like everything in the world, we must change with the changing times. Certainly, the world was a different place in 1961, when we became Unitarian Universalism. We had different words to describe our purpose and identity then. And over time, we have shifted and changed, reviewed and revised.
Please dear UUs, love me not only for who I have been, but also for who I am today. If you do, you are not turning your back on our past. We have made great strides together, and with your commitment and support, I – Unitarian Universalism – have learned and grown. Won’t you continue to learn and grow with me?
I am a living tradition. One that continues to change, grow, build, and rebuild. It’s one of the key things that UUism offers that other Faith traditions may not. We are not stuck in the words of yesteryear. We are not held accountable for long lost Prophets, tied down by a creed, or bound to one ancient text. We are accountable for OUR actions, set free with our beliefs, and bound by humanity and love.
The great James Luther Adams, sometimes called father of liberal religion, said this, “Religious liberalism depends on the principle that ‘revelation’ is continuous.” Our religious tradition is a living tradition because we are always learning new truths.
So, I ask you again dear UUs, will you love me not only for who I have been, but also for who I am today? And truly, not just who I am today, but who I may become? I will keep on changing, hopefully becoming more and more true to myself and the principles and values I espouse.
But I cannot do it alone. And I cannot do it if you will not join me. Fear of change and a holding to the past is difficult to overcome. But I know we can. We must, for the world needs us. And we can’t have a future if we don’t accept that we keep on moving forward.
I hope you will join me. I hope you can see me. I hope my light is guiding your way. And I ask once more, can you love me not only for who I have been, but also for who I am today? Let’s let go, let’s go on, let’s grow on. Together, we can do it.
Sincerely,
Unitarian Universalism in 2024
Author: Paula Gribble, Director of Lifespan Religious Education