Members of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church – Unitarian Universalist have chosen to undertake a historic and important task: together we will decide if we should continue to use Thomas Jefferson in the name of our congregation.
At least since 2011, when the Unitarian Universalist Association voted to change the name of the Thomas Jefferson District to the Southeast District, our church has recognized the problematic nature of being named, “Thomas Jefferson Memorial.” In response to this issue, in 2015-16 the “Considering our Name” committee engaged in church-wide discussions about our name.
In September 2019, after submitting a petition signed by 20% of the congregation, a formal Motion to “begin the process of formal consideration to change our name” was brought to a Congregational Meeting and passed.
A lot has happened since then. 2020 happened.
In that time we learned to grieve, celebrate, and congregate online. We also watched the streets of America fill with fury at the ongoing injustice and violence perpetrated against innocent Black people at the hands of police. George Floyd was murdered. Breonna Taylor was murdered. Charlottesville watched the protests with a hard-earned empathy.
Over the last few months, under the condition of the ongoing civil disobedience throughout the country, the Board of Trustees heard from the congregation that the unresolved topic of the name of our church needed to finally be addressed, even under the conditions of the Coronavirus pandemic.
In July 2020 the Board established a Task Force with the mission of guiding the congregation through the process of bringing the name change question to a vote.
The Task Force spent the month of September hosting online cottage conversations, and nearly 80 people participated. Our congregation gathered in these small groups, staying in covenant to listen with open hearts, and held space for one another. People talked about their admiration for Jefferson. People talked about their love of the church. People talked about the UU values of ending oppression and acting with compassion. And people talked about being ready for change. A compilation of notes from the Cottage Conversations can be found here.
This willingness to change embodies our UU values. We are intellectual seekers, but we are also guided by our heart. These sentiments came up over and over again as people told the story of their evolution of understanding the complicated impact of Jefferson’s legacy. Above all, the cottage conversations revealed that people want to do the right thing, and many feel the right thing is to no longer use the name Thomas Jefferson.
The church is preparing to come together again. This Sunday, on September 27th at 1pm, we will once again listen to each other. Once again we will stay in covenant, once again we will respect the worth and value of all individuals. And this time we will have the opportunity to vote yes or no on changing the name of the church.
Members and friends of the congregation are invited to participate in this historic moment together. While friends are free to speak at the meeting, only those who have signed the membership book are eligible to vote.
The Motion before the congregation will be as follows:
We, the members of Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church – Unitarian Universalist, shall change the name of our congregation to a new name that does not contain ‘Thomas Jefferson’.
Please mark your ballots;
Yes – I approve the motion to change the name of the church
No – I reject the motion to change the name of the church
May it be finished in beauty.