New Name Town Hall Meetings
April 18, 2021 After the Service: Notes on Conversation
About 60 people attended through the middle of the meeting.
Need the word Congregation because it says you don’t have to believe in Unitarian Universalism to be welcome and belong here.
UU describes a gathering of beliefs, or what we are. Congregation is who we are. Want to add an option: Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greater Charlottesville . Some commented that “Greater Charlottesville” conveys that we are the ONLY congregation, whereas there may be others who emerge in the future. We do not want our name to limit the other communities that might emerge in our area. The same goes for the location “Central Virginia” as it encompasses too large of an area including where other UU congregations reside.
Some felt that saying “of Charlottesville” was totally different than “IN Charlottesville.” “In Charlottesville” is more locating than identifying being “of” this place.
UU is a value – Being a UU IS our value
We need to describe the “entity” such as congregation, to say “what it is”. All understood that the entity of “church” conveys only Christianity and may be off-putting to those with backgrounds in Jewish or Muslim or other traditions.
Fellowship is a description of a way to relate and connectedness. Of course the acronym UUCC or UUFC seems the same. Word, “Charlottesville” is an identifier.
Need something like congregation. Something is missing in just UU
Should we try a word that is fresh and radical like “comradeship.” Likes adding the word congregation to UU. We identify with the community of Charlottesville but is not opposed to “Greater Charlottesville.”
Is UU a noun or a descriptor? We are people who subscribe to Unitarian Universalism.
If we use too many descriptors it dilutes the name. Length complicates the name.
“Greater” is just too many descriptors. Prefer UUCC
Our name should say both what and who. I like Congregation because our faith sprung from the Congregationalist movement which conveys both the ideas of parity and power and responsibility. It conveys our democratic approach, rather than one that is hierarchical. I changed my mind – previously wanted just “UU’s of Charlottesville” but now realize the importance of saying we are a “congregation”.
Use the term covenant appropriately. However we name ourselves, personally, it is important to name that we are a covenant. Covenant is a word that we should use more and think about more.
Appreciate that word congregation in our name identifies us as a community of faith
Liked the Seekers word that was in the suggested names.
Fellowship is gendered. I don’t see us as a group of fellows.
Liked Seekers and like this discussion about Congregation
Liked the suggested names using Rivanna and Summit and Piedmont but see that Charlottesville has resonance. Although I mourn the loss of using TJ’s name, Unitarian Universalist has resonance.
I am relieved that we have more in common in this process than differences. We need to remember the covenantal nature of our relationship to each other. We are a covenant using a democratic process.
I am sad that we have reduced TJ’s status. This conversation is about who we are, what we are, and where we are. I liked “Seekers” because it describes what we are in. I suggest UU Seekers Congregation of Charlottesville as a name.
I’d like to name the room downstairs as the Glenn Room after Glenn Short’s generous donation.
Katie Courish did as much by donating her time and talent to sell the house which provided the money to renovate the lower hall and Summit House.
It was noted that naming rooms is a topic for another group to consider, not the mission or part of the discussions in choosing a New Name.
Perhaps we should consider that we can use Seekers (in practice) as part of our ByLine on our stationary, etc Acknowledged the importance of keeping formal name short, easy to convey
Comments how easily it felt to let go of the former name/acronym TJMC, & to have affinity for UU’s of C’Ville used as the interim name.
Do these names sound like home? This shouldn’t be expected because it takes time for a name (or a place) to feel like home.
This was a great conversation. I think we’ll all accept whatever we choose.
We thank everyone who has been part of this process over the years. From David Mellor who taught the class in “Antiracist Kids” and encouraged us to begin the conversation again. Laura Wallace who’d led it in times past. Christine Gresser and the Name Change Task Force who led the discussions about taking Thomas Jefferson out of our name and the current New Name Task Force who are guiding the conversations to conclude in a Congregational Meeting Vote on June 6th.
April 20, 2021 evening meeting
Is the name aspirational if it starts with UU…those words are aspirational.
Talked about the difference of “in”, “of” and perhaps just a comma. Only UU’s would drill down on the importance of this, but it does make you think.
Charlottesville is a word that’s descriptive of place, but not necessarily the actual City boundaries.
Email sent
Caroline Heins, I think, ‘has it right’, when she answers our church phone, “Unitarian Univeralists in Charlottesville.” This, in my opinion, ‘covers’ the 3 emphases I would like for us to make: Who we are – A Religious Gathering, Located in, (which would be inclusive of all our participants, no matter where they live, or where they presently are – Where the church is), &, I’m convinced we Must say ‘Charlottesville‘, (in order to counteract the August 12, 2017 ‘Impression’, which, I fear, is much remembered.)