Is there a unique message based in our UU values and principles that UUCville can bring to the Charlottesville community? Our commitment to love and kindness is nurturing our UUCville community and we already have so many ways we express our Love In Action in Charlottesville. Is there more we can do?

In the UUCville email on July 7, there was a link to the article about UU Minister Rev. Cecilia Kingman’s talk titled “My Little Pony Was Right: Reflections of Fascisms Without and Within.” I read it and felt my mind expand. I began thinking about how we are affected by the messages we absorb from the world about who we are and about who others are. Perhaps without even noticing it, we can start thinking in a we/they framework. It is awful to think about how this mental framework can have such enormous world consequences.

I was also thinking about how when people are afraid, we look for quick, simple fixes. When we are filled with stress and fear, it is hard to think about complex situations and multifaceted solutions. Simple solutions like it is someone else’s fault or those people are the problem can seem like answers when we are afraid. So many politicians take advantage of fear to promote solutions that are not solutions.

I am wondering if fear and the we/them thinking can be some of the upstream causes of so much damage and suffering that we see downstream in social injustice and inequities. I wonder if in addition to all the work we currently do, if there are other ways we at UUCville could bring our understanding and love to these upstream problems.

The more I learn about the world, the more I see the wisdom and power of our UU principles. Our first Unitarian Universalism principle, we believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person, is such an inclusive statement- there is no “other” who we can dismiss as not valuable. There is such love and kindness in this statement. I wonder how we could bring this to be even more present in our communities. One of the big things I have learned from being a part of UUCville is that together we are so much more wise than each of us alone. When we come together and listen, offer up our own ideas and experiences, we come up with powerful plans.

I am looking forward to being a part of many conversations as we build our strategic plan. It brings me hope in these difficult times.

Click here to see the
2023 Berry Street Essay: The Reverend Cecilia Kingman
My Little Pony Was Right: Reflections of Fascisms Without and Within

Submitted by,
Pam McIntire, President