One of the many things I love about being a Unitarian Universalist is that I get so many opportunities to expand my understanding of the world and myself.  When I listen to people talk about ideas that are new to me, I often find that I have been thinking in boxes that I did not even know I had.  It is a great joy to see things from a new perspective and to break free of chains of thinking (even though it is sometimes uncomfortable to be in new territory).

In the last weeks I have had the pleasure of taking the Transforming Hearts Class, taught by Circe Strauss and Rev Tim, where I learned about Trans culture and Trans identity. It was painful to hear how much harm is caused by judgement and in-the-box thinking about gender identity, but I also felt joy and appreciation as I heard wisdom from Trans people about how gender boxes limit all of us.

One of the lessons from the class was that being a Welcoming Congregation does not just mean opening UUCville’s doors to assimilate others into this congregation’s culture, it means incorporating the wisdom and practices of an increasingly diverse group of people. It means expanding our understanding and growing. It might mean discomfort, but it also means increasing a sense of freedom that comes with understanding.

In practice being a Welcoming Congregation, could mean each of us seeking out people we don’t know, opening our hearts and listening. It might mean changing some of the ways we do things to be more inclusive of many ideas. It could mean identifying and loosening barriers to full leadership participation for people who have been on the margins of the congregation. It might mean intentionally building relationships across groups within our congregation. 

We need the care and wisdom from the whole congregation as we move forward with our Strategic/Long Range Planning. The Task Force is considering the information we gathered from the Congregational Conversations last year and is exploring creative ways to engage the congregation in discussing additional, targeted questions this year. The final plan will certainly include both nurturing our own congregation and action in the wider community.  While we want to support all the valuable things UUCville currently does for the larger community, we are also thinking about how we can bring all of UUCville together in united action to address the upstream causes of so many problems. We believe that UUCville can be an even more powerful force in Charlottesville when we all come together and work with community partners in focused action.

We have such wise, kind and committed people here in our congregation, I dream of what we can do when we put all this together and live our mission of love in action. I am so grateful to be a part of our loving group.  It lifts my heart in these troubled times.

Submitted by,
Pam McIntire, President