In the two weeks since the hateful racist note was anonymously left in the office mailbox of Christina Rivera, our Director of Administration and Finance, there have been a variety of responses: some of us have felt clarity; others, confusion. Many of us feel conflicted. Some have felt supported, while others have felt silenced. The integrity of our community, and our commitment to living our covenant, has been questioned by many of us, even by those who disagree within h one another about just how and why they think that. For us both individually and as a community, this is disturbingly new territory, and we understandably are finding it disorienting.
Congregational leaders have offered a strong and consistent response, condemning the particular violent act, while challenging us all to consider how our congregational culture reflects the dominant culture of white supremacy, in spite of our best intentions. One thing which hasn’t happened yet, though, is an opportunity for us to come together and share our feelings and thoughts about all that’s been going on.
Our first responsibility has to be addressing the needs of the people of color who call this their spiritual home. The attack on Christina was not an attack on her alone. It raised questions about the safety of this community for people of color more widely (as well as for those of us who live in multi-racial families).
This Sunday, following the second service, there will be an opportunity for people of color to meet and reflect on their experiences of recent events, and as people of color in an overwhelmingly white congregation (and denomination). This gathering will be facilitated by Steven Ballesteros, who has served as a member of the Diverse Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries (DRUUMM) Steering Committee and as chair of the General Assembly Right Relationship Team. He also has experience facilitating identity caucusing and anti-racism, anti-oppression, multicultural workshops for multiple congregations and UU communities in the Pacific Western Region. Even if you don’t personally feel the need for such a gathering, I would encourage you to attend.
While congregational leaders are working to find a skilled facilitator who can help the entire community process what has happened and engage the work we must do if we are going to become the beloved community we desire to be, there is an immediate need for a safe space in which we can come together and share our feelings and thoughts. Everyone is invited to participate in a Congregational Listening Circle on Monday, March 19, from 7:00-9:00pm. I will be facilitating this evening, and it will be a time for any of us to say whatever we feel needs to be said, without any debate or judgement. Perhaps even more importantly, the evening will also give everyone who participates an opportunity to listen deeply to what others are, and have been, feeling and thinking.
The turmoil we are experiencing right now effects the whole congregation, and we must all engage in the work of looking honestly at who we’ve been, and who we are, and what we are called to be by our commitment to dismantling the culture of white supremacy – in ourselves, in our congregation, and in our society. This isn’t work we are starting now; it’s been a part of who we are since our founding 75 years ago. Yet the recent heinous act of blatant racism gives new impetus to our efforts, and we must all find our place in the work Christina always reminds us is for our mutual liberation.
If you have questions, or would like more information, please contact Rev. Wik at revwik@uucharlottesville.org.