A Word from Pastor AJ

July 2024

Hello Racial Justice Advocates, and welcome to June! Our theme for this month is Love as Celebration.

Vote, Vote, Vote! I know you are probably tired of hearing about voting and yet today, I am asking you to do so once again. At General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), we will be asked to review and revise Article II of the UUA Bylaws, more commonly known as the Principles and Purposes.

You may be asking: “Why is AJ asking me to vote on this issue?” The new Article II Proposal asks us to first and foremost Center Love as our core value, overarching Love as … Interdependence, Pluralism, Justice, Transformation, Generosity, and Equity.

As racial justice advocates who are living into what it means to address racial bias within our UU communities, and fund the sanctuary BIPoC space we have together created through The Mountain Top UU, I am asking you to focus on Love as Interdependence as reason to engage in this conversation, and, if you are able, to vote as a delegate for your congregation. 

Ultimately, as communities of the UUA, I hope that you vote your conscience, and I would also encourage you to vote in favor of this much needed update to our core Covenant and Values, an update that calls us to recenter our values more deeply as a whole community. We recognize that ‘all of creation is interconnected and dependent,’ and by extension, we celebrate racial diversity as a means to create community. If we are to create a more beloved community that is racially diverse, we must start by acknowledging that we are interdependent. Whether for you Interdependence centers in this context, a more racially diverse group, any other marginalized collective, or even our planet and nature itself, I ask you to consider supporting this update as a way to modernize our values in a way that is more inclusive. Register for General Assembly Today! 

We thank you for your support and contributions of time, talent and treasure.

In Service, 

AJ
Pastor AJ Blackwood
Community Minister
UUs for Racial Justice