On Tuesday, November 12, your Board of Trustees held its regular monthly meeting at OBIC and Zoom. We were led in spiritual practice by Reverend Lisa, who asked us to ponder and meditate on our seven Ends. In this time of tumultuous political developments, we found this practice insightful, bracing, and energizing.
Rev. Lisa also gave us an overview of the interim timeline. In January, the Transition Team, which is nearly in place, will lead the congregation in a collective exploration and expression of its identity and direction. We urge everyone to participate when the invitation comes.
The standing Ends Monitoring Survey Team was also launched, so that we can continue to monitor how well we are meeting our UUCC Ends. Look for the survey in January. It will take very little time and will complement the transition conversations very well.
We also brainstormed how the board can best lead in response to the 2024 national election results. Responses reflected the board’s diversity and commitment to the congregation’s mission, from taking care to ensure that we continue to address our mission in its entirety, to the need to lead resistance and offer assistance, to the need to buoy and support each congregant in what is anticipated to be a difficult time. Most commonly articulated was the need to make very clear and explicit our identity and values as a justice-making, people-supporting, anti-oppressive movement, and to join with other progressive forces, centering the voices of the oppressed and marginalized. This challenging time is an opportunity for UUCC to come into its own as a force for good in our community, and beyond, and to offer respite and sanctuary to those who might otherwise be crushed. Rev. Lisa also offered a refreshing view as a newcomer from the South: that as Blue-State religious people we have privilege and resources to share; and that our OBIC space can offer great venues for organizing faith-based actions against oppression. We hope you’re feeling excited and hopeful about the prospects of our growth in these directions as we reach for and lean into our future.
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