Trusting creative leaders
This week, the Rev. Erika Hewitt issued a challenge to Unitarian Universalists.
[Far] too often, our people respond to leadership—which is to say, an invitation to see, do, or experience something new—with crossed arms, narrowed eyes, and out-loud wondering what gives that person the right to extend such an invitation.
Unitarian Universalists, is this the people we want to be? (The Lively Tradition, April 30)
The Rev. Cynthia Landrum suggests that Hewitt, and other leaders, should invite ongoing participation, rather than springing completed projects on startled audiences.
Rather than preparing for the fight, avoid the fight by bringing people along with you on your journey. You begin by showing us your map, and engaging us in the Very Big Questions that your Very Large Project is addressing. Share the vision. As you say, “Creativity and courage are contagious.” (Rev. Cyn, April 30)
MB Tankersley addresses UU conflict avoidance.
In my experience, Unitarian Universalists often confuse disagreement with disrespect and make confrontation into a negative. It doesn’t have to be! I have seen amazing work done by groups utilizing confrontation and dissent in a positive way to build toward consensus. If we used Erika’s process above, even a shorthand version, I believe we could facilitate reasonable discussion based in Unitarian Universalist values. (I Am UU, April 30)
As she watches her city government conduct public hearings, Katy Carpman notices a similar pattern of mistrusting leadership.
What would it take to really give our leaders permission to lead, to do the jobs we elected/ordained/hired them to do?
As a Unitarian Universalist, I am called to be in covenantal relationship. To respect the people around me, and to work with them. To begin with some assumption of good will. Egad, you mean I need to TRUST them? (Remembering Attention, April 30)
To learn more about Hewitt’s “Very Big Project,” as well as other new endeavors, watch this week’s episode of The VUU:
Racist jerks and systemic racism
Responding to this week’s story about LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling, Kim Hampton reminds us that there’s “nothing new to see here.”
America is America because of the labor of black bodies that have been used, abused, and despised all at the same time.
But here’s the dirty little secret nobody really wants to deal with . . . white liberals aided and abetted this. . . . America is constantly creative in its ways to make money off of the fear of, and the talent of, black bodies. (East of Midnight, April 28)
The Rev. Lynn Ungar points out that while Sterling may be a racist jerk, systemic racism is the real problem.
The real trouble with Donald Sterling only comes when those of us who are publicly appalled by his words think that sanctioning his offensive language has anything significant to do with combating racism. (Quest for Meaning, April 30)
A broken justice system
Responding to news of a botched execution in Oklahoma, the Rev. Bill Sinkford asks a series of questions.
When is state-imposed killing justified? When do we have the right to take a life?
As punishment for heinous crimes? . . .
Would our consciences be quieter if the execution had not been botched, if the sedatives had worked and the death appeared painless? (Rev. Sinkford’s Blog, May1)
Adam Dyer writes about the problem of prison sterilizations.
These sterilization practices reduce prisoners to the value or liability they represent to our economy. In a way, they are no different than slaves who were forced into sex to increase their owners worth with more children or to satisfy their selfish urges. Sterilization is an archaic instrument in the seemingly bottomless toolbox of oppression in the United States. (Spirituuwellness, April 29)
And more UU blogging
At the recent Pacific Central District Assembly, the Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern noticed her hotel’s misguided conservation efforts.
The hotel I stayed at last weekend has a sign assuring customers that they conserve water by drawing on their lake and their “private well” for their landscaping needs. (Sermons in Stones, April 30)
The Rev. Dan Harper posts the text of a recent talk about Unitarian Universalism’s mystical tradition.
The Transcendentalists and mystics in our tradition challenge us to think outside the Enlightenment box. They tell us: reasoning is not the only way of knowing the world; intuition is another way of knowing the world. And they tell us: if you wish to know, to really, really know the truth, be careful what you wish for . . . . (Yet Another Unitarian Universalist, April 29)
Peter Bowden directs us to a recent paper presented by Larry Ladd about the future of our theological schools. (UU Planet, April 28)
The Rev. Mary Wellemeyer reflects on her experiences in ministry with small, imperfect congregations.
Let us encourage these small congregations. It is not their fault that among us there are grudge-holders and people who believe the world revolves around themselves. The difficult people are ours, too, and the struggle to deal with them in wholesome, loving, ways is our struggle. (Open Road, April 27)