This is not the first time a member of this congregation has anonymously attacked a staff member. Rev. Leslie Takahashi recounts this event:

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1 A Message from REAL (UCE s Racial Equity Action and Leadership team): Recently a shocking racist incident occurred at a Unitarian Universalist church the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church (TJMC) in Charlottesville, Virginia. Read what happened, and how the recipient of the racism responded, and how the church itself responded. What does this mean for us at UCE? Might this kind of thing happen here? If it did how would we handle it? Do you think TJMC handled it well or would you have done something differently? What happened: Director of Administration and Finance, Christina Rivera, was doing her job, going through the mail that had accumulated over the weekend. Along with the bills and the solicitations there was a plain piece of paper which said, quit your whining. it s always about racism with you. you have a job to do do it. we went into debt for your full time and now you complain? your kids must be so proud at least they are just half and maybe they are learning from their dad. you should be thankful and get to working. Christina Rivera s response in her blog on the church website: The Talk of TJMC A Culture of Complicity Posted on March 3, 2018 Categories: Announcements Like every other Monday morning since I started at TJMC-UU in 2015, after our ministry staff team meeting I picked up my mail and sat at my desk to sort it. I came to the note towards the last. As I read the note, my breath stopped not like a metaphorical stop, it actually stopped. I couldn t breathe and at the same time I wanted to vomit. I must have made some kind of sound because Alex came out of her office and stood in my doorway and asked if I was alright. I could only hold my hand out in a stop motion so that she wouldn t come near me, I couldn t image anyone touching me in that moment. When I finally took a breath it was to begin a keening cry of rage, anger, hate, hurt and sorrow. In my mind I was desperate to know where my children were and remembered they were at school. I didn t know what to do; I couldn t stay at church and I didn t want that vile piece of paper in my hand so I took a picture of it, handed the note to Alex and asked her to get it to Wik. I ran from the building to my car and drove away. Do you feel it? Do you feel my humanity being stripped away in one quick motion? Do you feel a mother s terror at thinking this person who has hate in their heart for me knows my children? This is not the first time a member of this congregation has anonymously attacked a staff member. Rev. Leslie Takahashi recounts this event: In the winter of 2008, we were conducting a church-wide exercise in visioning and we asked people to send in their wishes/hopes/dreams. One was not signed and it said something like: My hope is that we never have to hear Leslie s (derogatory words) voice again. We raised it with the Board however their sentiment was that it was just one voice. That incident was part of our decision to move on because it was clear that there was not commitment to protect me as a minister of color. Glad to hear the Board has a different response today. In faith, Leslie

2 But let me be absolutely clear the congregation as a whole and individually are responsible for these types of racist attacks. Let me say it again, if you are reading this you bear some measure of responsibility for this attack. Because it is a congregational culture of white supremacy that made this person feel it was entirely appropriate to have these thoughts, had them affirmed and then acted out on them. This congregation is complicit in creating an atmosphere in which those thoughts and feelings thrive and were then born into action. And in the time I have been here, I have experienced a myriad of ways the congregation has exerted its white supremacy culture into my ministry. In the following examples I urge you NOT to focus, discuss, perseverate and try to form an opinion as to merits/demerits of each specific incident but rather look at how together they would contribute to a culture of complicity. How someone in the congregation being part of, or witnessing, these conversations would come to a place of comfort and affirmation in their racist thoughts about me. They would feel not only justified in thinking of me as less than but comfortable in expressing those thoughts in whatever way they thought appropriate. If you d like the link to the document explaining these categories of White Supremacy Culture you can find it here: Micro-aggressions: telling me I speak well without an accent, telling me that my sons Quinceañera is just like a Sweet 16 birthday party and then arguing with me when I said it is not, asking me where I m from and when I say Los Angeles replying no, where are you really from Perfectionism: Finance committee members feeling like they had less input into budget development when it was the same process, the only difference was I completed the draft budget rather than the former treasurer, a white male minister. Making a mis-assumption that I do not understand how to use Excel and then talking to others about that assumption before ascertaining if it is correct (it is not.) Staff rarely hearing about what we are doing right, only about when we are not living up to someone s perceived standard. Sense of Urgency: Questioning why calendaring request for events months in advance were not on the calendar with urgency. Every request for staff time comes with a sense that this must be our priority as well. That my requests that we consider how our participation in racial justice efforts in our community effect communities of color are met with we need to do this now, it is urgent we don t have time to be discerning, we have always done this project, we feel good doing this project. Defensiveness: when I have suggested that treatment of me has elements of racism it is met with but they didn t mean it like that. Staff and leadership spent enormous amounts of effort trying to make sure that individual members of the congregation wouldn t get upset about going to a Program Budget rather than being able to assume that those members would be curious and want to give something new a try to see where it could lead us. So much so that when I don t spend this time to make sure everyone will be ok, when I assume that leadership is what you want and what I should give, I am viewed to as too uppity, too full of myself. Worship of the Written Word: Last year I took vacation time accrued from when I first arrived, it was suggested that since I hadn t asked for the accrual to be documented that it was not proper to take the time. Such documentation had not been asked of other staff in similar circumstances. When I questioned why I alone on staff had an offer letter that eliminated the payout for medical benefit I was told the policy had been changed, but when a white colleague later challenged this for their own benefit, it was found that the policy had not been changed. It was the element that this potential policy change had not been written anywhere that led the discussion and hours/months were spent trying to research if/when the policy may have been changed. Once a decision was made to uphold the policy as written, another line in the policy is now under review and has put the decision on hold once again.

3 Either/Or thinking: We can either have a balanced budget or we can have a program sized church. We can either take care of our infrastructure or we can try to pay at the fair compensation guidelines. Chris can either work on Racial Justice or take care of her DAF duties. Chris can either spend time on denominational service or take care of TJMC. Power Hoarding: The tendency to use and view pledges as barometers of how a person views staff/leadership performance. The same small group of people have power whether or not they serve in direct leadership capacity. Criticism of my ministry from any of in this small circle has consistently set the tone for how others view my ministry. Fear of Open Conflict: Budget documents passed around at last year s Annual meeting that were unsigned and contained factual errors related to my performance. Objectivity: The idea that if we can t have specific measure of how the staff performs then our assessments are not valid. Being told that it is hard to do my assessment because leadership had to be careful about any criticism because it could be seen as racist. Right to Comfort: People of Color only seating section at Jesse Jackson made congregants uncomfortable, and because they did not understand it they tried to exert their right to comfort by seeking an immediate change to the seating plan rather than trust that I knew what was needed by our communities of color. Later I was told that this was reverse racism. I have appreciated your many notes, s, calls and messages of support and encouragement. Many of you reached out to say how glad you are that I am here, that my family and I are in your thoughts and prayers. I really appreciate all of those expressions AND I, WE people of color, need your BEHAVIOUR to change. Let me say it again, thoughts and prayers are lovely AND we need your BEHAVIOUR to change. And if you don t think any of the above behavior actually made a difference in the culture of white supremacy which led to me receiving that note, let me just challenge you to this just try it try and change your behaviour and let s see where that gets us. Set up an accountability circle, and decide on actual behaviours you are going to change and then check in with each other. When you are uncomfortable take a moment to check in with your circle. Maybe nothing will change and maybe everything will. So here are some behaviors we need to change at TJMC-UU to make a shift into a culture that embraces Anti-Racist Anti-Oppressive Multi-Culturalism (ARAOMC): You will not undercut my, or any staff s, ministry anymore. The time and effort we spend thinking about how you all are going to react to every level of decision making is exhausting and makes our entire congregation, and our ministry in particular, ineffective. We are going to assume that you are behind us all the way for EVERY decision we make. Because you called us to this ministry and we are finally going to take you at your word If you have a concern about our leadership, you will come to me (or Wik or Leia) directly, that s it no stopping off anywhere else on your way to us. If we cannot work it out, we will seek the help of an appropriate facilitator AFTER you have met with a clearness council which will help you work through your concern with an ARAOMC lens. But other than that, we are going to lead because that is why you called us. If, after participating in the process named above, you don t like where or HOW we are leading, you will need to leave the issue unresolved without undermining our leadership or leave or ask us to leave. We are going to fully fund the budget. If you are here you are all in. No more using your pledge like a weapon or an assessment of staff s performance. It is a pledge of your financial commitment to this church, its mission and our service in ministry. Because as long as we are

4 looking inward at our perceived scarcity we are not looking outward at work that needs to be done in the world. Everyone will make some stewardship commitment as able in their circumstance: Financial and/or Volunteering (RE, Buildings and Grounds, Worship, committee service, making a meal for staff, something!) Support the Board of Trustees as they navigate these new waters. Are you concerned that the Board isn t getting something done, ask how you can help rather than assume something nefarious is at work. Wondering about a decision? ask that person and then sit with the answer for at least a week. Or better yet take it to your accountability circle and discuss. Check in with the Board, how can you help support their leadership and success? What do they need? Bring at least one idea to the Racial Justice team about how we can be active in our community, directly supporting communities affected by mass incarceration and deportation. And then be prepared to not act on any of the ideas that you brought but support other ideas which might come from these communities. Why these communities? Because it s what we said we d do when we passed the Black Lives Matter public witness statement. Now is the time to act on that commitment. Celebrate our ministry (Board and Staff), this is a church, we are a people of a joyous noise! Let us AND THE CONGREGATION know when our work touches you spiritually, makes a difference in your life, the life of the congregation, or the community Affirm our decisions, even and ESPECIALLY when you are not sure about them Specific to me, your religious professional of color, this is LIBERATION THEOLOGY at work. Because of systemic racism and oppression, I start off from a place miles behind my colleagues. It will take your intentional amplification of my ministry just to bring me to the same starting point (equity) as my ministerial colleagues.and it always will. This is the work of dismantling white supremacy. And if you see yourself complicit in any of the above and right now as you are reading this you have already formed defensive thoughts.you will please STOP stop right now. Stop being defensive and start being CURIOUS. Curious about what grounds your defense, what cultural assumptions ground that defensive posture and then questioning again can you really support any change in the world with just thoughts and prayers? Because our Unitarian Universalist theology gives a resounding no to that question and if you are not prepared to change your behavior then it is time to think about whether you are here as a Unitarian Universalist or as a social club.

5 For the past 4 days as I walk by my office door, I have not be able to even pull out my mail. My hand starts to shake and my breath becomes ragged. As I walk into my office I try to tear my eyes away from looking at my inbox. I don t know what awaits me in there. I ve taken to asking another staff member to go through it, to make sure it is ok for me to see. I have had to change my behavior based on hate brought to me by this congregation. So I ask you again, as I have sacrificed my safety to be in community with you what are you willing to sacrifice what change are you willing to be in the world what discomfort are you willing to bear how will you change your BEHAVIOUR in order to work for our mutual liberation. Because anything less is keeping us in chains. In the words of Assata Shakur (featured on the wall of my office): It is our duty to fight for our freedom It is our duty to win We must love each other and support each other We have nothing to lose but our chains. YoUUrs in service, Christina Rivera Director of Administration and Finance TJMC response: The Mirror Has Been Held Up. Are We Brave Enough To Look? Posted on March 2, 2018 Categories: Ministers This is the text of the entire service held Wednesday evening, February 28, It was to have been a service celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of the Congregation there was to have been a time for families together, a community dinner, a service of celebration, and cake! A racist event which took place earlier in the week demanded a change of plans. Simply, how could we sit around together, eating cake, when something like this happened within, and from within, the very community we were to be celebrating? The celebration has not been canceled, but it has been postponed because congregational leadership recognized that what we really needed at this time was an honest look at what happened, and what it says about our community. [I will be reflecting on these themes further in my sermon this coming Sunday, March 4, 2018.] GREETINGS Good evening. This was to be a celebration of the anniversary of the founding of this congregation. But then, just three days ago, on Monday morning, our Director of Administration and Finance, Christina Rivera, was doing her job, going through the mail that had accumulated

6 over the weekend. Along with the bills and the solicitations there was a plain piece of paper which said, quit your whining. it s always about racism with you. you have a job to do do it. we went into debt for your full time and now you complain? your kids must be so proud at least they are just half and maybe they are learning from their dad. you should be thankful and get to working. Someone had had those thoughts about a member of our staff, a fellow Unitarian Universalist, about another human being, and that person apparently thought that it was okay to type those thoughts up, print them out, and place them, anonymously, into the mailbox on Chris door. It seems virtually certain that whoever did this is a member of the congregation, and it appears likely that they committed this undeniably and inexcusably racist act on Sunday. With the knowledge of this hateful incident swirling around us, this just doesn t seem like the time to be celebrating. Yet our history is not irrelevant to what s happening now. 75 years ago today 15 women and men declared that they wanted to be that they were a church. The woman who started it all by placing a classified ad in The Daily Progress had been told that it was unlikely a town as small as Charlottesville was then would be able to create and nurture a Unitarian congregation. She was, in fact, discouraged from trying to do this. Yet, as she said at the time in a letter to a friend, I am not easily discouraged and we can see what we can do. Carrie Baker was not easily discouraged, and throughout the 75 years of our existence this congregation has shown time and time again that we are not easily discouraged either. It hasn t always been smooth sailing there have been times when events in the wider world or right here in the congregation have caused real uneasiness and distress; times when the ordained minister or the lay leadership were taking the congregation in a direction not everyone wanted to go; times when support (financial and otherwise) dropped off precipitously; times when even beloved members felt the need to break off their connection to this place and these people; times when we have disappointed one another, hurt one another, damaged one another and it seemed that the fabric of the community was being damaged, too perhaps damaged beyond repair. Yet in looking back over the history of this congregation it is clear that while we have no doubt been discouraged more than a few times, we have yet to be so discouraged as to truly give up on one another. WORDS OF WELCOME Adam Slate, the President of our Board of Trustees, likes to say that he looks at this church as a family. What we witnessed this week is not how families is not how healthy families behave. It s not who we say we are, or want to be. Each Sunday morning we say with one another Words of Welcome that are intended to describe the kind of community we wish to be, a community that, as I often say, welcomes all who would work to make this a world in which all are welcome. So I d invite us to say those words together now: Whoever you are, Whomever you love, However, you express your identity;

7 Whatever your situation in life, Whatever your experience of the holy, Your presence here is a gift. Whether you are filled with sadness, Overflowing with joy, Needing to be alone with yourself, Or eager to engage with others, You have a place here. We all have a place here. We all are welcome here. LIGHTING THE CHALICE We kindle a flame of power, illuminating the Holy in each of our faces. We recognize in the flame a passionate commitment to our shared faith. We are held and carried from day to day, week to week, in the shining of the light. This flame is mine, as well as yours. We are brought together on this day, called to growth, to expansion, within its glow. What does your heart know while beholding this holy fire? ~ Adrian L.H. Graham I invite you to think about that question as James plays our Prelude, to think about what your heart knows while you behold this holy fire here tonight. PRELUDE REFLECTION In the first sermon delivered here, in the then brand-new building, the Rev. Malcolm Sutherland said this: You are invited to draw your attention to the fact that in all its simplicity and its beauty, this building is not a church. It was designed to serve a church. It was designed to make more effective a church. It was designed to inspire a church. But it is not a church. You are the church. [ ] So we are not opening a church this morning.. We are opening a home for our church. This physical home is fully worthy of our highest aspirations. The question is simply can we prove ourselves worthy of our new home? If it is to be a beautiful church as beautiful as its home it will be because you are living beautiful lives. And how we need beauty today: there is ugliness and distortion enough. How we need beauty today: there is ugliness and distortion enough.

8 He said in that first sermon that to be a church worthy of this beautiful home we would need to be strong, significant, courageous, fearless, and devoted. In his last sermon here he said that the congregation needed to ask itself (as each of us individually needs to ask ourselves, he was quick to point out): Why is it so damned hard to live up to and out from our values? Again and again, he returned to the question, Why don t we? Why don t we do the things we know we should do? Why aren t we being the kind of people we know we want to be? Why don t we take the kind of risks we know our faith calls us to? Why don t we really, deeply trust each other more than we do? Why don t we recognize how much we, ourselves, have to change, instead of focusing so much of our attention on the ways other folks are falling short? I m not even necessarily talking about the big things here. The obvious things. The things we can justifiably say we are doing, or which we can honestly say simply aren t possible for us to do. I m really talking about all of the little ways we betray ourselves, betray our values, don t do the something that we could have done. Why don t we do those things? But all of these questions really boil down to one: Why don t we live our faith? I don t know how any of you would respond to that question, but I know that I am chastened, humbled. And I know that it really gets real when I stop myself from asking these questions of the vague we and, instead, force myself to ask them only of myself. Why don t I? Because it s easier not to. Why don t I? Because I already feel overstretched, and my life can be hard enough as it is. Why don t I? Because I figure someone else is going to do it, and it s not really my problem. Why don t I? Because I m not so bad, right? I mean, other people are a lot worse than me look at those guys over there! Why don t I? Because I m afraid that I ll be rejected somehow if I do. Why don t I? Because I m comfortable the way things are, and I know I know that if I do I ll be less comfortable. Why don t I? That s a question worth pondering. The last words of Malcolm s last sermon to this congregation were the question: Why don t we?. The person who anonymously wrote and then delivered that hateful (and hate-filled) message to Chris has done something reprehensible and they dragged Christina s two incredible boys and her lovely husband into it. What this person did is inexcusable, and I cannot say clearly or forcefully enough that such behavior will not be tolerated can not be tolerated if we re who we say we are. The person who sent that message has placed themselves so far outside the boundaries of our covenant that I can t imagine how they can say the words Beloved Community, or inherent worth and dignity, without bursting into flame because of the blaspheme of their hypocrisy. Yet I need to say with equal clarity and conviction that the rest of us are not without responsibility for what happened this week. Each of us, all of us and I do mean us, myself no less than anyone else, maybe even more so because of my role here we all have to recognize our complicity, because some how we have allowed a climate, an atmosphere, an environment to exist in which something like this can happen. A climate in which one of us could believe this violent racist act was okay. What happened this week is the most egregious, yet it s not the only example of what we have allowed to grow in our community. I talked several weeks ago at some length in my sermon

9 about how upset some members of the congregation were about my January report to the Board. I shared that several of the people who were upset had contacted the Board and/or the Committee on the Ministry to share their feelings, as well they should have. You may or may not know, however, that someone else created an anonymous account, and then sent an anonymous , seemingly for the express purpose of directing a select group of congregants to check out that report, and then, after sending that , immediately closed the account. Let me be clear the anonymous nature of this act was not okay. Sharing my Board report and encouraging others to read it fine. Essential to the honest life of our community, actually. It s doing so anonymously, having no accountability and taking no responsibility that is what s out of covenant. People expressed their dismay over this person s behavior, of course, yet it really shouldn t have been too surprising. We think it unfortunate, yet accept, that there are groups of congregants who get together informally to talk with each other about their concerns and complaints. They do this outside of any committee or leadership structure which is why these have often been called parking lot conversations. And because they do this offline, as it were, there is no accountability to the larger congregation. None of this is secret, yet no one calls them back into covenant and they are out of covenant because they rarely, if ever, actually try to reach out to the people they re concerned or complaining about. Please make no mistake, we give this behavior our tacit approval each time one of us says that we really wish this kind of thing wasn t happening but we engage in it ourselves or see others doing it, and do not say directly and forthrightly that such behavior is out of covenant, that it s not constructive, that it s destructive and has no place in our Unitarian Universalist community. Please hear that I am not saying any of this to divide us, to make this about any kind of us and them. My goal, instead, is quite the opposite I m saying what I m saying because I want to help us be more unified, with a clearer and deeper understanding of just what it means, and just what it takes, to be who we say we are and want to be. That s my job here. So I m going to take this a little further, knowing that I ll upset some people. (Knowing that I already have.) We show our tacit approval of anonymous notes in people s mailboxes every time we insist that members of the congregation must have the option of giving feedback anonymously in surveys, questionnaires, and communications with the Committee on the Ministry. I ve heard the argument that some people are afraid to attach their name to their opinions, that they won t feel comfortable or safe if they have to sign their name. But if that s really the case, our community has much greater problems than whatever it is the person s complaining about. If we have not created a community in which people know that it s safe to express themselves, no matter who they disagree with; a congregation in which we hold one another and want to be held, ourselves accountable for our behavior; in which we can be clear that there are things antithetical to our values and our visions, that not everything is welcome then we have created a community in which someone can feel okay about leaving an anonymous note that a Klansman would be proud to have written in the mailbox of one of our staff members. Back in Divinity School I learned that the Biblical word Christians translate into English as sin is actually seven or eight words, each with its own meaning. One is, sitting down when I should

10 have stood up, and I know that I am guilty of that. And I ll say without hesitation or apology, that I know everyone else in here is, too. Can anyone honestly say that they have never let pass a racist joke, or some behind-their-back gossip, or some subtle or not-so-subtle bullying behavior, or someone shutting someone else down, or any other kind of behavior that you knew was not what we d be doing as a community if we were at our best? If we re really honest with ourselves, how can we not recognize that we all share culpability? I am sure that some of you may be feeling castigated, attacked, reprimanded and chastised. I understand because remember, I ve also been talking to and about myself this whole time. I haven t laid anything on any of you that I haven t also laid on myself. And even as I m saying this I m feeling uneasy and a little bit defensive. But I have learned that sometimes maybe even often the umbrage we feel when someone points out our flaws and failings is an incredibly effective deflection device. I get angry at you for saying harsh things about me rather than taking the opportunity to listen with an open mind and heart, and then to ask myself, deeply and sincerely, if there might be any truth in what you ve said. Oh, that s hard. That s really, really hard. It is so much easier to just write you off. But we can t write this off, friends. Our covenant doesn t call on us to be so kind to one another that people believe even unconsciously that they can get away with saying or doing just about anything. Our covenant calls us, as Malcolm Sutherland said that first morning in this space, to be strong, significant, courageous, fearless, and devoted to the values and visions of our faith. A mirror has been held up for us to look at ourselves. My questions is whether we are brave enough to look at what it shows us. A TIME OF SILENCE, CANDLES, AND SAND There is no question the work of building Beloved Community is hard. It s dirty. It s bruising. We ll hunger and thirst. Yet it is the work we have committed ourselves to doing; it s the work we have been called on to do. But it does not work we can do in the head alone, and there have been a lot of words tonight (and there are still a few more to come). So why don t we now, as we do each Sunday, take a time for silence, a time for letting go of the words, letting go of the thoughts, and getting down into the feelings. After a time I will invite the chime to sound, and some of us may feel the urge to come forward to light Candles of Hope and Remembrance or write in the Sands of Forgiveness and Atonement. Others may choose to stay right where you are now, continuing to hold the silence and the stillness in your body as well as your heart. Through all of this, James will play, and when this time is done, we will move directly into singing together the hymn so many feel as a prayer, #123, Spirit of Life. HYMN: #123, Spirit of Life LITANY: THE PROMISE THAT BINDS (By Viola Abbitt) About a month ago we joined with Unitarian Universalist congregations around the country in designing our worship experience so that the voices of black Unitarian Universalists were

11 centered, so that the experiences of black Unitarian Universalists could be heard, without comment or qualifiers, without interpretation, within the discomfort which that caused for many of us us UUs who identify as white who d never experienced our faith in those ways. Who d never imagined that it could be experienced in those ways. Many of us left that service stunned, saddened, and unable to un-see or un-hear what we d heard and seen that morning. One of the elements of that service was a litany written by Viola Abbitt which she calls The Promise That Binds. I would note that there are three different responses in your Order of Service. Each is subtly different, and those differences are important. (We ll say the first response several times, and I ll give you a visual clue when it s time to change to the second, and then to the third.) Loving inclusion has been an elusive goal within our congregations. together, should have been enough to bind us together in love. Many hearts have been, and often continue to be, broken, time and again. together, should have been enough to bind us together in love. The names of many of those of us who helped to make this denomination great were erased, their existence forgotten. together, should have been enough to bind us together in love. The pulpits and pews which should have been warm and welcoming, were instead sometimes cold and unforgiving. together, should have been enough to bind us together in love. People who were considered pillars in their communities, were sometimes considered pariahs within the walls of our congregations. together, should have been enough to bind us together in love. Many of us straddle two worlds: one of filiation and one of faith. together, should be enough to bind us together in love. Our beauty is that we are all different, and yet not different from one another. None of us should be considered exceptions, nor should we be subjected to baseless assumptions. together, should be enough to bind us together in love. The future of this faith is reliant on and belongs to all who embrace religious liberalism. Let us never forget that

12 together, is enough to bind us together in love. OFFERING If we really want to make a difference, if we really want to see real change so that we can become who we know we need to be as individuals, as congregations, and as a movement then we need to not only appreciate those who have for far too long been marginalized members of our communities, we have to actively support them. Our offering tonight and again this Sunday, as well will be dedicated to helping a newly formed organization within our Unitarian Universalist Association: the Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism Organizing Collective. As a national ministry for and by black-identified Unitarian Universalists, BLUU embodies a liberating community of all ages. A community that lifts up the lives, and stories and the leadership of those who have been marginalized and silenced. A community that brings hope, when hope is hard to find. And a community that calls us to wrestle with the gap between our theology and our practice in the world. In October of 2016, the UUA Board of Trustees made a bold $5.3 million commitment to fund black leaders in Unitarian Universalism, and to support ministry to black-identified Unitarian Universalists. In the late 1960s, our Association was asked to take steps to address the silencing and marginalization of Black Unitarian Universalists. Though there was an initial affirmation of this commitment, it ultimately went unfulfilled and the promise was broken. This commitment of the UUA Board is, in part, an attempt to fulfill that promise. Tonight, I am asking you to help fulfill this promise. This effort needs your help. Please be as generous as you can. DEDICATION OF THE OFFERING We accept these gifts with gratitude. May we use them wisely, and for the highest good. HYMN: #1, May Nothing Evil Cross This Door BENEDICTION & EXTINGUISHING THE CHALICE Each Sunday our Benediction begins, Go out into the world in peace. But I can t say that tonight. Dr. King said that there are some things to which we all should be maladjusted. So Go out into the world maladjusted. Have courage. Hold on to what is good. Return to no person evil for evil, strengthen the fainthearted, support the weak, help the suffering, and be who you know you should be, and help us be who we know we should be. There is so much ugliness and distortion in the world. Blessed Be. POSTLUDE This came to one of us, from one of us. We MUST do better! Pax tecum, RevWix