Dear UUCPA folks,
Something we see if we stick around a congregation long enough is that groups like our small groups arise, struggle, thrive, and end in ways that are very natural and often–though not always–predictable. Two women perceive a need for a women’s group, promote an initial meeting, and get such an enthusiastic response that they launch three groups (thank you, Gloria, Shannon, and everyone else who has made those happen!). Several couples begin a Circle Diners program and it goes on for years, until gradually, the number of people who can host dwindles, and the organizers let it go to its graceful end. An Empty Nest group begins for parents whose children have left home or are soon to leave, and other parents begin Spiritual Adventures in Parenting. One movie group fades away, and a few years later, another begins.
One group whose natural end has come is our Dismantling White Supremacy group. At its peak, it met twice a month and often had a dozen attendees; in recent months there have only been one or two attendees. It’s clear that the issue is not a lack of passion for social/environmental justice work, because there are so many former attendees who are still very engaged in working for a better world. If anything, people are feeling that there’s an overabundance of pressing issues, which is not surprising. Many of these issues, such as immigration and housing, are directly related to race and racism.
My only concern in letting this group fade away is that I want to make sure that those connections are very clear. White supremacy–the valuation of white people’s lives and worth over others–is intimately, often foundationally involved with the other issues that pull on our sleeves for attention. In fact, I would say that if the United States addressed white supremacy head on, many of our other social and environmental ills would be greatly reduced. But as a country, we have repeatedly avoided addressing it, with devastating results for people of all races, both within and beyond our borders.
So on the dates that we would have held Dismantling White Supremacy sessions, May 13 and June 10, I am going to speak to those connections. Call them two extra sermons, delivered on two Tuesday evenings. The one coming up this Tuesday, May 13, is focused on how we got here, to this critical and frightening point in our country’s history. It has everything to do with white supremacy. And then on June 10, I’ll address what this history tells us about where we can go from here.
I hope you can join me! And whatever you do to “tend to our world,” whether it brings you to these sessions or not, may you and your efforts be blessed.
Peace,
Amy