Blogging Again in 2010

It rhymes!   “blogging again in twenty-ten“.  After some consideration, great poetry performances at New Portland’s Colored Pencils, several nice sermons, and a year settled in my new community organizing, it feels like the right time to start blogging again.  We’ll be in the Philippines soon, a great place to spa and reflect on the calling, the work, and the future.

I went from typepad ($$$) to wordpress (free!), although I think I lost like 3 years of posts.  Ahh well, why save stuff, seems like Google has a program for that, or Apple has an app for it.  Eventually.  So stay tuned, for the 10 of you left who actually check this old blog!

DRUUMM and Congregations

Editor blank content page// While people of color are inspired by the liberating messages of Unitarian Universalism, congregational life often does not reflect diverse worldviews or cultural practices.  Often congregations are not committed to the justice struggles of communities of color.  This can leave people of color feeling invisible and isolated.  For many members, participating in DRUUMM enhances their congregational experience and empowerse them to work for racial justice and cultural inclusion in their home church.  For others, DRUUMM may be their primary place of Unitarian Universalist religious expression. (from new DRUUMM Brochure)

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Congratulations to New UUA President

Tonight at 8pm Mountain Time, the Secretary of the Association Paul Richter will announce the new UUA President. The era of Bill Sinkford is officially over.

Laurel Hallman is the clear front runner, and it will be little surprise if she wins tonight with 55% of the vote. She has the money and the endorsements, much of it lined up well before officially declaring, scaring away other potential candidates. Laurel is the status quo candidate, and in our small “family-style” faith, has the bulk of major rich, leaders of influence and access, and UUA support. Key money and organizational people behind at least the last 3 UUA Presidents, are behind Dr. Hallman. She’ll be a fine president.

A Rev. Morales victory will deeply and gently unsettle the traditional powers of the UUA. With fewer endorsements and resources, Morales has benefited from a crisp vision. It will be the biggest upset and most significant change institutionally should he win the UUA Presidency.

I look forward to congratulating the new leader of our association, and also reading the financial disclosure report! More on that later.

UU Murdered in Philippines

Lee Boeke Burke, UU Partner Church coordinator for the Philippines, sent around this tragic news.  Rev Nihal Attanayake, one of my mentors and staff for the UU Church of the Philippines wrote this public letter about the death of Arlyn Barotag, mother of two and pregnant who was murdered last week.  Her UU congregation is a member congregation of the UUA.

Discussing Transracial Adoption

Adoption Mosaic, a new advocacy and education organization based in Portland, OR, continues to flourish under the able leadership of co-founder Astrid Dabbeni.  Unique within the adoption world as a non-adoption provider non-profit that works extensively with families, adoptees, and prospective parents with a racial justice framework, I’ve had the honor of speaking several times as part of their ongoing workshops on transracial adoption.

There is a new Adoption Mosaic Blog where you can discuss the issues further.  Check it out!

Immigrant Leadership Grows in Portland

Yesterday the signature project of the Community Development Program I coordinate at IRCO (Immigrant Refugee Community Organization-Portland) – ENGAGE – held its graduation at City Hall.  Mayor Sam Adams, Commissioner Amanda Fritz, IRCO Executive Director Sokhom Tauch joined 36 people of color/immigrants and refugees who completed an intensive 4 month leadership training.

UUA Presidential Election 2009

The Unitarian Universalist Association is electing a new President this month, and the politics are heating up to the point that I’m breaking out of my non-blogging phase. For 10 years and through one major election, I worked for the UUA and so technically had “no opinion”, which makes sense. Now I’ve been out of the system since Dec 2007 at which time I was ordained and moved back into community ministry in my hometown of Portland, Oregon.  Here is my brief, from the gut, two cents.  I’m sure I could write something far more nuanced, but it is after midnight and I’ve got three kids to wake up tomorrow, and a taiko performance to prepare for.

The election appeared for almost a year to be a coronation of the singular candidate, Laurel Hallman, a wonderful preacher and large church minister in a suburb of Dallas, TX. I have really never met Rev Hallman formally, and have mixed feelings about her given the unfortunate and inappropriate behaviors of her congregation during the last of the Young People of Color Leadership Development Conferences and significant youth and young adult anti-racism/anti-oppression ministrys. Some of this is documented in the UUA’s Special Commission Report of 2006, although I believe it really missed the mark with respect to the root causes and recommendations.  One fact that has stayed with me is the eiree silence of Rev Hallman on the events publicly, that underscores a concern of mine – her readiness to minister in a multicultural world and understand the experiences of people of color within Unitarian Universalism.  Laurel strikes me as an amazing pastoral care (not sure about communities of color/immigrant and refugees) and administrative professional.

Peter Morales jumped in the race late, and was virtually a guerilla candidate.  Nearly all the powers that be have lined up against him, particularly what I would categorize as the status quo.  There is a nice diversity of anti-racism activists and ministers who are split between the two candidates, including people of color.  But all in all, the money and powerful UUA players are in the Laurel Hallman camp.  I have known Peter since the days when he wrote the original letter calling together religious professionals of color – a group that became DRUUMM in 1998.  Peter had some serious conflicts, some direct and some indirect within these communities due to what I viewed as miscommunication and a difficultly in finding common ground on an anti-racist analysis that honored diverse people of color experiences.  I honestly have always found Peter to be very candid, a refreshing personality within what is often a challenging and frustrating UU culture.  He is not perfect, is willing to experiment, and also be honest about failures.

I’ve chosen to endorse Peter for UUA President, particularly after talking with several trusted colleagues and Peter himself.  Most of my closest collegial friends in the ministry are actually supporting Laurel Hallman.  What was most interesting to me is that all had the same reasons – that they were asked by another trusted colleague, most commonly Wayne Arnason.  None of them had a clear enough reason for me to support Laurel, and frankly the social justice ministry as well as ethical conduct of UUA power players is what I am most interested in during this upcoming election.  Peter to me is the best candidate for the job.

Twittering and Facebook Take Over Blogging

I just don’t have the energy to blog these days! I get to Facebook more given the privacy and the ability to also engage in community organizing and work. Now, I’ve been convinced to start Twittering (radicalhapa). We’ll see what becomes of this blog…

Build a Columbia Smart Bridge!

There has been an ongoing policy advocacy struggle in the Portland-Vancouver metro area over replacing the aging Interstate Bridge that crosses the Columbia River. I’m a resident who lives blocks from both the Interstate Freeway, and a mile from the river. The current plans are terrible, calling for an expansion to a 12 lane freeway, without quality mass-transit and other congestion tools.

A colleague at the Coalition for the Livable Future shared this Letter to the Editor:

Anna Griffin’s Saturday column dismisses the thousands of hours that citizens have dedicated to thoughtfully shaping the Columbia River Crossing by likening their work to keying a Hummer. Car keying is vandalism. Healthy civic debate is democracy.

“Try leaving a Prius brochure on the window instead” concludes Griffin. Many of us have been doing this very thing for over four years. Coalition for a Livable Future is calling for a Climate Smart CRC, one that will stabilize the amount we drive at or below today’s levels so that we can avoid consequences from global warming pollution. Smarter Bridge, a group of concerned citizens, has proposed another idea. Both are suggesting that we fix the problems in the crossing, while also recognizing that every investment we make with our limited resources must prepare us for a sustainable future. Unfortunately, no matter how you spin it, a twelve lane CRC is not a healthy choice for our region.

–

Jill Fuglister
Co-Director
Coalition for a Livable Future
107 SE Washington, Ste. 239
Portland, OR 97214
Voice: 503-294-2889
Fax: 503-225-0333
Web: www.clfuture.org
Are you a CLF member? Join now and help connect people, organizations and issues for a sustainable and healthy Portland-Vancouver region.

Third Time Is a Charm? – Ministers of Color Meet in Atlanta

For the third consecutive year, the UUA through the Identity Based Ministries Staff Group is hosting a gathering of Religious Professionals of Color. Specifically fellowshipped ministers, seminarians who have reached candidate status, and DRE’s. Over the last three years, about 40 folks have participated each year, but probably around 60 total have come at least once.

I’m heading out tomorrow to join colleagues from across the country for a weekend of reflection and spiritual work. The space has not been utilized yet for strategic long-term organizing as a community, but there is a good level of relationship building and information gathering that is helpful to that purpose. This gathering returns full circle to the gatherings that happened in the mid-1990’s that resulted in the formation of DRUUMM, the UU People of Color organization in 1998. When I was convening an informal (and now formal) network of UU Seminarians of Color, we consistently advocated for this gathering to be re-established. It is exciting to see the ongoing commitment and facilitation by the UUA, particularly Rev. Sofia Betancourt. Hopefully Third Time is a Charm, and regardless of the UUA Presidential Election.