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Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Sunnyvale, California
Comments, Essays, and Sermons (Collection 1) |
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Notes on the Process for the Statement of Conscience
It is important to me and many other Unitarian Universalists that we affirm our inclusiveness even as we take clear congregational stands on issues of public concern. At UUFS we welcome diversity in age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, political opinions, and theological beliefs. We use the democratic process. We believe it is good to listen, and to reason together.
Here is the process the congregation followed for the resolution that was approved by a vote of members on Sunday afternoon, March 9.
We had begun discussing this issue at a Sunday forum in October. War veterans in the congregation offered their reminiscences of wartime at a forum the day before Veterans’ Day. In February we had a forum with a brief video taped interview of the journalist Chris Hedges discussing his book, "War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning." Sunday, March 2, my sermon was about war in general, about the plight of the people living under the Iraqi government, and about the arguments for and against U.S. military action.
Members of our Social Concerns Committee had been active in attending anti-war rallies and supporting activism to prevent U. S. military action in Iraq. They brought their concerns to the staff and trustees of the congregation. Staff served primarily as facilitators of the drafting of a resolution. We had two evening events in February: one was a worship-based time of speaking from the heart; a second was a session to review and revise a draft that a group of interested members had prepared.
We had a final discussion at a Sunday-morning forum March 2, in which members proposed various changes in language. We used straw polls to decide whether to move forward with various changes. The following Thursday our Board of Trustees considered the latest version of the draft and considered a few more changes. They voted, with one abstention, to propose the resolution to the congregation at the upcoming meeting. (The meeting for March 9 had been called in late February, as our bylaws state that 10 days’ advance written notice must be given to members for any business meeting. Our Bylaws also require that a proposed statement receive a 2/3 majority before we can permit use of the UUFS name in connection with a stand on a political issue.)
Over 60 people attended the congregational meeting on March 9. A few were friends of the church but not voting members. Voting members accepted some amendments to the document and declined to make other changes. The congregational president invited members to speak to the issue, whether they were in support of the statement or against it.
One member opposed the resolution publicly, and spoke eloquently about the need to keep faith with the men and women in our military, and the importance of enabling the country’s elected leaders to fulfill their constitutional roles of decision-making on military matters. Others responded that they do indeed support our troops. One member affirmed support of the troops along with opposition to the policies of the presidential administration, and a demand to bring the troops home or otherwise not put them at further risk through military action. One member raised a question (for discussion at a further occasion) about what our various opinions are about the use of military force in general, and in what cases we might consider that force would be useful and appropriate. Though speakers were limited to one minute each, there were only a handful of people who wanted to speak at this meeting. When no others asked for the floor, the president called for the vote. Votes were cast on secret ballot. As votes were counted, we sang a hymn and read aloud together the words of an American Universalist pioneer from the 1700s, Hosea Ballou.
The meeting had about twice the number of members required for a quorum; the bylaws call for at least 32 of the members in good standing to be present in order to conduct business. The vote was 58 yes, 2 no, and 3 abstaining. The meeting lasted about 45 minutes. The Social Concerns Committee was charged with disseminating the Statement of Conscience.
My personal goal was to ensure that this was a thorough process of deliberation. Moreover, my priority in facilitating the process was not so much to produce a document but to empower our members and friends to become more aware of the issues involved, and more conversant with the issues. I believe that we have learned as a congregation through the process. I appreciate the good will of all our members.
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Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Sunnyvale, California
Comments, Essays, and Sermons (Collection 1) |
Back to index |
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