[CoC] Handouts & Recap: Multicultural Collaboration / De-centering Whiteness presentation

[Liza Earle-Centers]

Dear CoC members:

Thank you for being part of the CoC discussion on Tuesday evening.  For
those of you not present, with planning collaboration from Meredith Warner
I helped present the work the LSE committee has been doing this year
looking at traits of Multicultural Collaboration and how to Decenter
Whiteness in our work together as a congregation.  A request was made for
me to share the handouts outlining the traits/practices of White
dominant/white supremacy culture and those of a more inclusive,
collaborative model.

Jo Romano suggested that in April we take some time in the CoC meeting to
report back on any ways we've brought this up with our Committees, or ways
we've noticed these practices surfacing. So that's your assignment!  ❤☺

Recap below (if you weren't there) and handouts attached.

With gratitude,
Liza

We shared a clip of General Assembly last year, where the theme was "The
Power of We." The Sunday morning Worship focused on this theme with a
moving service. Click here if you want to watch it in it's entirely. (A
great way to get a better understanding of what Joan has been invited to
lead this coming June in Providence, RI! Rev. Marta Valentin
<https://www.uua.org/ga/past/2019/worship/sunday>. (Note: A viewing of
excerpts and a discussion of this worship service is happening *this
Sunday, 1/19, from 12:30-2:30 in the Fireplace Room*. Snacks provided, but
BYO lunch is encouraged.).

We watched this clip from Rev. Valentin's worship:

It is time now, for this great, delicate turning that we are engaged in.
For decades, we Black, Indigenous and People of Color have spoken up many
times about how exclusionary our faith can be, even as Unitarian
Universalism swears, we are the most inclusive. We have all said hard and
harsh things to one another in pursuit of that better, truly equal, truly
just, life-saving world we know can exist for ourselves and for seven
generations to come. And we.are.all.so.tired. All of us know we must do
better. But are all of us willing to be better?

My colleague Sofia Betancourt spoke this truth last year: “…we can never be
the bearers of love and justice that the world so desperately needs if the
foundation that sustains us is still perpetuating the very problems we long
to solve.”  ~Rev. Marta Valentin, GA Worship, 2019



definition of white supremacy culture - A set of institutional assumptions
and practices, often operating unconsciously, that tend to benefit white
people and exclude people of color (or others with traditionally less voice
/ power in our culture).


The LSE committee and also the UCM staff have looked at the list of
practices associated with white dominant culture, or white supremacy
culture.  We've done so with a goal of trying to see when we find these
unhelpful traits creeping into ourselves or our work together, and trying
to switch gears.  As an LSE committee this has become a priority in how we
work together. Here’s an example of when we started to fall into old
patterns, with several elements from the white supremacy critique, but
recalibrated when we noticed stress dominating the process, and chose a
different approach.

*White supremacy traits manifesting in the beginning (listed parentheses).*

At the LSE’s Committee end-of-year retreat last June there was a jam packed
agenda.  One of many pressing tasks was deciding on a replacement for
Children’s Parting song (paternalism in deciding what was best for the
kids/congregation). Both Worship and Arts and LSE committees decided
that singing
the changed lyrics against the composer’s wishes did not fit with our values.
Liza had rounded up options of alternatives used widely at other
congregations, with some input from Donia of the Music Committee (Dick was
on vacation that week) (individualism, power hoarding).  If the committee
could vote, Liza could get copies to the choir to have it in time for it to
be ready by the first services in September (sense of urgency). There was a
sense of anxiety with the packed agenda, and all that had to be discussed
and accomplished.  It seemed very important that the transition to the new
song be ready by September… but was it?


*A transition to a more multicultural, collaborative model (elements listed
in parentheses): *

We realized that it would be too much to fit in that evening’s agenda.  We
let go of our timeline (effective leadership more important than efficient
leadership). More time for this transition would allow Liza to to get more
people’s input on the songs we were choosing to put forward *(creation is
done in community)*.  We realized it was a rich opportunity to give the
children a voice and vote, since they rarely have that chance *(those most
affected by a decision make the decision)*. We could use the fall to fill
the congregation in on the process.  We suggested to the Worship and Arts
committee a placeholder song--"May the Longtime Sun Shine Upon You"-- while
we navigated the process with more calm and clarity and inclusiveness *(taking
more time in setting goals of inclusivity)*. We explained our process in a
Time for All Ages in September *(embrace discomfort, new ideas are a gift,
not a challenge)*.

Dick, Joan, Donia, Liza, and Eliza all helped narrow the options to three
songs (asking for help, collaboration). Last week the kids voted on the
song, tying into the theme of Integrity. The presentation and vote included
help from Members of Worship and Arts and the former members of LSE
committee in presenting the options *(asking for help, collaboration)*.
Theresa White, a teacher, helped navigate a way for the non-readers to
participate and vote *(take more time setting goals for inclusivity)*.
We’ll try this new one out for a few months after communicating with the
congregation via e-news. There’s even discussion that maybe we don’t have
ONE single Children’s Parting Song for the next 15 years, but that maybe we
bounce between a few that we are very fond of *(both / and thinking,
embrace complexity)*. Overall, a more inclusive and transparent process.


This is all one of my favorite areas of self-reflection and awareness
raising right now, so I'm happy to talk more with anyone around these
ideas.

Thanks,

Liza

-- 
*Liza Earle-Centers, Director of Lifespan Spiritual Exploration*
pronouns: she/her/hers
Unitarian Church of Montpelier
(802) 223-7861 ext. 2 -- ucm.dre at gmail.com
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