To be up front - I do not think so and I think interpreting it that way is dangerous for our culture, especially in an American context, because it otherizes a lot of really great people.

I want to express that I think the gardening metaphor that UU ministers, UUA staff, and other leaders have been using lately is beautiful. There are many ways I have seen it riffed on and I have also been inspired in my own layperson ministry and philosophizing. However, I want to express a concern. People are not weeds. Let's not use the gardening metaphor to treat anyone like an unwanted thing to be tossed aside. There are many philosophies around gardening. There are beautiful, wild, and even healing plants that might not pair well with an aggressively farmed monocrop system. With a deep ecological view, every plant and every person has a place where they might best thrive. All have an inherent dignity worth preserving and protecting, even the disruptive ones. It's important to keep healthy and respectful boundaries with other people in our own lives and within our congregations, but I’m not sure how to communicate that well within the gardening metaphor. How would all of you communicate this within the gardening metaphor?

Hi everyone, I'm gathering material to maybe lead a lay-led service in a few months related to our topic for that month, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Some of the DEI training paradigms have become rather controversial. For those who might know more than me, can you point me to some good resources you are familiar with?

For example, I've read White Fragility and understand the controversy around that work. I have also found a program I personally think looks good, called Theory of Enchantment, but I haven't found any reviews of their programs yet. Anyway, thanks everyone. I'm looking for good quality information and I expect people in this conversation to keep a respectful tone toward those who disagree with them and keep opinions in the practical realm. Thanks in advance.

For anyone whose board (or congregation) hasn't reviewed amendments to Article II proposed by congregations, several still need a congregation or board to support them to make it. There are only 5 total that have been proposed. You can find two threads at discuss.uua.org. One thread has amendments that have not yet gotten enough support and the other thread has the ones that have. Please, they only need draft minutes from your board with approvals! Emails are provided for the contact people and they should be able to share with you forms to attach your minutes to.

More specifically, I'm wondering how many of you are excited about the ideas of Daniel Schmachtenberger, particularly what he has to say about emergence.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, here's a taste: https://civilizationemerging.com/media-old/emergence/

I just re-read the proposed Article II for UUA bylaws that will be voted on in the upcoming GA and I finally identified something that's been nagging at me. It emphasizes relationship with other people, but there's not much about relationship with ourselves or our inner worlds. I suppose that I persoanlly do get a lot of that from the Buddhist teachings my particular congregation brings in from time to time. Our congregation also has lay led homebrewed contemplative practices that are inspired by the six sources and beyond. However, is there much in the UU theological tradition itself that deals with our inner worlds (psychology, meditation practices, spirit/soul models, self-awareness, etc.)? It seems like there such a focus on other people in UUism generally and not much about developing ourselves. Is it just me that feels this way? I suppose the fire communion is an example, but even that practice is vague. My personal point of view is that our inner worlds greatly influence how we can show up with other people, so it's an important piece of the puzzle. I don't want dogma, clearly I'd be barking up the wrong tree with that, but what about theory on the level of "the interconnected web of which we all are a part"? The interconnected web is a profound theological concept in my opinion. Beside inherent worth & dignity (or inherent worthiness) what else do we have inside ourselves?

*Brave Souls