A Committment to Urban Ministry
1981 Business Resolution
WHEREAS, the bylaws of the Unitarian Universalist Association state that the Association exists in part to "affirm, defend and promote the supreme worth and dignity of every human personality," and recognizing that poor and minorities residing in urban areas are currently the victims of displacement, racial violence, and poverty; andWHEREAS, the 1978 General Assembly urged the Department of Ministerial and Congregational Services to serve the special needs of center-city societies and that the Board of Trustees appointed an Urban Concerns Advisory Committee; and
WHEREAS, the administration of the Association has endorsed and supported an Urban Church Coalition and its goals, and a Section of Extension staff person is assigned to work with the Coalition and with urban societies; and
WHEREAS, our societies are now overwhelmingly located in communities whose locale makes it more difficult for their members to be in touch with those most deeply affected by social oppression; and
WHEREAS, as a racial audit of the administration of the Association was conducted, the next logical step is to address the issue of racial exclusivity in our movement;
BE IT RESOLVED: That the 1981 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association urges that:
- A task force on Urban Ministry be established in the Department of Ministerial and Congregational Services which would examine the training for current religious professionals and those preparing for ministry as that training relates to services for urban societies and establish an affirmative action program for the recruitment of minorities as religious professionals;
- The Ministerial Fellowship Committee examine its regulations for Fellowship for their impact on urban ministry;
- Our member societies establish an Annual Urban Ministry Sunday to celebrate urban and suburban church cooperation, pointing to the needs of urban societies, and take a special collection for urban projects;
- Urban churches demonstrate cooperation through their own efforts within local metropolitan areas;
- The Section of Extension and the Urban Church Coalition develop and distribute materials to aid existing urban societies to attract members of minority groups and the poor;
- The Section of Extension devise programs for establishing new urban societies which will attract congregations of diverse racial and economic composition.
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Last updated on Wednesday, August 24, 2011.
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