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Hey, everyone. I'm Reverend Dr. Megan Foley. I'm the regional lead for the Central East Region. I'm so excited to be able to have an opportunity to ask a very important question of Paula
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Cole Jones, the founder of the 8th Principle project, along with Bruce Pollack-Johnson.
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As you know, Paula, we're about to have an afternoon event in the Central East Region because so
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many of our congregations have really been impacted by your work, and our event is about as
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we're calling it "So, You're Working on the 8th Principle." It's an opportunity for
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our congregations to take a look at where they are in their 8th Principle work, if
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they're doing it. They might be approaching anti-oppression work in another way. But if
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they're doing it this way, where they are in that and learn from each other about their
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next steps. But because we're also in the build-up to the Article II commission work and the
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draft is out and you're heavily involved in that. I really wanted to honor
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a question that we've been getting from our congregations sometimes, which is: What's
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the relationship between the 8th Principle and the proposed Article II covenants when
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the current draft doesn't even have principles, so there's no number eight. There's no
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opportunity for number eight. How do you see all of that work coming together?
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The concrete question we often get is: Is there any point in passing the 8th Principle
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if the whole thing's being revised anyway?
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First of all, I want to thank everyone who has worked hard in their
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local congregations to adopt the 8th Principle. And not just congregations. There are other
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organizations, like UUs for Social Justice and the UU Maryland Legislative Ministry--
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all of the organizations that are related to Unitarian Universalism and our UU congregations.
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I want to really express my appreciation for the work that you all have done. So much has
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happened in the last few years around everything, but we've gained so much momentum around the
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8th Principle and we attribute it all to you, to those of you who are working. I also
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want to thank those who are in conversation about it and considering adopting the 8th
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Principle and I want to encourage you to keep on going. The 8th Principle and Article
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II. First, let me talk a little bit about the relationship between the two. The 8th
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Principle was written in 2013. We started talking--in fact, you may have been at that
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first CUUMA meeting in 2013--where I had an opportunity to present to ministers the 8th
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Principle. It's interesting because there seemed to be a lot of excitement, but we did
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not get our first adoptions until four years later in 2017. So part of what I want to build
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here is the relationship between the 8th Principle and Article II. In 2017, we introduced
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it nationally at the General Assembly and there was another proposed change to our principles--
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to the first principle. Those two proposed changes together were actually very timely
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because it was time for the Association to take its periodic review of our Article
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II, which is where our principles, sources, the freedom of belief and inclusion clause and
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purpose of our Association are all housed there. So it was time for that process to happen
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again. Our request to consider the 8th Principle was part of the catalyst for setting
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the Article II process in motion. That's one connection between the two. And in the
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charge that we received, the Article II Study Commission was asked to look at, to consider
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the 8th Principle, which we certainly did. The 8th Principle is a local, grassroots
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movement that has been underway since 2013. And, if we really want to be truthful,
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we have a whole history even before the 8th Principle was named 8th Principle and put
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in writing. From 2013 to 2017, then we're constantly doing grassroots groundwork
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and we begin to see our adoptions taking place in 2017. Now we are looking at the proposed
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changes to Article II. We have to continue laying our groundwork. First of
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all, let me say that the proposed changes to Article II will not be finalized if everything
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goes
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according to some of our hopes, let me put it that way. I don't know quite the language to
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use. But it wouldn't be finalized until General Assembly 2024. Then it still takes
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time before things like that get full acceptance and implementation. So the 8th Principle
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is an ongoing, local, grassroots process that actually has been building momentum towards
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supporting the changes to Article II. It's work that we should continue doing, not
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pause because we think something else is happening. When congregations adopt the 8th Principle
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locally they have the 8th Principle. So whatever is happening around them, whatever
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is happening at the congregations that are close by, whatever is happening nationally,
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you will have the 8th Principle as a guide. The more congregations that do that, the
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more we ensure that Unitarian Universalism will be moving forward in terms of change.
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And it's interesting, because I say "moving forward," but the 8th Principle just really
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reflects work that we've been doing. We've been doing this work for years, but we have
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not centralized it and the 8th Principle puts it at the center. It says this should
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be a part of congregational life and not work that's just left to a social justice committee.
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So, keep going with the grassroots movement, continue to adopt the 8th Principle, continue
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to figure out what it means to live the 8th Principle. As Article II opportunities come
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around--I know many of you have been involved in the feedback sessions, which we've been
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doing. We've gotten a lot of feedback since we started working publicly.
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We are now processing that and doing whatever final changes to our draft before we submit to the Board, which will take place in January of 2023. The Board will bring a version
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of whatever the the final massaging is. They will bring it to General Assembly
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of 2023 this June for a vote by the assembly and if it passes by the majority, then it will
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come back around in 2024 for another vote. We are really as an association at very
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early stages of institutionalizing this work. We have so much to learn. It's like you could
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take the 8th Principle and then just start to look at everything in your congregation
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differently. That will take time. Even as we propose changes, it's one thing
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to put it in writing, it's another to try to live it to see if what you are imagining
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can actually be daily practice. So we're in a growth curve, in a learning curve right
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now and that's a good place to be. It's part of the change process, right? So,
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keep working at the 8th Principle, what it means to adopt it. Now, one of the questions
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that we need to answer is: So, we've done this work to adopt an 8th Principle and the proposed changes to Article II will no longer list seven or eight principles. It can be confusing. So what do we do with that? Everything that you are doing right
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now to live out the seven principles, the 8th Principle to better understand and apply them,
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it's the same work that we will be doing as we move into a new Article II. Article II really
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does not throw anything out. It encompasses all that we've already had. It strengthens,
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we think, our covenant with the Association and between congregations. It's
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very important for people to come to a better understanding of the relationship between
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congregations. The 8th Principle is so in the changes to Article II! I think about
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it because there were some people early on that said well the 8th Principle
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should be the preamble to the principles or this is the only one that we really need.
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There were a lot of different ways of looking at it. The Board was hoping
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that it would be more infused and not just an add-on at the end. So people had
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a lot of different thoughts about it. I have said all along that it's not likely to be
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an 8th Principle when it gets to the national level. We knew that it would be rewritten.
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I said it's not likely to be an 8th Principle, but it will definitely be in there. And I can
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say to you, it is definitely in there. So I see it may not be a smooth transition, but
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I see it as a real transition. I can't imagine any better way for us to be working right
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now in anticipation of the changed Article II. We are moving. We are moving collectively
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in that direction. That doesn't mean every one or every congregation. That's okay.
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But many of us are moving together collectively in the direction of
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that space that Article II is holding. So it's not either-or. If there ever were a time to
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think about both-and, this is that time. If you need a real life example of both-and, this
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is that time. So whether we come out in a stronger place whichever way the final
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vote goes because we are doing the work. Of course Article II asks for more than just the
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work that we're doing with the 8th Principle. But I would say to people give it some
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time, go back and re-read the 8th Principle, reread Article II--the proposed changes. Go back
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and read some of our resolutions. You know our resolutions have been almost like--I
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think of them sometimes almost as stepping
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-stones or rungs on a ladder about what we say really matters to us at that time. They're powerful and if you look at those resolutions
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together, they are powerful. So what we've tried to do is to try to kind of capture some of
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what we've been learning over the last several decades. Yeah. I feel good about it,
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but I guess I'm biased.
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Well, thanks so much for answering my question and questions of those who might be at our conference. It's great to hear your take on it for sure. I appreciate the evolutionary
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process that we're all creating together. So, yeah. This is a real exciting time
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I think for Unitarian universalism-- challenging, yes, but exciting. Thanks
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a lot, Megan. Good to see you.
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Thank you.