Presented by the Unitarian Universalist Association to Paula Cole Jones

Paul Cole Jones models the committed life. She has committed to her family, and her church, All Souls in Washington, DC. She has committed to innovation and creativity, to diversity, inclusion, and justice, and to Unitarian Universalism. At the center of her commitments is love. She is a leader who has exemplified the values of Unitarian Universalism.

All Souls UU Church in Washington, DC, is where it all began. It was the church that Cole Jones’ mother found after hearing about A. Powell Davies and his work on desegregation. Davies’ theology, and that of his successor, Duncan Howlett, intrigued her mother enough to bring her five children to the All Souls Sunday School and become involved in the church. The church became a big part of their lives. All Souls DC is foundational to Paula Cole Jones. It has been a place of grounding and inspiration for her work.

During Cole Jones’ coming-of-age years, the Rev. David Eaton arrived at All Souls — the first black minister in a large UU congregation. All Souls shaped her understanding of theology, faith formation, and community Unitarian Universalism. Her experience of All Souls during these formative years was an experience of the beloved community.

As an adult, Cole Jones continued to attend All Souls and raised her daughter to be a Unitarian Universalist. She worked in the US Government as a Natural Resource Manager and as a facilitator for program development and problem-solving. Throughout her life, she has brought innovation and creativity to her work, embracing new directions, launching programs and new initiatives. Cole Jones likes to start things!

Cole Jones’ work in Unitarian Universalism has focused on diversity, justice, and inclusion. She founded the program ADORE (A Dialogue on Race & Ethnicity). She served as the president of DRUUMM (Diverse and Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries) and has been a member of the 360 Elder Council in BLUU (Black Lives of UU). She has invited congregations to think of themselves in more expansive terms, as a “community of communities.” She has worked in several UU leadership roles in various capacities, including on the regional and national levels. Through it all, she has always been there for All Souls. When the congregation lost its way, Cole Jones moved into the fray to help guide her congregation back to being a beloved community.

Cole Jones has a profoundly clear commitment to future generations and how we MUST fulfill our UU promises for younger people. She keenly feels the presence of the ancestors in her work – she knows the ancestors are waiting for us to do what they were unable to do – and she understands that this work is no less than spiritual work. Key to that promise-keeping to ourselves and future generations is the transformation of the Unitarian Universalists’ 7 principles from a set of values that implies our commitments to a set of shared values that explicitly name our commitments that point the way to the beloved community.

Twenty-five years ago, the UUA committed to antiracism. However, Cole Jones reminds us that we never went back to reflect that commitment in our principles, and it was after a conversation she had with Bruce Pollack-Johnson about that commitment that the 8th principle emerged. It gives us a collective understanding of the principles in a multicultural context. The 8th principle gives us what Cole Jones calls “the missing piece.” She reminds us – that we can’t get where we are going if we can’t hold an idea of its shape – how can you lead if you don’t share a vision of where you are going? Out of her 8th principle work, the UUA asked Cole Jones to work with others to revisit Article II in the UUA Bylaws through the Article II Study Commission. She joined the Commission, successfully leading us through a four-year process that brought us to shared Values and Covenants.

Activist, writer, and teacher bell hooks asks us to “see our lives and our fate as intimately connected to those of everyone else on the planet.” Love calls us to do more — with power, justice, commitment, hope, and love, and Paula Cole Jones, you embody this call for all of us. Thank you for your distinguished service to Unitarian Universalism.