As a MidAmerica Board of Trustees member, and now Vice President, from a congregation in Kentucky, I find myself reflecting on lay leadership very often. My first congregation was entirely lay-lead. It had existed for over fifty years and had never had a minister. Though the congregation was small, there were several active committees, and members took turns giving homilies each Sunday. To someone who had grown up surrounded by conservative, male-dominated religious spheres, this was astonishing and liberating beyond words. Topics ranged from meditation to geometry to GMO’s to theater to literature. No Sunday was ever the same as another; often, the congregation would break out into conversations that spilled over into a potluck everyone had contributed to and everyone left full of companionship and new ideas, as well as cookies and pimento cheese. Though I belong to a congregation that has a settled minister now, I remain distinctly proud of and attached to my first congregation and the many lessons I learned there. At only nineteen years old, it was my introduction not only to Unitarian Universalism, but to a way of being in the world that carries infinite depth to me still today; the ability to truly seek, foster, and steward my own soul and spiritual path. Lay leadership simply doesn’t allow for that in more traditional faith communities.

The reality is that lay leadership in traditional faith communities, especially for women and marginalized folks, often looks like being asked to cook, or clean, or tend the children. And while those things are vital, and are vital within a Unitarian Universalist community as well, that is often where lay leadership opportunities begin and end. They’re often undervalued positions as well, tied up in complex spiritual and cultural dogmas rooted in sexism and racism. What I’ve found throughout my journey as a Unitarian Universalist, and now as a MidAmerica Region Board of Trustees member, is that one of the most beautiful things about Unitarian Universalism is what each individual is willing to give to another. We are not exempt from the need to examine how our lay leadership opportunities function and where their roots may lie, but what makes us unique in our faith is our willingness to share, organize, adapt, and truly put in the work on multiple levels to seek to understand and value one another. We’re all working for the sake of the journey, not for the ultimate destination or the promise of reward after death. There are very few faith traditions able to say the same; and very few where people have the opportunity to speak and be heard with the same level of regard for their leadership, irrespective of whether the word “lay” is attached at all. Lay leadership is truly the foundation of Unitarian Universalism, and the shoulders of lay leaders past are the shoulders of giants upon which we stand. It’s my hope that every Unitarian Universalist across the region recognizes that same sacred sovereignty within themselves, and embraces ways to lead in any congregation in which they may find themselves.

(If you are interested in or would like to recommend someone to serve in a leadership role with the MidAmerica Region, the Nominating Committee is currently taking applications for positions on the MAR Board of Trustees, for the Nominating Committee, for the Midwest Unitarian Universalist Conference, and for the Camp Unistar Foundation Board. Candidates must be a member of either a MidAmerica congregation or the Church of the Larger Fellowship. Please reach out to the Nominating Committee Co-Chairs Helen Dwyer, helendwyer3540@gmail.com, or Mel Priese, mel.priese@gmail.com. for assistance in applying, and thank you!)