Toward the Beloved Community: Updates from the Interim Co-Presidents, April 13, 2017

The three Interim Co-Presidents of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), the Revs. Sofia Betancourt and William Sinkford and Dr. Leon Spencer, spoke at their first UUA staff meeting today and made the following announcements:

Two people will join the UUA Leadership Council. Jessica York, Faith Development Director and Interim Director of Ministries and Faith Development, will join to represent the Ministries and Faith Development staff group, a position she stepped into after the Rev. Sarah Lammert took over leadership of UUA staff. Carey McDonald, Director of Outreach at the UUA, will also join Leadership Council, in recognition of the vital role that outreach plays in the work of the Association.

As of today, the Co-Presidents are instituting a modified hiring freeze at the UUA. Rev. Sinkford described the freeze as short term, “a pause” while the interim presidents work out the underlying concerns that called them to the Association. One exception to this freeze will be Beacon Press, which has shown great leadership in their examination of racial injustice. The other exception covers three other UUA staff positions which are already well along in the hiring process.

Rev. Sinkford called this a time of opportunity and a next step in Unitarian Universalists’ work toward building the Beloved Community. All three co-presidents hope to be present at the spring meeting of the UUA Board of Trustees, to be held in Boston on April 21-22, 2017. The meeting is open to the public and will be streamed live online.