Comments on: Selling the UUA http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/10/selling-uua.html Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:24:03 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Kathryn Price NicDhàna http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/10/selling-uua.html/comment-page-1#comment-1184 Kathryn Price NicDhàna Thu, 04 Oct 2007 21:30:00 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/10/selling-the-uua.html#comment-1184 P.S.<br/><br/>Actually, amend that to delete "diversity". That's a bit misleading. The denomination is eclectic; it looks to diverse source cultures and religions. However, racially and culturally the UU membership is almost thoroughly white and middle to upper-middle class. Like many liberal groups, they do try to increase the racial and cultural diversity of the denomination, even though it doesn't really succeed, that I've seen. So, yeah, given the usual racial and cultural connotations with the word, "diversity" wasn't a very good word choice there. P.S.

Actually, amend that to delete “diversity”. That’s a bit misleading. The denomination is eclectic; it looks to diverse source cultures and religions. However, racially and culturally the UU membership is almost thoroughly white and middle to upper-middle class. Like many liberal groups, they do try to increase the racial and cultural diversity of the denomination, even though it doesn’t really succeed, that I’ve seen. So, yeah, given the usual racial and cultural connotations with the word, “diversity” wasn’t a very good word choice there.

]]> By: Kathryn Price NicDhàna http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/10/selling-uua.html/comment-page-1#comment-1183 Kathryn Price NicDhàna Thu, 04 Oct 2007 20:29:00 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/10/selling-the-uua.html#comment-1183 It sometimes takes newcomers a while to understand the baseline diversity and eclecticism inherent to Unitarian-Universalism (UUism). The tone and content of services, and the beliefs of congregations (and clergy) can, and often does, vary widely from church to church and region to region. What gets put forth as official Unitarian-Universalist Association (UUA) materials can also vary significantly, depending on who is currently employed at 25 Beacon Street (the UUA headquarters). While certainly influenced by various national committees and decisions made at GA (the yearly General Assembly of UUs), it's not surprising that groups who often consider themselves part of the UUA might wind up feeling left out when the official materials come out.<br/><br/>(This comment got long. The rest of it, including some of my personal experiences working for the UUA, here: <a HREF="http://nicdhana.blogspot.com/2007/10/uus-pagans-and-uu-pagans.html" REL="nofollow">http://nicdhana.blogspot.com/2007/10/uus-pagans-and-uu-pagans.html</a>) It sometimes takes newcomers a while to understand the baseline diversity and eclecticism inherent to Unitarian-Universalism (UUism). The tone and content of services, and the beliefs of congregations (and clergy) can, and often does, vary widely from church to church and region to region. What gets put forth as official Unitarian-Universalist Association (UUA) materials can also vary significantly, depending on who is currently employed at 25 Beacon Street (the UUA headquarters). While certainly influenced by various national committees and decisions made at GA (the yearly General Assembly of UUs), it’s not surprising that groups who often consider themselves part of the UUA might wind up feeling left out when the official materials come out.

(This comment got long. The rest of it, including some of my personal experiences working for the UUA, here: http://nicdhana.blogspot.com/2007/10/uus-pagans-and-uu-pagans.html)

]]>