The WSUU Board strongly encourages each of you to engage in the upcoming opportunities within our congregation to learn about and reflect on the proposed 8th Principle of Unitarian Universalism addressing racism and other oppressions. This work began in September, when Westside’s Racial Justice Change Team (RJCT) worked with Rev. Christopher to organize a workshop entitled “Building a Culture of Inclusion,” led by PaulaCole Jones, a lifelong UU and leader in advancing the proposed 8th Principle. As part of the workshop, participants broke into small groups to discuss the relationship of the 8th Principle to the current Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism.

Following the workshop, Tracy Burrows and Cindy Jackson from the RJCT joined with John Britt to form the 8th Principle Discernment Planning Team to offer a range of perspectives and widen the discussions of the 8th Principle at WSUU. The team is initiating an inclusive study of the proposal leading up to a potential congregational vote on the adoption of the8th Principle in the spring of 2022.

Many of us are just beginning to learn about the proposed 8th Principle. The 8th Principle Discernment Planning Team has developed a two-question survey that will help identify the 8th Principle-related issues that our congregation would like to explore and understand better.

Please complete this brief survey by December 18th .
The Discernment Planning Team is also developing an 8th Principle Learning Space for our website that will include FAQs, resources, and a space for individuals to post reflections on the proposal. The goals of the discernment process are to support study and reflection and to provide opportunities to listen, engage, and learn from one another as a community.