WSUU Community Covenant
The following Community Covenant was affirmed at a congregational meeting held on January 26th, 2025. It is intended to be a living document and will be revisited regularly.
Westside Community Covenant
PREAMBLE:
We, the Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation, establish this living covenant as the foundation for relationships that nurture connection, growth, and understanding. We come to our community by choice to be part of something larger than ourselves. We strive to co-create a welcoming, inclusive, liberating space that holds diverse genders, bodies, spiritual backgrounds, experiences, and identities. We care for each individual and for the good of our community, balancing our own needs with those of others.
OUR VALUES:
Love:
Our community’s love arises from our mutual desire for each of us to grow and flourish as part of our spiritual journey. We express this in the empathy we display, our caring words and actions, and our respect for ourselves and others. Love recognizes that we are connected to each other and the diversity of all life.
Conflict, Growth, and Trust:
We recognize change and conflict will be part of our growth. In our pluralistic community, we value honesty and tolerance, honor the expectation that there will be differing views, and give each other permission to respectfully disagree. At times we’ll have conflicts and even make mistakes. While this can feel uncomfortable, we understand that being open to diverse viewpoints and working through differences contributes to individual and community growth.
We strive to build a community of trust and inclusion. To thrive, communities need shared understandings of boundaries, consent, and mutual respect. Instances of violence, domination, manipulation, or harassment – whether physical, verbal, or in written communications – are unacceptable and may be addressed through the WSUU Disruptive Behavior Policy.
Spirituality and Healing Practices:
We support each other as we travel our individual, yet connected, spiritual paths. Together, we explore big questions, seek meaning, celebrate, and grieve. We offer solace and compassion to those who are hurting.
We value restorative practices that foster healing in relationships, individuals, and communities. This might include respecting boundaries, exploring and trying new things, seeking mutual solutions, making amends, and taking actions that repair and promote spiritual growth.
Justice:
We oppose exploitation among human beings and in our relationship to the natural world. We reject all oppression, including but not limited to racism, sexism, classism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and ageism. We acknowledge systems of power and privilege and the harm they cause. We work to understand the crosscurrents and intersectionality of oppressions. We embrace belonging and lift up brave spaces to deeply listen when people choose to share their lived experiences of oppression.
OUR COMMITMENTS TO ACTION:
Consistent with our values, we commit to:
- Be guided by empathy, love, and compassion;
- Be kind with ourselves and each other, especially across differences and in working to understand and respect diverse cultures;
- Ground our work in equity, inclusion, and accountability. Act courageously to dismantle racism and other oppressions within our congregation and in the wider world;
- Stay aware to notice and to question, redirect, interrupt, or prevent harm or potential harm as it is happening;
- Maintain the courage to grow and change as individuals and as a community;
- Identify, encourage, and build on our strengths together;
- Appreciate and listen to our own and others’ needs, and diverse points of view;
- Express our own emotions and differences with respect and compassion;
- Act in consideration of others and the community as a whole;
- Stay connected with each other and provide pastoral support to one another. Create an environment where people feel they can reach out for help;
- Provide caring space and opportunities for people to learn from their mistakes;
- Embrace the possibility of reconnection and repair as part of our commitment to one another. Offer pathways that people may use to support reconnection, healing and repair.*
A LIVING COVENANT
We commit to keep this covenant alive and effective by modeling its values, developing everyday practices, and offering learning opportunities. This covenant shall be reviewed and updated as needed by the congregation at least every three years. Any proposed changes will be voted on at a congregational meeting.