Accepting Difference Project

Valdosta, Georgia

 

 

The impetus for this project grew out of an incident in May 2003, in which the

Unitarian Universalist Church of Valdosta was severely vandalized (see article in UU World, Sept/Oct 2003). Although we may never know the reasons behind the vandalism, many members and community friends felt initially that the act was a hate crime.  The building and its contents were, fortunately, covered by insurance, and the building was restored within weeks.  In an outpouring of support, many contributions of money, art, and other gifts were received from all over.  The art and other gifts were gratefully accepted and placed in the sanctuary or on the grounds.  The funds were placed in a "restoration fund" and the congregation later voted to devote these funds to the "Accepting Difference Project" in outreach to the broader Valdosta community. 

 

The initial development of this project was partly funded by a JUUST Change Anti-Oppression grant, a program of the Unitarian Universalist Association.   Project leaders and many community leaders met with Sue Lacy, JUUST Change Anti-Oppression Consultant, to lay the foundation for the project. 

 
Below, in reverse chronological order, are some brief articles from the Flaming Chalice, the newsletter of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Valdosta.  These articles briefly chronicle the development of the Accepting Difference Project.

 

 

 

JUUST Change Grant Project  

(April 2007 Flaming Chalice)

Sue Lacy , our JUUST Change Anti-Oppression Consultant, returned to Valdosta March 2-4, 2007.   Members of our Social Concerns Committee, Betty Derrick, Lars Leader , and Susan Bailey, met with her for a strategy session on Friday.  The community contacts, with whom Sue Lacy spoke during her visit in April, participated in a conversation on Saturday at the church.  She also interviewed two community leaders during her visit and attended a social function where she was able to speak with several other individuals.  Although the Valdosta Unitarian Universalist Church has acted as a catalyst for these initial meetings and was able to bring Sue Lacy as a consultant to assist in these initial steps, the UU Church's hope has been that the outcome would be a community group with a shared vision for our community.  We are encouraged that, after a fruitful discussion, the community group agreed to meet again in April to continue dialogue on social justice issues in Valdosta .  This is a small but important step in our “Accepting Difference in Valdosta , GA ” project.  Sadhvi Vrndaji has invited the group for its next discussion for Saturday, April 28 from 10:30 AM-12:00Noon followed by an Indian lunch at the ashram AVM near Pavo. 

JUUST Change Grant Project

(March 2007 Flaming Chalice)

Sue Lacy, our JUUST Change Anti-Oppression Consultant, will return to Valdosta the weekend of March 2-4, 2007.   Members of our Social Concerns Committee, Betty Derrick, Lars Leader , and Susan Bailey, will meet with her for a strategy session on Friday.  The community contacts, with whom Sue Lacy spoke during her visit in April, have been invited to participate in a conversation on Saturday, March 3.  We will provide a light lunch at noon at the UU church and Sue will facilitate the conversation.  Our Social Concerns committee members will sit in on this conversation, which will be the first time our community contacts have met as a group.  Although we must wait to see how this conversation develops, it is our hope that the outcome will be the creation of a progressive coalition of diverse community members with shared responsibility and some agreement about what the next steps should be.  As discussed at our congregational discussion in December, we anticipate that our Restoration Fund may be used as seed money for this endeavor.

The Social Concerns Committee was glad that a number of our members participated in the discussion after the service on December 10.  As you are aware over recent months the community contacts for this project have shared their thoughts with our congregation at Sunday services. The committee hopes these talks and the December discussion have fully engaged our congregation in the goal to develop a truly meaningful social justice thrust for our wider community.  It is clear we are still learning together about the needs of our community as well as how our small group can best affect change where change is needed.   The UUA, at our request, extended the time period of our grant, which makes possible Sue Lacy ’s return to Valdosta this month to facilitate this meeting with our community contacts. 

Although our community contacts have been invited, specific plans for the March meeting are still in process.  The Social Concerns Committee may be in touch in late February seeking volunteers to prepare the church for this visit and in providing the lunch for our guests. Contact: Betty Derrick    (Reprinted with date changes from January 2007 newsletter)

President’s Portion:

An Opportunity We Shouldn’t Miss  

Lars Leader  

(April 2006 Flaming Chalice)

It has been quite a while since I last wrote something for this column.  But I couldn’t resist adding my bit this month.  That’s because our congregation has an exciting, as well as challenging, opportunity for community service and social action starting in April.  In last month’s newsletter, Betty Derrick provided us with an update on the Accepting Difference in Valdosta Project that she is directing.  As Betty explained in her article, this project was approved by our congregation as an appropriate use of money that remains in our Restoration Fund from the generous donations given by so many people in response to the vandalism of our church building a few years ago. 

One part of our project will be to sponsor a workshop on writing in the schools, focused on helping teachers, students, and communities address the divides of class and race.  The workshop will be part of the Wiregrass Literacy and Literature Festival of Deep South Georgia, coordinated by Helen Gerhardt and scheduled for this coming fall. 

Another part of our project will get off the ground this month. The JUUST Change Consultancy, a social justice program within the UU Association, has made plans to come to Valdosta on April 10-11 as their first step in assisting us.  The consultancy describes itself as “designed to help congregations increase their effectiveness in anti-oppression and social justice work by meeting congregations where they are, supporting a developmental process to build leadership, strengthening capacity, and applying anti-oppression knowledge and principles, to transform congregations and the communities of which they are a part.”  During those two days, Sue Lacy, one of their consultants, will meet with individuals in our congregation and from the community for one-on-one conversations about their concerns and ideas. 

On Tuesday evening, April 11, there will be a Congregational Gathering.  We’ll have a potluck supper at 6:00 p.m. (see Betty’s announcement in this newsletter), followed at 7:00 p.m. with a discussion led by Sue Lacy.  Sue will fill us in on what she learned from her Valdosta conversations, explore potential issues and opportunities with us, and lead a discussion of basic community organizing concepts and how to shape our vision. All members and friends are welcome to share the potluck fellowship and join the discussion. I hope you can join us!

Our congregation, with expert help from the UUA, now has a fine opportunity to move forward in our desire to respond to a painful event through positive and productive action.  But we need participation from our members and friends.  As George E. Odell put it, “We need one another when we are in despair, in temptation, and need to be recalled to our best selves again. We need one another when we would accomplish some great purpose, and cannot do it alone.”

Accepting Difference in Valdosta , GA :

(March 2006 Flaming Chalice)

A Series of Speakers, Seminars, and Workshops

Betty Derrick, Director, Lars Leader, and Helen Gerhardt , who are serving as the project committee, met several times in recent weeks.  Sue Lacey, one of two consultants assigned to our congregation through the UUA JUUST Change Consultancy, has been in touch with Betty to learn more about our congregation and begin to discuss how she and Manish Mishra can best assist us in developing our project in the community.  Betty, Lars and Helen have discussed that initial conversation and future action.  They will be keeping the congregation informed as the project develops. 

            During this past month the church committed $2000.00 to the Wiregrass Literacy and Literature Festival of Deep South Georgia scheduled for this coming fall.  We will be sponsoring the Marita Golden Workshop on September 14.  Marita Golden is the Director of the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation.  Her workshop will focus on how racism and colorism affect literacy and education and how writing may help teachers, students, and communities address the divides of class and race which damage us all.   Teachers will receive educational credits for the workshop.

            In case you are a newcomer to our congregation or have just forgotten about this project, perhaps a few words about the project’s genesis and objectives would be appropriate.  The project is an outgrowth of generous assistance from a number of people in the wake of severe vandalism to the church’s building several years ago.  Given that the vandalism may have been a hate crime, once the facilities were repaired, it seemed appropriate that remaining money be directed back in to the Valdosta community in a shared interest in improving the level of acceptance of difference in the wider community.  The money is designated in the budget as the Restoration Fund.  The congregation approved this project, which will sponsor a series of programs in the Valdosta area which promote the acceptance of difference in all its many guises.  After much talk, the Marita Golden Workshop will be the first of these workshops.   The Project Committee hopes that focused  conversations facilitated by our JUUST Change consultants will help the community at large help us decide how best to proceed further with this ambitious project.

UU Church of Valdosta - Restoration Funds

(December 2004 Flaming Chalice)

The Board of Trustees heard proposals for use of Restoration Fund money at a special board meeting Thursday, November 4.  The congregation met Sunday, November 7, to vote on the recommendation of the Board.  The congregation approved the recommendation of the Board as follows:  To sponsor a series of programs in the Valdosta area designed to promote the acceptance of differences in all its many guises: racial, religious, ethnic, economic, gender, sexual orientation, etc.  Over a several-year period the UU Church of Valdosta, in cooperation with other churches, civic groups, public and higher education organizations and governmental agencies will sponsor these programs.   Ideally, these workshops will provide continuing education credit to schoolteachers and perhaps other groups in the community.  Various organizations, which already have consciousness-raising programs of this sort, such as the Southern Poverty Law Center, the ACLU and others will be solicited to help create each of the specific programs.  Each program will focus on raising the consciousness of the community and training leadership in a specific aspect of difference.  

            Half the Restoration Fund money, approximately $8,000, will be allocated as seed money for the project.  The hope is to to find grant money for the project for which the Restoration Fund money would be used as matching funds.  At the end of the first year, depending upon when the church gets it started, the project chair, with feedback from those working to make the project a success, will furnish a progress report to the board, and thus to the church.  At that time, continuation of the project and use of the remainder of the Restoration Fund money will be revisited.    

            Betty Derrick, director of the project, has been brainstorming with interested UUs and other potential community partners.  If you have ideas with regard to grant resources and/or other aspects of the project contact her.  You could brainstorm too with people you know in the community.  The more excitement we can build, the more likely we are to get full participation and even partnering from various parts of the Valdosta community, which is indeed one goal of this project.  

Thank you...to those expressing concern and support for us after our church was thoroughly ransacked and vandalized around May 29, 2003.   More Information  page describing the vandalism and events happening since that time.  For individual thumbnails of initial damage, cleanup, the service on June 1 and the Unified Service Against Hate on June 8, please go to this website.