Good news! First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque officially adopted the 8th Principle into our Congregational Bylaws with a unanimous vote at our Annual Meeting on January 29, 2023. Full minutes of the meeting will be published as soon as they are available.
We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.
Traducción de ALV“Nosotras, las congregaciones miembros de la Asociación Unitaria Universalista, nos comprometemos a afirmar y promover: el recorrido hacia una plenitud espiritual para edificar una Comunidad Amada diversa y multicultural mediante nuestras acciones, las cuales cumplen responsablemente con el desmantelamiento del racismo y de otras opresiones en nosotros mismos y en nuestras instituciones.”
https://www.8thprincipleuu.org/
FAQs 8th Principle
Congregational Discussion about Adopting the 8th Principle on January 5
Board Endorsement to Adopt The 8th Principle at First Unitarian
“We are called to build the beloved community with an ever deepening sense of spirit, diversity, and inclusion. In service to that call, your Board of Directors endorses the adoption of the 8th Principle and encourages all voting members of the congregation to vote for adoption of the 8th Principle into our bylaws at the annual meeting in January. In doing so, we acknowledge that the 8th Principle’s adoption is a commitment to begin a journey of deep work; only by living into the 8th Principle together can we achieve its promise and our shared vision. May we answer that call in loving community with joyful hope and committed action.”
Strategic Plan 
2022 as a Year of Learning and Action
8th Principle Task Force
Updates from the 8th Principle Task Force
July 2022:
In May, the Board of Directors chose 5 applicants to serve on the First Unitarian 8th Principle Task Force. Members of this task force are as follows:
Dámaris Donado (co-chair)
Gary Carlson
Heather Clark
Rev. Jane Davis (co-chair)
Maya Stephenson.
The task force convened for their first meeting on Sunday, May 29. They began the process of carefully reviewing the charge developed by the board (see above).
The Board created an 8th Principle Task Force to guide the congregation in exploring the benefits and challenges of diversity, inclusion, and equitable church practices. The goal is to prepare the congregation to vote on adopting the 8th Principle at the Annual Meeting in January 2023. Questions & feedback? ddonado@gmail.com.
August 2022:
The board of directors selected the 8th Principle Task Force members in mid-May 2022. We’ve met four times (5/29, 6/12, 6/25, 7/10) since, creating a covenant and focusing on our charge. We are carefully prioritizing the tasks before us while remembering to resist white supremacy culture as described in Tema Okun’s work “White Supremacy Culture.” There are several projects on the way, including identifying an assessment for intercultural development and reviewing workshop proposals that’ll support this spiritual journey our church is embarking on. We reconvene in August, when three out of five task force members return from summer travels.
September 2022:
On August 14, the 8th Principle Task Force reconvened for its fifth meeting after a pause for summer traveling. We are excited to continue our exploration as an intentional task force working towards a multicultural, beloved church community. We are looking closely at the intercultural development inventory as a possible tool for mapping where we are as a church community in this area of growth. We are providing feedback to congregants who are eager to step up with ideas and actions. All the while, we are keeping ourselves committed to an anti-racist, anti-white supremacist approach to this journey towards wholeness as we remind ourselves to center our relationships and be respectful and kind to one another. For more antidotes to White Supremacy Culture, please read this article by Tema Okun.
October 2022:
We are scheduled to meet with 28 church groups! Our goals for these meetings are to introduce ourselves and explore interest in doing this work together. We also met with church members at a Widening the Circle event where 24 participants expressed an interest in taking the Intercultural Development Inventory, which gauges where a person’s mindset may be on a continuum: denial, polarization, minimization, acceptance, or adaptation. Finally, the group is looking to rename itself. The “task force” part of our name does not speak to the spiritual developmental journey we are on. Stay tuned for this change! The group will be convening again on 9/28 to continue exploring next steps. Any feedback? Email us @ 8thprincipleuuabq@gmail.com.
November 2022:
Members of the 8th Principle task force have successfully met with several church groups to present our work and provide a brief survey. Out of 51 church members who took the survey, 45 congregants have agreed to take the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), which gauges where a person’s mindset may be on a continuum: denial, polarization, minimization, acceptance, or adaptation. We’ve hired a consultant, Joy and Justice Coaching, to administer the IDI and provide a post-inventory small group debrief. During the debrief, participants will receive their individual IDI score and will have the opportunity to ask questions. In this one-hour session, the consultant will provide information on the developmental stages of the IDI, interpret your results, and provide next possible steps.
