DUUC Social Justice & Community Involvement

The Principles of Unitarian Universalism: 
“We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote: 

1st Principle: The inherent worth and dignity of every person;

2nd Principle: Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;

3rd Principle: Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;

4th Principle: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;

5th Principle: The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;

6th Principle: The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;

7th Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Proposed 8^th Principle: 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.

We take these principles seriously and strive to live these values out loud by using them in our day to day lives.  We continue to use these to guide our conversations and how we show up in the world and continue to push us further.  Dakota UU Church supports the work of dismantling white supremacy and creating a Beloved Community not only in our congregation and denomination, but also in our country and our world.  This is a work in progress that will never be “done” and it’s not a linear process but working toward social justice and addressing oppression and inequity of people from all identities is an essential element of our faith community and our personal, spiritual growth.  We realize that we still have much to learn (and un-learn) and will make mistakes, but staying silent and immobile is not an option because that makes us complicit in the racist system that brought us here.

adrienne maree brown,  in her book, “Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds” (2017) talks about how we need to find the sweet spot where our skills, passions, and resources intersect to meet the need in our community.  Some of our resources include piles of privilege that we want to find ways to identify and use more responsibly to disrupt the status quo.  Yes, we are a small congregation, but just because we can’t do everything, doesn’t mean we can’t do something!  That’s what we are trying to do at DUUC.  Our congregation has a passion for music and other creative arts and feels they are valuable tools in healing ourselves and our world.  adrienne also observed, “When we are engaged in acts of love, we humans are at our best and most resilient.”  (p. 9) 

So far, some of the ways this has taken shape is that individual members and our congregation as a whole are involved with a variety of efforts to address the harm that people and our planet continue to experience because of the systemic racism and white nationalism that still exists.  While many religions continue the “us vs. them” dichotomy and “other” people, we are striving to confront white supremacy, oppression and racism by cultivating a worldview of “all of us together”, the interconnectedness of all creation, working towards peace and justice for all.  So, we bring in diverse guest speakers who inform and challenge us, we have book discussions, and we support each other and our community in healing trauma and practicing radical self-care.  (see Angela Davis video)

Here are some of the ways we are currently involved in to help create a Beloved Community:

• Supporting and participating in Minnesota UU Social Justice Alliance (MUUSJA) activities (unleashing courageous leadership and collective power to build a just and loving world) 
• Planning and participating in inter-faith discussions and events (See Common Good)
• Donating food, handmade hats and scarves to our local Food Shelf (See Open Door) 
• Contributing money towards micro loans to women entrepreneurs in 34 different countries (See KIVA)
• Sewing menstrual kits for young girls who are unable to attend school if they don’t have these kits (See Days for Girls International)

If you’d like to get involved with any of these activities, or you have another project idea that would help us in this effort, please reach out to:  [uuchurchdakota@gmail.com]