Proposed CSAI from Church of the Larger Fellowship: Abolition, Transformation, and Faith Formation
Dear Colleagues,
I am writing today to ask for your support for the Church of the Larger Fellowship’s proposed study-action issue “Abolition, Transformation, and Faith Formation” at this year’s General Assembly.
We at CLF have proposed this issue for study for several reasons. The issue of abolition itself arises out of accountable relationships with the 2,000 incarcerated Unitarian Universalist members of CLF, none of whom will have the chance to vote at GA. We believe that this issue asks our congregations to engage in deep theological work that will help us frame our commitment to liberation for years to come. Finally, this issue is deeply rooted in the history of our faith, and while neither Unitarians, Universalists, nor UUs have ever issued a denominational statement opposing slavery, we believe it is time to finish the job that our forebears started and abolish slavery.
It is true that abolition is a challenging word for many of us. We hope that such a challenge will be met with curiosity and engagement instead of defensiveness. To us, “abolition” describes a mindset and a theology that holds that no person is disposable, that nothing any of us can do (or be accused of doing) strips us of our humanity, our inherent worthiness, or our right to live with dignity. Sadly, our current Prison-Industrial Complex operates with an implicit theology that is quite the opposite of this. To embrace abolition would mean to commit ourselves to ending cycles of violence and abuse. It would mean adopting restorative and transformative justice practices. It would mean engaging in partnerships to eliminate the root causes of crime in our communities.
We have the full text of the proposed CSAI on our Abolition, Transformation, and Faith Formation webpage, which offers many resources to consider and study. In addition to links to written materials, there is a worship service and episodes from our Voices from Unitarian Universalist talk show to review and consider, and theological questions to ponder around abolition.
Please invite the delegates from the congregation you serve to:
- learn from the Abolition, Transformation, and Faith Formation webpage,
- come see us at booth #203 in the exhibit hall for further discussion.
- be part of the discussion and vote for which CSAI we will choose – on Thursday at General Session II 1-4pm (early in GA!)
I hope that if you have questions about our CSAI, you will feel free to reach out to me directly.
Yours in faith,
Rev. Dr. Michael Tino
CLF Lead Ministry Team
mtino@clfuu.org