Make the UUA leadership publicly accountable

I am a 73-year-old disabled retiree who had one of the longest records of service to churches among women ministers when I retired. On October 2, 2022, the Unitarian Universalist Association took away my ministerial recognition after more than 40 years in the ministry. Over my lifetime and during my ministry, I worked for justice and the betterment of society in all kinds of areas, beginning in my teens by spearheading the first program (1964) in my community to make public the civil rights struggles by a play lifting up the history of race in America and in retirement having success in getting local officials and the County agree not to cooperate with ICE in deporting people not guilty of anything other than immigration issues. I faced men with guns, threats from the government, arrest and deportation in Mexico and other dangerous situations, as well as the everyday work of organizing, speaking out, persuasion, and education.

Unitarian Universalism is a faith with a nearly 500-year history of freedom for beliefs others may think heretical. In the above picture, the parliament is convinced to proclaim that if a congregation doesn't like the ideas of a minister, they can go to hear another preacher whose opinions they prefer rather than trying someone for heresy. 

 Recently, here in the U.S., the Unitarian Universalist Association has been captured by ideologues who hold power, silence and even punish dissent, and undermine democratic processes. They have captured ministerial certification and education, have done away with due process, and have surrounded what they are doing with such secrecy that the majority of church members are entirely unaware of what has happened to their formerly liberal faith. The Unitarian Universalist leaders and some laity are admonishing, censuring, and even expelling ministers and members who have run afoul of current orthodoxies.

I was expelled in a secretive process that did not follow ordinary rules of due process and was not in keeping with UUA Bylaws. The given reasons for my expulsion are newly invented and the assertions made are inaccurate. When challenged, the UUA attorney's position is that, as a religious association, it does not have to abide by the rules and laws that everyone else is bound to observe in due process and free speech. This remains to be litigated, but in justifying their actions, they are, in private and in public, making untrue statements about me, which they cannot do legally if it impugns my reputation and causes problems. Because they are a religious organization, few lawyers will take on the UUA on contingency, and a legal case costs money. I believe that a legal case would be beneficial in making the UUA accountable for its secret injustices. Even if we lose, the facts will come out, as will the UUA's attitude that it is the power they claim to flout justice and expel people for any reason or none on which they rest their case. Such a case can help the Unitarian Universalists in the pew more aware that their religious freedom is under increasing attack. It can show people beyond the UUA the damage that "woke" ideology is doing in yet another venerable institution.

If I can raise $45,000, I can bring a lawsuit. Half that could help publicize the situation. Help give me the tools to try to bring public accountability to those working in the dark to undermine our historic dedication to Enlightenment ideals and freedoms.

PS. Previous contributions have already gone for legal expenses. Thank you to all who helped.