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The value of community leadership

2023-04-06 20:18:39.346815+02 by Dan Lyke 2 comments

Copied and pasted from a conversation in a private forum where a friend who's on her UU church board was struggling with other members of the board on minister pay:

Charlene and I were talking about how much she wants to give to the UU congregation she occasionally attends, compounded my salary being the household income right now and that I don't find that group personally interesting. Her number was smaller than my proposed number, but when we compared it to some of the other things we enjoy in our life, it was pretty plain that the right leadership, or even the sense that this was the right community in which to pursue several of our interests, was worth a several times difference in annual giving. Not that this is a strictly economic decision, but the right candidate pays for themselves several times over.

I'm also pondering for myself how I was gonna join the UU congregation in Chattanooga, was talked into postponing the decision, and then the board pulled some completely misogynistic bullshit (involving a friend) and a whole bunch of people left, and someone from the board called me up about donating, and mentioned my responsibilities as a member, and I was able to say "Sorry, I'm not". The "Sucks to be you" was left as subtext.

And how that's probably impacting my feeling that I'd rather pursue the vibe that I might seek out from the UU church here as a purchased service than as a member. I don't have any answers, but I wonder how much of the "Bowling Alone" phenomenon comes from the inability of organizations to keep up with individual-led social change.

[ related topics: Religion Work, productivity and environment Chattanooga Community Economics ]

comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):

#Comment Re: The value of community leadership made: 2023-04-11 06:18:36.069171+02 by: Steven

Is the UU Chattanooga on the woke or the liberal side of the split in the church? And have you chosen a side? https://www.blockedandreported.org/p/how-the- unitarian-universalist-church#details (Full disclosure: I'm an ordained minister in https://www.ulc.org/ and probabaly a subgenius - https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/the-church-of-the- subgenius-finally-plays-it-straight/ - but that is the extent of my familarity with american religions)

#Comment Re: The value of community leadership made: 2023-04-12 23:52:00.265978+02 by: Dan Lyke

I don't know, I haven't been back for.... 28 years now? It was one of those fallouts from divorces and relationships that probably doesn't map cleanly to modern notions of "woke" or enlightened or whatever, it just seemed to be punitive in ways that didn't respect agency.

But, yeah. I probably have my ULC card around here, and never got back into the habit of even as liberal as UU. I'll happily swing a hammer on a work day if Charlene's hanging out there, but generally...

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