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Six new members joined the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Board of Trustees at its meeting on Monday, June 27, the first meeting of the board following GA 2016, in Columbus, Ohio, June 24-26.
Sarah Dan Jones, Richard Jacke, and Elandria Williams joined the board as elected trustees-at-large. Lucia Santini Fields joined the board as its new financial adviser. The two new youth observers are Andrea Briscoe and Bailey Saddlemire.
Board members discussed what they saw as the high and low points of GA 2016. Many said they were inspired by the worship services, public witness, and other events, but some said they felt that an over-emphasis on procedure—especially in the form of Roberts Rules of Order—overshadowed the important emotional content of controversial discussion during general session. In particular, some said they were disappointed in the lack of sufficient opportunity for people to discuss their support for a responsive resolution from youth caucus members, supported by Black Lives of Unitarian Universalist organizers, demanding a multiyear report on antiracism work from the UUA.
The board also discussed the issue of clergy sexual misconduct, which was the topic of this year’s Berry Street Lecture. UUA Moderator Jim Key said that both the responsive resolution and the issue of clergy misconduct will be discussed by the board in phone meetings over the next few months, in order to have a focused conversation about them at the board’s October meeting in Boston.
UUA Board of Trustees, June 26, 2016. Front row, from left: Trustees Gregory Boyd, Elandria Williams, Christine Rivera, Denise Rimes, Lucia Santini Field (financial advisor), Sarah Dan Jones, and Bailey Saddlemore (youth observer). Second row, from left: Trustees Richard Jacke, Dorothy Holmes, the Rev. Rob Eller-Isaacs, Jim Key (moderator), Andrea Briscoe (youth observer), Tim Brennan (treasurer), the Rev. Peter Morales (president), and the Rev. Sarah Lammert (director of Ministries of Faith Development). Back row, from left: Trustees the Rev. Patrick McLaughlin, the Rev. Andy Burnette, Tim Atkins, and the Rev. Harlan Limpert (chief operating officer). (© Nancy Pierce/UUA)