After adoption of the 8th Principle at our annual meeting, what next? There are many projects we could undertake “to accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions. Our conversations with many committees and working groups of FPBUU have opened up some ideas. Here are some examples:
- Review all church policies to see if they need any modification under the 8th Principle.
- Begin to assemble a list of carpenters/electricians/plumbers etc., who are members of the BIPOC community and invite them to bid on work needed on our campus.
- Add to the back of our pews, by the sea captains’ names, plaques that name and honor the enslaved people who were part of our community from 1700-1865.
- Route 6A, described initially as “a Native American route for trade and communication,” was recently designated a Historic Highway. In alliance with other churches along Route 6A and the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, we could install signs at every village on the road, giving its original indigenous name, to honor the original owners of this land; for us, that would be Satucket.
- Add an explanatory statement to the plaque listing FPB ministers to decry the abuse perpetrated by Horatio Alger, affirm our commitment to being a safe congregation, and to support all survivors of child sexual abuse.
What other ideas do you have? We want to consider them all. It’s a big job to undo oppression, made up of many small steps. We can do this!
Click HERE to learn more about the 8th Principle.