UUCA Eighth Principle Task Force

About the UU Church of Arlington VA 8th Principle Task Force

During the summer of 2017 at the UU General Assembly, there was a call to adopt an 8th Principle within the Unitarian Universalist Association, based on work that had started in 2015, led by Paula Cole Jones. A 8th Principle Study Commission was formally appointed, and Black Lives UU endorsed the 8th Principle soon after.

To date, eleven UU churches in the United States have adopted the 8th Principle. The first was UU Church of the Restoration in Philadelphia, followed by the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu and All Souls Unitarian - DC. Churches in Annapolis, Rockville, Frederick and Cedarhurst (MD), Richmond (VA), Washington Crossings (NJ), Gettysburg (PA) and the UU Ministry for Earth in Portland (OR) have also adopted the 8th principle. The Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington hosted its first Town Hall Meeting on the Eighth Principle on April 5, 2018. Paula Cole Jones led the discussion, facilitated by UUCA Member Tracey L. Rogers. Over 40 people attended. Via that meeting, we learned that the authors of the 8th Principle, as well as BLUU, were urging congregations to adopt the 8th Principle in order to give it momentum fo passage at GA in 2019.

Around 25 interested UUCA congregants met as the Eighth Principle Task Force for the first time on May 3, 2018. The Task Force was granted 10 minutes to speak at the UUCA's annual meeting on June 3, 2018, and several Members spoke briefly on why the 8th principle is important to us. A day-long planning meeting took place in July, and the Task Force started efforts to ensure our congregation is fully informed about the 8th Principle, and understands how it builds on our church’s commitment to racial justice - which dates back to the 1950’s.

Task Force FAQs and information flyers are available on this page as “notes.” Tabling about the 8th Principle started during the 2018 summer session, and has been available after every service since UUCA resumed its two service schedule in September 2018. This page is another effort to make sure that UUA-wide resources on combatting racism are available to all, as well as amplifying efforts of UUCA to created a Beloved community.

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