Closing Statement by Rev. Peter Morales, UUA presidential candidate

This is Peter Morales’ closing statement at the UUA presidential candidate debate. (Coming up on this blog: the GA forum on environmental issues – Beyond Darwin and Lincoln – in which both candidates took part).

This and Laurel Hallman’s closing statement conclude this event. Please visit the earlier segments, listed at bottom.

My full transcript is here uuacandidateforum, and a link to the video segment is here:

Closing Statements:

Rev. Peter Morales:

I would have us consider, as we look at our association and at this election, at the times in which we live. This is a time where there are hundreds of thousands of people who long for and who need a religious community. We must be the people who feed the spiritually hungry and house the religiously homeless. This is a moral imperative for us.  We have to grow our faith.

It is a time, alas, when there are forces of greed and fear and ignorance and hatred all around that lead to violence, exploit people, demonize people, oppress them, and destroy the earth. In such a time we need to be a relentless, powerful, prophetic voice. And our congregations need to be brilliant moral beacons in their community.

We live at a time when a new America is coming into being, an America that is multi-racial and multi-cultural in a way we have never experienced. We need to be intentional about creating a ministry for this new America.

Such a time cries out for leadership. It does not cry out for management. Ironically, if you elect me you’ll elect a president who would bring more breadth and depth of management experience to the office of president than anyone who has ever served. And this is not, my friends, about management. Good management, incremental change, solid management right now for our movement is — and please hear this – a prescription for disaster, because we are a declining part of American religious life.

This is a time that calls for vision, passion, boldness, but a boldness that is practical and tested. I believe I offer such leadership. And I ask you to join with me in transforming our movement. For we can be, we really can be, the religion for our time.

Thank you. [applause]

[Rev. Morales read his manuscript]

 

 

Previous segments from this event: 

Opening speech by Rev. Peter Morales

Opening Speech by Rev. Dr. Laurel Hallman

Question 1: What would be your top priorities as you begin your administration, and looking back in four or eight years, what would constitute a successful presidency?

Question 2: What is your strategy for growing Unitarian Universalism, and do you have an elevator speech?

Question 3: Tell us your understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of policy governance and how you understand the relationship between the president and the board of trustees

Question 4: On the topic of anti-racism and anti-oppression, what experiences have you had that help you deeply understand the mindset and values of another culture?  Are there practical things you will do to help congregations take authentic steps of transformation?

Question 5: President Sinkford and the Board have taken steps to focus the UUA on congregations, and there has been a simultaneous reduction of the number of independent affiliates.  What are your thoughts on those changes?

Question 6: What are your thoughts on youth ministry and young adult ministry? Are there actions you would take regarding these ministries within the UUA?

Question 7: What is the value of international work in the future of Unitarian Universalism?

Question 8: Tell us what is at the center of your personal faith.

Question 9: Tell us about an innovative, high performing team that you have built or been part of.  How would you create an environment for innovation within your leadership team?

Question 10: It is evident that the presidency of the UUA is a very stressful position. Do you have the courage to be lonely?

Closing Statement by Rev. Dr. Laurel Hallman, UUA presidential candidate

This is Laurel Hallman’s closing statement at the UUA presidential candidate debate and this concludes the segments from this event. Please visit the previous segments (listed at bottom):

 (Coming up on this blog: the GA forum on environmental issues – Beyond Darwin and Lincoln – in which both candidates took part).

My full transcript is here uuacandidateforum, and a link to the video segment is here:

 

Closing statements

Rev. Dr. Laurel Hallman (first speaker):

I am thrilled tonight at how many people are here, and we’re a year out, there will be long stretch where we’ll be visiting districts and you’ll be hearing from us on the web and there will be more information all the time ’til we expect all of you back at GA next year and where we can vie for your votes one more time.

Some friends of mine made up a list, called “When Laurel Leads.” I have carried it around with me as a kind of talisman, as a place for me to remember myself and what I do, and I’m going to close by just reading some of the things that happen — at least according to some of the people I know — when I lead. And some of them are out of the congregational experience, and some are not.

We are transformed in our worship together.

We claim the strength and possibility in our tradition. 

We claim our power. 

We honor the power that is not ours, in awe, in wonder and in all the ways that we discover that we are not in charge. 

We create the beloved community, diverse and enriching.

We give and ask others to give joyfully. 

We respect each other. 

We are tenacious in our pursuit of justice, we change our communities, we make good choices. 

We pay attention. 

We listen to the voice of wisdom within. 

We take care of what we have (a big, big thing). 

We practice discernment (those are choices of depth and faith).

We trust our leaders and we trust ourselves to make good decisions. 

We plan for the future. 

We give our children wise teachings. 

We are loving human beings.

We live from a center of strength. 

We honor our varied experiences of the Holy. 

We sing.

And we say thank you to each other and to life.

 

Thank you for being here tonight. [applause]

[Rev. Dr. Hallman spoke without notes first and then read her text]

=====================

Previous segments from this event: 

Opening speech by Rev. Peter Morales

Opening Speech by Rev. Dr. Laurel Hallman

Question 1: What would be your top priorities as you begin your administration, and looking back in four or eight years, what would constitute a successful presidency?

Question 2: What is your strategy for growing Unitarian Universalism, and do you have an elevator speech?

Question 3: Tell us your understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of policy governance and how you understand the relationship between the president and the board of trustees

Question 4: On the topic of anti-racism and anti-oppression, what experiences have you had that help you deeply understand the mindset and values of another culture?  Are there practical things you will do to help congregations take authentic steps of transformation?

Question 5: President Sinkford and the Board have taken steps to focus the UUA on congregations, and there has been a simultaneous reduction of the number of independent affiliates.  What are your thoughts on those changes?

Question 6: What are your thoughts on youth ministry and young adult ministry? Are there actions you would take regarding these ministries within the UUA?

Question 7: What is the value of international work in the future of Unitarian Universalism?

Question 8: Tell us what is at the center of your personal faith.

Question 9: Tell us about an innovative, high performing team that you have built or been part of.  How would you create an environment for innovation within your leadership team?

Question 10: It is evident that the presidency of the UUA is a very stressful position. Do you have the courage to be lonely? 

Closing statement Rev. Peter Morales

Handling a lonely, stressful position – UUA presidential candidates Hallman, Morales respond (Q. 10)

This is the tenth question the UUA candidates were asked. My full transcript is here uuacandidateforum, and a link to the video segment is here:

Question 10:

It is evident that the presidency of the UUA is a very stressful position. 
Do you have the courage to be lonely? [laughter]

Rev. Dr. Laurel Hallman (first speaker): 

I don’t think Gene Pickett will mind me saying this. I made a discipline of going around and visiting former presidents. I haven’t visited them all, but I’m getting there, and I said, “How was it for you, Gene?” and he said, “I had a great time.” Now, you’ve got to know Gene Pickett to really appreciate that statement, but I think he did, I think he did. 

And so I guess I would reframe that a little bit. I know about the loneliness of ministry. I know about the separation from my own feelings when I’m doing a memorial service for someone that I’ve loved deeply but can’t express in that moment because I’m the bearer of the grief for the people that are in the congregation, and so I can in my mind assume that that also is true for the president, that the president carries the hopes, the aspirations, the love, and also the crankiness and some of the other things that we have in our shadow side, carries that along as they do the job. 

I have, I have confidence that it will — not that I’m saying it will be easy — but I have confidence that it will be joyous. In part because in this little six months time since we’ve announced I have been just blessed by people that I had come in contact with years ago and I had lost track of.   Now that I have a higher profile they are sending me emails, and we are reminiscing, and I feel so buoyed up by those people that have been sharing ministry with me over the years. I’m not, I’m not naive, and I’m sure I’ll have my days. And I think it can be joyous, I think it can.                                             

Rev. Peter Morales:

There is rich irony here because I’ve been joking with people that if you ever suffer from loneliness: run for president of the UUA! I haven’t had a moment for myself for some time, so loneliness looks better all the time right now. [laughter] At least a day or two of it. 

And certainly, any position of responsibility has those times, and they can be difficult. Ministry has them, and certainly serving a larger church is actually a lonelier kind of job than a smaller one. 

But there is another side to that, that I have experienced over and over in my working life, having worked in positions of leadership, in responsibility, in journalism, and in government — that there is something about working with a team of dedicated people and seeing the results of your labor which is just energizing. It is one of the most wonderful experiences anyone can have. It’s thrilling. 

The charge out of seeing the results of your labor, out of seeing an organization function at a level — and I don’t mean organization, I mean people — functioning, a church being happier, being more engaged, doing more social justice work, feeling better about itself, and as I imagine doing that at the national level.  It is thrilling.  I can’t wait! [applause]