Social Justice Covenant
As the Social Justice Council of the First Unitarian Church of Portland, we are moved by the deep and transformative presence of Love.
Love calls us to the sacred work of seeking justice.
With courage and humility, we commit to seek together a justice through which we fulfill our longing to reshape fear, greed, oppression and violence into lives of caring, collective thriving, peace and mutual liberation – to create together a community that we can call beloved. To support and challenge each other in this work, we promise to:
- Draw on the common spirit of this place on Earth, the First Peoples, and all beings who lived here before us and those who come after, recognizing that we are intertwined, shaping and being shaped by other beings and the land we inhabit.
- Seek and follow the wisdom and direction of those who most directly experience oppression and injustice, understanding that our liberation is bound together.
- Be unsettled and alert in the world, consistently seeking justice while knowing our actions will be imperfect and the work ongoing.
- Be present to both the emotional challenge of justice work and to the unexpected moments of grace within it.
- Embrace our multiple perspectives, spoken truthfully and heard respectfully, while remaining committed to working within and through friction, discomfort and difference.
- Commit to learning about ourselves and one another with humility while seeking to dissolve harmful divisions among us.
- Treat ourselves and each other with love and kindness as we work for a common good.
When we fail in these promises to each other, we will offer ourselves and others forgiveness and begin again, rooted always in the spirit of compassion, faith and love.