The Northliner
Sept. 11, 2026
Ask the Minister
Ask the Minister - Responses V
Because of time constraints, many of the excellent questions submitted during service on August 2nd were left unanswered. Over the next several months, I will be responding to those we didn’t get to in our newsletters and regular mailings.
If you have other questions you’d like me to consider, please write me at reverik@ucnorth.org.
Question: Do you have suggestions for helping UUs respond to the revised UUA Article II (Values), especially the expanded core value of Interdependence?
Response: This is a profound question that hints at some of the discomfort many of us older UUs might be feeling having grown up with or joining this church adhering to the mid-1980s Article II statement known as the Seven Principles. These seven statements came to define an entire generation (or two) of Unitarian Universalists and united our congregations in commitment to the work of the Association as a whole.
However, they became so ingrained in our UU culture that many seemed to understand them (mistakenly) as an immutable statement of faith. Article II in the UUA bylaws was never to be permanent, indeed, as a non-creedal faith we ultimately reject the idea that membership be based on adherence to a specific set of beliefs or that the values that unite us are unchangeable. Moreover, just like our moral and spiritual sensibilities change to meet the world in which we live, our language evolves to more accurately reflect our meaning.
Take for example excerpts from the original Article II Principles and Sources section adopted in 1961 at the UUA’s founding:
3. To affirm, defend and promote the supreme worth of every human personality, the dignity of man, and the use of the democratic method in human relationships;....
6. To encourage cooperation with men of good will in every land.
It should be easy to see how the language contemporary UUs use has evolved, even if some of the sentiment expressed remains.
That is all to say that it is not only good, but necessary that we as the Unitarian Universalist Association member congregations strive to continually update and add to our principles/values in both language and substance, and not to become servants to the words professed by those in our past that no longer hold relevance today.
As to the recently articulated value of “Interdependence” - there is much debate as to how to interpret this value in the UU congregational context. This value obviously reflects the sentiment from the 7th principle in the older version, affirming the “interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part,” but is even more broad as it includes the interdependence of human beings and different ideologies in addition to the ecological implications of the original.
To me as a UU clergy member, this heightened value of interdependence means that we must look outside our own organization for allies and supportive people even and especially when their core values differ from our own. Interdependence in the social justice sphere, for example, requires that we build bridges with other faiths and religious organizations in order to do the work that is important to all of us, regardless of theological, moral, or spiritual differences.
One of the reasons I decided to attend a Methodist seminary was to make connections with other faith leaders who were committed to justice but whose theological justification for the work was different from my own.
Furthermore, I cannot imagine a better illustration for the truth of Universalism than recognizing the interdependent fate of humanity and respect to global environmental crises. No longer can individual populations claim to be isolated from the effects of others’ actions in that melting ice caps, increased air and water pollution and excessive energy consumption affects all people in all places. It doesn't matter if we ban coal burning power plants here (though we should), if coal continues to be widely used elsewhere. The expanded value of interdependence reflects this Universalist reality.
Likewise, we cannot elect the political leaders we would like to see (and those we do will be ineffective) if we discount and disregard the needs of our neighbors simply because they have different perspectives than we do.
Finally, this value reminds us that all things and all beings are intrinsically connected and one issue cannot be addressed without considering myriad others. One cannot confront childhood poverty without looking also at adult incarceration rates, access to education and economic opportunities, environmental and racial justice among many other factors. As Dr. King would famously scribe from an Alabama jail cell, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere…” this core value of interdependence reminds us that working towards justice anywhere is a step towards justice everywhere.
Yours in Faith,
Rev. Erik David Carlson
Social and Racial Justice
Talking about Trans Rights
Join Fair Wisconsin for a training workshop on common anti-trans attacks and disinformation, proven messaging strategies, and how you and your faith community can best support transgender rights. Fair Wisconsin is Wisconsin's only statewide LGTBQ+ civil rights and political advocacy organization. The training will be led by Cait Mallery, Fair Wisconsin's Lead Community Organizer.
"Talking about Trans Rights: Messages to Move People"
Tuesday, Sept. 29, 6:00 pm
First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee, 1342 North Astor Street
Social Justice Reminders
- Support Black-Owned businesses: "MKE Black" offers a list of Black-owned businesses you can reference: https://mkeblack.org/
- If you would like to donate directly to Family Promise, the only shelter for homeless people in Ozaukee County, please send your donation to them, with “UCN Member” written in the memo line. This will give UCN credit for the donation. Their address is: Family Promise of Ozaukee County, 136 W. Grand Ave., Port Washington, WI 53074.
- The Social Justice Committee has an OPT-IN email list for anyone who would like to be notified on short notice to provide a physical presence at social justice activities. Please contact Leigh Hoftiezer, leigh.hoftiezer@gmail.com, to be added to the list.
- UCN’s Share the Plate (STP) program supports organizations that help those in need in our community and across the world. You are welcome to nominate a recipient for a 2-month collection. The complete list of past STP recipients and their websites can be found at UCNorth.org, under Serve/Share the Plate/View Past Donations Spreadsheet.
Donating to UCN
Use this convenient QR code to donate!
The link to the giving page, for the less tech savvy, is: https://ucnorth.breezechms.com/give/online
Unitarian Church North
Email: info@ucnorth.org
Website: www.ucnorth.org
Location: 13800 N. Port Washington Road, Mequon, WI, 53097
Phone: 262-375-3890
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/UnitarianChurchNorthMequonWI/