Small Dakota Fellowship Lives Social Justice Values

The Bismarck-Mandan UU Fellowship in Bismarck, North Dakota, has made a name for itself by taking on social justice challenges.

Over several years it initiated and carried out a comprehensive interfaith anti-racism program. Before that it defended a proposed Job Corps center when others in the community objected to black kids from the rural South in their midst. It successfully lobbied to make a Christian baccalaureat service voluntary rather than compulsory. It became a Welcoming Congregation, making it official that gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender persons were welcome.

The congregation attracted attention again last September when, in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, it thwarted religious conservatives who wanted a "Christian-only" community prayer service. Using telephone, e-mail, and talk radio, it brought pressure to make the service inclusive. And it was.

At General Assembly in Cleveland in June, the congregation won the UUA's Bennett Award for Congregational Action on Human Justice and Social Action for its anti-racism work, with Catholic, Methodist, and Presbyterian congregations, among others.

Not bad for a 48-member lay-led congregation which is 200 miles from another UU community. So what makes this fellowship tick? Partly it's that many members are involved in social justice careers or are activists in other ways.

President Carol Jean Larsen is former executive director of the North Dakota Democratic Party and former board member of Habitat for Humanity. Longtime member Betty Mills is a newspaper columnist and served two terms on the UUA Board of Trustees. Vice President Don Morrison is executive director of the North Dakota Progressive Coalition, a multi-issue group comprising labor unions and peace and justice groups that help create public policy.

It's a congregation made up of activists who live their values, says UUA Prairie Star district executive Nancy Heege. Mills says the congregation's small size helps it act quickly when issues arise. "We don't have mass, but we have velocity. And if not us, who? This is a conservative community and they don't kick over the traces very fast. But if we start something others will usually climb on board."

The congregation also takes advantage of opportunities. It received a $5,000 UU Funding Panel grant for its anti-racism work. "That gave us stature in the eyes of the community, that our denomination would back us in that way," says Mills.

Delegates who go to General Assembly bring back ideas, such as the anti-racism program, and keep the fellowship connected to the larger movement. Larsen adds, "Knowing there's a bigger group that's supportive of what we are doing has emboldened us out here." The fellowship also regularly helps pay for members to attend the Prairie Star District annual conference.

"We've definitely raised the level of understanding about racism in our community," says Morrison. "We brought together people who continue to work together on racism and other community issues because we increased the trust, friendship, and shared understanding of each other. We broke down the brick wall of inaction that comes from feeling isolated. Many people in Bismarck-Mandan wanted to dismantle racism, but too often they didn't act because they were not aware of others who agreed with them. Our efforts to connect people — mostly lay people — helped give us the understanding that we do have the power to make change happen."