Summary of "Results" of Urban Ministry in the UUA from 1972-1998

This summary answers the question "what have we, the UUA, done in terms of urban ministry" over the course of the last two decades. It is broken down into categories: conferences held, GA resolutions passed and GA themes, various committees and groups within the UUA, staff dedicated (at least in part) to working on urban ministry, congregations directly impacted by staff work, and various other "results."

Conferences
1972 in Philadelphia for "City-Center Churches" with 187 participants from 43 urban churches
1979 in Detroit (pre-GA)
1982 at Ferry Beach (pre-GA); "The Urban Church--Growing with Diversity"
1984 in Cleveland (pre-GA); "Building Urban Churches--Learning from the Church across the Street"
1985 in San Francisco; Urban Ministers Conference
1993 in Albuquerque; Urban Ministers Consultation, by invitation only, with 28 ministers/students
1994 in Boston; Consultation on Diversity with all groups working on diversity-related issues
1996 in New Orleans; Urban Church Conference
1998 in Baltimore; Urban Ministry Conference

General Assembly: Resolutions and Themes
Resolutions
1978--Special Needs of Center City Churches and Fellowships
1981--Commitment to Urban Ministry
1984--Urban Crisis Resolution
1985--something on multiculturalism
1992--Racial/Cultural Diversity Resolution

Theme
1981--The Urban Experience

UUA Committees and Affiliated Groups/Organizations
Urban Concerns and Ministry Committee (under various names) as Committee of the Board, created in 1978
Urban Church Coalition, grassroots coalition, created in 1979 at Detroit conference
Black Concerns Working Group (creation encouraged by UCM), shared diversity focus with UCM, created in 1985 by GA resolution
AAUUM (creation encouraged by UCM with its focus on ministers of color)
LUUNA, created in 1995

Staff Dedicated (at least in part) to Urban Agenda
Joan Goodwin, part-time, 1979-1983, staff to UCM
Tom Chulak, 1983-1987, staff to UCM with focus on extension ministry (new starts, etc.); 1987-1990, focus on extension but no longer staff to UCM
Mel Hoover, hired as Director of Urban and International Programs/Extension, staff to UCM, focus on diversity and racism, 1987-1992; (job title and description changed in 1989 to "Advocate for Racial Inclusiveness and Director of International Congregations"; and again several more times); 1992-present, still focus on anti-racism, no longer working directly on "urban" issues
Jacqui James, 1992-1994, staff to UCM, various job titles including Affirmative Action Officer (Worship and RE departments for different times). Job included "urban" until 1994.

Direct Impact of UUA Staff on Congregations
By 1981, 15 churches receiving "special assistance" from Joan Goodwin, especially on adapting UUA materials for urban situations and taking an ecumenical approach to urban issues.
1984 Gene Pickett announced that $50,000 of Vision for Growth funds used for urban extension.
1985 Designation Project cited a total of 229 urban congregations (23% of all UU congregations), representing 60,223 adult members (43% of all adult members).
1990-91 Extension funds dedicated to ethnic new starts and urban congregations totaled $108,100 or 39.9% of the total extension funds that year.
1991-92 Extension funds to ethnic new starts and urban congregations totaled $158,100 or 43.7% of the total extension funds that year.
Extension ministries representing ethnic new starts or urban extension efforts included:

Recruitment of ministers of color
Affirmative Action program for black ministers
Review and changes to MFC rules, with emphasis on impact of urban concerns:
dual fellowship, categories changed to include interfaith, added multicultural to grid/SOCs

Comments/Questions: urbanuu-request@uua.org

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