More and more, my thoughts are occupied by the upcoming presidential election. Magazine ads extol the credentials and e-mail exchanges weigh the merits of the two candidates. Last Sunday, one of the candidates was right here in Kelseyville.
No, not that presidential election; I know it was settled last November. I”m talking about who will next be president of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).
The Rev. Peter Morales and the Rev. Dr. Laurel Hallman are both running for the office of UUA president. Morales is the brother-in-law to a member of our local congregation and he was in town last weekend for the Kelseyville High School graduation. On June 14, Morales spoke to the congregation about why Unitarian Universalism can be “the religion for our time.”
Our local congregation is entitled to send two delegates to vote in the upcoming election; hence the interest in gauging our opinions about the candidates for UUA president.
Each candidate took out a double-page ad in the most recent association magazine. Video statements are online. But being able to see one of the candidates in front of our local congregation made it especially meaningful for me that we are part of a larger community.
Through another voluntary association, this time with Toastmasters International, I”m being similarly asked to consider changes in the highest level of governance.
These experiences underscore, for me, the degree to which politics are inseparable from nearly every aspect of life ? and how decisions at the international level could have lasting implications for local congregations and clubs.
At the same time, we may have no direct say in how these organizations run their affairs.
Let”s face it, no matter who is at the helm of an international organization, most people interact and volunteer on a personal, local level and are likely to have no direct involvement at the international level.
If Morales did not have a local connection to our UU community, it is very probable that we would never have hosted a UUA presidential candidate. His reason for being here stemmed from his family connection and had nothing to do with campaigning.
Regardless of who is elected UUA president or what form that governance will take in Toastmasters International, our local bodies will not be involved in these day-to-day affairs. The same holds true for other local churches and other local civic clubs that are part of a greater whole.
At the same time, we can also exercise a certain “veto” power over what takes place in upper levels.
What would happen to a church”s social justice movement if no one linked to it on Facebook or signed up via Twitter for its “Tweets”? Its organizers would quickly learn that their motives and priorities are out of step with local parishioners.
Or if the members of a local civic club failed to renew their dues because they no longer felt as if they acquired any benefit from their involvement?
I am not saying that any association is in danger of this actually happening. I”ve noticed, too, that recruiting does take place to encourage individuals from local bodies to aspire to higher offices. In these ways our local churches and local civic clubs make up an interconnected ecology with their upper-level counterparts.
Cynthia Parkhill is the focus pages editor for the record-Bee and editor of the Clear Lake Observer?American. She can be contacted at ObserverAmerican@gmail.com or 263-5636 ext. 28.
