Parish
There Is Something Wrong at the First Unitarian Universalist Church
RECEIVED Fri., Feb. 13, 2009
Dear Editor and readers,
The First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin has undergone changes in recent months. During December, its senior minister, Davidson Loehr, was dismissed from the church. For many the dismissal process was unfair, upsetting, and wrong. While many others felt the dismissal was fair. Many remain distressed over the dismissal. Others are happy. Church announcements reveal some of the efforts to move the church through its emotional conflicts. Helping Ministries has been running small group sessions to help members through this turmoil; a reconciliation team was put together, and this evolved into the bridge-building team, which in turn has hired an outside expert to help heal the church. More "healing" activities are planned. Obviously, the methods used to orchestrate the Rev. Loehr's departure have caused a significant upheaval. Some members have left the church, while others have returned; overall, membership is suffering. Some say reconciliation and truth are intertwined. Others want to be forward-thinking and get away from the past. Somehow something went terribly wrong at FUUCA. There is even a website for those distressed and displaced by the Dec. 13, 2008, dismissal of Loehr. For those who want to better understand why many left the church, they can visit the Yahoo! group ReFUUgee at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/refuugees.
The First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin has undergone changes in recent months. During December, its senior minister, Davidson Loehr, was dismissed from the church. For many the dismissal process was unfair, upsetting, and wrong. While many others felt the dismissal was fair. Many remain distressed over the dismissal. Others are happy. Church announcements reveal some of the efforts to move the church through its emotional conflicts. Helping Ministries has been running small group sessions to help members through this turmoil; a reconciliation team was put together, and this evolved into the bridge-building team, which in turn has hired an outside expert to help heal the church. More "healing" activities are planned. Obviously, the methods used to orchestrate the Rev. Loehr's departure have caused a significant upheaval. Some members have left the church, while others have returned; overall, membership is suffering. Some say reconciliation and truth are intertwined. Others want to be forward-thinking and get away from the past. Somehow something went terribly wrong at FUUCA. There is even a website for those distressed and displaced by the Dec. 13, 2008, dismissal of Loehr. For those who want to better understand why many left the church, they can visit the Yahoo! group ReFUUgee at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/refuugees.
Bob Randall
