Rev. Kate Lore's Unitarian Universalist New Year's Day Prayer And Victims Of Pedophilia And Rape Committed By UUA Clergy - What's The Connection?

Rev. Kate Lore, Associate minister of First Unitarian Church of Portland Oregon, is one of the few UU ministers who have what it takes to follow me on Twitter. She also has a MUCH better take on beginning the New Year than most of the U*Us I know who habitually (mis)use New Years Day, to say nothing of Yom Kippur, as an excuse to "make a fresh start" by pretending that they don't need to deal responsibly with the past year's "sins of commission" and "sins of omission".

Rather than trying to sweep the past under the proverbial carpet on New Year's Day, as FAR too many U*Us including U*U clergy and UUA leadership do, Rev. Kate Lore has created a Unitarian Universalist prayer for the New Year which not only explicitly asks what lessons have been learned in the past year, but what these lessons call upon U*Us to DO in the New Year. Rather than promoting self-serving "self-forgiveness", Rev. Lore's New Year's Day prayer actually asks U*Us to reflect upon who they still owe an apology to, or expression of thanks to.

The last time I checked, top-level UUA leadership and U*U clergy still owe apologies not only to Yours Truly, but to ALL victims of ALL forms of U*U clergy abuse, thanks to the brazen bald faced lies that UUA Moderator Jim Key told in the all but completely worthless "institutional apology" to victims of U*U clergy sexual misconduct that he inserted into his first Moderator's Report to a UUA GA on June 27th, 2014.

Let's face it U*Us. . .

In brazenly lying by asserting that,

"There were NO incidents of abuse of children or elders in my investigations."


UUA Moderator Jim Key, and by extension the Unitarian Universalist Association as an institution, not only FAILed to apologize to those persons of inherent worth and dignity who were*are victims of "such despicable crimes as pedophilia and rape" committed by "certain Unitarian Universalist ministers", but he and the UUA denied their very existence. . . Any and ALL victims of pedophilia aka child sex abuse committed by "certain Unitarian Universalist ministers" were rendered non-persons by the brazen bald faced lie about U*U clergy sexual abuse of children that *Certified* Risk Management Consultant James C. Key inserted into his "less than honest", and thus worthless, "institutional apology" to victims of U*U clergy sexual misconduct. These persons of  inherent worth and dignity, who were*are victims of the worst forms of U*U clergy sexual misconduct ARE still owed an apology by the UUA. Indeed UUA Moderator Jim Key owes victims of child sex abuse committed by UUA clergy an apology for denying that they even exist. . .

Without further ado, here is my "annotated" version of Rev. Kate Lore's New Year's prayer 'As A New Year Begins'. It will be interesting to see if the UUA still owes victims of "such despicable crimes as pedophilia and rape" committed by "certain Unitarian Universalist ministers" an apology when 2017 begins. . .

Great Spirit of Life,

As a new year begins, we turn inward to reflect about the state of our lives:

As we pause from our regular rhythms of rush-rush-rush, we open ourselves to new perspectives and possibilities. We give thanks for these moments and for the wisdom they afford us. May they help bring us together in the sacred dynamics of life so that we—as individuals and as members of this community--mightmreach our full potential.

As we step across this threshold, let this new year be a year of greater awe and gratitude,
Of deeper kindness and acceptance,
And more courageous acts of conviction.
For a kinder, more equitable and sustainable world is not only possible, she is on her way. And in the quietness of this sacred community, we can ever hear her breathing.

Amen.

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