Cecelia Kingman, representing the Ministerial Fellowship Committee (MFC) of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), has sent another email notice to congregational leaders:
“I am writing to inform you that the Ministerial Fellowship Committee voted recently to remove the Rev. Cory Lovell from fellowship with the Unitarian Universalist Association for violating the following Ethical Standards from the UUMA Code of Conduct:
“‘#5 I will not engage in racist or oppressive actions or speech. I will demonstrate respect, compassion, and equitable treatment to everyone both within and outside of my ministerial context, including clergy colleagues, staff, those I serve and anyone who may disagree with me.’
“#8 specifically the part which reads: ‘I will refrain from relating to colleagues, staff, and members of the congregation or constituents of the setting in which I serve in a manner that creates an intimidating, hostile or oppressive environment. I will not engage in bullying behavior or emotional abuse, further defined in the Addendum of these Guidelines.’
“#9 specifically the part which reads: ‘I will not take advantage of those I serve, or damage the integrity of any congregation, agency, or enterprise in which I serve.’
“This fellowship review occurred after an extensive investigation by an independent investigator….”
I know nothing about this situation. I did find that UU World magazine carried a notice of Cory Lovell’s ordination in their Spring/Summer 2024 issue; he was ordained by the Marin, Calif., congregation, and appears to have been working there since then. And as usual, I post this here because the UUA page listing people removed from fellowship is no longer publicly accessible.
Once again, reading one of these notices has gotten me thinking about the MFC process:
Continue reading “Another one”