The Black UU Survival Guide: How to Survive as a Black Unitarian Universalist and How Allies Can Keep It 100

By Xolani Kacela

Have you decided to become a Unitarian Universalist and can help feeling a little lost? Or maybe you have been a member for a while but don't know how to navigate sensitive issues when interacting with those who have racial or cultural differences? Do you want to discover not only how to survive, but how to thrive in your faith? If the answer to any of these questions is "yes," then you absolutely must get a copy of The Black UU Survival Guide: Ten Steps for Surviving as a Black Unitarian Universalist and How Allies Can Keep it 100. Read this survival guide and begin incorporating its lessons into your life and watch the difficulties you were facing while navigating your faith melt away.

This guide will teach you ten steps that will absolutely put you on a path of confidence in your spiritual life. Learn the importance of

 

• Having Respect for and Openness to All People
• Accepting Cultural Differences
• Embracing a Focus on Social Justice
• Being as Authentic as You Can
• And more!

You might be thinking "I don't think a guide book is going to help." or "It can't possibly be that easy to orient myself in my spiritual journey." The truth is, you are not alone, and you are not the only one that feels the way you feel! No excuse is a good excuse to miss out on this opportunity for a more meaningful and fulfilling spiritual life. Get your copy of the next ten steps in your walk of faith by ordering The Black UU Survival Guide today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: X to the k Publishing
• Release date: May 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201184766

Xolani Kacela

Raised by an atheist father and a deeply religious mother, Reverend Xolani Kacela began early seeing the world through a lens of many faiths and beliefs. His broad experience helps him appeal to a wide audience, both secular and religious. He serves as minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Las Cruces, NM, and has been minister at four other Unitarian Universalist churches as well as the United Methodist Church. He grew up a member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). As Chaplain in the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard, he served in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, as well as in Guam and Iraq. He holds a Ph.D. in Pastoral Theology and Pastoral Counseling from Brite Divinity School. His many publications on spirituality, faith development, grief, and relationships include articles, “Being One with the Spirit: Mysticism of Howard Thurman,” “One Session is Enough: Counseling African American Families,” and “Mature Religious Experience in the Midst of Death and Dying”; his book chapters include “To Wake, To Rise: Meditations on Justice and Resilience” and “Art and Wholeness in Church Life.”  His blog, masteringyourownfaith.com with an audience of thousands, explores issues ranging from maximizing one’s potential to race and politics. He contributes to NPR and community radio in Las Cruces, NM, and newspapers and radio in the Southwest.  He believes that everyone has the foundations for living a great life, using their own faith convictions as the cornerstone.

Book preview

The Black UU Survival Guide

The Black UU Survival Guide: How to Survive as a Black Unitarian Universalist and How Allies Can Keep It 100

Xolani Kacela

Published by X to the k Publishing, 2021.

I dedicate this book to my dear friend, Hope Johnson, who dedicated much of her life to helping Black people survive and thrive in Unitarian Universalism.

I also dedicate it to Black people finding their way in Unitarian Universalism.

I also dedicate it to all UUs dismantling white supremacy culture and authentically supporting Black UUs.

The Black UU Survival Guide

How to Survive as a Black Unitarian Universalist and How Allies Can Keep It 100 Universalist

Rev. Xolani Kacela, Ph.d

Foreword by

Dr. Janice Marie Johnson

Illustrations by

Kimber McLaughlin

Published by X to the k

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Copyright 2021 Xolani Kacela

Internal Formatting by C.E. Higgins (carlyhiggins on Fiverr)

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All rights reserved.

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No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

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ISBN: 9781513667256

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[e-mail]

www.revdrxk.com

I dedicate this book to my dear friend, Hope Johnson, who dedicated much of her life to helping Black people survive and thrive in Unitarian Universalism.

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I also dedicate it to Black people finding their way in Unitarian Universalism.

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I also dedicate it to all UUs dismantling white supremacy culture and authentically supporting Black UUs.

License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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** Although this book can be read as pure text, it can be read on a tablet or computer in order to click through the links for extra material **

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Any questions? Tweet me: @xolanikacela

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

ABOUT YOU

ABOUT YOU (Alternative for Aspiring Allies)

ABOUT ME

ABOUT THIS GUIDE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Ten Steps

STEP 1 – Getting to Know the Basics

STEP 2 – Keeping an Open Mind

STEP 3 – Joining a Community

STEP 4 – Dealing with Race, Racism, and Other -Isms

STEP 5 – Knowing Your Faith Convictions, Values, and Beliefs

STEP 6 – Finding your People

STEP 7 – Finding a UU Mentor

STEP 8 – Learning about UU History & Polity

STEP 9 – Getting Involved Beyond your Congregation

STEP 10 – Considering Ministry

Notes

About the Author

Praise for The Black UU Survival Guide

This is a hopeful time to be a Unitarian Universalist of Color. The UU commitment to dismantle the culture of white supremacy within the faith and to work against the persistence of that culture in the world seems real. Yet it is true that many Black UU's still need a Survival Guide.

Commitment to a religious community that knows it remains a work in process around race does require survival skills. And some support. The Survival Guide offers both. Xolani's personal stories will strike familiar chords for many BIPOC UU's and acknowledging the particular challenges we face can be a comfort. White allies can also gain additional insight into the journey many Black UU's are making.

Perhaps the greatest gift of the Survival Guide is that it is a story of survival, of the successful religious transformation Xolani has lived and the place he has found in Unitarian Universalism. The Black UU story is as varied as the Black community. In Unitarian Universalism we need more narratives of survival if this liberal faith is itself to be transformed.

--Rev. Bill Sinkford

Senior Minister, First Unitarian Church, Portland, OR; First Black President, Unitarian Universalist Association

Reverend Xolani Kacela's (Rev. XK) book, The Black UU Survival Guide, gives valuable witness to how folks who identify as BIPOC can and have experienced our Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations.  As a fierce anti-racist and aspiring ally, his experience gives me great pause. This book provides a much-needed blueprint and can be a useful tool for those of us who identify as European American (or white) in providing more support to current and future BIPOC ministers and congregants going forward. Furthermore, we can learn about our own behavior and how to be better ancestors and partners in this beloved faith of ours. I am grateful to Rev XK's heart work and emotional labor in putting pen to paper as he recounts his direct and often troubling experience. If you identify as a white UU, I urge you to breathe deeply as you read and take it in, no matter how disturbing it is to hear this truth. You may not have heard any of this before as many BIPOC will not share deeply if they do not feel it is safe to do so. This is a gift he has given us. I highly suggest we hear it as such. Rev XK deserves our deep and abiding gratitude. 

While, as he states several times in this publication that he is speaking from his direct experience, we would be doing him and other BIPOC ministers and congregants a huge disservice to dismiss his observations as only one example. In my 20+ years of experience with multiple UU congregations and as the European American wife of a Black UU