Bureaucracies. Bleh.
Oct. 17th, 2013 11:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
averygoodun42The government shutdown is over! Yay! And it will remain open for a whole... 90 days... yay?
*rolls eyes*
Bureaucracies are such a pain. And it's even more of a pain when they're close to home.
Backstory: Our church is currently undergoing a change in leadership that started about three years ago when the acting minister announced his retirement. Our interim minister is on her second and final year.
The result of all this change is that the church leadership committee (this is a UU church, remember. Everything is run by committee) is taking the opportunity to change or codify all the rules.
And, damn, but there are a lot of rules.
I understand their need to cover their butts legally, but, well... I really don't want a minister who is all about rule-keeping. I don't want a church that is all about rule-keeping! That's why I'm a UU, dammit! It's as close to being a dogma(government)-free religion as possible!
(Granted, the UUA is definitely trying to be more of a presence in every UU church's life at the moment. For good and for bad.)
Anyhoo. The real reason for my little bitch-post is that I am slowly finding the words of upset I feel over how one of our members, let me call him/her "Pat" is being treated. Yes, Pat's been legally accused of doing something (verbally, not physically), but, what gets me is that:
1) Pat has been accused and indicted. Pat has not been found guilty!
2) Pat is mentally disabled by illness. Pat is on meds, and definitely needs those meds, but given the side effects of those meds, we would know if Pat were not taking them (there wouldn't be tremors), and would therefore know if Pat was a possible danger.
But most importantly,
3) This person has nothing but our church. Literally. Okay, Pat has a change of clothes, but that's it. And Pat has told several members that this church community is his/her only family. We're it.
I will admit I am uncomfortable around Pat, though I will also aver that I have never, ever felt threatened. I am uncomfortable because Pat is (at least) one deviation further away from normal than I am comfortable with.
But the reaction to the allegations that brought on Pat's indictment has Pat being treated like a prisoner in our church. On the plus side, we have all agreed that we can not in good faith or justice keep Pat from coming to church. That's good. And I think it is reasonable for Pat to have an escort within the church given the allegations (but also for companionship, as, damn Pat needs friendship!). But Pat's been made (and agreed to, but then I have to wonder how much of Pat's fear of losing this last thing fed into his/her willingness to sign anything, just to be able to stay) to sign an agreement that (s)he will not enter certain parts of the building - including coffee hour!!! - even with accompaniment. And on top of that, all youth, including the teenagers, are to be escorted to and from their classes, just in case.
I find this disgusting. It's belittling to both the member and the youth. It's letting fear take over everything, and, well, that's what the Baptists are for! (joking. mostly.)
Anyway. That's my little bugbear of the evening. I'm upset that I'm finding this church has turned into a church I'm not happy to be a member of, because, well, it's where all my friends go. And it felt so much like home when I first joined...
I'm not going to be cutting my ties to it as both Geoff and Page have too much invested in it for me to do so at this point, but I do hope that the new minister, after he or she gets established, will encourage and allow the church to relax into something alittle lot less dogmatic and fearful.
*rolls eyes*
Bureaucracies are such a pain. And it's even more of a pain when they're close to home.
Backstory: Our church is currently undergoing a change in leadership that started about three years ago when the acting minister announced his retirement. Our interim minister is on her second and final year.
The result of all this change is that the church leadership committee (this is a UU church, remember. Everything is run by committee) is taking the opportunity to change or codify all the rules.
And, damn, but there are a lot of rules.
I understand their need to cover their butts legally, but, well... I really don't want a minister who is all about rule-keeping. I don't want a church that is all about rule-keeping! That's why I'm a UU, dammit! It's as close to being a dogma(government)-free religion as possible!
(Granted, the UUA is definitely trying to be more of a presence in every UU church's life at the moment. For good and for bad.)
Anyhoo. The real reason for my little bitch-post is that I am slowly finding the words of upset I feel over how one of our members, let me call him/her "Pat" is being treated. Yes, Pat's been legally accused of doing something (verbally, not physically), but, what gets me is that:
1) Pat has been accused and indicted. Pat has not been found guilty!
2) Pat is mentally disabled by illness. Pat is on meds, and definitely needs those meds, but given the side effects of those meds, we would know if Pat were not taking them (there wouldn't be tremors), and would therefore know if Pat was a possible danger.
But most importantly,
3) This person has nothing but our church. Literally. Okay, Pat has a change of clothes, but that's it. And Pat has told several members that this church community is his/her only family. We're it.
I will admit I am uncomfortable around Pat, though I will also aver that I have never, ever felt threatened. I am uncomfortable because Pat is (at least) one deviation further away from normal than I am comfortable with.
But the reaction to the allegations that brought on Pat's indictment has Pat being treated like a prisoner in our church. On the plus side, we have all agreed that we can not in good faith or justice keep Pat from coming to church. That's good. And I think it is reasonable for Pat to have an escort within the church given the allegations (but also for companionship, as, damn Pat needs friendship!). But Pat's been made (and agreed to, but then I have to wonder how much of Pat's fear of losing this last thing fed into his/her willingness to sign anything, just to be able to stay) to sign an agreement that (s)he will not enter certain parts of the building - including coffee hour!!! - even with accompaniment. And on top of that, all youth, including the teenagers, are to be escorted to and from their classes, just in case.
I find this disgusting. It's belittling to both the member and the youth. It's letting fear take over everything, and, well, that's what the Baptists are for! (joking. mostly.)
Anyway. That's my little bugbear of the evening. I'm upset that I'm finding this church has turned into a church I'm not happy to be a member of, because, well, it's where all my friends go. And it felt so much like home when I first joined...
I'm not going to be cutting my ties to it as both Geoff and Page have too much invested in it for me to do so at this point, but I do hope that the new minister, after he or she gets established, will encourage and allow the church to relax into something a
