Living on the Side of Love - whether we stand, sit, or recline on a stretcher

Carolyn Cartland

When I learned on February 10 that our consulting minister at the Unitarian Society of Hartford, Connecticut, Rev. Katie Lee Crane, was going to deliver a sermon supporting the Standing on the Side of Love campaign the next Sunday, I sent her the following email:

“I am vice president of a national UU group called Equual Access. We formed five    
years ago and work to educate the UUA, congregations, and the world about inclusion of people with disabilities into congregational life, accessibility, and disability rights.

After the Standing on the Side of Love campaign was introduced at General Assembly in 2009, some of us in Equual Access and the disability community within the UUA were disappointed with the name chosen. Language matters, words matter, and those of us who cannot stand felt those words discounted our experience and reinforced the notion that there is something inherently “normal,” “natural,” and “strongly positive” about the notion of “standing”… which, of course, there is not.

One can be “normal,” “natural,” and “strongly positive” while sitting in a wheelchair, using a walker, or employing crutches to move through the world. One can demonstrate commitment, loyalty, and devotion to a cause without “standing.”

In September 2009, a few of us met with some of the leaders in the campaign and in the social justice area of the UUA; we discussed the issue, registered our concern, and requested a name change or a public recognition of the difficulty of the connotation of the words. We also expressed concern that their anti-oppression programs and plans do not specifically include combating ableism, which, for many of us, is as serious a social justice concern as (and overlaps with) racism, homophobia, gender discrimination, ageism, and economic oppression, areas upon which the UUA does specifically focus in the public arena.

Equual Access receives exceptionally strong support (staff, financial, and otherwise) from Mark Bernstein and Teresa Cooley in Congregational Life; we would not be able to do some of the things we have planned without their commitment to our goals. We, also, have good communications/relationship with Taquiena Boston and Janice Marie Johnson in the office of Multicultural Faith and Witness; we have begun to share information and priorities. We know our issues span both organizations while believing that they deserve more public focus from the UUA’s social justice folks. We are working hard to make that happen.

So, for me, the campaign to “stand on the side of love” causes both pain and pride. Words matter. I would feel more included if we were all “living on the side of love”. Those words, like the words we use in our service…”please rise in body and/or spirit”…are meaningful, inclusive, and respectful of everyone; they epitomize our belief in the inherent worth and dignity of everyone.

Without meaning to be presumptuous, I hope that you can reflect some of these ideas in your sermon as you encourage us to love our neighbor, whether we stand, sit, or recline on a stretcher.”

Rev. Crane responded enthusiastically and incorporated my comments into her sermon. She closed her sermon with the following: “I couldn’t have said it better myself. Why? Because I missed how those six little words meant to rally all of us ignored the identities of some of us. I missed it completely. And I am indebted to Carolyn for bringing it to my and our attention this morning. Now when we wear the orange shirts or wave the already-printed signs, we must also remember that we are also rallying to educate ourselves and others about ableism, too. Now we will join with Carolyn and others to register our concern, and request a name change or, at least, request that the folks leading this campaign tell the stories of those who are living on the side of love with or without the use of legs or feet.

I pledge to say just that to the folks in Boston this week.”

Rev. Crane sent her sermon to Dan Furmansky, manager of the SSL campaign, offered to travel to Boston to speak with the SSL folks personally, and suggested that they contact me to highlight this issue on their website. She received a response from Dan, who said, “I will give some thought on how to lift up the ableism issue. ..Your sermon is wonderful and I'm going to share it on our 30 Days round-up.”

I sent the email to Rev. Crane as an individual congregant, not as vice-president of EA. As we all know, this is a complex issue and many of us have different perspectives on it. Equual Access has not taken an official position on the name of the campaign and I do not know if we will. I do think it is important that the larger issue is discussed, namely that disability rights and inclusion of people with disabilities becomes an implicit part of the UUA’s social justice efforts. The topic is on the agenda for our next board meeting on March 7. All meetings of the Equual Access Board are open -- contact info@equualaccess.org in advance for the details.
In the meantime, I am excited that a conversation has begun and that Dan Furmansky has responded positively. For me, that’s the true meaning of living on the side of love.

Carolyn Cartland