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HOPE for Us is a conflict-resolution program at the Unitarian Universalist Association that helps congregations view conflict as an opportunity for transformation and possibility.
Rev. Dr. Hope Johnson, in whose memory the HOPE for Us program is named.
“While it’s a conflict-resolution process, it’s different than anything we’ve done before,” says the program’s director, Connie Goodbread, who notes that it is deeply grounded in UU theology “and the way we look at forgiveness.”
HOPE for Us provides coaching teams who work with Congregational Life Staff to assist congregations to move through conflict toward wholeness and vitality. Teams are composed of religious professionals and lay leaders hired by the UUA.
Launched in 2019, HOPE for Us was envisioned by Goodbread, Rev. Dr. Hope Johnson, and Rev. Tandi Rogers, all of whom have decades of experience working with congregations in conflict. Johnson was its original director; after she died in late 2020, the program was renamed in her honor and Goodbread became director.
The program brings an anti-oppressive lens to understanding how larger social systems of oppression and exploitation may affect a particular conflict. When Widening the Circle of Concern, the 2020 report of the Commission on Institutional Change, recommended creation of a national conflict team, “We knew we were on the right track,” Goodbread says.
HOPE for Us has already worked with about ninety congregations. Seven have gone through the full process, which involves a formal agreement including the amount of time the process will take and the cost to the congregation.
To learn more, contact your UUA Congregational Life Staff.