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On Wednesday, June 21, the Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA) honored three religious educators for creating the White Supremacy Teach-In, in which nearly 700 Unitarian Universalist congregations participated in April and May. It is the largest common service among UU congregations in recent memory, according to Unitarian Universalist Association Interim Co-President William G. Sinkford.
Aisha Hauser, Christina Rivera, and Kenny Wiley received a standing ovation for designing and organizing the teach-in in response to the hiring practices controversy at the UUA that erupted last March. LREDA President Cathy Seggel described their “heroic work” and thanked them for their “generous wisdom, courage, and inspiration.” She said each of them has been gifted with an honorarium from the LREDA endowment.
Hauser is director of religious education at East Shore Unitarian Church in Bellevue, Washington. Rivera, director of administration and finance at Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church UU in Charlottesville, Virginia, is a trustee and financial secretary on the UUA Board of Trustees; she will become UUA secretary at the end of GA. Wiley is a program director at the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado and a senior editor at UU World.
The three were honored at LREDA’s meeting during UUA General Assembly 2017, which is being held June 21-25 in New Orleans.