First UU Congregation of Second Life

Minutes of the FUUCSL Leadership Group Meeting of November 18, 2010

Meeting called to order at 5:29 PM SLT.

Present: Joan Ixito, Zyzzy Zarf, Pomona Writer, Sofia Freenote, Darcy Cedarbridge, Etaoin Barcelona, Zena Silverstar.

Visitors: Aelita Longfall, Hyacinth Greymoon, Oorto Dragoone, Nathaniel Cardboard, Balthazar Hotaling (most visitors were not present for the entire meeting).

Minutes of October 28, 2010, were accepted as presented.

Treasurer’s Report: (Sofia Freenote)

56 members. 2 new members: Freda Frostbite & Heximer Thane

Old Business

Report: Social Justice Action Team Report (Joan Ixito)

In evaluating the following social justice options and developing this report, the subcommittee believes that a social justice activity should meet the following criteria:

• It should be effective in improving the lives of someone outside our Congregation.

• It should demonstrate that the FUUCSL is a real UU congregation which participates fully in UU principles.

• There should be some metric associated with the activity, which can be used to assess the activity’s efficacy.

With these goals in mind, we present each option.

KIVA Microloans

• Kiva Partners with a Microfinance Institution

• Kiva partners with existing microfinance institutions around the world.

• Field Partners Disburse Loans and Upload Stories

• Field Partners disburse loans as soon as they are needed. They can do this up to 30 days before

• Many Field Partners require mandatory savings as part of the loan cycle in order to ensure that borrowers represent a good lending risk and can build up cash reserves.

• Lenders Browse Profiles and Lend

• Lenders browse loan requests and select which ones they’d like to fund. Lenders can fund as little as $25 and as much as the entire amount of the loan.

• Kiva aggregates funds from Kiva lenders and provides them to the Field Partner.

• Kiva Disburses Lenders’ Funds to the Field Partner

• The Field Partner uses the funds to replenish the loan they’ve already made to the entrepreneur.

• Entrepreneurs Repay Their Loans

• The Field Partner collects repayments from Kiva entrepreneurs as well as any interest due and lets Kiva know if a repayment was not made as scheduled.

• Kiva Provides Repayments to Lenders

• If there is already money in the Field Partner’s account, or once their payment is received, Kiva uses these funds to credit the appropriate lenders with their loan repayments.

• Lenders can re-lend their funds to another entrepreneur, donate their funds to Kiva (to cover operational expenses), or withdraw their funds via PayPal.

In order to become more familiar with KIVA, the subcommittee established a presence on KIVA. Sofia has already opted to provide a loan, which demonstrates how this can be done. Please see www.kiva.org/team/fuucsl_social_justice_action_team.

Other SJ Options:

1. Letter-writing to US Service Members; http://soldiersangels.org/letter-writing-team.html

 

2. Letter-writing to prisoners; http://www.writeaprisoner.com/

 

3. Political activism; the Congregation may be asked to choose a political position and to express its’ collective opinion on that position by means of written correspondence and phone calls. Lilith Yue indicates that there is some training that should happen.

 

4. Interfaith Exchange: while suggested, it is felt that this serves no social justice need.

 

Both individual loans to KIVA through the FUUCSL team and a FUUCSL loan through the team were discussed. Treasurer Byk could become a lender on behalf of FUUCSL. Byk may have a paypal account.

The Leadership Group agreed that the KIVA project is a worthwhile idea to pursue; this project would go a long way toward moving toward true congregational outreach.

A proposal to be put before the Voting Membership will be written by Joan and will specify individual approach and also a congregational vote to allocate FUUCSL funds.

Report on Saturday Services: (Joan Ixito)

The first Saturday service was held; 10 attended, but none of them the Euro crowd we wanted to attract. Saturday services will continue for a few months with hope for growth. Spfia will add the notice that Saturday services will be held on 3rd Saturdays at 11:00 AM SLT.

Report on Transgender Resource Center: (Pomona Writer):

Hyacinth Greymoon proposes a transgender resource center somewhere on Uutopia: She says:

Transforming is very hard work, and a long painful process. Good information is needed about how to do it in a healthy way, good information about hormones and how they affect your body, alternative more holistic routes, may help a lot of very confused people. So many men fall down the rabbit hole in SL, discover that their gender identity is off, and find themselves in fantasy / porn environments, with little good information. I very much worry about these people. For almost 3 years I knew I was transgendered and my only outlet was Second Life, and I had no clue how to transform in RL, or if it was even possible for me. Would I lose my family, my friends? I felt pretty desperate, and I am glad that I took a very slow, methodical approach to it. A great many TG folk who are just starting out have no support system, no information, they blunder through it and their lives really fall apart. Others see no hope and become depressed or suicidal. I would like to help combat that if I can. I would like to offer a place for people to meet. Also workshops hosted by various TG speakers and advocates, and a library of information on hormones, safety, how to seek therapy and medical treatment, relationships… also biographies of inspiring transgendered people. Good, serious information, and healthy role models are the key to knowing if this change is right for you, and how to do it right. I think it would be appropriate and an asset to our UU community because it will help bring in new members, and help them find supportive (perhaps UU) communities in their real life. My only caveat is that people will need to be a little more patient and understanding than in the past. A very large number of trans people in SL frequent adult areas as their only safe option in exploring their sexuality, and a virtual church environment is probably not be the first place they think to go, in exploring this new identity. You are very likely to see people with inappropriate tags, and mature topics will be discussed. We could place signs gently asking people to be respectful, but I am sure a few people will need to be reminded, and my concern is that it is done kindly and respectfully. This is not criticism, or meant to bring up hard feelings of the past, but this must be faced. I am remembering the uproar when Randi visited our church the first time. It did not leave a good impression, and probably discouraged her from seeking out a RL UU church, which she was sincerely interested in. This undertaking would require patience, compassion and a firm commitment to our first principle, in treating others in a welcoming way. I can tell you from experience, that these people are very vulnerable and already feeling like “pervs”. They really do need our compassion and acceptance. That is what our denomination is supposed to be all about, and what our calling is as UU’s.

Discussion followed about such a center, our mission to build an intentionally inclusive, non-judgmental community, continued insistence on our land covenant (ground rules), to provide space for individuals and groups who wish to initiate activities, celebrations and open discussions on subjects of interest to them, the project as outreach, linking up with other existing SL TG support sites.

Report on UUtopia Emerson: (Zyzzy Zarf):

Curtis Rhosar, owner of Emerson, says he is leaving Second Life for the time being. The rent on Emerson is paid through January 15, 2011. Curtis paid for the setup cost initially, but if he left before a year, it would not be refundable. The monthly fee paid to LL is US $125.

Report on new sim: (Zyzzy Zarf):

UUtopia Alcott has arrived. Some people are moving there, others expanding into the parcels left on the main UUtopia island. Topography is not get complete, but it’s planned to slope down to the west, where it should be clusters of islands. There is 2048 parcel has been reserved next to the sanctuary for expansion. The center of Alcott is all commons. Many suggestions (mostly humorous) were made.

New Business

No new business was introduced.

Meeting adjourned at 8:25 PM SLT.

Respectfully submitted, Pomona Writer, Secretary