Year 8, Week 9

I was again selected as the chair of the Riverbend TDG. Ed retained membership, and Pamela retained Communications. Mustafa was the new treasurer. Pete promised to show him the ropes.

Riverbend Executive Committee

NAME	SECTOR	OFFICER
Lenora Crane	Northwest
Thelma Delgers	Northeast	Chair
Mustafa Ali	Central Treasurer	Treasurer
Emmanuel Bovell	Southwest
Pamela Harris	Southeast	Communications
Ed Broncher	Northeast (2nd)	Membership
Orville Kennedy	Southeast (2nd)

After the election, there wasn't other pending business. So, I brought up my new idea.

"As you know, Riverbend has an abandoned creosote plant that is located in the Northeast, right next to the Battenor River. It smells bad and is sending pollutants into the soil, water, and air."

Orville added, "I remember that plant as a boy. The men in my life called it progress. It employed about 20 workers. The owners just abandoned it—sometime around 1975. Because of unpaid property taxes, it now belongs to the Town of Riverbend. This land is so polluted the town can't even give it away."

Lenora Cranesaid, "The Town is looking for some funds from the state and federal governments to clean it up. I think the recent engineering estimate is $3,000,000."

Mustafa asked a good question: "So what should our TDG do about it?"

Ed said, "At some point, we need to move into societal affairs. The two questions are, one, 'Is our TDG ready for this challenge?' and two, 'Is this project the right project for us?'"

So the first round of discussion was about our readiness. With our recent experience of successfully incorporating the mail-in ballots, we felt confident that had the right culture to move into discussing some societal issues.

Ed said, "The TDG book says a unanimous vote is a sign of good consultation. I think we should employ this standard for this particular issue. It will be a good sign of our readiness to move in this direction."  

We decided the creosote plant issue would require unanimous approval from the executive committee.

Then we discussed the worthiness of the project. We thought many citizens of Riverbend would support itif all three levels of government contributed to the expense. In that sense, this project was not that controversial. We then acknowledged that $3,000,000 spent here means $3,000,000 not being spent somewhere else. Should we add our voice to the many voices already telling the state and federal governments what to do?

Lenora had a good thought, "I think we need to keep pressure on our politicians to spend money on worthy things. Having one more worthy thing on their agenda gives them less reason to spend money on trivial things."

I sensed we were coming to consensus: "I think we are taking the Riverbend TDG in an important new direction. May I suggest that we postpone our decision and do some thinking until our next executive committee meeting?"I thought this topic just might end there.

Mustafa wasn't finished, "Since we are taking the TDG into a new direction, maybe we should get some feedback from our membership first. I don't think they should read about this TDG change in the newspaper."

I asked, "Should we set up a public meeting?"

Orville said, "While we are pretty good at setting up public meetings, they do take some funds and energy. Maybe there's an easier way to announce the new direction."

Pamela suggested, "How about an email notice? I could draft something up and send it off in a few days."

Further discussion led to giving Pamela some boundaries for her email notice. She would describe the project, how Riverbend TDG might be involved, and the unanimous decision required from the executive committee. Members could reply to the email if they had any concerns.


And that is what we did.

It was my turn to ask Stacey about her values at our next truck stop dinner.

"Well, I spent two years in a dorm, but my dorm was nowhere near as wild as yours. We had a few players with occasional one-night stands, and we had a few steady couples releasing their libido. So there was some hanky-panky going on. I didn't experience much peer pressure from my dorm mates in regards to sex and alcohol. Or maybe I was able to ignore it. It seemed everyone left everyone else to their own values.

"But I wanted out in my third year, so a fellow student and I rented an apartment. We got along well. We both found steady boyfriends, and we had a little fun. I really thought my fellow was marriage material, but after a year, we parted. My fourth year was celebate, and that's the way it has been since."

"Looking for anybody?"

"Kind of. About twice year, I take a week off to attend a singles conference hosted by the Unitarian Universalists. I've been talking to a certain fellow from the last conference."

"The United Whatsits?"

"Unitarian Universalists. It's the religion of my parents—which I have recently fully embraced."

"Is it Christian?"

"That depends on who you ask. In regards to the nature of Jesus, we have a different theology than other Christian denominations. To many of them, we are not Christian. And we also rely on other philosophical works for our guidance."

"How has that guidance affected your life?"

My family are the only followers in Riverbend. Even Joosemin has no followers. The few times a year we travelled to conventions to meet with other Unitarians, usually out of state. But each Sunday, my mother and father would have a short service before dinner. That's how my two brothers and I learned the principles of the faith.

"So your religion has been around for a long time?"

"We've been around since 1600. At that time, there were quite a few Christian movements coming from the Catholic Church. We are one of them."

"But let's get back to guidance," I said.

"We Unitarians have our own code of  values. One of them is to be of service to our community. Hence my involvement in the Battenor Ecological Society.Another is justice. In the abolitionist days, many Unitarians were very active in the anti-slavery movement. Many members today are involved with civil rights or environmentalism.

"And we are taught not to treat people outside our religion as inferior. So we associate with others.

Stacey continued, "As a teen, I had little interest in the party lifestyle. So I was able to keep my head on a little straighter than many American youth.

This kept me out of life-changing trouble. I didn't realize how my upbringing set up these values until my second year at college.

"And I was quite focused on getting my degree. Now my priority is to get my student debt paid off. When that is done, I want to be of more service to my community.

"With my academic training, I now really understand how religion can be a social force to shape people's lives for the better. When people change themselves for the better, the community changes for the better. All that comes from my Unitarian Universalist upbringing."

"How has your faith affected our relationship?"

"Haven't our conversations helped you better understand your past and your future?"

Just then, I decided I wanted to be more like Stacey. But maybe without so much religion.