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MAY 2016 Depth through refl ection WWW.UUCCHARLOTTE.ORG IN THIS ISSUE ON: BEACON / WITNESS SATURDAY • JUNE 25, 2011 • 75¢ charlotteobserver.com CDEF ■■■ + “We are a beacon of UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS GATHER IN CHARLOTTE Dem-led progressive thought and action in the larger agencies’ Charlotte community.” cuts were – FROM THE UUCC deepest ENDS STATEMENTS Republicans in the General Assembly deny that politics played a role in deciding allocations as they cut $2.5 billion from the state budget. 2 | Member Refl ections By Rob Christensen [email protected] RALEIGH — In an era of downsized state govern- Luis Rodriguez ment, N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Trox- ler has managed to largely protect his department from the budget ax. Ann Wood Troxler, a Republican, also has vastly increased its staff and pow- PHOTOS BY TODD SUMLIN - [email protected] ers, positioning him to be the most Chip Sharpe, right, holds up a sign of support for gays and lesbians during a Friday rally at Marshall Park by Unitarian Universalists. influential agriculture commission- Members of the denomination are in town for their General Assembly. The rally was led by local ministers Jay Leach and Robin Tanner. er since the legendary Jim Graham, who served nine terms before his 3 | Fathoming death in 2003. While other departments were Liberal denomination laying off workers, the agriculture Troxler department payroll grew from 1,300 Jay Leach employees to more than 2,000 workers. In fact, it will emerge from the recession with an operating stands up for its causes budget that has grown from $60 million to $106 mil- lion. By Tim Funk tory of social activism – is meeting this week- Troxler says the numbers are not what they seem. [email protected] end in the Bible Belt, better known for a He notes that his department, too, has taken its bud- 4 | Families: Let’s Dive In! First, they honored the imam who’s in the Christian church on nearly every corner. get lumps, too. And that its growth reflects greater middle of plans to build an Islamic center The 4,000-plus UUs, as they often call SEE CUTS, 9A near ground zero. Then they rallied in up- themselves, are in Charlotte from around the town Charlotte to support gays, lesbians and country to attend workshops, mingle with MORE COVERAGE same-sex marriage. fellow delegates, listen to nationally re- • Gov. Bev Perdue on Friday vetoed a bill And that was just in the first 48 hours or so nowned speakers. restricting medical malpractice lawsuits.1B 5 | From Your Board of Trustees after they got to town. And stand up for their causes – especially • Perdue has signed a bill requiring employers to Today, the 50th annual General Assembly the controversial ones. verify new hires’ immigration status. 10A Megan Van Fleet Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf spoke Friday to of Unitarian Universalists will, among other It’s something members of their church have Unitarian Universalists in Charlotte. He also things, spotlight a human rights activist who always done. Susan B. Anthony pushed wom- gave an earlier interview to the Observer. rescues immigrants illegally crossing the en’s suffrage in the 19th century, when it was For a sampling, see Page 4A. border by giving them water and getting unpopular. In the 1960s, when some wished the Bank holding firm them to hospitals. civil rights movement would just go away, two MORE PHOTOS: The country’s most liberal collection of UUs – Viola Liuzzo and the Rev. James Reeb – 8 | Celebrating Our Volunteers www.charlotteobserver.com/local congregations – with no creed, but a long his- SEE ASSEMBLY, 4A files papers for IPO Led by former Bank of America executives, company specializes in Greg Schropp buying up troubled banks in Southeast. By Rick Rothacker House spurns Obama on Libya [email protected] Since last summer, former Bank of America exec- between Congress and the White House over John McCain, R-Ariz., to blunt criticism that But after the largely symbolic vote utives Gene Taylor and Chris Marshall have been authorization of American military aid for the the president has failed to seek congressional 9 | Welcoming New Members against involvement, members buying up troubled banks around the Southeast. NATO mission in Libya, was a approval for his actions in Libya. Now they’re looking to turn their then back a bill funding U.S. effort. mixed message to the Obama “We are disappointed by that vote,” said Jay venture into a publicly traded com- By Jennifer Steinhauer administration, with Republi- Carney, a White House spokesman. “We think Barbara Devinney pany and raise money for even New York Times cans and Democrats forming now is not the time to send the kind of mixed more deals. WASHINGTON — The House dealt a symbolic alliances that splintered cus- message that it sends when we are working On Friday, their bank holding blow to President Barack Obama on Friday by tomary party lines. The reso- with our allies to achieve the goals that we be- Brenda DiModugno & Rich Exley company – North American Finan- resoundingly rejecting a bill to authorize Unit- lution to support the mission lieve that are widely shared in Congress.” cial Holdings – filed paperwork ed States military operations in Libya. But the failed 295-123, with 70 Demo- He said that these goals included “protect- that could lead to an initial public Curtis & Roberta Griner chamber also defeated a measure that would Obama crats joining Republicans in a ing civilians in Libya, enforcing a no-fly zone, offering that raises up to $300 mil- Marshall have limited financing to support those ef- rebuff to Obama. enforcing an arms embargo and further put- lion or possibly more. The move forts. The resolution was based on a Senate bill ting pressure” on Moammar Gadhafi, the Lib- puts the pair at the forefront of a Michael Masterson The result, coming after weeks of tension written by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and SEE LIBYA, 6A pack of bankers looking to capital- ize on the financial industry’s woes. Terry Taylor Ask Amy ...............5E Firms such as NAFH “are look- o o Business ............10A PETER FALK, TV’S TODAY’S MUST-READ ing to pick up the gems from the 92 65 Classified .....9B, 3H Radio: ashes of the financial industry’s Bruce Wiley 4-5E ‘COLUMBO,’ DIES Meet the opinionated Comics ............. Vince Coakley. 1E collapse,” said John Fitzgibbon, Taylor Toda : Sunny and warmer with Editorial 12A Actor who became an icon 10| For Further Engagement The Mission of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte is to inspire children, youth and adults to discover and articulate deeper spiritual meaning evidenced in lives of integrity, compassion and stewardship of the earth. La mision de la iglesia Unitaria Universalista de Charlotte es inspirar a los ninos, jovenes y adultos para que descrubran y articulan un signifi cado espiritual profundo, evidenta en una vida de integridada, compasion y en el mnejo de los recursos de la tierra MEMBER REFLECTIONS on BEACON/WITNESS SLAYING DRAGONS “WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD” by Luis Rodriguez by Ann Wood I became an activist because How do we choose who and of a deep discontentment how we will be in the world? with the world around me. It is probably not a particular I’d grown up with stories of moment in time that defi nes how the world should be. us but a collection of such That people should love one moments. Not the infl uence of another, take care of one one person, but the wonderful another. I learned about variety of wisdom gained from Luis Rodriguez heroes slaying dragons, the friction engendered by engaging with others. bringing down tyrants and Ann Wood returning the land to the people. Some outgrow those An early association with the stories. They tuck them away as “nice” and “quaint” but Unitarian Church of Charlotte offered me and my not realistic. family like-minded folk who helped me fi nd – and who And then there are people like me. are still helping me fi nd – ways in which I can justify taking up space on a crowded planet. The formal part You can call me “crazy.” A person has to be a little crazy of my search began as a to think they can slay member of a Unitarian the real dragons, depose Fellowship in Greenville, the real tyrants, and South Carolina. A motley return the land to the crew. I still hear from the people. When I decided survivors. to start on this quixotic path, most of the friends, The informal part began family and acquaintances much earlier when as a I thought I knew began child I was encouraged to look at me like some to act based on the exotic beetle… one that hubris that seemed to be may bite if prodded. It inborn (hubris: “to rush wasn’t such a big leap I impetuously”). I think suppose; in school I was Moral Monday gathering on voting rights, photo by Nancy Pierce it must be true that you voted “Most Likely to become what you practice, Start a Cult.” and equally true that you seldom know how you got to be the person you have become. I felt very alone, however. A cult of one. It wasn’t long before I noticed familiar faces popping up at protests Some things I know for sure. I know that Sydney and press conferences, though. Everywhere I went, Freeman, Sue Riley, Sybil Bernstein, Judge James members of my church were there, fi red up over McMillan, a collection of Quaker friends, Pop Miller the same issues, fi ghting the same villains.

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