Over the last year, the CLF Board, Nominating Committee, and Lead Ministry Team have been examining how to best serve and be accountable to our membership, nearly 50% of whom are currently incarcerated. As part of that process, the Nominating Committee and the Board looked at who is serving on the Board and other CLF committees, asking:

• Which voices and perspectives are missing from our leadership tables?
• How can we bring a liberation lens as well as a racial analysis to our work as we bring new people into CLF leadership?
• How do we live in integrity with our Unitarian Universalist values by making board and committee service more accessible to a wide variety of people, including those with personal or family experience with incarceration?

With the blessing and full support of the board, the Nominating Committee began exploring what changes need to be made in the culture of CLF leadership teams that would make board service an engaging, uplifting, and spiritually satisfying experience for those with direct experience with incarceration, including formerly incarcerated people and family members impacted by incarceration.

The Nominating Committee began a process of educating itself, learning from those with prison ministry experience and those who work in organizations supporting incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people. We spoke with leaders from the prison abolitionist organization Black and Pink which supports LGBTQ and HIV-positive prisoners. At their suggestion, we read the book The Church and the Sex Offender. We considered economic, racial, cultural, and other issues that might be barriers to participation in leadership. A joint conversation between the Board and the Nominating Committee about necessary cultural and procedural changes is in process, as well as plans for more education for current board members.

As the work of educating ourselves and removing barriers to service proceeds, the Nominating Committee is committed to bringing the vital voice and perspective of our incarcerated members to the leadership table. Although at this time, it is not possible to include on the Board those of our members who are currently incarcerated, we are committed to nominating one or more formerly incarcerated people or family members with direct experience with incarceration for anticipated available board openings. We will begin talking with potential candidates for board service this fall.

The CLF Board is responsible for the vision and mission of the CLF. The CLF Board met twice a year in person pre-pandemic and held regular meetings and discussion via email and videoconferencing. (During the pandemic, all meetings have been virtual.) There is also committee liaison work which board members may volunteer to do. Transportation and housing for in-person meetings and other expenses is covered by the CLF budget. If you would like to serve the CLF in some capacity, but board service doesn’t seem like the right fit, we are also looking for potential volunteers with a finance or HR background to be part of CLF committees.

Might YOU be a person with this perspective who is interested in finding out more about board service or committee work?

Is there someone you know who might enjoy and be good in such a role? Please pass this article along to them, and encourage them to be in touch. Or, reach out to us and let us know so we can follow-up. Please email nominating@clfuu.org with the subject “Board/Committee Interest” or return the tear-off form with your questions and comments, as well as your suggestions about potential new CLF Board and committee members. See the tear off section on the next page for a reflection question. We’d love to hear from you.

We are excited about this new approach to CLF leadership and hope you are, too. Thank you!