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The Unitarian Universalist |
UUCP
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In Focus: Lisa Trager
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The Communications Team is responsible for getting the news of sermons and updated events out to the congregation and the press. Since we are without an editor, the monthly newsletter, The Journey has temporarily stopped being produced. Monthly team reports, sermons and other UUCP information are now published monthly to the website, http://uucpalisades.org. Lisa said, “We hope that out UUCP members and friends with computers will get into the habit of checking the site monthly for updated news. Those who are unable to go online, may request a printed copy of the website to stay informed.” A practical advantage of using the medium of the Internet is the money it saves the congregation for printing and postage. The other important role that the CT plays is getting press releases out to the local newspapers. Lisa said, “With our overall budget lowered, and especially the means to pay for advertising, the best way to keep our name in the public eye is by the free publicity we can get in the Suburbanite under their section of Religious Services. Sometimes we luck out and a press release is printed as a longer feature article about a special guest or event.” Lisa reminds everyone to please get information about upcoming services and newsworthy events to the Communications Team one month ahead of time since the paper requires two weeks advance notice. Lisa has been a member of UUCP since the Spring of 2000. “The first time I attended was on Easter Sunday. My daughter Lauren was just six years old and was really curious about church. She would always ask me why we didn’t go to church like her friends and wanted to know what went on in the churches and synagogues we would pass. I decided to appease her curiosity finding a place that was at least true to my spiritual, social, and political feelings.” Lisa first heard about the UUCP from a member of her community in Hillsdale. “The way this person described the congregation made it sound almost like a secret organization. What attracted me were the basic tenets of Unitarian Universalism to embrace the best of the Judeo-Christian ethic and apply it in terms of social justice and a commitment to being intentionally anti-racist, multi-cultural, and diverse.” Lisa said, “I was raised to not trust religion or people who used religious terminology. Religion has a long history of inciting prejudice, war, and hate in the world. My father comes from a Jewish heritage but since adulthood has been an atheist. For us, going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Sundays was our religion. My dad’s first response to knowing that I was bringing the kids to UUCP was, ‘What kind of brain washing are you exposing my grandchildren to?’ He has since come to understand the good that attending this organization has brought to our family and certainly embraces our beliefs in social justice and political activism.” Lisa continued, “My mother is of Greek Orthodox heritage. As a child I remember her taking me to church services, especially for Easter. We celebrated all of the Christian and many Jewish holidays mostly to celebrate our cultural background and the good food associated with the different occasions. My mom is a great cook, so any reason to bake and prepare something special was always welcomed in our home.” Lisa’s mother was not religious and in the early 70’s began leaning more to Eastern philosophy and meditation. Lisa said, “My mother introduced me to reading Alan Watts, the Dalai Lama, Joseph Campbell, meditation, and doing yoga. My brother married a Japanese woman and practices Buddhism. My husband who was raised Jewish Orthodox is also an atheist with very strong feelings supporting social justice and human rights. My cousin married a Native American and lives on an Indian reservation in Northeast Canada. She also has a daughter of African American decent. Since our family embraces multi-culturalism, questions authority, and is interested in non-Western beliefs, Unitarian Universalism feels very comfortable.” Lisa wishes there were more services that focused on spiritualism, non-Western ideology, and how our beliefs unite us as a congregation. One of her joys is helping the Religious Education Team by teaching the Intermediate Group. “Last year’s curriculum included stories and lessons from the Old Testament. Having never read the bible, I found it very interesting to talk to the children about the morals or life lessons learned. I would welcome more services that talk about God or biblical figures and what spiritual lessons are to be learned, without proselytizing about any given dogma.” The thing that concerns Lisa most of all is the division that she saw within the Congregation over the last six months. “A group of us felt very strongly that the core ideals and mission of the UUCP were not being addressed or fulfilled. Some people felt personally hurt. This was not meant to be divisive, but to bring to the open things that were deeply felt by many. I believe that bringing things out in the open was the best thing that could have occurred. It seems that many of us have become more tolerant of one another, and sensitive to the feelings of each other.” With the recent posting of the UUCP Discussion Group posted on msn.com, many people have had a chance to raise questions and issues that they might not have had the courage to express in an in-person forum. (Note: There will also be a chance to have discussions in person and examine issues of concern to the congregation.) Lisa said, “I hope the online discussion group helps further our ability to understand each other more deeply and express ourselves in a respectful environment so we ultimately become closer and unified in our overall mission for unity in diversity.” |
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Lisa
Trager has held the role of Communications Team Leader
from 2000-2003. Her role and involvement grew out of producing a website
for the UUCP. Lisa recalls, “Julio Perez was President of the congregation
at the time. We talked about all of the things a website could do to not
only keep our members and friends informed of services and upcoming events,
but to also attract new people to UUCP.” It was and continues to
be an act of love, requiring anywhere between 2-4 hours of time a month
to keep the site updated.