INCLUSION (Diversity) Team

crowd of diverse people

inclusivityOne of Unity Spiritual Center of Lansing's core values is inclusivity.

Our Inclusion Team focuses on ways to expand this value within each team and within all activities.

The Mission of the Inclusion Team is to promote increased awareness of the many facets of diversity in an effort to consciously practice the Unity principle of being welcoming and inclusive of all people.  (August 2021)

Team Leader: Kathy Assiff

Team Monthly Meetings:

4th Tuesday of the month Zoom 4:30 pm

kathy assiff

MISSION: “To promote increased awareness of the many facets of diversity in an effort to consciously practice the Unity principle of being an inclusive, safe, and welcoming environment for all people.”

  1.  

 Main Responsibilities: Coordinate with other teams to ensure Inclusion and Diversity is a consideration in their activities, review signage, graphics and displays for IDEA values, education, Facebook postings and more.

Creating Policy for participating or supporting another organization  November 23, 2022

Considerations:

  1. Is it in alignment with our core values? (Prayer, Inclusivity, Stewardship, Joy, Spiritual Awakening, Integrity, Freedom)
  2. Does it support us in fulfilling our mission statement of spiritually awakening to our oneness with God, each other and all creation?"
  3. Does it do no harm?
  4. Is it politically neutral (although an organization may have legislature pending that is a political or voting item.)
  1. Policy:  Actively promote the following 6 monthly categories as chosen by the Federal government  - Black History , Women’s History, Asian American Pacific Islanders, Pride Month,. Hispanic Heritage and Native American Heritage

Resource: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/diversity/resources/celebrating-heritage-months/

February:  Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It began as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the African diaspora

March is Women's History Month The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history.

  • May, Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage MonthAsian Pacific American Heritage Month, now officially proclaimed Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, takes place in May. It celebrates the culture, traditions, and history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.  The history of North America is shaped by the stories of immigrants from Asia and the Pacific and the native people of the Pacific Islands. While some of the earliest Asian immigrants arrived from China, Japan, India, and Korea, immigration reforms tied to U.S. civil rights legislation brought even more groups to the United States—such as Vietnamese, Cambodians, Laotians, Indonesians, the Hmong and other peoples from South and Central Asia.

June: PRIDE Month. June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month. This month-long celebration demonstrates how LGBTQ Americans have strengthened our country, by using their talent and creativity to help create awareness and goodwill. 

September 15 – October 15: National Hispanic Heritage Month is annually celebrated from September 15 to October 15 in the United States for recognizing the contributions and influence of  Hispanic Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States.

November:  “National Native American Heritage Month" which recognizes the significant contributions that the first Americans made to the establishment and growth of the United States.

  1. Policy: We use some or all of the following to educate and promote awareness of marginalized groups: Electronic Sign, Diversity moments in Sunday Service, Facebook postings, Website

INCLUSION STATEMENT

    Unity Spiritual Center of Lansing, its members and affiliates, welcome with love all people in every form as God’s
creation. We embrace and honor the Divine within as the one common denominator that we share on our human
journey.

We recognize the perfection represented in the mosaic of all humans by: race; culture; gender, sexual identity &
orientation; body type; disability; economic status; neurodiversity; life experience; belief; ideas; and perspective.

We strive to expand beyond our individual unconscious biases, blinders, ignorance, and inexperience to create a
space where gaps are uncovered, opportunities to be Love in action are identified, and wholeness is realized.

We affirm and support Unity principles and programs that are non-discriminatory and inclusive in our teachings,
policies, buildings, and within our communities.

We champion the course of human rights and social justice for all. However varied, we are one.