CUUPS – Who We Are

What is CUUPS?  Who is CUUPS?  Our website lists five purposes, but that doesn’t answer the question of who we are.  Over the past few months we’ve conducted a series of surveys to determine who and what we are.  This is a foundational step in creating a new mission and vision for CUUPS – for deciding not just who we are, but who we want to be.  Here’s what we’ve found.

CUUPS exists on three levels.

CUUPS exists at the individual level – our members, friends, and frequent participants, as well as Pagan-identified UUs and UU-friendly Pagans.

CUUPS exists at the chapter level – chapters have their own organization, activities, and relationships with their host congregations.

CUUPS exists at the Continental level – our Board of Trustees, which manages our wider programs and maintains a relationship with the UUA.

Who are our CUUPS members?

We are active in UU congregations and we support UU principles and causes.

We have many different Pagan identities, beliefs, and practices.  Some are more represented than others (Earth-centered, Pagan, and Witch are the most common labels selected) but none dominate.

Nature is very important to us, and our most popular spiritual practices involve interacting with Nature.  We connect to Nature physically, spiritually, and mystically.

Like most UUs, we want community but we value individual sovereignty even more.

We meet most frequently for group rituals.

We like educational opportunities, but there is no clear consensus on what we should study.

We have an interest in gods and spirits.  About 60% of us see them as independent beings, while 40% see them as metaphors for natural phenomena.

Who are our chapters?

The most common thing chapters do is present seasonal rituals, and the most common ritual elements are derived from Wicca.  Most chapters also hold social gatherings and classes / workshops.

Most chapters lead one or two Sunday services each year.

Our average chapter has 16 members, but the majority of the work (planning, organizing, publicizing) is done by only 4 people.  This puts our chapters in a precarious situation – if something happens to even one of those key leaders (moves away, burns out, gets sick) the chapter may not continue.

There are no clear qualifications for leaders nor do we have formal training for our leaders.

Our chapters draw about 75% of their members from outside the UU church, but we don’t always do a good job of educating new CUUPS members about Unitarian Universalism and integrating them into our congregations.

93% of chapters say the relations between the chapter and the host congregation are good.  82% of the congregations say the same thing.  That’s an 11 point gap in perception.  Like all relationships, chapter-congregation relationships require constant maintenance.

We don’t do a lot of advertising or outreach.  Only 55% of chapters have a Facebook page, 38% have an e-mail list, and 14% have a standalone website.  About half participate in Pagan Pride Days.

Who is our Board?

The identities and beliefs of our Boards (we surveyed current and past Board members) are proportional to those of the membership as a whole.  About 1/3 of Board members are UU ministers.

Our Board members believe their primary responsibilities are sharing best practices and service to the wider Pagan community.  However, they actually spent most of their time promoting CUUPS and Paganism within the UUA.

What are our centers?  What do most of us have in common?  What can we build on?

1. We support UU values, principles, and causes.
2. We bring a UU approach to Paganism – we draw from many sources and we oppose any attempt to establish orthodoxy or anything resembling it.
3. We value Nature, our experiences of Nature, and our relationships with Nature.
4. We have an interest in gods and spirits, but we are uncertain – individually, much less collectively – what they are and what it means to experience them.
5. We are a gateway to bring Pagans into Unitarian Universalism.

What are our next steps?

Now we need to hear from you.  Did we get it right?  Did we overlook something important?  Did we overemphasize anything?   Do the five key points described above accurately describe who and what CUUPS is as an organization, on all three levels?

These five key points will not completely describe any individual CUUPS member or chapter, nor will all of us completely identify with all five centers.  Trying to come up with a definition that fits all UU Pagans is an impossible task.

Rather, we’re describing UU Paganism as it actually is today.  We are drawing no boundaries – no one is in or out, we’re closer to or farther from the centers.  CUUPS is and will remain a non-creedal UU group welcoming all who come in friendship.

After we settle on our description of who and what we are, we’ll start to discuss who and what we want to be – and what we’re willing to support with our time and money.