Friends,

As Unitarian Universalists, we believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person—and in protecting that dignity wherever we live, work, worship, and speak out for justice. In today’s climate, many of us are rightly concerned about how aggressively some government and private entities are monitoring individuals and organizations whose values challenge the status quo. We share your unease, and we approach this topic with the same care and reluctance that you likely feel.

Over the past couple months, our Communications and Technology Committee, together with the Safety and Security Task Force, has been exploring how we can continue living our values of openness and justice while also safeguarding the privacy and safety of our members. Unfortunately, we’ve seen examples of outside groups trying to collect personal information from our website, including attempts to access our congregational directory. We’ve also learned that photos and videos posted online can sometimes be misused in ways that link individuals to causes or gatherings, putting them at personal or professional risk.

For example, if a member is pictured at a public rally and that same image appears on our church’s website, automated image searches can connect those appearances and make it easier for outsiders to identify our community and its members. In a time when peaceful protest and activism can still invite harassment, this is something we cannot ignore.

We also know that our Joys and Concerns are sacred moments of vulnerability—where we speak from the heart about our lives, our health, and sometimes our hopes for justice. We want to ensure that those moments of truth-telling and community care stay within a trusted circle, not out in the wider digital world.

With these realities in mind, the committees are proposing several changes to how we manage our digital presence:

1. Member photos on the public website will be shared only if faces are obscured.
2. Joys and Concerns will take place at the end of the service (before coffee hour) and will not be included in the public video recording.
3. Public recordings of our services will shift to audio only. Members can still access full video recordings—including Joys and Concerns—by logging into their uujoliet.org account.
4. The member directory will not be distributed in a downloadable format to reduce the risk of bulk data collection or misuse.

We know these steps may feel like a loss—especially for a congregation that values transparency, welcome, and visible witness. But our goal is not to hide who we are; it’s to ensure that everyone can participate fully and authentically without fear of surveillance, targeting, or misuse of personal information.

We see this as an act of collective care—a way of living out our covenant to nurture one another’s safety and freedom. We can still shine our light in the world; we’re simply choosing to be wise about how we share that light in an increasingly watchful digital age.

No decisions have been made yet. We invite you to join us for an open conversation at our Member Meeting on November 9, after service, where we’ll discuss these proposals and hear your thoughts, questions, and concerns. Your voice matters deeply in this discernment.

Carry the Flame of Peace and Love!

Grant Prellwitz

Chair, Communication and Technology

Member, Safety and Security