The Healthy Congregation Committee (HCC) is a standing committee with year-round responsibilities. The HCC helps resolve disputes and other forms of interpersonal conflict according to policies.
They develop year-round programs to improve our ability to deal with interpersonal conflicts and concerns. The committee is encouraged to be as welcoming and available to members and friends of ERUUF as possible, to promote communication around issues before they escalate.
HCC Guiding Principles
In all the work we do and service we provide in support of our Beloved Community here at ERUUF, the HCC will always do our best to:
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hold the health and wholeness of our beloved community as a priority above all individual or group interests;
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keep equity at the center of our work with the intention of creating balance in power, privilege, and authority dynamics;
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create proactive opportunities to build a healthy congregation and the individual skills needed to manage conflict at lower levels whenever possible;
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and, accompany as a spiritual companion those in need of support, listening, or guidance in moments of conflict.
For more details, view the HCC job description.
Committee Members
The current members serving on the HCC are Susan Green (chair), Stephen Edgerton, Claudia Kaplan, and Rev. Jacqueline Brett (member ex officio). To contact the HCC, you can email the entire committee at . Alternatively, you may choose to contact any member via the email or phone contact provided in your membership directory.
Susan Green joined ERUUF when she and her husband, Steve Hall, moved to Chapel Hill in 2013 after meeting and marrying in 2012. They have 4 sons scattered around the country from Sacramento, CA, to Decatur, GA, to Detroit, MI, to Wellesley, MA.
At ERUUF Susan has served on, and co-chaired, both the Nominating Committee and the Steering Team for Chalice Circles/Covenant Groups. She has participated in numerous ERUUF programs including Dismantling Racism, Conflict Resolution, and Trans Inclusion in Congregations to name a few.
Susan began her career as a professor of social psychology for 10 years at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., an experience that informed her subsequent work in applying social psychology in schools. She then served 10 years as a school psychologist in Oregon and South Carolina, leading interdisciplinary teams focused on instructional and behavioral interventions. The capstone of her career was serving as professor of educational psychology at Winthrop University in South Carolina where she taught and trained future teachers for 13 years. She mentored them in the areas of classroom assessment, student motivation and behavior management. She particularly enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate with local public school teachers and administrators on teams developing intervention plans for students with special needs. Based on those experiences, Susan wrote a widely used textbook on equity in classroom assessment. She published numerous articles collaborating with public school teachers and administrators and with university colleagues from a variety of departments (e.g., drama, music, dance, biology, business).
Susan hopes to contribute to HCC’s collaborative efforts to promote healthy communication in our congregation.
Stephen Edgerton - I first attended ERUUF as a member of the youth group in the late 60s (it was the UU Fellowship of Durham and Chapel Hill in those days). After several years away as a young adult, I returned to ERUUF with my wife so that we could raise our children in a community that shared our values. During our time here, I’ve served on the Board of Trustees and the Board of the Eno River Fellowship Foundation. I have also enjoyed membership in two Covenant Groups over the years, and in the ERUUF Christian Fellowship.
In my professional life, I worked as a contractor providing technical support to the US EPA Air Program. In that capacity, I primarily supported the development of air pollution regulations and the requirements for air permit programs.
If I am elected to the Healthy Congregation Committee, I will bring a calm, rational, and compassionate approach to any conflicts referred to the HCC for resolution. I hope also to work with the Committee to identify any needs at ERUUF for conflict resolution resources and tools, and to fill any gaps.
Claudia Kaplan - I began to attend ERUUF with my husband Simon in 2007 or so when we moved to Durham from Chatham County. Simon was raised Jewish, and my father was a Methodist minister; together we had found meaning in A Course in Miracles and were members of Unity Center of Peace in Chapel Hill. But we sought a welcoming spiritual community closer to us, one that not only made space for myriad beliefs, but also emphasized justice & equity action. We also wanted a strong Religious Education program for our now grown children, Mia & Jonah. It’s safe to say we call ourselves UUs now!
I jumped into the music program right away, singing with Eno River Singers & LUUX, performing at Café ERUUF, and sometimes singing solos or duets at services. This is still my first love and my favorite way to serve, as well as to feed my own soul. I am now a member of the Music Committee. Over the years I’ve participated in several Chalice Circles, Racial Equity workshops & study groups, served as a Worship Associate, and volunteered at Urban Ministries as well as with the Lakewood Bag Pack program. In 2021 I co-chaired the Pledge Campaign. I was very active with the 2500 Hours of Love initiative—serving at the Lakewood Food Pantry run by Catholic Charities, transcribing old documents and voice recordings for Stagville Plantation, and helping with the three Afghan refugee families, with the special honor & challenge of being the birth doula for a young Afghan mother in 2022!
I retired in 2020 from my work as the Administrator at Hope Creek Academy, a private, non-profit K-12 school in Durham for kids with special needs. Before that I did a wide variety of jobs, many of them administrative/secretarial at non-profits. This supplemented my self-employment as a conscious connected breathing coach & healthy relationships seminar facilitator back in the 80s & 90s, and later as a birth doula for 12 years.
I love ERUUF with its many options, circles of involvement, and fascinating, congenial people. I look forward to serving in a new capacity.
Documents
Charge to the Healthy Congregation Committee
C.III Conflict Mediation Policy
