Is there Classism at Cedars?

I recently re-read “Not my Father’s Religion: Unitarian Universalism and the Working Class,” an article by Doug Muder which appeared in the Fall 2007 issue of the UU World.  If you haven’t read it, you can find it at www.uuworld.org/ideas/articles/36467.shtml.  Muder argues that his father, a blue collar worker, would not be comfortable in a UU church, nor would the members of the church be comfortable with him.  He lays the blame primarily on theology.  While this is certainly a part of the problem, I don’t think it’s all of it.  Some UU blogs suggest there might be other reasons as well, among them: social snobbery, geography, and demographics.  One blogger put the theological argument rather succinctly:

In their churches, a lifetime of obedience and toil is rewarded with eternal bliss.  In ours, a lifetime of Costco lasagna is rewarded with an eternal dirt nap.  Why are they ignoring us? Whyyyyyyyy?

This got me to thinking about the demographic make up at Cedars.  We are, by and large, a privileged lot: mostly upper middle class with comfortable incomes or retirements.  Most of us have at least one university degree.  People who listen to NPR are our target market.  We pride ourselves on being “green,” and while there are many things all of us can do toward this end, this is more often than not a luxury, especially for those not in the middle to upper income brackets.

So how do we go about attracting “diversity” to our group, given our cultural make-up? If we are classist, are we even aware of it? Can we really welcome those who “are not like us?”  Can we think outside the box?  Can we think off the island?  What can we do about our real or perceived classism?  Food for thought.