Greetings!

A glimpse into my life

Hello, I am Reverend Jason Lydon. I am a Unitarian Universalist minister. I serve at Second Unitarian Church in Chicago. I live in the Edgewater neighborhood with my very sweet cat, Vanzetti. I love the lake and make time to walk along it as often as possible, even in the cold months. I am an avid movie watcher and especially like to see movies in the theater on opening night. As of 2022 I have been spending lots more time swimming and love swimming on the LGBT swim team. It is humbling to be so new at something.

Unitarian Universalist origins

I grew up as a UU. I attended church with my parents and siblings. I loved attending Sunday School, going through AYS (the precursor to OWL), participating in Coming of Age classes, and attending and organizing youth conferences. I became very active in YRUU in 1998, finding a much-needed community of acceptance and spiritual nourishment. I benefited from being part of a religious community that affirmed who I was and created safe spaces for me, a foundation I would want to nurture in any congregation I was part of. Through YRUU I learned about the importance of anti-racism work within our faith, and I became engaged in multi-racial youth and young adult organizing to do institutional transformation work. I had the privilege of working in the Youth Office at the UUA from 2003-2004, providing support to youth leaders within our denomination. Serving our faith, in whatever way I could, has always been central to my understanding of my role in the world.

Passion for justice

I am deeply passionate about liberation and justice. I have spent much of my life doing work to challenge the violence of the US criminal legal system, specifically supporting LGBTQ/HIV-positive prisoners. In 2005, after my own six-month incarceration for a simple act of civil disobedience aimed at raising awareness about the School of the Americas and US foreign policy in Latin America, I founded an organization, Black and Pink. Black and Pink’s mission is to work with LGBTQ/HIV-positive prisoners while simultaneously organizing to abolish the prison industrial complex. I did this work while in leadership at a Unitarian Universalist humanist congregation, the Community Church of Boston, for seven years.

The Community Church of Boston

It was an honor to serve as the minister of the Community Church of Boston. From 2005 – 20012 I worked to meet their needs and learned so much about myself and the ministry I had to offer. This was a congregation made up primarily of older adults with a shared commitment to social justice and a desire to create a safe space in Boston for those seeking to do good work. Serving this congregation included creating meaningful Sunday services, providing pastoral care, managing finances, engaging the congregation in community work, and ensuring our downtown Boston building was used to its fullest potential. During my time with the Community Church I completed Divinity School and was ordained in 2010. I stepped down from my role at the church to take on national leadership for Black and Pink in 2012.

Black and Pink

Growing and serving the community that made up Black and Pink was a gift for me. I had the opportunity to work with amazing volunteers and build leadership with brave prisoners who were speaking out. I was able to use my own experience inside prison to build trust with people, and that trust facilitated opportunities to build the strength of our family to resist the harms caused by prisons, despite being separated by them. During my five years as the National Director, I listened to countless stories, wrote thousands of letters, attended dozens of court hearings, visited many prisons, and learned how to support leadership of those most affected by the systems we are fighting against.

Continuing on my UU path

Though my paid work from 2012 – 2017 was in secular anti-prison non-profit organizing, I have never been separated from my Unitarian Universalist roots. I have always maintained connection to congregational life, including holding a position as an affiliated community minister in Boston throughout my time at Black and Pink. I also served as a guest preacher at various churches across New England roughly five to ten times per year throughout this time. Since moving to Chicago in August 2017, I have been getting more connected to community efforts in our city. I served as the sabbatical minister at First Unitarian in Hyde Park from February 15 – July 31, 2019, I joined the steering committee of the UU Prison Ministry of Illinois, I connected with the UUMA minister’s cluster for the area (CALM), and I collaborated with UUANI on lobbying efforts. I have also become involved with grassroots organizations outside of UU community.