| | | | | |  | Saturday October 6th | UU Church of Arlington | 4:00 PM | | | | | Rev. Nancy McDonald Ladd River Road UU Congregation UUSJ Minister Award | | | Environmental Justice Ministry Team and Chairs Cedar Lane UU Church UUSJ Environmental/Climate Justice Award | | | Alexander Kohn UU Congregation of Columbia UUSJ Emerging Leader Award | | | Global Connections Project Washington Ethical Society UUSJ Congregational Social Justice Program Award | | | Jerry Poje UU Congregation of Fairfax UUSJ Economic Justice Award | | | | Stephanie Thomas, Becky Ross, Paul Blackburn UU Church of Arlington UUSJ Racial Justice and Beloved Community Award | | | The Social Justice Committee Accotink UU Church UUSJ Congregational Social Justice Program Award | | | Steve Ewart UU Church in Reston UUSJ Lifetime Achievement Award | | | Sanctuary for Rosa at Cedar Lane Cedar Lane UU Church UUSJ Immigration Award | | | Immigration Film Festival Washington Ethical Society UUSJ Collaboration Award | | | | You can find more information about the attendees HERE and learn more about their important work. | | | | | | Get jazzed about social justice! The UUSJ social justice awards will be presented at our Gala event October 6 at UUC Arlington, Virginia. Come spend the evening with new and old friends to celebrate our social justice stars, with live music, food and beverages. Help shower the winners with love, respect and appreciation. Flyer HERE. Buy tickets HERE. | | | | UUs Mobilize for Economic and Climate Justice! | | | | During the week of the Youth Climate Strike, more than 145 UUs from 15 states gathered at the Advancing Economic and Climate Justice as a Moral Issue: Building a Movement for A Green New Deal conference held September 15-17 in Washington, D.C. Participants heard a broad spectrum of speakers including frontline, indigenous, faith community speakers, Hill staff and a video greeting and call to action from our UU President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray. We discussed how UU values call us to action, learned about federal legislation and the Green New Deal resolution, made plans for future networking, and learned how to advocate and influence policy-makers. On day three of the conference, more than 40 participants visited Senate offices to convey their voices and values and delivered more than 920 personal letters from UUs across the country urging swift and effective action. See details below. Read the blog post “Reports from an action-packed week in D.C.” by Aly Tharp, UU Ministry for Earth, with video clips from the conference.There will be a resource page and post-conference webinars to help us mobilize for action. See photos of conference activities HERE and HERE. | | | | | | | | “Wake up and smell the roses…” take action now to avert a climate emergency! | | UUSJ’s Capitol Hill Advocacy Corps members accompanied participants in the Advancing Economic and Climate Justice as a Moral Issue: Building a Movement for A Green New Deal Conference. Ten teams made a total of 56 visits to Senate offices and two key committees. Visits included more than 26 face-to-face meetings with Senate staff, delivering more than 920 letters from the Write Here! Write Now! letter-writing campaign, from UUs in 35 congregations across the country on the urgency to take action to address the climate crisis and transition to a clean energy economy. Read about our “asks” in our WHWN handout. Many letters reflected writers’ anxieties about the climate crisis and their personal stories of how it is affecting them. Many demanded action, often making clear their views that, as one UU wrote, “The time for denial is over, the time for action is now.” One added, “Wake up and smell the roses while you still can.” | | | | | | | | | | | | | UUSJ Seeks… UUSJ is seeking an administrative assistant. The position has been posted. Suggestions?" Contact: info@UUSJ.org. | | Plan Your End of the Year Donation of Marketable Securities | | Looking to avoid paying capital gains tax, structure legacy giving, or considering bequests? UUSJ now accepts stocks and fund disbursements as charitable donations which can help. If a security is donated to UUSJ, the total amount may be eligible for a tax deduction. To start a conversation or request paperwork and details email info@uusj.org. | | | | | | Unitarian Universalist News and Event | | | | UUs Joined The Climate Strike by the Hundreds | | “In New York City, UUA President Susan Frederick-Gray took part in an interfaith worship service on the day of the strike at Community Church of New York, whose senior minister, the Rev. Peggy Clarke, is a longtime activist for climate justice. More than 250,000 people joined the New York City strike, including UUs from many area congregations.” See the UU World article. UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray reminded UUs at a pre-march gathering “Ours is a faith that is not concerned about the hereafter. Ours is a faith that is concerned about the here and now.” | | | | | | | | | Support for Sanctuary Activists | | | | The National Sanctuary Collective (NSC) returned to DC during September, to hold a press conference on Capitol Hill. See our Twitter feed for coverage. The NSC continues its search for champions willing to take the issues seriously and challenge the ICE’s draconian fines on vulnerable immigrants in physical sanctuary. We learned of this strategic need during their previous visit in July. See a synopsis of the July visit and UUSJ's related statement on the issue of fines. The UUSJ Immigration Task Group helped house the activists and provided advocacy meeting training materials. | | Issue Monitoring and Surveillance | | UUSJ’s Immigration Task Group members continue listening to select live-stream hearings of the House Homeland Security Committee and House Appropriations Committee (the latter on mental health issues of children in detention and separated from parents). They also joined a webinar with Detention Watch Network related to Homestead Detention Center. | | Want to join UUSJ’s Immigration Task Group? | | The task group meets by Zoom on most alternate Thursdays at 4pmET. Contact Charlotte Jones-Carroll cjonescarroll@aol.com. | | | | | | Environmental and Climate Justice | | | Global Climate Strike - Week of Action | | | | In the nation’s capital, in NYC and across the nation and the world UUs joined the throng in the desire to push the conversation about climate change from inaction towards bold action. | |  | | | UUs joined to do our part and change the frame, to help bring about what needs doing. In D.C. large crowds marched on the U.S. Capitol. The energy and UU commitment was palpable throughout. Chants of “Green New Deal! Just New Deal! Just Transition Now!” were repeated. A crowd favorite was “Make America GREEN Again! - M.A.G.A. (reclaimed).” See our Twitter feed for coverage. | | | | | | Doris Marlin, UU green activist and mobilizer, mounted an impressive exhibit on the national mall in D.C. to demonstrate the importance of work linking the climate strike to the policies of climate action and The Global Goals for Sustainable Development. Many stopped by as they searched for the larger crowds of the march. Parents with younglings responded to the exhibit coming out to help protect a future for their children, yours, and all those of our society and species. The collective sentiment was “we must act now with boldness.” See our Twitter feed for coverage. | | We Amplified Youth Climate Messages | | | | We Engaged With Faith Leaders in NYC | | UUSJ Participates in Faith-Based Consultation on Climate Emergency | | | | | | | | | | | | | Joining Efforts to “UU the Vote” for 2020 | | On August 14, UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray launched a nationwide initiative on Democracy and Electoral Justice 2020 to encourage all congregations to get involved to “UU the Vote” in this critically important 2020 election. At our Defending Our Democracy Task Group meeting on September 8, the group voted to focus its efforts on supporting this initiative. At the next meeting on October 9, 7:30-9:00pmET the Task Group will discuss the work needed leading up to the election, and set a timeline to define what is needed by when. Contact: advocacy@uusj.org | | | | | | On September 20 UUSJ attended a Capitol Hill gathering organized by Sen. Udall (NM) of faith leaders on Faithful Democracy which addressed action needed on issues including voting rights, gerrymandering, campaign finance, election security and making registration/voting more accessible. You can watch the video HERE, with several interfaith speakers and a guest appearance by Rep. John Sarbanes (MD). Contact: Lavona advocacy@uusj.org | | | | Want to join UUSJ’s Defending Our Democracy Task Group? | | The task group meets by Zoom next on Wednesday, October 9. Most meetings are on the first Sunday of the month at 7:30pmET. Contact Lavona at advocacy@uusj.org | | | | | | | | Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ)
7750 16th St NW, | Washington, District of Columbia 20012
202-600-9132 | info@uusj.org | | | | | | | | | |
