November 2011:    Faithful Budget National Vigils--Nov. 20th, Economic Justice Resources & Congregational Justice Bulletin

Dear Congregational Leaders:

UUA Witness Ministries Director Rev. Craig Roshaven, has released a statement regarding Occupy Wall Street and announcing his participation in a national prayer vigil--a Super Vigil--on Nov. 20th--urging the Congressional ‘Super Committee,’ to develop a proposal for a ‘faithful budget.’ UU congregations are invited to hold community ‘Super Vigils’ and to call on members of Congress in their local offices to enact a moral budget:

"Across our nation and around the world, thousands of people have taken to the streets to question the morality of our financial system. The movement that initially started as an occupation of Wall Street has now spread to cities, large and small, all across the land. It is a movement of people who are demanding a fundamental restructuring of how we distribute the wealth that we, the people, produce.”

Now is the time to call on Congress to act!  The Super Commitee is charged with finding $1.2 trillion to cut from the federal budget by November 23rd.  Visit the Faithful Budget website to download the Guide for Planning a Super Vigil and a Webinar PowerPoint for a briefing on visits to Members of Congress. Also see National Council of Churches for more info and partners.

New Resources: Occupy Together Interfaith Prayer Service, Faith Advocates for Jobs (FAFJ*) Campaign, and our new economic justice web pages.  *FAFJ is holding the first of their monthly phone conferences today, Nov. 1st at 4 pm EST. See their website for speakers, agenda, and call-in info.

Just Act Best Practice: UU Mass Action, Promise the Children, and UU Urban Ministry brought a multi-generational delegation of UUs to meet with Senator John Kerry's staff about a faithful budget. The delegation included Jessica Baier, a member of First Parish Cambridge and volunteer for Tuesday Meals, who spoke about the connections she made in her service work and the impact of legislation that unfairly impacts the most vulnerable.  (Read her complete statement for an excellent example of connecting service to advocacy!)  An 8 year old UU was also part of the delegation and talked about over-crowding in his schools. Over 500 postcards from UU congregations around the state were delivered to Sen. Kerry's staff at the meeting. Vigils were also held by UUs at both Sen Kerry's Boston and Springfield offices right after the meeting that were attended by about 30 clergy and leaders from UU congregations.

Also in this issue:

November Congregational Justice Bulletin features information and resources for congregations that may want to participate in:

• Join Hands to Stop the Tar Sands Pipeline – Circle the White House -- November 6th
• Transgender Day of Remembrance – November 20th
• Resources on Transgender Identity and Welcome from LGBT Ministries
• Blog: Cooking Together--Recipes for Immigration Justice Work & Justice GA
• Keep Talking, Start Doing: Ten Ways to Deepen Your Congregation's Multiculturalism Journey
• New Congregational Study Action Issue Poll

As always, please let us know what your congregation is doing. We can help you with your programs and we would love to feature your best practices!

In faith,
Audra, Craig, Dan, Kat, Meredith, Susan, and Taquiena
See www.uua.org/justice for resources, campaign stories, and more!