January 2012:   Deepening Congregational Justice Ministries

Dear Congregational Leaders:

In this issue, we’re sharing the great work of two mid-size congregations -- First UU Church of Rochester, MN and Valley UU Congregation, Chandler AZ – who participated in our December webinar on exemplary congregational social justice programs.  If you missed it you can still learn about their ministries below! 

Just Act Best Practice: How Two Congregations Deepened Congregational Involvement with Standing on the Side of Love

Featuring First UU Church of Rochester, MN (download their presentation) – 2011 UUA Congregational Social Justice Award Winner and Valley UU Congregation, Chandler AZ (download their presentation).  Both congregations talked about how they have linked their social justice ministries with Standing on the Side of Love to tremendous success and renewed congregational energy.  Download their PowerPoint slide shows, videos, and articles (scroll down to Dec 2011 Deepen Congregational Involvement with Standing on the Side of Love).  First UU Church of Rochester is organizing to turn out their members for Justice GA and Chandler is preparing to welcome them and UUs from all over the country.  

New Campaign Resources: National Standing on the Side of Love Month: Thirty Days of Love: Jan 16, 2012—Feb 14, 2012 -- The Story of Us, The Story of Now 

Welcome to THIRTY DAYS OF LOVE, beginning Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and culminating with Valentine’s Day! THIRTY DAYS OF LOVE is a collective visioning process about making sense of the present moment, and what we are called to do. We have lots of new resources for congregational use on story telling, collective visioning, action planning, and theological reflection. Learn more and sign up!

We will be offering two webinars during the campaign:

• Participate in our Collective Visioning Webinar at 5PM ET on Thursday, January 26, with Spirit in Action Founder & Director Linda Stout.  Sign up here.
• Participate in our webinar on Congregational Resources for Immigration Advocacy in Our Communities on Thursday, February 2nd at 8:00 p.m. EST. Sign up here.

UU Conference: Allies for Racial Equity Annual Conference: Colonization, Privilege & Resistance: Preparing for Justice GA 2012 

Hosted by First Jefferson UU Church Ft. Worth, TX:  February 17-19, 2012:  Featuring keynote speakers & workshops by Robert Jensen, UT Journalism Professor and author of The Heart of Whiteness: Confronting Race, Racism and White Privilege and Megan Dowdell, Unitarian Universalist leader, ministerial candidate & UCSF doctoral student.  Learn more & register at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ARE2012.

Also in this issue:

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

• Earth Day 2012
• Welcoming Congregation Resources
• Congregational Resources for Immigration Advocacy in Our Communities
• Interfaith Service to Honor  Dr. King’s Commitment to Worker Justice in Washington, D.C. to Kick Off National Tour, January 16
• 2012 Social Justice Award Nominations Due in March

New Women’s Issues Program Associate: Welcome to Jessica Halperin, Unitarian Universalist Women's Federation/Clara Barton Women’s Issues Program Associate.  As the Women’s Issues Program Associate, Jessica will be working with the Multicultural Growth and Witness group to help congregations and the UUA advocate for policies which support reproductive justice and issues affecting women in poverty.  Her 6-month appointment is funded through a grant from the UU Women’s Federation and will extend through June, 2012.  Jessica can be reached at jhalperin@uua.org or 202-393-2255 x12.

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, Jessica, Kat, Meredith, Schuyler, Susan, and Taquiena
See www.uua.org/justice for resources, campaign stories, and more!