March 26, 2012
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In preparation for Justice GA in Phoenix, Ariz., (June 20-24, 2012) the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) have jointly organized three Service Learning trips to the U.S.-Mexico border with our partner organization, BorderLinks.
The first trip, led by UUA President Rev. Peter Morales, took place successfully in January. A second trip will take place in late April. Rev. Morales encourages UUs throughout the country to participate in one of the Service Learning trips planned for May with BorderLinks.
You can view photos and read blog posts from the January trip on the Faith Without Borders blog.
Through education, meetings with partners, service opportunities, and theological reflection, participants will grow in understanding the human rights issues at stake on the U.S./Mexico border and return to their homes informed and inspired to be leaders for Immigration Justice.
The deadline for registering for the May trip is April 10th! Please consider joining us for this incredible opportunity!
Learn more about how you can join one of the Borderlinks trips to the U.S./Mexico border!
This year’s seminar Beyond Borders: Breaking Barriers of Race and Immigration will take place from April 12–14 with sessions at the UN Headquarters, the UN Church Center, and the Salvation Army.
Youth will arrive on the evening of April 11th and be hosted at the All Souls NYC congregation located at 1157 Lexington Ave.
Register online today!
Donate to the SEMINAR SCHOLARSHIP FUND
Print and distribute the SEMINAR FLYER
Panel Topics Include:
- Youth on Education Polices
- Climate Change Refugees
- Interfaith Reflection on Racism and Anti-immigration Sentiment
- Trafficking and the Vulnerable
- Women in Immigrant Communities
- Media, Art, and Freedom of Expression
APPLY to lead this year’s spring seminar! The UU-UNO is currently accepting applications for Youth Advisors, Head of the Youth (HOTYs), Collaboration Group Leaders, and Travel Squad Leaders.
Scholarship Application for Youth and Young Adults of Color
The UU-UNO also has several scholarships for youth and young adults of color to attend the Spring Seminar April 12th-14th. To apply, please fill out the application form and e-mail it to springseminar@uu-uno.org, or mail it to 777 UN Plaza Suite 7G, New York, NY 10017, by Friday April 1st.
From March 3 – 12, 2012 Rev. Peter Morales, UUA President, traveled to Japan where he visited with a number of historic interfaith partners including Rissho Kosei-kai, the Tsubaki Grand Shrine, The Konko Church of Izuo, the Tokyo UU Fellowship, and others.
The visit provided Rev. Morales with an opportunity to extend congratulatory greetings to Rissho Kosei-kai during its annual “Founders Day,” which was broadcast live on the UUA website earlier this month; video from his presentation can be viewed online.
While abroad, President Morales blogged about his experience visiting with partners throughout Japan:
The visual parallels between the atomic bomb blast in Hiroshima and the tsunami that hit Japan’s northeast coast a year ago are eerie. In Hiroshima we saw once more the famous photographs of Hiroshima before and after the bomb. In Kamaichi and Sendai the signs of breathtaking devastation are everywhere. While the photographs are stunning, they did not prepare me for the experience of driving through the affected areas. I recall a similar feeling while touring New Orleans’ Ninth Ward after Hurricane Katrina.
Read President Morales's dispatches from Japan on the Faith Without Borders blog!
The Tsubaki Grand Shrine Scholarship is available to Unitarian Universalist (UU) seminarians (in candidate status) attending non-UU theological Schools who have an interest in international and interfaith engagement.
Scholarship recipients will be provided with expenses for travel to the Tsubaki Grand Shrine (TGS) in Suzuka, Japan, as well as room and board at the Shrine for two to three weeks.
The deadline to apply for the Tsubaki Grand Shrine Scholarship is April 1, 2012.
Learn more about the Tsubaki Grand Shrine Scholarship and apply today!
This year the Czech Unitarians will celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the founding the Prague Unitarian Congregation on April 9th.
Upon its founding in 1922, over a thousand people proclaimed out loud: "In love of truth and freedom, and in the spirit of the greatest revivalists of humankind, we join to the service of God and humanity. In the shrine of my conscience I sincerely promise to strive to be a good member of Free Brotherhood." After the proclamation they welcomed each other into membership by shaking hands. This was the official beginning of the organization known today as the Religious Society of Czech Unitarians.
The celebration of the Czech Unitarians emphasizes 90 years of liberal faith in the hard times of the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia (1939-1945) followed by forty years of Communist regime (1948-1989). We are also reminded of the movement‘s powerful mission, which emphasizes tolerance and acceptance of each other over differences which put boundaries between us. This notion was put into practice with the creation of the Flower Communion ritual in Prague in 1924 and has since been adopted by many Unitarian Universalist congregations around the world.
This year the Czech Flower Communion will be international and to highlight this interconnectedness, all Unitarians and Unitarian Universalists from around the world are invited to join the Czech Unitarians in this special service. The International Flower Communion will take place in the Unitaria building in Prague on June 10, 2012. A special Flower Communion composition was created for the event by Czech composer Karel Loula, and the service will be recorde/streamed on the web.
If you cannot attend in person, the Czech Unitarians invite Unitarians and Unitarian Universalists from all around the world to send a "virtual flower" – it can be a group photo or a photo from a special event, but the picture should contain a flower, symbolizing the group or individuals. These pictures will be presented during the Flower Communion service together with the flowers brought by participants.
Have your congregation send a virtual flower to the Czech Unitarians as they celebrate their 90th anniversary! Find out more by visiting the Czech Unitarian website!
Related: View Flower Communion resources from the Faith Without Borders program and help bring sixth principle ministry to your congregation this Spring!
The International Council of Unitarians and Universalists announces the 103rd in its monthly series of global chalice lighting readings. Congregations worldwide are invited to participate.
All ICUU-affiliated groups have been asked to submit brief chalice lightings for the project. Every month, a reading will be distributed to Unitarian and Universalist congregations around the world. We ask each congregation to use the reading for at least one worship service in the designated month, identifying it as the “Global Chalice Lighting” for that month and naming the group which submitted it. Readings will be circulated in English and, where different, in their original language.
It is hoped that the ICUU Global Chalice Lighting Project will enhance the worship experience in our congregations and raise awareness of the international dimensions of our religious movement. This Global Chalice Lighting is submitted in German and English by Deutsche Unitarier Religionsgemeinschaft. It is to be used during March 2012.
Ein Licht, das in mir wirket still,
lässt mich die ganze Welt erkennen.
Ich weiß nicht, was es ist und will,
in Ehrfurcht will ich’s göttlich nennen.
A light that silently works in me,
Allows me to know the world in its entirety.
I don’t know what it is or what it wants;
With awe I’ll call it divine.
-H. Thoma
Submitted by Deutsche Unitarier Religionsgemeinschaft
- April 12-14, 2012: UU-UNO Spring Seminar, New York City
- April 14-26, 2012: UUPCC Transylvanian Pilgrimage
- April 20-22, 2012: European Unitarian Universalist (EUU) Spring Retreat, Rolduc, Netherlands
- April 20-23, 2012: Borderlinks Trip to Mexico
- April 28-May 5, 2012: UUSC-UUA JustWorks Trip to Haiti
- May 25-28, 2012: Borderlinks Trip to Mexico
- June 20-24, 2012: UUA General Assembly in Phoenix, AZ
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