November 9, 2012
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On Saturday, November 3, 2012, the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office celebrated its 50th Anniversary at the Times Center, in New York City.
Guests were greeted with the lovely sounds of a jazz trio playing live music, a red carpet photo area, a delicious spread of cheeses from around the world, passed hors d’oeuvres, a full bar and countless exciting items lined up for the silent auction.
The feeling of joy in the air at the UU-UNO 50th Anniversary was palpable. In the face of the worst storm to hit the New York Metro Area in recorded history, more than 100 friends and supporters of the UU-UNO arrived at the Times Center to celebrate a milestone achievement for the organization.
Continue Reading
This weekend kicks off the UUA/UUSC Supporter Journey to Tanzania and Burundi, through the UU College of Social Justice (UUCSJ).
During the trip, participants and support staff will be blogging from the field, sharing their experiences. This first blog post comes from trip leader Evan Seitz, senior associate for service learning programs at the UUCSJ:
I am not graceful when preparing for trips. I fret about everything from which type of trail mix to bring to whether our hosts will meet me at the airport. However, for the upcoming UUA-UUSC supporter journey to Tanzania and Burundi my usual pre-trip jitters have been largely replaced by eager anticipation. I have never been to Africa, and I can’t wait to visit two great partners: the Tanzania Gender Networking Program (TGNP), based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and the Assembly of Christian Unitarians of Burundi (ACUB) based in Bujumbura, Burundi. Continue Reading
With its official launch at General Assembly 2012, the mission of the UU College of Social Justice (UUCSJ) is to increase the capacity of Unitarian Universalists to catalyze justice.
A formal collaboration of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC), the UUCSJ will assist UU congregations in discerning their focus for social-justice work, effectively harness collective UU power for change, and build capacity for moving justice forward through its domestic and international service learning programs.
What is service learning? Witness it in action in Haiti through the experiences of UUCSJ participants.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS:
Haiti Just Recovery
Trip Dates: February 3-10, 2013
Registration Deadline: November 25
On this weeklong trip, participants will work with members of the Papaye Peasant Movement (MPP), a UUSC partner, on projects to help former Port-au-Prince residents build new lives in rural Haiti. Every day, you will work with Haitian peasants to build new homes, construct food gardens from old tires, or contribute to other sustainability projects.
BorderLinks: Immigration Justice Tour
Trip Dates: February 1-4, 2013
Registration Deadline: December 1
Human rights are at stake on the U.S.-Mexico border, and this trip is your chance to delve into various on-the-ground aspects of immigration. Through education, partner meetings, service opportunities, and theological reflection, you will explore immigration through a program designed by BorderLinks. Return home informed and inspired to be a leader for immigration justice.
For information on additional service learning opportunities, visit the UU College of Social Justice online!
A Memo: Connecting with Unitarians and UU’s Around the World, Carefully
To: UUA Ministers and Religious Leaders
From: Eric Cherry, UUA International Office
Cathy Cordes, UU Partner Church Council
Jill McAllister and Steve Dick, International Council of Unitarians and Universalists
Dear Friends,
It is so exciting to see the many ways that our UU faith is connecting around the world – so many congregations and ministers are now making a variety of international connections! We are thrilled that UUA churches and individuals are looking beyond their own doors and even beyond their own geographic communities and connecting. The UUA, ICUU, the UUPCC and other organizations stand ready to support your outreach in a variety of ways. We invite you to contact us at any point where we can be helpful. We are writing today to offer some advice based on our joint experience working with UUs here and in other countries.
Much of this new activity is aided with new communication tools that make contact easier and keeping in touch possible. Social media programs such as Skype and Facebook make it easy to learn of possibilities and to meet people over the internet.
Our UU global community is growing both bigger and smaller! Bigger in the sense that people around the world continue to discover our liberal tradition and establish it in their own countries and regions, and smaller in the sense that it is so easy to connect with each other around the world. This gives us reason to both celebrate and pay close attention, for there are good ways to connect, not-so-good ways to connect, and ways to connect which can cause huge problems. Continue Reading
The Church of the Larger Fellowship, a unique UU congregation without walls, offers online worship. If you feel like going to church this Sunday (via your computer), click here.
Join us for worship on Sundays at 8:00 pm (Eastern Time, US), with a rebroadcast of the same service on Mondays at 9:00 am (Beta test during September) and 1:30 pm (Eastern Time, US). Although the service is prerecorded, many viewers arrive at the worship link early and stay late, to participate in a live chat. It’s our version of coffee hour!
Take a look at this You Tube video. Hope to see you at worship!
The International Council of Unitarians and Universalists announces the 111th 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 Portuguese and English by the Brazilian Unitarian Association. It is to be used during November 2012.
O vida oculta que brilha em cada átomo
O luz oculta que brilha em cada criatura,
O amor oculto que tudo abrange na unidade,
Possa todo aquele que se sente um contigo
Saber que por isso mesmo é um com todos os outros.
O hidden life that vibrates in each atom,
O hidden light that shines in each creature,
O hidden love that embraces everything in unity,
May all who feel one with Thee
Know that for this very reason we are one with all the others.
-adapted from Annie Besant by Paulo Ereno
submitted by the Brazilian Unitarian Association
- November 10-20, 2012: UUCSJ: UUA/UUSC Supporter Journey to Tanzania and Burundi
- November 20, 2012: Universal Children's Day
- November 26-December 5, 2012: UUCSJ: UU Holdeen India Program: Justice for Rural India
- December 5, 2012: UUPCC Virtual Conference Call: UU's in Kenya
- February 1-4, 2013: UUCSJ: BorderLinks Trip to Arizona/Mexico
- February 15-23, 2013: UUCSJ: Sienna Project: Building Schools in Guatemala
- March 5-13, 2013: UUPCC: NE India & Khasi Hills Pilgrimage
- March 15-24, 2013: UUPCC: Meet the UUs in the Philippines
- April 4-6, 2013: UU-UNO Intergenerational Spring Seminar
- May 11-23, 2013: UUPCC: UU Transylvanian Pilgrimage
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