January 2013: New Year, New Opportunities for Justice

Dear Friends:

With the new year and the new Congress, we have many opportunities in this upcoming legislative season to enact change, from economic justice to gun control legislation to immigration reform and more. 

The National Faith Call-In Day for humane immigration reform is next Tuesday, January 22. Let’s welcome the new Congress by making sure they know that people of faith demand humane immigration reform in 2013!  Call 1-866-940-2439 to be connected with BOTH of your Senators. Tell them that as their constituent and as a person of faith, you want immigration reform that provides a pathway to FULL CITIZENSHIP and prioritizes FAMILY UNITY.

Save the date! Feb 4: National Call in Day for Preventing Gun Violence.  More information to come!

Best Practice: On Tuesday, January 15th, the anniversary of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth, the Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence coalition gathered on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC to demand that President Obama and Congress enact three major gun control measures: 1) ban assault weapons and ammunition magazines, 2) mandate background checks for all gun sales and 3) make gun trafficking a federal crime. The UUA’s Rev. Craig Roshaven joined more than a dozen other faith leaders in presenting the letters.   Vincent DeMarco, National Coordinator of Faiths United To Prevent Gun Violence said: ‘We are called to love one another, not protect ourselves from one another.’  [Photo: Religious leaders, including Rev. Roshaven of the UUA, in center, yellow stole,  at press conference on Tuesday.]

This issue of our January Social Justice Bulletin is packed with resources and information for congregational justice ministries and upcoming events:

• Jan 19 through Feb 17 – Standing on the Side of Love’s 30 Days of Love
• Jan 22: National Faith Call-In Day for Humane Immigration Reform
• Interfaith Immigration: Breaking Bread & Building Bridges
• Feb 4: National Call in Day for Preventing Gun Violence
• March 15 – March 17: Allies for Racial Equity Conference: Cultural Humility: Developing Intercultural Competency
• April 5 – April 8: Ecumenical Advocacy Days
• New Curriculum: Reproductive Justice: Expanding Our Social Justice Calling
• Sign up for The Welcoming Congregation Bulletin
• Social Justice Award Nominations Wanted in March
• New Facebook Group: UUs Resisting the New Jim Crow & Mass Incarceration

In faith, Audra, Craig, Jennifer, Jessica, Meredith, Susan, and Taquiena - UUA Witness Ministries Team  

See www.uua.org/justice for resources, organizing campaigns, stories, and more!