All members & friends are welcome to join the efforts of the Social Justice Outreach Team
The next Social Justice Outreach Team meeting is Wednesday, July 7th at 112:30 pm. This meeting will be the annual planning session for both SJOT AND ARE team memberships. All are welcome to attend; the meeting will be your chance to provide input and contribute to UUFH justice efforts.
Contact Charlotte Corrigan for more information if you would like to participate. The session will be held in person and offsite.
UU Forward Together — The UU Justice Ministry of North Carolina
Subscribe to UUJMNC to receive the monthly newsletter and action alerts at www.uuforwardtogether.org
UUJMNC: OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACTION
from Rev. Lisa Garcia-Sampson, Executive Director Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of NC
FRIDAY ACTION HOUR
Join UU Forward Together every Friday at 11:00am for Friday Action Hour. Gather in community to recap the week and take action on issues impacting our state and country. Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/91029655107
Does the Friday session not work for you? You can still act; the link below will give you the talking points, addressee contacts and actions for this week’s Action Hour session.
Action(s) of the Week –
Tell NC Businesses to Stand Up for Voting Rights
This is a critical time in our democracy, with many states, including North Carolina, pushing legislation that would restrict voting access. This week’s action is to sign a petition telling our NC businesses to take a strong stand for voting rights. Take action here!
MORE ACTION
Ware Lecture This Saturday! This year’s UUA General Assembly Ware Lecture will be given by national voting rights leaders Stacey Abrams and Desmond Meade. The event is this Saturday night June 26th at 7 pm ET.
Note – General Assembly registration is required to view the event.
This week, state legislators released their proposed two-year NC budget which sticks with recent spending limits. With millions still sufferingin our state, 7 billion dollars in unallocated funds and the recent news of another massive revenue windfall, the state legislature is still unwilling to invest in North Carolinians. Our UU Justice Ministry in NC is proud to be a part of the state-wide People’s Budget coalition fighting for healthcare, housing and workers rights during this budget cycle. UUJMNC will be a participant at upcoming direct action in Raleigh on June 29.
CLIMATE JUSTICE CONGREGATIONAL PROJECT RENEWAL
At our meeting in May, SJOT formally approved renewing the Climate Justice Congregational Project for another year. Covid restrictions and vaccines likely will permit gatherings and activities on site in the coming months such as our long-postponed CJCP activities and events. The UUFH Board approved the proposed renewal at their May 11 meeting. The project was originally approved in February 2020 for 18 months ending on June 30.
At the June 13 Annual Meeting, a Fellowship vote okayed another year for this vital project.
RACIAL JUSTICE FORUM — ALLIES FOR RACIAL EQUITY (ARE)
On Monday, June 28, UUFH member Dr. Helen Bishop will facilitate a discussion on what we need to know and do to continue the work of dismantling white supremacy. The discussion will center around Robin DiAngelo’s book, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, published by Beacon Press. This book is available at the libraries in the Hendersonville area, and from local bookstores. Please read as much of it as you can before the discussion.
A new book of interest is also coming soon per Helen: Skinner House Press is publishing a new book by Rev. Dr. Kirsten Harper, called “The Darkness Divine: A Loving Challenge to My Faith”. Skinner House says “In The Darkness Divine”, Rev. Harper confronts and unpacks the language, imagery, buzzwords, and cultural touchstones that reinforce white supremacy culture and invites readers to radically transform their perceptions of Blackness.”
The on-line launch is Saturday (6/19); you can order the book from the UUA Bookstore after that.
OUTREACH COLLECTIONS:
SJOT conducted our final Outreach Collection for the year May 16 through June 11 to support safe and affordable housing needs. Your donations totaled $1725.
Collection recipients are Habitat for Humanity (habitat-hvl.org) and Housing Assistance Corporation (housing-assistance.com). who will each receive $776.25 while $172.50 (10%) will go into the SJOT Fund.
A formal report summarizing all 4 collections made this year will be issued in July.
JUSTICE WORKERS EMAIL LIST
We’ve created a new merged list “Justice Workers” as recommended by the leaders of the various groups (SJOT, ARE, Voter & Climate Justice) and approved by our UUFH Social Justice Team; our debut message “JUSTICE WORKER NEWS” was issued on Monday, April 12. The list is comprehensive and contains actions, events, and links that will inform and enable your justice efforts.
The more that we work together, the greater impact we have.
To join the Justice Workers list, contact Charlotte Corrigan with your request to OPT IN.
For information on upcoming training sessions with UUJMNC partners such as You Can Vote and Democracy NC, contact Charlotte Corrigan and/or sign up for weekly Justice Worker News emails.