All members & friends are welcome to join the efforts of the Social Justice Outreach Team
SOCIAL JUSTICE & ALLIES FOR RACIAL EQUITY TEAM MEETINGS
We meet on the first TUESDAY of the month 1:00 to 2:30pm. via ZOOM
May meeting only, 2nd Tues May 10th
ARE updates and news can be sent to Charlotte Corrigan for inclusion in emails, eBlasts and Justice Worker News.
Want more JUSTICE NEWS? UUFH JUSTICE WORKER NEWS Contact Charlotte Corrigan to join the email list.
UU Justice NC
Subscribe to UUJMNC to receive the monthly newsletter and action alerts at www.uuforwardtogether.org
DONATE to UU Justice NC HERE
OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACTION
from Rev. Lisa Garcia-Sampson, Executive Director UU Justice NC
UUSC’s Emergency Response Fund for Assistance in Ukraine
UUSC’s Emergency Response Fund provides vital assistance to people impacted by natural or human-made disasters yet whose access to aid is most limited. Currently, UUSC is using resources from their Emergency Response Fund to support people who have fled the violence in Ukraine after Russia launched a large-scale invasion in February 2022. They are building upon relationships they have established in Eastern Europe to respond to evolving needs on the ground and provide funding where it is needed most. You can make a donation to UUSC’s Emergency Response Fund via this link. You can also click here to learn about other ways to support this important work.
FRIDAY ACTION HOUR
Every Friday at 11:00am UUs from across the state gather to recap the past week and take action on the issues impacting our state and country. In the coming month, we’ll Be Keeping the pressure on our elected officials to better promote the HOPE program. We always have good music to help us feel the justice movement in our bones! Join us via this Zoom link. If you can’t make it on Fridays, you can still take action at any time – just check our Weekly action list.
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MORE Opportunities for Action
Per UPDATES from Rev. Lisa Garcia-Sampson, Executive Director, UU Justice NC:
MORAL MARCH IN DC
Are you planning to join UUs from across the country at the Mass Poor People’s & Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly’s Moral March in Washington DC on June 18? If so, please let UU Justice NC know by emailing Rev. Lisa at lisa@nulluujusticenc.org. Additionally, please let UUSJ know by filling out this form. You can also use the form to volunteer to help plan UU involvement for June 18 with the UUA’s Poor People’s Campaign Council.
****WNC NOTE:
We have buses leaving from Western NC to be filled: It’s really simple. Go to rally.co/ppc (be patient – it’s slow to load!) and push the start link, then find our state and the closest city to you. You can book a ride from there. (includes Asheville, NC and Spartanburg and Greenville, SC)
UU Justice NC Celebrates 100th Friday Action Hour!
Friday, April 22 at 11:00 AM. Friday Action Hour was born out of the first months of the pandemic in May of 2020. Since then, this beloved community of UUs and partners across North Carolina has grown beyond our wildest imagination. Every Friday, we gather to reflect on the past week and then take action on the issues impacting our state and country. And there’s always great music and fellowship to nourish our spirits along the way! Join via this Zoom link. You can also sign up for our Weekly Friday Action Hour E-mail
ELECTION INFORMATION:
IMPORTANT PRIMARY DATES:
April 22 ~ Voter registration deadline for Primary
April 28 ~ One-stop early voting begins for Primary (includes same day voter registration and early voting)
May 14 ~ One-stop early voting ends for Primary
May 17 ~ Primary election (NO same day registration and voting!)
NON-PARTISAN VOTER INFORMATION RESOURCES:
Youcanvote.org, a non-partisan voter empowerment and education group and a UU Justice NC partner has an in-depth voter guide, You Can Vote- voter guide, that contains important information, such as key dates, polling locations, and more, PLUS direct links to official forms.
The website, vote411.org, the informational Voter Guide provided by the League of Women Voters, has non-partisan information on national, state, and local candidates, as well as aids to See What’s On Your Ballot, Check Your Voter Registration, Find Your Polling Place, Discover Upcoming Debates In Your Area, and more.
Information regarding registration to vote, absentee ballots, early voting, precinct/district locations, polling places, is also found at the websites of the NC State BOE and your county Board of Elections. Printable Forms are also available on these sites.
CLIMATE JUSTICE CONGREGATIONAL PROJECT
A new Outreach Collection for CLIMATE JUSTICE began on April 10, and ends on Sunday, May 1.
The Collection proceeds will be split between Mountain True, its affiliate, Creation Care Alliance and a new group to UUFH, the Climate Reality Project.
These 3 groups have a strong CLIMATE JUSTICE focus throughout their local and global efforts.
The April 10 Collection Plate was dedicated to this Outreach Collection as will be designated donations through May 1. Be sure to specify “Climate Justice Outreach” on your check. Donations may also be made on the UUFH website “Outreach Fund” choice.
MOUNTAIN TRUE champions the environment in the Southern Blue Ridge/WNC by empowering residents to engage in community planning, policy and project advocacy, and on-the-ground projects. Its affiliate, CREATION CARE ALLIANCE OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA (CCAWNC), is a network of people of faith and congregations who have united around a moral and spiritual call to preserve the integrity, beauty, and health of God’s creation.
THE CLIMATE REALITY PROJECT has as its mission to catalyze a global solution to the climate crisis by making urgent action a necessity across every sector of society. The group recruits, trains, and mobilizes people worldwide to become powerful activists to push for aggressive climate action and high-level policies that accelerate a just transition to clean energy.
MAY 1 — A SPECIAL SUNDAY SERVICE ON THE 8TH PRINCIPLE
Helen Bishop will speak on the 8th Principle at this important service. In addition, a DISCUSSION SESSION, your opportunity to speak or ask questions, follows the service.
RESOURCES for the 8th Principle of Unitarian Universalism
Visit this UUA site: 8thprinciplorg
The section is organized by responses to these key questions: What is the origin? — Why now? — Why single out racism? — What is beloved community? — What does it mean to be accountable?
The Fall 2021 UU World contains several articles of interest, including Our Faith Calls Us to Antiracist Work – by Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, our UUA President https://www.uuworld.org/articles/antiracist-faith
2021 Statement of Conscience “Undoing white Supremacy: A Call to Prophetic Action” – adopted at the 2021 General Assembly:
FEED THE KIDS
Feed the Kids – a community effort to provide a nutritious meal to the Boys & Girls Club kids each Friday afternoon – will resume plated, served meals beginning May 6.
Current dates assigned to us (Team #3) are May 27, June 24, and July 22.
This follows all too many COVID months when the Club was closed. An Interim Plan was launched upon reopening of the Club, and bagged lunches featuring whole-wheat low-fat sub sandwiches were distributed by Club staff.
We have a total of 21 listed Servers between UUFH & Agudas Israel; about 5 are new to FTK. Cook/Delivery team of ~12 is mostly volunteers from Trinity plus a few from AI & UUFH.
For more details about the program, meal service, and joining the team in any role, please contact Charlotte Corrigan. We will again be serving our Chicken Tacos and seeing the smiling faces of the girls and boys as they pick up their meal.
EMPTY BOWLS
This annual fundraiser for the BACKPACK program is scheduled for Sunday, April 24 at St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church in Flat Rock. Liz Curtis has tickets to the 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM seatings for sale at $25 each which includes your soup, dessert, and a bowl donated by a local potter like our own Honey Burrell.
UUMFE: EARTH DAY worship service
Join UU Ministry for Earth for a galvanizing Earth-centered worship service to engage your spirit and inspire your community.
This year’s program will include some amazing offerings, such as a virtual choir performance of a brand-new hymn called “All of Us”, written by musician Dana Clark (First UU San Antonio, TX member), guided meditations and somatic practices led by Rev. Mariela Perez Simmons and Sahar Muhsin-Laufman, a reflection by Rev. Dr. Leonisa Ardizzone, and more!
In order to join this program on FRIDAY, April 22 at 12:00 PM ET, register here.
Get Your Gardening Gloves on: MountainTrue’s New Native Planting Guide
MountainTrue has published a brand-new guide to help you replace harmful non-native invasive plant species with native alternatives that benefit wild birds, hummingbirds, butterflies, and other wildlife. This beautifully-designed and durable guide conveniently folds up to fit in your wallet — perfect for your next visit to the garden center or nursery.
How can you get one? Guides are available for free at invasive plant workdays and events, mountaintrue.org/eventscalendar
- Sign up to volunteer for one of our workdays or join us for a hike.
- Meet us at a tabling event.
- Buy one for $5 and get it mailed to your home.
Single-use plastics clog up Western North Carolina’s rivers and streams and break down into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics. Once in waterways, these microplastics are consumed by aquatic life forms, which are then ingested by the larger organisms that eat them, including humans. The bioaccumulation of these plastics and the additives used to make them can be toxic to both wildlife and people—not to mention the fact that single-use plastics contribute significantly to our reliance on fossil fuels and therefore climate crisis. Acting on plastic pollution is a clear way to care for creation, and together we know that we can make a difference. Check out the new Plastic Free WNC website to learn more about how you and your community can be a part of advocating to put a stop to single-use plastic, and take action below. |
| TAKEACTION |
The more that we work together, the greater impact we have.