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 ( June 7th) of the month 1:00 to 2:30pm. via ZOOM
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.
New/recent JW NEWS HIGHLIGHTS include the following and MUCH more:
UU JUSTICE NC updates – Action Hours, Action Alert, etc.
LAST CHANCE — OUTREACH COLLECTION for MIGRANT WORKERS through May 31
8th PRINCIPLE & RESOURCES
CONGREGATIONAL PROJECT PROPOSAL for 2022-23
LINK: 22-23 UUFH Congr. Project Allies for Racial Equity
Benefit Concert for UKRAINE – save the date – June 25
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.
SIGN-UP MAKES IT EASY: to receive weekly updates automatically. Click Here to Sign Up!
MORE Opportunities for Action
Per UPDATES from Rev. Lisa Garcia-Sampson, Executive Director, UU Justice NC:
CALL TO ACTION – The NC General Assembly is now in Session!
Please participate in our call to action to have UUs across the state call their State Representative and Senator and advocate for 1) Medicaid Expansion 2) Protect Abortion Access 3) Full funding of the Leandro Education Plan.
We have well over 5,000 UU’s across this state. Imagine the impact we could have if every NC UU picked up the phone and advocated for these priorities this week. Let’s live into that power during this important moment – when so much is at stake in our state.
Call your State Senator and Representative and let them know your priorities. *** Find their contact info here.
Basic Script:
- Hi my name is ______ I live in ________ and I am one of your constituents.
- I join others across the state in urging the General Assembly to close the healthcare coverage gap for over a half a million North Carolinians by expanding Medicaid. The majority of people in our state want this, and the additional 2 billion dollars in Federal incentive money would also have a huge impact on our state.
- Second, I urge Sen/ Rep. _____ to protect a woman’s reproductive right to have an abortion.
- And finally, I urge you to support the full funding of the Leandro Plan. We have the moral responsibility to give our children and youth a sound basic education and it is appalling that we have failed to do so for nearly 30 years.
UU JUSTICE NC – MEDICAID EXPANSION ACTION HOUR: Sunday, June 5, 6:00PM.
We have never been closer to expanding Medicaid to over 500,000 North Carolinians, but we need everyone in the game to get it done! This spring, UU Justice NC is proud to partner with the NC Justice Center in a state-wide campaign writing Letters to the Editor in support of closing the healthcare coverage gap. Together we will send a powerful message to newspapers across the state. If you missed last week’s Action Hour, join us for our next event on 6/5! Register Here!
TRANSGENDER JUSTICE & INCLUSION With ALEX KAPITAN Tuesday, June 14, 6:00-7:30PM.
Join UU Justice NC and the South Carolina UU Justice Alliance for this special evening with Alex Kapitan national UU leader in Trans Rights & Inclusion work. This webinar will give participants an overview of how to think about gender expansively, the experiences and needs of trans, non-binary, and gender nonconforming people, the current landscape of violently anti-trans legislative efforts, and what congregations need to do to be spaces of safety and resilience for trans people and their families. You can register here.
ADOPTION OF THE 8TH PRINCIPLE BY UUFH
At our June 2021 Annual Meeting, UUFH members approved a motion that we study the UUA’s proposed 8th Principle ahead of a vote for adoption at our 2022 Annual Meeting.
The 8th Principle: “We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountability dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”
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?
WATCH:
Paula Cole Jones speaks about the 8th Principle
Bruce Pollack-Johnson: the 8th Principle
READ:
BIPOC and the 8th Principle: https://www.uua.org/braverwiser/putting-armor
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: https://www.uua.org/action/statements/undoing-systemic-white-supremacy
LAST CHANCE: OUTREACH COLLECTION for MIGRANT WORKERS:
Our Outreach Collection dedicated to Migrant Workers through THE MIGRANT EDUCATION PROJECT of the Henderson County Schools and TRUE RIDGE runs through May 31. This effort targets the humanity and the material needs of the hundreds of migrant workers (and their families!) who labor in our local fields, orchards and packing houses.
Many of you are already familiar with the Gift Bags for Migrants which is one of the project efforts. UUFH members and others contributed hundreds of items at our drive through collection of toiletries, laundry supplies, and bandanas/hats on March 19. Our May 8 Guest, Areli Perez Nava, Coordinator of the Migrant Education Project spoke about the impact contributions such as those from UUFH which enable the Project to do more than just the ESL and other education programs that their government funding provides.
We hope that you will again give generously. Cash or check donations should be labeled as Migrant Outreach; online donations may also be made.
“EXPLORING DIVERSITY THROUGH LITERATURE”
This SJ-ARE project launched in the past year to donate books that feature the many cultures, distinct traditions and realities of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to local schools and other institutions.
This project will help nurture the potential of children in Henderson County by providing literature that reflects and honors their lives and experiences. We believe that our community will be enhanced by helping children appreciate themselves and others.
See the NEW project page now on the UUFH website: https://uufhnc.org/justice/exploring-diversity-through-literature/
The more that we work together, the greater impact we have.