On November 2 and 3, SisterSong (www.sistersong.net), a women of color cooperative and the group that coined the term reproductive justice, will be leading a training session at the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood focused on educating participants on reproductive justice. Their goal is to welcome local groups and congregations interested in the RJ movement with the hopes that they will spread their knowledge to the public and support RJ programs in their regions.
UU FA Office
UULMNJ Hires New Administrator
UULMNJ bid farewell to our first administrator, Leanne McGowan, at the end of April, following her decision to pursue other interests.
We are pleased to announce the recent hiring of our new administrator Tara Wildhagen. We received applications from several well-qualified individuals, but Tara’s technical skills and enthusiasm and commitment to what we are doing set her apart from the rest. Tara was most recently a research analyst at the City University of New York, and came to us as she was looking for part-time work in conjunction with starting her own business. Welcome Tara!
Monmouth Co – Social Action Film – June 25
The UU Congregation of Monmouth County’s Social Action Film Series next film will be shown on June 25.
Living Downstream follows scientist, professor, author, and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber as she travels across North America, working to break the silence about cancer, its environmental links – and the urgent human rights issue therein. Both personal journey and scientific-social exploration, this film is a powerful reminder of the intimate connection between the health of our bodies and the health of our air, land, and water.
Morristown: Microloans Change Lives
40 Lives Changed by MUF Sponsored KIVA Micro-loans
In May 2011, the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship initiated a series of micro-loans with $1,165 raised through a dedicated collection. This allowed them to provide loans to 14 individuals in 8 countries. Once the first round of loans was repaid, 20 additional people in 17 countries were provided loans in 2012. Then timely repayment of these loans has enabled them to extend loans to six additional individuals in five countries.
Plainfield: Marriage Equality Resolution
The First Unitarian Society of Plainfield joined forces with the Plainfield United Church of Christ and the Rahway Plainfield Society of Friends to pass a marriage equality resolution for New Jersey. The resolution states the three churches, as institutions that “affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of all people,” have an imperative to call “for the rights of all people to love those whom they love, with full rights to marry and enjoy the benefits of life-time commitment to their loved ones without restriction.”
Wayne: Earth Harmony Festival
The Lakeland UU Fellowship (Wayne NJ) sponsored the Earth Harmony Festival on June 8. Free to all, the festival featured Spook Handy and Spirit Wing performing and teaching indigenous dance. The focus of the event was networking, sustainability, and rededicating the Fellowship as a peace site.
Marriage Equality Rally at District Meeting
Marty Rothfelder (Summit) and Toby Tyler (Morristown), and Rev. Alison Miller (Morristown), along with Rev. Craig, coordinated a Marriage Equality Rally, held on Morristown Green on May 3 in conjunction with the UU Metro District Annual Meeting. Under the initiative of several NJ UU congregations, delegates also approved a resolution supporting marriage equality.
Watch a YouTube video of the rally: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTktrLtFL1Y .
Immigration Reform Forum – April 21
IMMIGRATION REFORM FORUM
SUNDAY, APRIL 21, 1-2:30 PM
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton 50 Cherry Hill Road, Princeton
The Forum will explore through dialog and presentations the immigration issues of paths to citizenship, labor conditions, employer verification systems, border security, and visa backlogs.
Speakers
- Lou Kimmel, co-founder of New Labor, a workers rights organization
- Marisol Conde-Hernandez from the New Jersey DREAM Act Coalition
- Ted Fetter, chair of the Immigration Task Force of the Legislative Ministry
The forum will be moderated by Ted Fetter, chair of the Immigration Task Force of the UU Legislative Ministry of New Jersey.
The Forum is sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of NJ and the UU Congregatin of Princeton Social Justice Committee.
UULMNJ Seeks Admin. Asst.
The Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of New Jersey (UULMNJ) is seeking a part-time Administrative Assistant to begin no later than April 1. Duties of the position include but are not limited to:
- Administrative support
- Assist with Board, plenary and issues workshop preparation
- Attendance at annual Plenary Conference and Issues Workshop
- Organizational and donor data keeping
- Maintaining organization files
- Social media maintenance (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
- Assist in preparation of Salsa advocacy materials and congregational alerts
Qualifications: Previous office administration experience; good office organizing skills; knowledge of Facebook and social media; strong technical skills; basic Salsa and computer graphics are helpful.
This person needs to be able to work independently.
Compensation: $15 /hour 10 hours/week
Resumes should be submitted to:
Rev. Craig Hirshberg, Executive Director
director@uulmnj.org
Contact: 609.672.7331
Applications may be submitted until March 30, 2013.
Please help us and post the job description in your congregation.
The Unitarian Universalist Ministry of New Jersey, a Public Policy Network of New Jersey’s 21 UU congregations, provides a comprehensive structure, network and resources to empower the moral voice and actions of our Unitarian Universalist principles and values in the public arena. UULMNJ engages in impacting social justice and public policy issues important to our state through Education, Research, Advocacy, Witness, and Service. UULMNJ works to facilitate communications among the NJ UU congregations and aims to be a resource to encourage and strengthen their social justice programs. UULMNJ is an equal opportunity employer.
Supported in part by a grant from the UU Funding Program
Morristown: “Living for the 32” – April 6
The Morristown Unitarian Fellowship and the Unitarian Church in Summit will show the movie, “Living for the 32”, about the Virginia Tech massacre, on April 6 in Morristown.
Save the date, more details will be forthcoming.
MUF has also been very active in a Morristown community coalition against gun violence.