The First UU Fellowship of Hunterdon County will be holding a yard sale on March 23 to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity. http://hunterdonuu.org/
UU FA Office
Sussex Co: Climate Change – March 12
Climate Change
To Be or Not To Be
It is Hard to Know What to Believe
An Opportunity to Finally Address YOUR Questions to a Real Person
Ellie Whitney, PhD
Citizens Climate Lobby
Speaker, biologist, author, columnist, climate activist, UU
A Gathering brought to you by The Skylands Group of The Sierra Club
Hosted by the Fellowship of Sussex County
Tuesday, March 12, 2013 7pm-8:30pm
Ellie Whitney, a member of the UU Congregation of Princeton, authored the article, “How to Meet the Climate Crisis,” in the Winter issue of UU World. She explains that a way to do this would be to establish a carbon tax: “The fastest, most effective way to change consumption patterns is to change the prices of things. If we want less CO2, we need to tax carbon, an idea gaining traction among economists, politicians, and the general public.” http://www.uuworld.org/ideas/articles/280781.shtml
Plainfield: Transitioning in Corporate American – March 10
On March 10, the First Unitarian Society of Plainfield’s service, “Transitioning in Corporate America: One Transgender Woman’s Journey to Activism and Advocacy” will feature Stephanie Battaglino, a Corporate Vice President at the New York Life Insurance Company. She transitioned on the job in October 2005 and is a founding member of New York Life’s LGBT employee resource group. More info at www.fusp.org.
Annual Meeting – April 20
ANNUAL MEETING 2013
Saturday, April 20, 9:00am – 2:00pm
Hosted by the UU Church at Washington Crossing
(see www.uucwc.org for directions)
Featuring a keynote address by Rev. Robert Moore:
“The Faith Community’s Role in Preventing Gun Violence”
The Rev. Robert Moore, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, has served since 1981 as the Executive Director of the Princeton, NJ-based Coalition for Peace Action, a regional organization dedicated to abolition of nuclear weapons, a peace economy, and a halt to weapons trafficking at home and abroad. Since 1989, he has also served as part-time Pastor of East Brunswick Congregational Church. Rev. Moore contributed the preface and first chapter of the book Breaking Silence: Pastoral Approaches to Creating an Ethos of Peace (August, 2004 from Pilgrim Process). He has traveled widely in his various peacemaking ministry roles, including trips to Hiroshima and Nagaski, the former Soviet Union, Germany, Scandinavia, Greece, Holland, Canada, and Mexico.
Please join us at the 2013 UULMNJ annual meeting:
- UUs from all over New Jersey will be gathering to discuss past and future actions on key issues.
- Delegates from Affiliated Congregations will be voting on the new budget and members of the Board of Trustees.
- A great opportunity to meet in person with justice leaders from other congregations.
Check-in starts at 9:000am with coffee and bagels; the meeting will begin promptly at 9:30am.
There will be a working lunch provided. We rely on your donations to cover the cost of food and materials for this event.
Download a flyer for your congregation.
REGISTER NOW!
Register online at https://www.formdesk.com/uuforms/UULMNJ
or Contact us at 609-672-7331 or workshop@uulmnj.org
Check back for more details, coming soon!
Plainfield – Social Action Weekend – March 1-3
On behalf of the First Unitarian Society of Plainfield (FUSP) I would like to invite you and members of your congregation to attend our 3rd Annual Social Action Weekend, March 1- 3, 2013. The theme of the weekend “Partners for Immigration Justice” seeks to explore forming community partnerships to promote immigration reform by identifying issues, planning activities and taking action.
The weekend will kick off on Friday March 1st with an International Pot Luck Dinner from 6:00 to 9:30. This will be an opportunity to informally meet representatives from other congregations, community organizations, and immigration coalitions. We are planning a fun-filled family friendly event with music, entertainment, juggling, face-painting, and more. We are encouraging those that attend on Friday night to bring an international or traditional family dish to share.
On Saturday March 2nd from 10:00 to 2:00 we invite you and members of your congregation to attend the “Building Partners for Immigration Reform” forum. The event will be facilitated by the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of New Jersey (UULMNJ). We plan to have representatives from various congregations, community organizations and immigrant coalitions share information and identify the issues and needs of the local immigrant community. We also plan to explore how we can cooperatively work together in the future to best (to) address the needs of the immigrant community locally as well as nationally.
On Sunday March 3rd at 12:00 noon at our Sunday Explorers Series, guest speaker Ingrid Diaz, MA, MSW, LCSW, PhD (candidate) will describe the Latino culture, migration experience and the impact it has on the individual and family system. Ms. Diaz has a vast clinical experience in working with the severe and persistent mentally ill population, particularly with Latinos in community mental health centers. There will be a light lunch served at 11:45 prior to the lecture.
We here at FUSP recognize the enormous issues surrounding immigration and that the struggle to ensure honest and effective immigration reform will require partnering with likeminded individuals, groups and organizations. We look forward to seeing you in March at one or more of our events. For your information we have attached a flyer. Thank you in advance for your participation. Please RSVP and let us know which events you plan to attend (908-756-0750).
Ridgewood – Gun Control Forum – Feb. 28
Unitarian Society of Ridgewood
Gun Control Forum
Thursday, February 28, 2013 at 7:30 PM
An Evening of Explorative Social Justice: 21st Century Concerns for our 18th Century Second Amendment
Sponsored by the Peace and Justice Committee
Join other members of the congregation and community for a facilitated discussion of gun control, types of gun violence, the rights of gun owners, the responsibilities of gun owners, the likelihood of current government proposals to curb gun violence, and our responsibilities as citizens to create a world as safe for each other as possible.
We will work together to create more light than heat around these issues and consider the question of what concerned individuals can do about this issue. The discussion will be facilitated by Dwight Panozzo, PhD, LCSW. Dwight is a member of USR, a psychotherapist, and an adjunct faculty member of the Silver School of Social Work at New York University.
UULMN in the papers – gun violence prevention
I thought I should let you all know that UULMNJ was in the news on Thursday, February 14. The Bergen Record had the following:
Another supporter of the bills was the Rev. Craig Hirshberg, executive director of the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of New Jersey, who said she was upset by much of what she heard at the hearing.
“I reject the thought that the only way to get a safer society is to expand our capacity to kill people,” she said. “I’m a very small voice today – I realize that – but it’s a voice that reflects many more who are not in this room.”
The complete article is at http://www.northjersey.com/news/state/NJ_lawmakers_consider_25_bills_reforming_gun_laws.html.
The New York Times article link is: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/nyregion/new-jersey-assembly-committee-approves-tightening-gun-laws.html
They didin’t pick up my more forceful arguments, but as Rohn said, as long as they got my name right and the name of the organization right, it is good PR.
UUA: Feb 4 – Call for Gun Violence Prevention
Interfaith Call-In Day to Prevent Gun Violence
Monday, February 4, 2013
The UUA is asking people to participate in the following Action Alert:
The UUA is part of Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence, a diverse coalition of more than 40 denominations and faith-based organizations united by the call of our faiths to confront America’s gun violence epidemic and to rally support for policies that reduce death and injury from gunfire.
On Monday, February 4th, join other voices of faith in calling on your senators to enact gun violence prevention laws. Ensure that the voices of faithful Americans ring throughout the halls of Congress.
Call this toll-free number: 1-877-897-0174 and request to be connected to your senator. (Please call twice to speak to both of your sentators! You can look up who your elected officials are here.)
The major components of the legislation that Congress is considering are below. When you call your senators, let them know that you are calling as a member of the faith community, and emphasize the policies that you support.
- Require universal background checks for all gun purchases
- Ban semi-automatic assault weapons and high-capacity magazines
- Make gun trafficking a federal crime
- Improve access to mental health services
Tell them that gun violence prevention laws work.
See UUA webpage: Take Action to Prevent Gun Violence for more information, resources, and regional partners. Learn more about the Faiths United Against Gun Violence coalition.
Roe v. Wade – 40th Anniversary
January 22, 2013 marks the 40th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade case which made abortion legal in the United States. The UUA is partnering with the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice [tt_vector icon=”fa-external-link”] (RCRC) to create a preaching resource on the anniversary, including readings, questions, statistics, and stories. Contact the Rev. Rob Keithan, Director of Public Policy at RCRC, (rkeithan@rcrc.org) to be notified when the resource will be released.
UUA: Reproductive Justice: New Curriculum and Resources
A brand new six-week curriculum from the Unitarian Universalist Association titled, “Reproductive Justice: Expanding Our Social Justice Calling,” will equip Unitarian Universalists with tools for effective public advocacy, tie us to our theological and historical resources, help us understand the complexities of reproductive justice, and strengthen our relationships with each other. Cirriculum: Reproductive Justice Curriculum for Congregations [tt_vector icon=”fa-external-link”]
More from Reproductive Justice: UUA: Reproductive Justice [tt_vector icon=”fa-external-link”]