News and Alerts

#GivingTuesday Spotlight: Immigration Justice

by Emily Parker Leave a comment

Dear Friend,

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, I am sure many of you are making menu and travel plans and looking forward to gathering with family and friends to give thanks and revel in the precious joy of being together. Among the things we are thankful for, safety, security, warmth, food on the table, and loved ones to share in this abundance all rank high on our lists. 

But in many parts of the world, and even here at home, simple freedoms and the blessings of security, safety, lack of hunger, and being with loved ones are a distant dream for too many.

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Reproductive Justice

Rights are Not Enough — We Must Advance Equity by Removing Barriers to Reproductive Health Care

by Emily Parker 2 Comments

More than 75 New Jersey based organizations have signed on to a statement declaring their support for the Reproductive Freedom Act urging lawmakers to take action and pass the bill in its entirety before the close of the current legislative session. Introduced in October 2020, the Reproductive Freedom Act (S3030/A4848) is a proactive bill that both ensures the right to abortion in New Jersey and removes barriers to access, especially for our most vulnerable and marginalized populations.

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“Say The Word: Reparations” Rally at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church

by Emily Parker Leave a comment

150 souls attended the “Say The Word: Reparations” Rally in the churchyard of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on October 30th, 2021. Clergy and laypeople representing diverse faith traditions gathered to call on Speaker Craig Coughlin to bring A711/S233 to the Assembly Floor.

Major rally sponsors included: NJ Episcopal Diocese, Peoples Organization for Progress, local NAACP chapters (state level, Perth Amboy City/Woodbridge/Sayreville, Camden County), Trenton’s historic Shiloh Baptist Church, NJ Institute for Social Justice, and UU Faith Action NJ’s Reparations Task Force.

Say The Word—REPARATIONS!

Duck in flight

Justice Takes Flight in the ‘Lame Duck’

by Emily Parker Leave a comment

The New Jersey legislative cycle is a two-year process. This year is an election year, which means that the current legislative cycle will come to an end in early January. Any pending legislation that is not passed and signed into law within the current cycle must start over from the very beginning in the new legislature.

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FAIR: FaithAction Inclusivity Representatives

FAIR Seeking New Members

by Emily Parker Leave a comment

A message from our youth leaders — FAIR seeking new members

"Join FAIR" flyer
FAIR (FaithAction Inclusivity Representatives) youth leaders and members are preparing for in-school assemblies featuring FAIR youth discussing a history of racism and antiracism activism in NJ, and we want to extend our invite more widely. Please share our invitation with the youth (grades 8-12) in your congregation!

If you are interested in participating in FAIR, we meet on Thursday nights at 7:30pm on Zoom. Sign up here!

FAIR will be presenting a pilot of their assembly at the Fall Issues Conference (Oct. 16), and FAIR Co-Leaders look forward to meeting new youth during their breakout session. Register to attend the Fall Issues Conference.

If you have questions about FAIR, please contact FAIR Co-Leaders at fair@uufaithaction.org or advisor Liandra Pires at gvprevention@uufaithaction.org. You can follow FAIR on Instagram @faithactionyouth_

“Adiós” from Susan

by Emily Parker 2 Comments

After 8 years, it’s adiós from me to all of you faithful UUs

Susan MacDonnell headshot
Susan MacDonnell, who for six years chaired or co-chaired the UUFANJ Criminal Justice Reform Task Force

While I am excited for my new life adventure to begin in San Miguel de Allende, and to see what it will be like to more purposefully create my own old-age “story,” there are many people and many qualities about my interactions with so many of you that I will deeply miss.

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Thrive NJ statement

by Emily Parker Leave a comment

Today, Texas’s draconian six-week abortion ban S.B. 8 goes into effect during the most hostile legislative year for reproductive health and rights since Roe v. Wade was decided nearly 50 years ago. Across the nation, nearly 600 abortion restrictions were introduced this year alone — 90 of which have been enacted. In response to today’s news and in anticipation of the Mississippi case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Thrive NJ releases the following statement.

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